Frank the creater of the buckaru.

[frank_ster]

So i was pointed here by rome sti.

i have a 05 legacy gt with a 1987 buick 3.8L v6 engine turbo. ( well known from the buick grandnational )

I am a machinist, welder, designer, electrical design, jack of all trades and master of none! .

i have come up with a few improvements for the 5 speed automatic tranny, such as center differential modification to make it much stronger.

i also have in the workings a modification to change the 5 eat to rwd / 4wd. by removing parts of the center differential and connecting the intermediate shaft to the output shaft. and then using the transfer clutch to send power to the front wheels. So one could be drifting and about to loose it flick on the switch and have the front wheels pull your strait again!

i am also going to have my 5 eat controlled with megashift from megasquirt, i already have the stand alone ms3 controller for the engine.

this will bring new ability to the 5 eat. with instant shifts when commanded manually, faster harder shifts. boost dump during shifts and center differential control. as well as settable shift maps for the 5 eat.

lpg conversion, i'm working on milti-port liquid injection of propane. with power improvements over gasoline similar to e 85. with better fuel economy and possibly cheaper driving costs depending on your local cost of propane.

[hks180]

Welcome !!

i always like people do things differently !! i like !!

hmmm would a RB26 fit in the Liberty hahaha ?!?!

[frank_ster]

rb26 i assume is a nissan inline 6 ?

well it would fit but you would probably loose awd. and or have to extend it through your front crashbar !

i chose the v6 because its just as long as a h 6. so it fits with out moving the stock trans mission and still have a street-able car.

[hks180]

yes RB 26 from the GTR ... think that idea came up after too many drinks ...haha

and i think a RWD Liberty would be pretty cool (yes i had that in mind few yrs back) but ... think i'll just keep the car as is ... haha

[frank_ster]

well hence the rwd/ 4wd conversion. i could provide a bolt on kit that would do so that could be installed in about 4 hours.

then you would have a switch that would be 4wd lock, automatic awd, and rwd.

[Rome_BRZ]

Glad you came aboard!

That is some interesting stuff you are working on, didn't realise the extent to which you had looked at modding the 5EAT!

Also, for anyone interested, I've ordered solid bronze centre diff bushes from Frank and hope to receive them sometime next week! Supposedly will be able to handle my launches while insuring against breaking things

[Jack_Keaka]

This is great! I freakin love it!

[frank_ster]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKO2T8ijRAA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVy7lBptL2c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ-IXqfXJHo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMdDSJbMGHQ

[frank_ster]

fyi i engrave rotors also,

same as slotting rotors allows the pads to out-gas and cool.

i can do symbols and letters/ names

[zch91]

Awesome!

[HyRax]

Haha - nice and creative! Love it!

[Boostaddict]

Can you do the 4wd/red mod to the 6 speed box???


By the way..... Your mental and I lllloooooovvvvveee it!!

[dr20t]

Hi frank

Any idea what sort of torque your motor would be putting through the 5eat?

I'm concerned my stock 5eat with your bronze bushings in centre diff will not withstand the estimated 700nm of torque (real torque not a fancy dyno tractive torque number) from my new motor / setup

Any advice greatly appreciated

Mick

[frank_ster]

Can you do the 4wd/red mod to the 6 speed box???


By the way..... Your mental and I lllloooooovvvvveee it!!

yes i think the 6 mt can be modified in the same way. however i'm not sure how launching will work since the oil pump turns when the clutch is released only.
i'm not sure if there is a built in accumulator. this would have an impact of launching where the rear wheels would spin untill pressure builds then the front drive would be engaged shortly after. i'm not sure how this is intended to work on a factory 6mt. i would have to look into it.

[frank_ster]

Hi frank

Any idea what sort of torque your motor would be putting through the 5eat?

I'm concerned my stock 5eat with your bronze bushings in centre diff will not withstand the estimated 700nm of torque (real torque not a fancy dyno tractive torque number) from my new motor / setup

Any advice greatly appreciated

Mick

well mine the engine makes about 850 nm of torque at 20 lbs boost.

but that isn't what the bushings are seeing, the torque converter doubbles that torque, to 1700 nm then is 3.54 gear ratio
this is then 6018 nm torque that is going through that center differential. if you launch at full boost.
i have only launched so far at 15 lbs boost so about 700 nm. that is more than enough to spin all 4 wheels on regular pavement.
if you need more than that .. well i'm not sure of the ultimate strength of the center differential. i could run a few simulations on ansys.