AR5 Trans Take Two: The Solstice Solution

limequat

Dissident
Apr 1, 2005
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Detroit
drjonez;1264429 said:
Not a problem....I'm really surprised no one has figured it out.

I assume you're going to turbo it? You know that Wheel to Wheel had several setup with some sweet twin turbo setups, right?

I'd like to turbo in the future after getting it running. The Holset Hx40 is nearly a perfect fit and cheap.

Please PM more info on the Wheel to Wheel setups if you have it. Never heard of it.
 

shaeff

Kurt is FTMFW x2!!!!
Staff member
Super Moderator
Mar 30, 2005
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Displacement. :drool: I can't see any of the pics at work, though. :(
 

Doward

Banned
Jan 11, 2006
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Alachua, FL
Looks a hell of a lot like the LL8 Atlas 4.2L I6 used in the Trailblazers.

Would be a pretty simple affair to bolt the Aisin AR5 to that :)
 

Poodles

I play with fire
Jul 22, 2006
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Fort Worth, TX
doward;1264467 said:
looks a hell of a lot like the ll8 atlas 4.2l i6 used in the trailblazers.

Would be a pretty simple affair to bolt the aisin ar5 to that :)

Winnar!

Tought one as they have ugly engine covers stock, had to find pics of one that's partially stripped down...
 

Orion ZyGarian

Jeff Lange wannabe
Apr 2, 2005
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Sarasota, FLorida
www.suprastore.com
Wow, thats a great idea! I forgot about that engine entirely--which is what everyone else does too. Its actually built VERY well and is like the 1UZ in that its overlooked like crazy as well as overbuilt. I believe GM/GM Performance built a twin turbo one-off "just for kicks" a while back and got an easy 400 HP out of it, if not more.

Oh, and it looks nothing like a BMW engine btw :p BMW engines are tilted 15* towards the exhaust/passenger side, their VANOS looks very different, etc.

Take lots of pictures and document and post all progress. I'm very curious to see how this comes out.
 

zachm611

Beauty In Disguise
Apr 15, 2006
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lol guess deleted after reading more then 3.5L

edit: i know im a little late lol. but how is the progress going?
 

CordiaDOHC

New Member
Jan 14, 2009
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St.louis
So much misinformation in this thread outside of the OP information.

Nothing wrong with an SBC. They are highly reliable and can take a lot of abuse.

TPI yes they came in camaros but its a very good platform to start from. Easy to tune and easy to modify. TPI itself is a good design for a 305 motor but on the 350 motor due to flow makes more torque then chokes off at higher rpm. A swap to a stealthram or ramjet style intakes are a better choice as the displacement increases.

The Blue Devil ZR1 motor is not an LS7 based motor but an LS3 based motor.

The 7M/1j/1.5j/2j/1UZ are all good motors in their own rights. But to each their own and I for one prefer the feel of a V8 but find the toyota interior much nicer so this is of interest to me.

Also from riding around in turbo 7m cars I would honestly call the v8s smoother powerband wise as compared to the turbo cars where it hits and hits pretty hard. Its just 2 different ways to get the same end result. Also an SBC with aluminum heads and intake might actually slightly undercut a 7MGTE in weight. But I dont know for sure. But either way itd be very close.

Also honestly the northstar has a lot of issues and I hope there is a replacement in the works for it soon (Used to work for cadillac).

Sorry if I said anything thats already been covered but it was driving me nuts.
 

CordiaDOHC

New Member
Jan 14, 2009
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St.louis
Orion ZyGarian;1289586 said:
Haha sometimes I just ignore it and move on when theres that many little things to correct. With a thread this old, I definitely let it pass :sarcasm:

Nah im curious about the trans so dont mind bumping it up and keeping it going.
 

gixxer750

2jzget comingsoon!
Mar 30, 2005
2,333
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Mississippi
I have a question. Could the tailhousing be bolted to the supra R154 with the supra output shaft still in it? Are the output shafts the same length?


The reason I ask is because the MKIV supra needs a longer tailhousing, and almost everyone with a fabbed shifter extension has reported it spewing gear oil into the car. How much further back is the solstice trans shifter exactly than the mkIII supra one?
 

limequat

Dissident
Apr 1, 2005
532
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Detroit
gixxer750;1514635 said:
I have a question. Could the tailhousing be bolted to the supra R154 with the supra output shaft still in it? Are the output shafts the same length?

Nope, the shafts and housings don't interchange.

The reason I ask is because the MKIV supra needs a longer tailhousing, and almost everyone with a fabbed shifter extension has reported it spewing gear oil into the car. How much further back is the solstice trans shifter exactly than the mkIII supra one?

You mean like a NA-T with R154 swap? IIRC, the solstice shifter sits 8" back from the stock R154 shifter. I measured and posted earlier in the thread if you want to know for sure. If you just want the shifter, you could do the opposite of what I did: weld the top of the solstice shifter housing to the bottom of the supra shifter housing. A fabricator did this for me for $80.
Then there's the soarer R154 that sits about 4" back from the supra R154. Between the 3 of them, there should be a trans for just about anyone.
 

gixxer750

2jzget comingsoon!
Mar 30, 2005
2,333
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Mississippi
I've got an R154 in my NA-T car. A lot of guys with TT auto's are swapping to them too.

The problem is the shifter extension blows gear oil out on long hard pulls.

The Soarer R154 is near impossible to find. I may look into getting a solstice shifter arm and housing....

You still got the part you cut off of yours and the arm that the shifter goes into?
 

limequat

Dissident
Apr 1, 2005
532
0
0
Detroit
gixxer750;1515352 said:
I've got an R154 in my NA-T car. A lot of guys with TT auto's are swapping to them too.

The problem is the shifter extension blows gear oil out on long hard pulls.

The Soarer R154 is near impossible to find. I may look into getting a solstice shifter arm and housing....

You still got the part you cut off of yours and the arm that the shifter goes into?

Pretty sure I tossed them. I'll double-check for ya tonight.