Australian firm working on beefed-up Nissan GT-R gearbox

[VH_Supra26]

by Ralph Hanson
http://www.motorauthority.com/content/thumbs/g/t/gtr_ppg_gearset_main_630-1229-636x360.jpg
The cog-shredding power of AWD launch control is no match for Down Under engineering

Rumors, reports and even the odd video of its slick dual-clutch AWD gearbox grenading itself into oblivion have plagued the Nissan GT-R since shortly after its release into the wild. A short while later we learned that using the undocumented AWD launch control feature could void the relevant sections powertrain warranty, Nissan followed that up with a decision to strip the troublesome feature from 2010 models.

Now a team of Aussie engineers from Pfitzner's Performance Gearboxes (PPG) are working to become the first to offer a more durable upgrade alternative for those that insist on relentlessly hammering their trannies at the strip.

So far little is known about the mechanics underlying the upgrade, but it's being built for Samurai Speed and Titan Motorsports who are cooperating on a 600hp+ (447kW+) engine. Whatever can stand up to repeated AWD launches at that power level on a 3,800lb (1,727kg) car will no doubt be able to withstand the thrashing stock versions are likely to see on the street or the local drag strip.

Pricing and a date for availability are still unknown as the new gearbox is a work in progress, but from the look of the new first gear cogs (on the left in the photo) there will be plenty of metal beefing-up of the perceived weak spots. Another small change from stock appears to be a slightly shallower angle of engagement. That will allow more power to be transmitted more readily, but will also likely result in more gear noise as well.

The apparent weak spot in the stock transmission, according to PPG, is the teeth on the first gear cog, which develop tiny fractures that eventually fail under repeated stressful launches. For those that won't be able to afford the likely expensive upgrade, but still want to win those prestigious stop-light races, there will be some comfort in knowing the car can still nearly equal a Corvette ZR-1 in the 0-60mph (96km/h) dash without launch control.

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http://www.motorauthority.com/australian-firm-working-on-beefed-up-nissan-gt-r-gearbox.html

[inferno14u]

I figured it was only a matter of time before this happened. Nissan should have went to Ricardo to begin with and they wouldn't have had any issues considering that their dual clutch transmission stands up to over 1000ft/lbs of torque and weighs 600lbs more.

[pizzaguy]

Damn those upgrades do look beefy

[lazy_boy_andy]

I figured it was only a matter of time before this happened. Nissan should have went to Ricardo to begin with and they wouldn't have had any issues considering that their dual clutch transmission stands up to over 1000ft/lbs of torque and weighs 600lbs more.

yeah it was only a matter of time, after this upgrade the car is going to be pretty damn solid

[battousai]

mmmmm PPG is the way to go.

[dantheman]

ppg ftw. maybe this will fix the problem.

[eN_2_Oh]

sounds like a winner here. i hope they aren't gona cost $20k like everything else for the GT-R

[battousai]

sounds like a winner here. i hope they aren't gona cost $20k like everything else for the GT-R

Well since they're already a good $5K or so installed for a 5-speed WRX and I would imagine upwards $10K (probably even more :gonk:) for the 6-speed STi, its still going to be quite expensive for the GT-R but well worth it.

Either the 6-speed PPG gearboxes never break or its just so damn expensive that you don't hear stories about many troubles.

[laosonick]

PPG!

[seinkonnen]

There are already two/three other companies offering new gears.

[laosonick]

Well since they're already a good $5K or so installed for a 5-speed WRX and I would imagine upwards $10K (probably even more :gonk:) for the 6-speed STi, its still going to be quite expensive for the GT-R but well worth it.

Either the 6-speed PPG gearboxes never break or its just so damn expensive that you don't hear stories about many troubles.

its 5,800 for a b series dog box gear set. so go figure lol...

[seinkonnen]

It'll be interesting to see what people do about the dual-clutch when that starts failing.

[dantheman]

man i didnt think about that.

subbie trans from them are expensive.

i can imagine this being a 20K+ upgrade, especially since transmissions from nissan are 20k.

[CHINGONE]

I would think if you were serious about your gtr, this would be your first stop.

[Jeff Goji]

:really?:
Let me see if I have this straight...
This Australian company beefs up the transmission which is the source of the problem with using the launch control system, and Nissan just decides to completely dump the launch control feature (which will affect performance) and not do a thing about the transmission?

