[dkjspark]

Hi, I'm Camaro Honor who loves American muscle cars living in South Korea.
GM sold the Camaro in Korea from 2016 to 2023. However, I only sold 2SS automatic transmission models exclusively. I was so fascinated by the charm of Camaro that I bought the first model in 2016. I bought the facelift model back in 2019 and have the McNorson Supercharger 2650 in operation. I love manual transmissions, but GM has only released automatic transmission models in Korea, so I have no choice but to run an automatic transmission model now. Whenever I watch videos of Camaro fanboys in North America on YouTube, I can't resist the desire to replace them with manual transmissions. If possible, I want to buy a manual transmission in the United States and replace my vehicle's automatic transmission with a manual transmission. In North America, in this case, you can sell the car and buy it again as a manual transmission model, but it's not possible here.
Personally, importing a manual transmission model is a situation that is practically impossible because it costs too much incidental costs such as customs duties and shipping costs. Is there a case where an automatic transmission was replaced with a manual transmission as I wanted? It's possible, but I really want to try some method. It's really hard to maintain an American muscle car here. Not many people drive American cars here. So there are few tuning shops that handle American cars. So I'm trying to decorate my Camaro in the direction I want while watching YouTube.
Currently, I've even built a 525-wheel horsepower equipped with a magnuson 2650 supercharger.
If anyone can tell me the parts and information I need to buy so I can replace the manual transmission I want, please share the information. I want to run a perfect Camaro like you guys. Please help me out

[arpad_m]

First of all, to the forums and I'm super glad you guys in South Korea share our love for the Camaro. You even managed to snag a Maggie 2650 and are enjoying ZL1 power in your 2SS, very nice

As to your main question, while a manual transmission swap isn't impossible, I'd recommend against it, because it's a massive procedure on a car like this. With parts costs, shipping, customs and duties and other taxes (VAT etc.), plus the huge amount of labor, you'll most likely be better off selling your automatic and importing a manual.

At the same time, if you convert your car yourself, given that there probably aren't too many performance shops in Korea that have Camaro experience, you're not going to be able to sell it when the time comes, nobody will want a Frankenstein sports car (sorry, but that's the sad truth). The supercharger you installed is already money wasted in that sense, people won't pay much extra for it, so you won't recoup the cost. Not necessarily a problem, I have a Maggie 2300 and many other upgrades as well (see my signature below) and absolutely love the car after all, but this is still the reality.

Finally, another alternative is to take good care of your automatic, change the fluid regularly, maybe get a remote tune for it, and just enjoy it for what it is. Mine is a very well tuned A8, it works perfectly, and Performance Shift Mode is great fun . Sure, it won't feel exactly like those guys downshifting their Tremec 6060 in the videos, but then they don't have our amazing bang-bang wide open throttle upshifts either

[dkjspark]

Thank you arpad_m. Your sincere advice was really helpful.
That's right. It's going to cost a lot to buy and replace parts only. There are many reasons why I want to replace it with a manual transmission now, but the biggest reason is that I want to make my Camaro 600 to 650 wheel horsepower. However, the GM genuine 10-speed automatic transmission has a lower response torque than the 8-speed transmission, so transmission slip occurs even at 520 wheel horsepower.
I'd like to solve this, but I'm wondering if there's a tuning that users in my situation in the U.S. run.
can you tell me what tunes GM10 speed automatic transmission owners run to get higher wheel horsepower?

[arpad_m]

Aha, I see, so you're having some problems with your A10 and want to solve it.

My transmission was tuned by Ted Jannetty (see jannettyracing.com), and it's just perfect, no slippage or any issues at 730+ wheel hp. He does remote tuning as well, so you may want to give him a call and figure out a solution for you together, as your trans is different and has a lower torque spec than mine.

There are plenty of others, too, even in this forum, who can tune GM transmissions, hopefully you'll get other recommendations in this thread, too.

Good luck with your modding, and have a ton of fun

[2023-SS]

I will add to what he said, many people changed from automatic to standard on the 4th Gen camaros, and they said it would have been cheaper and easier to buy another car

the computer interacts with SO MUCH stuff, it is not simple, esp with the modern software complexity


I would def search for a better tune & maybe upgrade some internals in the automatic, as was recommended

[CHASLT1]

It can be done for a crazy price. My stupid friend changed out a auto for a stick in his beemer back around 1999 and it cost a arm and leg.

