fiestaturbo.com

[samy66]

just wondering i have a 2l in my mk3 fez. just wanting to change the gearbox for abit better one. just wondering what are the best choices. looking for better top end but still pretty quick off the line. any help would be good.

[happypaul]

frst, rs1800, or that escort box with the lsd are all pretty much the same ratio's as far as im aware. so good top end, good acceleration.

id go for more acceleration unless you wanna take it on tracks....

[Tweek]

A better top end helps stop it chewing petrol on the motorways too I assume

[Ollybee]

Best option is ERST as it has an LSD. Then the FRST and RS1800 and there is of course the diesel box as well which I can say from experience gives massive fuel economy on long runs!

[happypaul]

Best option is ERST as it has an LSD. Then the FRST and RS1800 and there is of course the diesel box as well which I can say from experience gives massive fuel economy on long runs!

But the diesel box is slow to accelerate?

[Ollybee]

With the power of the 2.0l there is very little difference. They will still do 0-60 in 8 secs. I terms of economy the one I did will do 350 miles on £30. 120 mph is at around 4500 rpm and obviously it will rev more. Although it is a diesel box the ratio are not greatly different to notice the increase in acceleration time unless you have it against a clock but they make all the different on high speed runs and also in the pocket when you initially buy the box!

[Si_2000]

is it the 1.8TD gear box that fits. will all of the gearboxes just fit or is there modification to do to drivshafts mounts etc? thanks, tom

[Ollybee]

The mk3 never came as a TD.

The diesel box is a direct replacement.

[samy66]

cheers people. think i am going to go down the diesel box.i use my car every day so the fuel is the big issue. is there a specific diesel one. i have a lsd from a erst so going to rebuild the box and put it in the wid it.

[Ollybee]

Diesel box with LSD. Best of both worlds, imo. Just make sure it's not from a mk4 as I believe they have a hydraulic clutch and that will present you with more problems. The box I used on a mate's was from YRN which is a P reg soak up model MK3.5.

[Tweek]

I'm very interested to know how much (if at all) slower the disel box is on acceleration. This could be the answer to my 27mpg problem

[Ollybee]

It's hardly noticeable mate.

[Tweek]

It's hardly noticeable mate.

Fancy taking it on the 0-60 run at Ford Fair?

I remember it was an right pain in the ass to swap my gearbox last time so don't really want to do it again unless super awesome

[Ollybee]

new-body-shell-rebuild-thread-vt158867/?hilit=bodyshell

Talk to this guy, he was supposed to have got it MOT'd last week, but I've not spoken to him for a week or so. He did say that he wanted to take it Ford Fair though.

[Tweek]

Which guy? You've just linked me your thread lol.

[Ollybee]

I'll see if I can get internetphobic chap who own s the car to join up then you can get him to explain exactly what it's like. There was another user on here who had done the conversion (VUK), maybe try contacting them as well.

[Tweek]

Excellent, research begineth.

[happypaul]

Been out tonight...

Mates 2.0ltr with diesel box

and my RS1800

both with basically the same power as it were.. dont get techincal on all this lol

and i wasnt really pulling away from him much..
and he says 70mph on motorway is sitting at just under 2,500 revs.. where as mine is at just under 3,500revs

I am tempted to get a diesel box and fit an LSD in it

[Oranoco]

The 2 litre should have killed your RS1800. I would put money on it being the naff gearing on the diesel box holding things back. Diesel box is a waste of time as the gearing just isn't suited to performance driving.

[happypaul]

The 2 litre should have killed your RS1800. I would put money on it being the naff gearing on the diesel box holding things back. Diesel box is a waste of time as the gearing just isn't suited to performance driving.

yeah ok... i'll just ignore that as it sounds like bs like half the stuff i see posted on here.


all i am saying is it wasnt as quick as my box but still alright.. so if people want econemy as well as performance then id go for using a diesel 5th in another box for long motorway runs, makes sence to me.

[Oranoco]

So you'll ignore it and dissmiss it as BS as I've not said what you wanted to hear?

The 2 litre makes more power and more importantly more torque than the 130PS 1.8. That's not BS it's fact. The 2 litre should have wiped you off the road, the fact it didn't, and the fact I know the diesel boxes ratios aren't suited to performance driving lead me to beleive that the rubbish choice in gearbox is the reason he didn't. Even the bigger 2 litre makes less torque than a stock RS Turbo and if you put a diesel box in one of those you completetly kill it, to be fair if you put them in a modded one you still kill it's performance.

What do I know though? I've only been playing with these cars for the last 14 years and have a good friend who owns and runs a succesfull Ford tuning company. You seem to know best though fella so go for your life and fit the wrong box as I won't lose sleep over it.

[Tweek]

Well Paul's RS is pushing out the same BHP as a 2 litre so that helps him. Only 28lb/ft torque less than mine too. RS1800 engines seem to rev more freely than 2 litres too.

[Ollybee]

if you put a diesel box in one of those you completetly kill it

That is a complete over-reaction, as already said it does dull the acceleration "slightly", but slightly is the word. With the one that we fitted it knocked about half a second off the 0-60 time putting it at just under 8 secs. The bonus was the massive hike in economy and a lowering of the rev's giving a more refined drive. I think the huge gains in these areas more than make up for a car's decrease in performance that could only really be noticed by lazer equipment setup down a quarter mile track. You have said this countless times that I have seen on here, however I am in cars with these setups daily and drive both of them regularly and I really do question your judgment here, yes it's not the ideal setup for a track a car, but we car talking about a sensible road car. Also having considered all of these reasons the fact that the diesel box is so much cheaper than next best option (ERST) then it wins hands down, every time, for this application.

[hb69]

I stand by the use of a cvh 2i box, nice short ratios, and returned nearly 40mpg alot of the time.

[happypaul]

Maybe I was wrong using the term BS.

But as said, the 1.8 (of mine) and a 2.0ltr engine have only the slight difference in torque. And alot of 2.0ltrs I have seen have been putting down less power than my engine.

The reason maybe why I said it was BS is because the diesel box doesnt lose that much.. as Ollybee has stated anyway.


I was only telling people the difference I had found. And therefore why I am thinking of using a 5th gear out of a deisel box as I use mine as a daily drive.

[Oranoco]

I'm just trying to give the best advise I can based on my experience.

In my opinion and experience the diesel box is terrible and I will continue to advise people against their use. Ollybee thinks otherwise and I'm sure will advise in their favour. I won't argue his opinion is wrong, it's merely different to my own. I think on many topics we have a similar opinion on things and I know I have backed his coments on threads in the past, just this one topic we have a difference of opinion on. Guess that's life, but we can't agree on everything.

I was having a worse day than usual at the office when I replied which may have had something to do with the grumpy nature of my initial post. Hell what's the point in being old if I can't be grumpy now and then