[userdead626]

:really?:
Let me see if I have this straight...
This Australian company beefs up the transmission which is the source of the problem with using the launch control system, and Nissan just decides to completely dump the launch control feature (which will affect performance) and not do a thing about the transmission?

Thats exactly why i dont think this kit will be a fix all. If it were so easy, wouldnt nissan save themselves the hassle and media troubles and fix it? Im thinking that this will be a good start, but as we all know it will simply expose the next weakest link.

[sherpagoodness]

nissan probably cant and wont do anything to beef up the trans because it would cause drivability/noise problems. launch control is a dumb idea on an awd car weighing 3800 lbs....their are too many unaccounted for traction scenarios that the transmission couldn't withstand (just imagine launching in a wet area and spinning all four wheels onto dry tarmac)....metal is metal, after working in the aircraft industry, with time and stress everything is destructible.

[Vincent]

Yup, this will just allow us to see what the next weakest link is.

[inferno14u]

:really?:
Let me see if I have this straight...
This Australian company beefs up the transmission which is the source of the problem with using the launch control system, and Nissan just decides to completely dump the launch control feature (which will affect performance) and not do a thing about the transmission?

From my understanding, all of the cars that have had failures are directly related to using launch control. If you read the link, PPG said that the weak link in the tranny is the teeth on first gear.

[Jeff Goji]

From my understanding, all of the cars that have had failures are directly related to using launch control. If you read the link, PPG said that the weak link in the tranny is the teeth on first gear.

I did read the link, and I've seen Nissan's response to the breaking transmissions which was to drop the LC feature instead of beefing up the transmission, hence the little :really?: emoticon in my first post.

I just think it's pretty sad that an aftermarket tuning company has to take the lead in fixing an issue on a $90,000 super car that a billion dollar company that makes the super car can't seem to comprehend. :hsugh:

[inferno14u]

I did read the link, and I've seen Nissan's response to the breaking transmissions which was to drop the LC feature instead of beefing up the transmission, hence the little :really?: emoticon in my first post.

I just think it's pretty sad that an aftermarket tuning company has to take the lead in fixing an issue on a $90,000 super car that a billion dollar company that makes the super car can't seem to comprehend. :hsugh:

They know how to fix the problem, but it will cause increased gear noise which is something that they don't want to do to keep with the image of the car. They had two choices: Spend more money by re-doing the design of first gear to make it stronger and not increase gear noise, or spend no money and simply remove the launch control from the ecu. Considering the world economy, deleting a program seems to be a far better idea.

[Jeff Goji]

They know how to fix the problem, but it will cause increased gear noise which is something that they don't want to do to keep with the image of the car. They had two choices: Spend more money by re-doing the design of first gear to make it stronger and not increase gear noise, or spend no money and simply remove the launch control from the ecu. Considering the world economy, deleting a program seems to be a far better idea.

Is it a far better idea from a money saving standpoint? Yes, I agree 100%.
Is it a better idea from the image standpoint? No, not at all.

I would say it's better to have a little extra noise and a car that will actually perform as promised instead of handicapping it and having it fall even further from its promised performance specs.

Of course, at this point in its short but controversial life, the "image" of the R35 GT-R has already been pretty well tainted, not much more Nissan can do to ruin it... Well, they could always jack the price up some more, or claim it lapped Laguna Seca in 31.666 seconds. :idea:

I'm really interested to see how the R35 GT-R plays out as time goes on.

[seinkonnen]

Nissan isn't fixing the problem because A) they don't make the transmissions (BorgWarner does) and B) if they did fix the problem, the adjusted cost of the car would easily tip $100,000. They've already increased the price, since the car first went to the market, by $18,000!

I do believe, however, that Nissan did the right thing in taking out the launch control feature. What I don't buy into, however, is that launching the car without launch control doesn't do any harm. It obviously does less harm, but if I was a GTR owner I'd be scared shitless of launching the car in any form.

[NOPISTN]

yeah it was only a matter of time, after this upgrade the car is going to be pretty damn solid

how would you know?
Have you been into drag racing before?
You usually don't find the next weak link till you fix the first one.

[laosonick]

PPG has been around for a long time...there not gonna just make a product and throw it into the market. i am sure there will be testing on these gear sets before they release it.