[bishopts]

Clutch kit, flywheel, pilot bearing, transmission, brake and Clutch pedals, clutch master cylinder, concentric slave cylinder, clutch fluid line, shifter, upper console and trim, transmission mount, transmission cross member, driveshaft.
Modify the body harness for the clutch pedal switches, modify the engine harness for the reverse lockout and input/output speed sensors, reprogram the pcm , cluster, bcm, ebcm, pscm, steering column module, network buss to understand the tcm has been removed. Its a lot of work. Once the mechanical parts are installed the bare minimum electrical needed would be the clutch pedal start signal so that the engine can crank.

Can be done and should be done are miles apart for this swap.

[CHASLT1]

Stick is the last thing i would want in my insane heavy stop and go.

[bishopts]

Originally Posted by CHASLT1

Stick is the last thing i would want in my insane heavy stop and go.

Its not hard. Pace yourself off the guy in front of you and use 1st gear to accelerate and decelerate. If you've done it long enough you dont even think about it.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by bishopts

Its not hard. Pace yourself off the guy in front of you and use 1st gear to accelerate and decelerate. If you've done it long enough you dont even think about it.

Back in the day, my driving school instructor told me to only use 1st gear to leave from a complete stop, never downshift to it while the car is moving. We even practiced leaving from 2nd, which he said was no problem with any car.

His advice was basically to always use 2nd for any slow cruising, no matter the speed, to maximize the lifetime of the first gear synchronizer that takes a much heavier load than others, I guess because of the gear ratio difference between first and second. The car I learned to drive on (a Ford sedan ) may even have had some sort of first gear lockout that prevented using it unless the car was at a standstill, although I don't remember for sure.

This doesn't invalidate your point, I just find it interesting that you suggest 1st gear and not 2nd.

[bishopts]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

Back in the day, my driving school instructor told me to only use 1st gear to leave from a complete stop, never downshift to it while the car is moving. We even practiced leaving from 2nd, which he said was no problem with any car.

His advice was basically to always use 2nd for any slow cruising, no matter the speed, to maximize the lifetime of the first gear synchronizer that takes a much heavier load than others, I guess because of the gear ratio difference between first and second. The car I learned to drive on (a Ford sedan ) may even have had some sort of first gear lockout that prevented using it unless the car was at a standstill, although I don't remember for sure.

This doesn't invalidate your point, I just find it interesting that you suggest 1st gear and not 2nd.

Only because 2nd won't slow you down like 1st will.

Its also depends on traffic speed. True stop and go traffic will be better in first and it's also very important to pace yourself off the guy in front of you. Most drivers crowd the rear bumpers in an attempt to keep someone from jumping in front of them. If you try and get rid of that mentality then you will have an easier, much less stressful drive.

[bishopts]

The next time you drive a manual transmission try this, when you're coming to a stop sign shift to neutral. Then while not pressing the clutch, hold the shifter against 1st gear. You will feel that it wont go in to gear. It will just be against the synchro. Keep holding it against 1st as your coming to a stop and just before you completely stop it will slip into gear.

That speed is usually less than 1mph and it's pretty much the slowest you can go before the transmission starts dragging the engine rpm so low that it stalls. Having that info helps to understand how slow can you go in traffic before you will need to actually press the clutch to prevent a stall.

I will probably make a separate post about how you shift like that eventually.

[arpad_m]

Ah, that's a great tip, thank you, I'll definitely try it next time

I rarely drive stick anymore, but it only takes a few minutes to get back into the groove each time

[DaveC113]

I helped a friend do a manual swap in a VW, it went pretty well so in some cases it's definitely possible. I am not sure it's possible with a 6th Gen Camaro though. The car can only use 2 electronic modules that don't match your car's VIN, which could be a problem. I think you should consult a tuner to check. Swapping parts is a big project but if the car's electronics can't be reprogrammed successfully it'll be a lot of work only to have a car that won't run. OTOH maybe it's possible to buy an ECU and all of the modules from a wrecked M6 car and swap them into your car. Might need the wiring harness too.