Instead of doing a converter I've decided that I'm just going to do a T-56 swap. My trans only has 13,000 original documented miles on it and works perfectly, do you think its worth any money or just as good as scrap?

 

With 13000 original miles I would place it on ebay in and auction local pickup only . Take some picks of the trans and the fluid You might be surprised at what you could get,

 

My personal opinion is to stick with the 60. If a stick is what you want that's cool. But your car being 10 years old and with the low miles, I would want to keep all the original stuff. This way if you ever want to return it back you will have all the parts. That's just me.

 

I actually whole heartedly agree with that statement.

 

Its worth a lot. You can trade your tranny and shifter to somone for their M6, clutch and shifter. Look in the For sale section and wanted to buy section.

 

You can definitely get some money for it. With it being stock, you might have a hard time finding someone with a M6 that wants to trade for it. I'd post it up for sale and see if you get any hits.

On a side note, I too really wanted to swap a 6-speed into my car until I got my Yank ST3500. Now I'm on a Yank PT4400 and I'll never look back. You might give the auto a chance with a better converter. It makes a world of difference. Just some food for thought.

 

I have every part left over from my A4 to M6 swap and i don't plan on selling anything.
BUT selling and shipping isn't as bad as I thought. I just shipped a big block, bare block from FL to CA for $196. All i had to do was strap it to a crate, wrap it, print out a form emailed from the buyer, take it to the shipper, hand them the paper, they take it off my truck and thats it.
Now shipping ten transmissions is a whole different story

 

I would like to give the 60 a chance with a nice converter but my concern is that it wont last long after putting a converter in it plus adjusting my shift points to 6300/6400 to get the most out of my cams powerband and will in turn cost me alot of money to replace it with something better or build it up maybe I am wrong? and maybe I will keep all the parts if I do swap but with being in college its tough to finance the T56 swap without making some money on the existing parts, I have a feeling if I sell the 4l60e Im gonna want to kick my self in the face years down the road if I decide to convert back to stock but I dunno

 

well truthfully the swap to the t56 will do several things , You will have a slower car, Your car will be worth less. for the little bit of money you will get for your auto stuff you will come out on the losing end, If your worried about the trans your best bet would be to buy a built trans and converter, You will come out cheaper and with a faster better car

 

Yea I would say my T56 swap wasn't that great an idea. I had just built up my 4L60E, just a beast sunshell, 3-4 clutches, transgo kit, tuning.
Then I pulled it out and swapped in a T56 out of a stock SS with near the same miles as my car.
It's got the typical third gear problem where it sometimes pops out if I don't jam it in, plus you have to factor in the price of a rear gear swap, A4 cars came with 3.23 or 2.73 gears, M6 cars came with 3.42's. It is more fun to drive.

 

Now you really got me thinking about it....I know the stalled auto will be much nicer at the track but on the street Im afraid I will still be the underdog against everyone with sticks still. You think my trans would last for a couple years if I only raced at the track once or twice a year and tried to minimize how many times I drop the gears for roll racing? eventhough it will have a converter and be shifting upwards of 6400rpm?

 

Thats a hard question to answer depends on its present conditon and how you drive, But I do know whoever told you a stick was fastr than a stalledauto all other things equal was missleadin you . And auto with the right stall is a monster to be contended with, Persoanlly though If I were you Since you were prepared to goto the expense and agravayion of a A4 to M6 swap , I would just get a trans and a converter Put my stocker up for time I might wanna sell the car or something , And then band away on it,

 

Well I think Im being convinced to stay with the 4l60e. I'll put a stall in it and if or when the trans decides to go I'll either buy a built tranny for it if I like having a stalled auto which I probaly will or convert to a t56.

 

That sounds like a plan

 

It is easier to be a fast stab and steer pilot and takes some skill to make an M6 go fast. So if a crappy driver is part of the equation, from a dig, you are correct. However a good M6 driver will be just as competitive. The only time I saw a bone stock F-body (98 -00) run 12s was an M6.

As far as from a roll performance goes, the limited amount of torque multiplication from a big stall does not compensate for the HP eaten by an unlocked converter. The best stalls typically eat 13 - 18 HP unlocked and some go much higher. That's why an A4 needs a tranny cooler. Part of the energy going into a stall creates heat rather than torque. Next the only dynos comparing the same car with only a transmission swap I've seen show a 4L60e eats more HP the T-56. I forgot the exact numbers but it was in the 10 - 25 rwhp range (A4 converter locked for the test). Finally the T-56 gives a gearing advantage from a roll as the A4's great first gear rarely plays a role.

However, you can reject my analysis but there is objective evidence. The best proof of why an M6 wins almost every time is too look at track MPH. Comparable weight and modded M6 cars consistently trap 2 - 4 mph higher than similar A4 cars.

 

FWIW, Edmunds does not show any pricing difference for A4 vs M6 for my 2002 SS vert. For F-bodies I tend to some more interest in M6 cars in the for sale section, but that is unscientific observation.

 

Wont reject it , Just my personal experince is with stalled autos I have only owned one manual and was anoying to drive but then I lived in the big city in heavy trafffic at the time. But for me at least a stalled auto is more fun , But of course as always you will get arguments from both sides of the track . For me its kinda funny because being in the auto bussiness I get alotta calls from guys coming from M6 and or switching back from and M6 swap. But im sure theres and argument on that from the other side too. Maybe the grass is always greener But I dont think the M6 could be calld more durable not if you take into account clutches etc , I think overall up keep would probably end up being about the same there.
As fo the value what I ment is that it came stock as a auto and Unless the swap is really nice many people would not be happy about it in a market

 

You're right about the clutch issue. We pretty much have an entire forum devoted to members arguing whose clutch sucks the least. j/k Clutches are like cams and stalls - you trade off daily driver ease for performance.

Me, I'm ready for an A6 paddle shifted LS3 vette with 2.73s or 3:15s. A no-brainer off the line, sport and regular shift modes, and manual control when I want it.