three questions,

A. how much power can a EA or EJ 5 speed FWD transaxle take?

B. How hard would it be to use a FWD 5 speed transaxle as a rear transaxle?

C. was a LSD ever offered in the FWD manual transaxle?

I have an idea for something with 300-350 HP and RWD with a transaxle an.d a LSD..

A. how much power can a EA or EJ 5 speed FWD transaxle take?

this doesn't sound like a "daily driver"? the more abuse it gets the shorter the life span. it's not like at 200 hp it's fine then at 201 they all blow up. i think 350 being actually used in an EA FWD = disaster. not too sure i'd trust an EJ FWD much more but performance person i am not.

B. How hard would it be to use a FWD 5 speed transaxle as a rear transaxle?

what vehicle and what's going on. in a subaru in stock configuration...i can't imagine it being worth it, it's going to be really tight, the fuel tank is in the way, there's no tunnel and where is the engine going? a ton of custom fabrication and work.

 

if it's for a subaru the easiest way to get RWD is just to remove the front axles from a 4WD trans. for manual trans you'll need an EA locking center diff manual trans or an EJ AWD trans with a fried center diff...meaning it's perma-locked. not sure how long that 4WD will take that kind of power though.

C. was a LSD ever offered in the FWD manual transaxle?

no. the above idea solves this issue....just install any LSD rear diff in place of the existing one.

QUOTE=Uberoo]three questions,

A. how much power can a EA or EJ 5 speed FWD transaxle take?

B. How hard would it be to use a FWD 5 speed transaxle as a rear transaxle?

C. was a LSD ever offered in the FWD manual transaxle?

I have an idea for something with 300-350 HP and RWD with a transaxle an.d a LSD..

 

1) The amount of power a unit of any kind can take depends on a couple of things:

A) how the power "comes on", or the power curve

the applied torque

C) the "loading"

These things are all related.

 

2) Not hard at all, or the hardest part will be devising a shifter, that is able to change gears in a recognizable fashion, and miss all the hardware between you and the transaxle.

 

3) No idea, I'm sure someone has managed to put a LSD in there.

 

You can send 350HP down a 1/2 in shaft, but once you exceed the load carrying capacity of that shaft, it is going to fail. Transmissions operate under the same principal. Ford sold V-8 Mustangs for years, with a transmission rated for 200HP, getting away with it because the car was small, and light (that "loading" thing again). You say 350HP, but unless you are into clutch dumps (@5000-6000rpm), you will NEVER actually see 350hp in the highest load condition of starting from a stop. Let me offer, if you can attach the motor to the transmission without adapting, and choose to operate the unit in a reasonable fashion, you should be ok (EJ motor hooked to a EJ series transmission FWD, or AWD)

My idea is to make a saab 900 RWD.The car will be a daily driver but will also be autocrossed sometimes...power will come from a SAAB B202 16V 2liter turbocharged engine,tuned to 300-350 HP.Orginally I was thinking of just hooking the engine up to a normal RWD transmission,but because of the rather narrow interior that would make it difficult to comfortably access the pedals.So then I decided to use a rear transaxle with a LSD and have a drivestraft/torque tube to transfer power from the engine the the transaxle.I am trying to do it on the cheap...

So in essence, it would be a mid engine car?

 

I have seen quotes of 300 HP can be handled by a stock tranny. I think the weak link is the differential.

 

 

nipper

it would be front engine rwd,but with the transaxle in the back to help with weight balance.So how can the diff be improved?Would somehow fitting a LSD help?

Oh i see, youll be using a driveshaft to connect the front engine/clutch to the rear transaxle. Thats does do a lot for balance.

 

 

nipper

you'll be using a driveshaft to connect the front engine/clutch to the rear transaxle

 

Porsche 944

 

 

Foolishly enough, GM did the same thing in 1961ish Buicks and Pontiacs (Skylark, Tempest), *thinking* Buick aluminum V-8 (Rover) in the front, auto transaxle in the rear. They were odd little cars.

you'll be using a driveshaft to connect the front engine/clutch to the rear transaxle

 

Porsche 944

In this case subaru 944

more like a Saabaru 944

Think 944 porsche.

We have a lot of experience with the P car brand and a stock 944 lsd out of a 944 turbo S will live a long time @ 300-350 hp.

Before the team changed to 914's we had a 944 trans/diff that lasted 2 full seasons @ 300hp+ before being freshed.

All we did at that point was output shaft , bearings and syncros and the syncros were more of a precautionary measure.

Good luck,

 

JT