manual transmission

[sweatsh0p0wner]

does anybody have or know someone who has a ls with a manual transmission? how do you like it?

[CGGorman]

Yes, I know several guys with manual LS's. They all love them. The one's who had them and moved "up" to V8's in later years all regret having done it.

[ELLJAY]

Originally Posted by CGGorman

Yes, I know several guys with manual LS's. They all love them. The one's who had them and moved "up" to V8's in later years all regret having done it.

My wife and I bought a 2001 LS BECAUSE of the manual transmission. Car had 22,000 km. when we bought. Second gear was already a bit notchy (worn synchro, I guess), but we still enjoy hand rowing, and the way the car responds, esp. around corners, when you dot the gas pedal. Manual tranny = instant response under all circumstances, esp. if you're keeping the motor within the optimum power range. We may be trading up to a 2003, which is (I believe) the last year that offered the manual.

BTW, has anybody tried dropping a Mustang V8 and 5 spd into an LS?

[CGGorman]

Not that I'm aware of. Some of the engineers at Lincoln built a one-off LS that used a Rousch SC 4.6 coupled to a Crown Vic automatic. They built it for last year's Cannonball Run. They were VERY short on time and never got the car dialed in. It had terrible overheating problems and the transmission calibration ended up tearing the unit to pieces by the end of the week. When it was in NEAR top form, it was running faster than the entire class. Unfortunately, it wasn't in top form very much... They plan to run it again this year. With a whole year of tweaking under it's belt and knowing what to expect of the competition, they should do well.

Now that the SCT gang has the flasher available, we should se LOTS more serious mods like this. Until VERY recently, the software has been holding us back. That's not an issue now.

A member of the club (Quik LS, on this board) is starting a supercharger install on his 3.9. He is playing guinea pig as this is the first one in the country that we're aware of. Still too early to post details, but the kit is coming from Boosthead and will be available exclusively thru the club.

The Cannonball car:

[farmrrob]

We have had a manual trans 2002 LS since July 2003. Having driven manual transmissions in every auto we have owned, my wife and I find that the cold start is very finnicky. When first starting out in the morning we find that it stalls easily when letting the clutch out. We have never encountered this problem in any other vehicle (Toyota Corona, 2 VW Rabbits, 84 Fiero, 87 Audi 4000s, 99 VW Beetle, 92 Chevy Pickup), Once it is warmed up it is fine. Nice running smooth car, it was difficult to hear the shift points when we first started driving it. We would end up at 4000rpm saying, I think we need to shift now. As we got used to the tone of the car, it was easy to pick out the shift points.
If you are in snow country make sure you get snow tires, it makes all the difference in handling even in the lightest snow.

[ELLJAY]

Originally Posted by farmrrob

When first starting out in the morning we find that it stalls easily when letting the clutch out. We have never encountered this problem in any other vehicle (Toyota Corona, 2 VW Rabbits, 84 Fiero, 87 Audi 4000s, 99 VW Beetle, 92 Chevy Pickup)... If you are in snow country make sure you get snow tires, it makes all the difference in handling even in the lightest snow.

We had the same stalling problem when letting out the clutch. We assumed that we were just unaccustomed to driving a fairly heavy car with a standard shift. We later discovered that although we weren't stalling anymore, the clutch was actually slipping under load, so we had the clutch replaced under warranty (thank God). I've never replaced a clutch before except on a VW Bug, which I knew required one when I bought it. Farmrob - see if you can have it replaced while under warranty - you don't have long to go!

And I sure hear you about snow tires. Has anybody found a happy combination of STEEL rims and snow/winter tires for the LS?

[farmrrob]

Originally Posted by ELLJAY

And I sure hear you about snow tires. Has anybody found a happy combination of STEEL rims and snow/winter tires for the LS?

ELLJAY
Thanks for the hint on the clutch.
and
I will post my tire combo on the Winterizing Thread.