6 speed gearbox now available from Spyder

[pharriso]

Are we still talking about the Mazda 6 speed? I'm lost...

[alan.barker]

i think we have gone off subject, which was 6 speed from spyder
Alan

[Spyder fan]

Latest news is that a fitted price will be announced in the next Club Lotus News.

A kit for export will be available in the future, but there's no timing for this at the moment.

[bill308]

Yeah, we got somewhat off topic when we started discussing available gear ratios. Sorry about that, but it is an important subject that should be part of the gear box discussion. Sometimes, the only way to evaluate suitability is to compare it to known quantities.

Hi John. Can you PM me the pictures?

Bill

[worzel]

Hi Bill

Sod's law I'm afraid, I've deleted the only pictures I had of the box when I last removed it. However, there isn't really a lot to see in fairness- the only visible difference between the two types of box is that you'd see the spline run on the altered 2.8 one would be noticeably shorter than the std 1.6 derived unit. I guess AV use boxes from 1.6/2.0 engine cars because there is no machining required on the input shafts.

Sorry to disappoint but if you need any more info just get back to me.

John

[Spyder fan]

The first Spyder 6 speed conversion will occur in 3 weeks time, and will be to their S4 demonstrator fitted with a standard Twincam engine and of course a Spyder Spaceframe chassis. Prospective customers can try the demonstrator soon after this and orders will be taken, there's no waiting list at the moment and the first customer conversion could happen within a month of the demonstrator being ready, or sooner if you don't want to wait for the demonstrator to try before you buy.

Kits for self installation won't be happening this year, but may well happen next year.

[ianthomson72]

Hi All,

I've been following this thread for some time now, it looks to be very neat installation but I'm left wondering why the 6 speed box was chosen as the 5 speed mx 5 box has the better ratios. 1st is only slightly lower than the lotus 5 speed and 5th is .814 as opposed to the .847 top gear in the 6 speeder. As a higher top gear is what most of us want in a replacement box it seems the 6 speed seems an odd choice. maybe it's to do with the work involved in moving the gear lever?

Cheers

[Foxie]

I'm still looking forward to getting my S2 back on the road in the next year.

I opted for the Voights conversion with a custom BGH gear set.

<Snip>

I will run a 3.55:1 rear end with a Quaife LSD and a big engine.

Anybody else have experience with a similar setup?

Bill

Hi Bill,

I have exactly the same set-up in my Plus 2S, with 1798 all-steel and QED 450 cams. Very happy with it.
Only fault I have is the plunger housing in the top cover makes engine/gb removal /replacement a bit of a pain.

Sean

[bill308]

Thanks for the feedback Sean.

Which BGH gear set are you using?

I opted for the Quaife alloy gearbox casting with their alloy cover and had John Esposito at Quantum Mechanics (CT, USA) assemble and set it up for me. I think this may be a little different than the standard T9 offering, but I'm not sure. It will be interesting fitting it to TTR's 26R chassis when it gets delivered next month.

Bill

[Foxie]

I've put in a 2.75 1st.

I'm looking at your username. You don't happen to own a Ferrari ?

[bill308]

Thanks Sean. I opted for the 2.66 first gear. For the +2, I think the 2.75 is a slightly better choice. Are you running a 3.55:1 CWP?

Yup, it's a 78 GTS.

Bill

[Foxie]

Thanks Sean. I opted for the 2.66 first gear. For the +2, I think the 2.75 is a slightly better choice. Are you running a 3.55:1 CWP?

Yup, it's a 78 GTS.

Bill

Yes, 3.55. There was a 3.9 when I first got the car, went to a 3.7, then a 4.55 when i started doing competitions, now I;m happy with the 3.55.

78 GTS ? Snap !

[Spyder fan]

Update
Club Lotus News arrived on my door mat yesterday and there's a brief article by Brian Buckland announcing what we already know that Spyder have taken over the 6 speed gearbox conversion from Ken and Neil Myers, but there's no price announced as promised.

I have emailed a query to Sean Reeve at Spyder and hope to post his reply soon.

[CLAY]

I’ve been following this with great interest. I’m not sure if I missed it, but am wondering if the Ken & Neil Myers 6 speed conversion is only intended to mate up to the Lotus engine or can it also match up to the Zetec or Duratec engines?

[c42]

It should certainly mate up to a Zetec - the bolt pattern is the same but I think that the Duratec is different. I am sure someone will confirm that one way or the other.

John