Greetings from London :-)

[London-16V]

Guten tag my fellow 16v owners

Im sorry i cannot speak German but i read your forum through a translation service and i think you have a fantastic forum!

I own a beautiful 2.5-16v. It is an automatic

I have a few questions please!

Is the automatic gearbox any good or should i get it changed to the getrag gearbox?

If i do decide to get it converted is this possible? Is it a lot of work?
My only fear is loosing originality.

I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on this!

[Henger]

Hello and welcome to the german 16V Forum London-16V

Nice to see, there are so mutch fans of the Cossis around the world
We like to see pics of your car.....realy

Your questions, automatic or not, it s easy to drive automatic in big city like London.

A converted is possible, but you loose the originality!

For a converted, you better use spend car, so you need more parts than only the transmission.

Feel free here to post in English

Gruß Fränk

[London-16V]

Thankyou Frank for the warm welcome
Yes i agree with you its easier to drive in London with an automatic!
But i kind of miss driving a manual car!

Yes, loosing originality is a big thing for me...
Why did Mercedes make the 16V available with automatic transmission as an option!?? I do not understand because it is supposed to be a sports car!

I have contacted a supplier and they are able to supply all the parts needed for a conversion, but im not sure!

I would like to hear more opinions please!

I will post pics soon, i promise!

[Nagilum]

Welcome London-16V!

Even if I wouldn't buy an automatic-16V, I think i won't convert it to a manual shifter.
And I'm sure in a big city like London, an automatic is a nice comfort. Sometimes, if I visit bigger cities, I'm annoyed from shifting every few seconds.

There is already a report about converting a car from automatic to manual transmission. Try the link here!

It's german but if you have a good translater and take a look at the pics, you may get an idea about what to do and how much time/work it takes/needs.

And of course, as the immemorial man (Fränk ), already wrote: show us some pics!

Regards
- Nagi

[London-16V]

Dear Nagi,

Thankyou for the reply, i really appreciate it
Im going to post pics soon i promise!
Thankyou for the link also, i will take a look!

Im not sure what to do!??

[LUDE]

Hello and wellcome!

I drive an automatic car ,too. And I wanted to cange it in a maniual.
But without a other car, whre I could get the needed parts it's to expensiv for me.

I live in a city, and you must now it mutch better than me....
the automatic gearbox is the best thing in a city with so mutch traffic, you can have.

And the automatic is not really slow...
Ok, the manual gearbox is more like sport.
I like my automatic gearbox and now I won`t change it anymore.
You can drive quick with the automatic gearbox, but the differnce is that you have less to do!

I hope you could understand my cogitations and my english!

[Rouven036]

Hello and welcome also from my side!!!

[Maki]

Welcome on Board

Nice to see some more International 16V Fans !

About the automatic gearbox - i think everyone has a different preference !
So at first you have to find out what is yours !
Have you driven a 16V with manuall gearbox ?
If not then do it and decide after that what it is what you want !
If you really want to convert it then there are always ways to do it
A very good link is the one from nagi - i don't know how good your german is but if you have problems feelr free to ask in English !
We have many guys here who can help you

Bye
Maki

btw like Frank stated we want to see some pics from your car -

[Racing]

Zach?


No matter if it´s you or not..i´m just going to join the rest and say welcome

I´m currently in the process of swaping my new valver from auto to mechanical..and i´ll document it as work progress.

I can tell you this much...IMO the auto box totaly KILLS the essence of the valver..but that´s just me.

[Thorsten Stadler]

We´ve done this conversion here several times for different clients and I always found a smile in the face of the owner after he had tried his car with manual transmission. I would change it every time again. As Jesper said, the automatic kills the essence of the car.

[LUDE]

Naja!

[190er-Fighter]

hallo,
as maki said you have to decide what you better like.
in fakt you can have more fun with the manual transmission.
for me the manual transmission is important to get better control of driving my car fast...
maybe i could also like to drive with automatic tramsmission but after changing i am realy happy as 201036 said.

i think the price of your car will not suffer from it

[London-16V]

Thanks for the awesome invite guys!

LUDE: I know what you mean now! Your right, in a city the automatic gearbox is great. Maybe i should just leave it! The automatic is not slow, it all depends upon your driving style! Mercedes must have thought about the automatic gearbox in the 16v before offering it as an option! By the way your English is great!

Rouven036: Thankyou for the warm welcome

Maki: Thankyou for the welcome I have never driven a manual 16v before! I will post pics soon guys!

Racing: Greetings Jesper yes this is Zak Please do document what you do...That will have a huge bearing on what i decide to do! I agree the autobox in many ways strangles the engine. But this is true of many autoboxes i think. I am really looking forward to seeing what kind of results you have with it!

201036: Was the conversion straightforward? Do you have to drill any holes in the bodywork or anything? I guess what im asking is can you tell the car was once an automatic? Again, if i did the conversion i wish i could ask mercedes to change it on the VIN number to make it all legitimate. Im a bit of a perfectionist!

190er-Fighter: Did you have yours converted from an automatic to a manual? If so, do you like it? Silly question, i'm sure you do!

Do you have to change things like ECU's etc? I know for a fact that the Ignition Control Module (EZL) needs to be changed, also perhaps the fuel pump relay aswell...How long does this type of conversion take?

Thankyou everybody!

[Thorsten Stadler]

London-16V: That´s quite easy: Change the flywheel install a clutch, change the pedals, driveshaft and wiring harness from the fuse box to the rear lamps. If you want to do it perfect, change also the ingnition box. Fill the clutch system with brake fluid, put your tools back in the box, clean your garage, turn the key, push the clutch pedal, choose first gear and have fun! It takes about 10-12 hours and you are ready. The most important thing is not to forget the pilot bearing at the rear end of the crankshaft. The most difficult thing is to find all the parts.
Fuel pump relay and ECU stays in the car.

[London-16V]

Hey man, that sounds good...not that difficult then? But like anything in life...preparation is they key! Who did the conversion for you? If you dont mind me asking, how much did it cost?
I really do not trust anyone in London to do it. If i have to travel to the continent i will!
Once the conversion is done are there any problems?
For example the radiator for the automatic is larger and the gearbox cooler pipes are attached to it. I guess you will have to block these holes off?
Also a MAJOR point is my car has cruise control. Can this be kept?
Thankyou!

[Maki]

Hi Zak - no worries everything can be handled !
But again just a word of advice - please do yourself a favour drive a 16V with manual and then decide yourself !
I've seen it so many times that people ask the opinion from others and when they experience it first hand it's like damn that's not what i was looking for or they expected more from it !
I don't focus with that only to the gearbox but to many things !
I've seen peolple who switched from manual to automatic so what you think would be their advice ?
So relax - try to find out if it's that what you really want and then everything can be handled !

Bye
Maki

[London-16V]

Dear Maki!
Really! People have actually switched from a manual getrag to an automatic in a 16v! WOW!
But i agree with you 100% i should really try it out myself!

[wien]

540i with M-package?

btw.: also from my side a kind welcome here in the comunity!

i also think you should try the manual gearbox first. in case of originality i think it doesnt realy matter converting it, because people who doent know that you changed it, dont see it! and in nowerdays they prefer the manual gearbox for the 16v as well!

greets
Feri

[London-16V]

Hi Wien, that was a 530i SPORT. It was OK, but not that fast really...Only 232BHP.
I think that people who buy 16 valves are very picky and particular so they will check the VIN number to see what the car came with from the factory!

[16vau]

Hey and welcome London-16V,

i own a 16v with manual gearbox and a original cruise control. So i think that will function.

gruß Norbert