How important is a G50 Transmission in a 3.2 911

[Targa Me]

Originally Posted by javadog

This thread is 6 years old. You guys can probably quit giving advice now.

JR

There are newbies coming on-board all the time, reading this thread is fresh to them.

Besides, Coupe vs Targa vs Cab; Dino vs Syn; 915 vs G50... some topics just never get old.

[javadog]

Yeah, but half of them don't notice that they are talking to deaf ears, or is it blind eyes, therefore I feel the need to give them a wake-up.

Personally, I'd like some new threads once in a while, instead of the same old useless crap, over and over.

JR

[Matt Monson]

Originally Posted by javadog

Yeah, but half of them don't notice that they are talking to deaf ears, or is it blind eyes, therefore I feel the need to give them a wake-up.

Personally, I'd like some new threads once in a while, instead of the same old useless crap, over and over.

JR

Yep. People are lazy. They read the first post or two on a bumped old thread and hit quick reply.

I moderate on another board. If someone necromances an old thread I lock it.

[gliding_serpent]

This is a beef i have with forums.

Some folks get mad if you don't search, some get mad if you have questions and revive an old thread after you searchec.

Some forums dont want you starting a new thread on old topics covered in another thread... So you get 50 page threads filled with people chatting mostly off topic. There is diamond info in the rough... But if you can't find it sifting through 50 pages of mostly crap... You get blasted for starting a new thread.

Fwiw pelican is an excellent forum. More polite, and far better informed than many. The 2002faq is great also, but smaller. Mazdaspeed forum... Full of knuckle heads. Painful place to go.

[tomphot]

Originally Posted by gliding_serpent

This is a beef i have with forums.

Some folks get mad if you don't search, some get mad if you have questions and revive an old thread after you searchec.

Some forums dont want you starting a new thread on old topics covered in another thread... So you get 50 page threads filled with people chatting mostly off topic. There is diamond info in the rough... But if you can't find it sifting through 50 pages of mostly crap... You get blasted for starting a new thread.

Fwiw pelican is an excellent forum. More polite, and far better informed than many. The 2002faq is great also, but smaller. Mazdaspeed forum... Full of knuckle heads. Painful place to go.

Very well said - you can't please everyone.
One of my biggest beefs are those huge merged threads where you can't find anything.

[Matt Monson]

I hate the "did you search?" Nazis. I have an assortment of excellent threads bookmarked. If someone starts a new thread that is covered in one of those threads I link it. But I will never ask if you searched. Be helpful or don't post is my motto.

And yeah, I'm guilty of hijacking. I think it's part of how we get to know each other. If you got ten guys sitting around a table at the bar, there will always be sure conversations to whatever is central. Staying 100% on topic is sometimes unnatural.

[gliding_serpent]

I have turned my build thread into my personal info resource based on my research. I either summarize what i have learned, or link to the good threads/posts.

Back on topic... A well maintained or rebuilt 915 is a great box... Light too. The g50 synchros make the 915 synchro bands look almost Stoneage. However, the ring and pinion of the g50 is a weak point from what i understand.

[sc_rufctr]

I've owned both and my 78SC is still with me. (I had a Carrera 2 that was sold during my divorce)

To me... Condition above all else matter the most. A good 915 is a joy to use but it doesn't suffer fools.
The G50 is heavier and don't even ask what they cost to rebuild. 915 parts seem cheap in comparison.

But a good G50 is robust and shifts like a Honda. Beautiful and precise. It really is hard to get it wrong.

So the choice is up to you but CONDITION is everything. IMO You're better off spending twice the money and a good car. Leave the "passed around" ones for someone else.

[Matt Monson]

Originally Posted by gliding_serpent

However, the ring and pinion of the g50 is a weak point from what i understand.

I've seen that a few times on this board. I don't know where that came from. We've been putting them against Porsche turbo engines and in LS powered kit cars like the Ultima and the FF GTM Mulsanne for decades. It's a very robust piece and can take several hundred horsepower and not bat an eye.

[Quicksilver]

Originally Posted by Tippy

Assume you're being facetious, no?

RWebb isn't on here anymore (Post was in 2009) but his comment has some merit.

Increasing performance means that missing the mark as an operator has a much higher chance of making a noticeable failure. All cars are compromises so if you want one thing you are giving up another. Handling is the obvious example. To get that last 10% in cornering you give up comfort (and kidneys!) and if you miss use it instead of hearing a little tire howl you spin off into the tulies.

In the case of a transmission you have a number of ways you can judge it. You can look at power transmission ability, reliability, ability to absorb punishment, weight, ease of operation and feel.
To correctly use a 915 you must know HOW to use it and be able to contain impatient urges. If you move your hand too fast you are damaging it and if repeated it will fail at some point. If you contain yourself it will work for a long time.
A G50 obviously has a much higher ability to handle torque but that isn't an issue for most non turbo cars. The other thing is the G50 has a much different type of syncro that will absorb more ham fisted handling and will shift faster when forced. The down side of it is that it coddled the driver through aggressive misuse by masking all problems until the syncros finally wear out. There is still an advantage here in that it took much longer for the problem to be noticeable by the user.
The best solution is to shift with your FINGERS instead of using a FIST. Feel the syncros and the engagement instead of trying to ram it in a bit faster.

---

Oh and the Lexass bit is completely accurate. You never know what is going on in a Lexus you see on the road (especially a white one) but odds are it won't be able to pass a Prius. (I really think Lexus built the LFA to prove two things: 1) It is possible to make a Lexus move quickly. And 2) The reason they are slow isn't the car. It is the drivers that pick them.)

[Geary]

Originally Posted by Quicksilver

The best solution is to shift with your FINGERS instead of using a FIST. Feel the syncros and the engagement instead of trying to ram it in a bit faster.

Hey, that's my line .. "It's in the wrist, not in the fist" ;^)

[Nico911]

I had a 1985 Carrera up to two months ago. I didn't have a good occasion to get a 1987-88-89 Carrera but I would have prefer so. The G50 makes 3.2 Carrera better daily drivers to me.

You should get the G50 (if the whole car is ok, of course), no question about it. All these ''915 being harder to drive so it suits good drivers better'' kinda stuff is rubbish, in my opinion.

[Charles Freeborn]

I think the g50 is also somewhere around 50lbs heavier too.