| to the Z32/VG30 platform. Here are the problems that keep it from getting off the ground: 1) I personally don't want a manual trans in my car so I currently cannot justify investing my $$$ for all the development hard parts needed (transmission, clutch, flywheel, etc.). 2) A standard T-56 isn't much better than the Z's five-speed with respect to torque capability. It can be built to handle higher loads but that costs extra money (see #5 below). 3) Starter mounting is best accomplished by using a stock bellhousing from a TT automatic trans. A caveat here is that the TT flywheel will not fit into the automatic bellhousing, necessitating the use of a N/A flywheel which can't use the TT clutch... maybe the N/A flywheels could be re-drilled to accept a TT clutch of possibly the bell could be machined to accept the TT flywheel and then use a spacer on the starter mount. 4) Speedometer function - this isn't impossible to do, but I think it would be nice to have. 5) A transmission capable of handling 600+ ft-lbs costs more money than most are willing to spend. Everyone that I've talked to, simply does not want to pay the price for a better transmission let alone the cost of the conversion and this is the MAIN reason I really don't want to invest my $$$ into developing this -- not until there is a market willing to pay for it that is.
In my opinion, the T-56 would be the most expensive way to go, with little gain in durability.
The Richmond design offers so many more options since other companies have taken the same case and built their own bullet-proof gears and shift mechanisms (G-Force, Liberty). It should also be mentioned that there are many gear ratios available for this platform, what you have used for your analysis is what comes in an off-the-shelf ROD.
Nice spreadsheet analysis, I would like to see the Richmond ROD with stock TT gearing.
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