All Wheel Drive

[CEProt5]

I'm more or less new to the site, but I have been reading here and there and realized that quite often someone like me will come along and ask a question that has been asked 1000 times before. However, I actually did a search for "All Wheel Drive" and I did not get the results I had hoped.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had thought of putting an AWD system on a Protege. I'm sure you have, as a constant reminder is the hands down king of rally racing, the WRX. Do you know if it would be possible to retrofit an AWD system onto a Protege5, and if so, how much would it cost? Truly, it would be for those serious about getting their cars to the peak performance, but it's nice to dabble with. A figure I have heard is anywhere from $10k to $20k. Does this seem about right?

 

[KYREDP5]

Yes it is most likely possibe. There is a member talking w/ corksport (can't remember his name) about doing it. In all likelyhood it can be done, since there is a Japanese AWD Protege, but it has never been done on a US model before.

 

[Ryan]

from what i understand all you need is a split gas tank and a drive shaft, there is alread a spot on the back of the tranny to support the awd.

 

[vlad]

Would'nt adding AWD seriously affect the performance of the pro in a negative way. Correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't overall power be lost now that it's being sent to all 4 wheels?

 

[Aaron]

get someone overseas who is stationed in Japan to purchase this awd protege and ship it back to the states. awd conversion done.

 

[Logan]

from what i understand all you need is a split gas tank and a drive shaft, there is alread a spot on the back of the tranny to support the awd.

You'd still need an AWD transmission.

 

[sundevilMP5]

yeah there's a lot of work that would have to be done to convert the protege into awd...fortunately for us if you're really serious about doing it the p5 is somewhat ready for a awd conversion...what i mean is that there is a version of our car out there that does support awd...so it's not like you have to do a complete tear down of your car to convert it like if you were doing it on say a celica where NO awd ever existed for that car...but it's a matter of tracking down a manual for the japanese version and tracking all the necessary parts which is much more difficult...but as stated before if you have the money yeah it's possible...

as for the power...yes the power loss is much greater for an awd tranny...but if we're talking about converting it in the first place i'd think you would be able to afford a turbo along with the tranny...lol

 

[Kooldino]

Would'nt adding AWD seriously affect the performance of the pro in a negative way. Correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't overall power be lost now that it's being sent to all 4 wheels?

Sure, it will likely dyno at a lower number, but you'll be putting the power you do have at the crank to better use.

 

[JunkPunch]

if you were doing it on say a celica where NO awd ever existed for that car

There was a Celica All-Trac in the late 80's (and early 90's I think).

 

[CEProt5]

so how much are we talking about? anybody know?

 

[Logan]

The best thing to do would be to bring a wrecked AWD protege over from Japan, that way you will have all the necessary parts.
Cost would be whatever the car would cost, I would guess about $2000 for shipping, and around $10-15K for the car.

 

[CEProt5]

and why would there be a power loss? i thought AWD improved your whp?

 

[sundevilMP5]

There was a Celica All-Trac in the late 80's (and early 90's I think).

i was talking about the new celica...so yes i forgot about the older versions...but i think the new celica was a completely new platform...so putting in an awd system would be just as cumbersome...

 

[falkofire]

that old celica was kinda kewl...I looked into those a lil....the turbo awd version...but it jst didn't have enough power/potential for how ugly it looked...so I chose style over speed.......and then I jst added the speed

 

[dmitrik4]

and why would there be a power loss? i thought AWD improved your whp?

NO! why would you think that?

short version: the engine has more stuff to turn, therefore the car loses more power btw the crank and the wheels.

IIRC, the AWD 227hp WRX dynos equal or lower hp at the wheels than a FWD 200hp RSX-S...

 

[dmitrik4]

that old celica was kinda kewl...I looked into those a lil....the turbo awd version...but it jst didn't have enough power/potential for how ugly it looked...so I chose style over speed.......and then I jst added the speed

huh? the All-Trac used the same motor as the MR2 Turbo...2.0L turbo I-4, 200hp/200tq.

serious power potential...the limiting factor on the Celica was the tranny, which started to break down in the AWD cars at about 400hp.

 

[falkofire]

hmm...I dno if I saw the same one then...I didn't look into those that thuroughly but still...???

 

[Ryan]

and why would there be a power loss? i thought AWD improved your whp?

nope!

 

[Ryan]

You'd still need an AWD transmission.

no see thats the thing, we have the correct tranny for it. Its the same tranny they use same model number and everythign they just put a cover were the drive shaft connect on the back side. They were talking about it at a local meet i may be wrong, but thats what they were saying could be bs.

 

[AFaceInTheCrowd]

you would need: center dif, 2 lsds, read dif w/ independent sus.,split gas tank. all this stuff is found on the Mazda Sport 20. contact a salvage yard in japan. over there the laws are stricter when it comes to driving cars. you CANNOT drive a car with moderate damage (ie, no bumper, wrecked fender, rear ended, etc.). because cars are SOOO expensive over there, ppl just opt to trash it. there are many perfectly good car parts over there. just a tip, also ALL engines there are replaced every 50,000 miles. so some jspec engines are in relatively good shape.