Bman427

iTrader: (1)

I have my car torn apart and I am considering converting it to rwd only. Mostly for weight savings and to free up room for FI. Any idea what exactly needs to be done?

- Does the harness and ECM need to be changed?
- Front suspension and wheel bearings
- I have the subframe out and wanted to switch to the aluminum rwd cradle anyway
- rwd upper oil pan
mu
Some will say just buy a rwd car. To late for that, I have this car torn apart already. I'm mostly concerned with the ECM/TCM and would prefer I don't have the AWD light constantly lit up..lol

Appreciate any advice!! Thanks

Bman427

iTrader: (1)

Guessing the heavy awd cradle, front diff, Front DS and T case weighs a ton....maybe 150 pounds?

slartibartfast

iTrader: (7)

Put the car back together and sell it, then buy a RWD model. Unless you REALLY like a challenge.

Joyryde

iTrader: (1)

You could definitely do it if you find a donor RWD model from the junkyard to use the ECM, and the wiring harness.

Bman427

iTrader: (1)

Well I took the motor, transmission and subframe out by myself in a one car garage on jack stands. I already have the harness out of the car. It cant be that hard...Engine cradle, LCA's, spindles(maybe), upper oil pan, wire harness and ecu. Need to figure out how to delete the transfer case.

Im changing the valve body so I can have the TCM programmed to the new ecu.

What am I missing?

takemorepills

iTrader: (1)

You need the keys that come with the ECU, otherwise the car won't start.

I'm pretty sure you could just use the current ECU and put black tape over the AWD warning light. Plenty of people have played around with pulling the AWD fuse to make the car RWD, doesn't seem to harm the car at all. And you are definitely going to need an LSD rear diff. Boosted traction is going to suck with a RWD car. I find it odd that you haven't elected to also make it a 6MT......the 7AT requires a bit of work to make it durable against turbo torque.

My opinion though.... I specifically bought my AWD because my last modified car had traction trouble constantly, and I hated "pedaling" it. I bought my AWD with the intention of boosting it and not needing to "pedal" it.

If I were you, keep the ECU you have, physically convert over to RWD, and see how it runs. I bet it will run fine, otherwise you'll run into prox-key issues.

Bman427

iTrader: (1)

Great info, thank you! Keeping it awd makes a front mount kit extremely hard. Not sure anyone even offers a kit for an awd sedan?
There are ways to improve traction but wont be an option for most owners. Stock springs, removing the front sway bar and running a 16" tire will make a big difference in traction, especially with a good drag radial. I'm a drag racer so I'm not into the big wheels, brakes and stiff suspension. Although I need to figure out a way to lower the frony a little. My last car (LS1 camaro) ran 9.70 @ 140 on a 10" drag radial. I'll figure out a way to make a rwd hook up a little bit.

I understand the transmission concern and I have been extensively researching it. I found a local shop that is going to build my transmission and I have talked in length on what I need it to handle. This guy said he would warranty it for 2 years / 24k miles, he said it will easily handle the hp/tq. Not to mention he is charging me a fraction of what the other known shops charge. Billet input shaft, new valve body w/tuning and custim converter built upgrading to a triple clutch to achieve the stall speed I'm looking for. I've been around awhile and I can tell this guy knows his **** He said there are alot of scam companies out there. They claim to replace parts and instead just use stock parts. Then tell you if you open the transmission it will void the warranty. So nobody ever knows what's inside. This guy is sending me a detailed quote covering every single upgrade he is making, my gut tells me he is legit. Not to mention he is going to assist throughout the running.

I'm not accusing the other companies of scam jobs, but after doing alot of research it seems no one has been able to keep one together north of 450 tq. So I'm giving this guy a shot If it works the setup will smoke the m6 setups, in a straight line anyway

Bman427

iTrader: (1)

Anyone know if I can delete the transfer case? Maybe change tail shafts and drive shaft? I need to look into this more..

Bman427

iTrader: (1)

Thia will be a daily driver, I'll run the front sway bar on tge street with 17" wheels. If/when I race I'll delete tge sway bar and swap wheels

slartibartfast

iTrader: (7)

Fun fact: you don't have remove the sway bar, just unhook the sway bar end links and tape or zip-tie them to the bar. Unless you are serious about weight loss.

Joyryde

iTrader: (1)

The older Skyline community might be able to answer the transfer case problems, since there have been little GTS-4s converted to RWD, and they have the same ATESSA AWD system as the ones on the Gs. I'm rooting for you to complete this project.

Bman427

iTrader: (1)

I havent read about a FI setup yet that has extensive port work done. Curious to see what the gains are, if any. I'm probably 4-5 months from finishing the build. Excited to work with this guy on the transmission build. If what he claims is true, 20-22 psi could put down a monster number! Hoping it makes 370-380 to the tire NA

Backing the compression down to 10-1 in case I really want to lean on it

AWilson136

[QUOTE=Bman427;4262344]
can anyone tell me if the rear subframe from a rwd g will fit the g37x awd

BULL

Sooooo.

RWD parts swapping will work.

You'll need a RWD transmission, you can remove power from the T case however this will lead to failure over time which is not recommended if you're planning to build the trans. This is the reason folks Swap to VR transmissions, the swap is something you yourself can manage and receive enough OEM peace of mind since no one has blown their swapped ones. You'll need to ditch the AWD Vbody/TCM as well.

RWD front cradle will work.

RWD rear subframe will work. Your AWD will work however you'll need to swap the sway bar and find something to do with the OPEN diff.

You'll need to make a desicion on the front suspension. The AWD shocks bolt differently to the knuckle so either run an axle hub with nut to hold the wheel bearing together or swap everything to RWD. For your goal you need to be able to have decent suspension and with the amount wo weight savings you'll get X springs might end up being too stiff for you.

You will always get the AWD light unless you swap your BCM to a RWD one and it's possible the ABS might freak out or not. Conversions will ALWAYS trip the ABS however not many do the BCM switch.
By finding a RWD ECM/BCM/KEY FOB bundle you can skip getting your ECM flashed however it will still need to be flashed for once you start making serious power.

Harness area (white connector ) has all the wires for the trans. Wires need to be in the same spot as the RWD ones or it wont shift properly. It's a huge posibility you might need a RWD dash harness if you cant figure it out.

Upper oil pan

That's all I can think of, good luck with the build it will surely be a challenging one.

iCrap

iTrader: (8)

Looks like OP has given up and parted and sold the car. has anyone actually done the swap successfully?