Paddle shift in a Seven? What would you build?

My friend John bought a Seven-ish car, specifically a used Brunton Stalker, to use for track days.  It's a fun car and we have it sorted out reasonably well by now, but....

1.. Need more power.  (Who doesn't?)  The car has the cast iron GM V6 lump in it now.  It runs and it is reliable and it will go sideways...  but...

2..  John would like to focus more on driving and worry less about shifting.  Actually he put it much more crudely than that, but I'm being polite.   Something about being an F1 star except he can't heel-n-toe.  Except the F1 guys don't do that anymore either...  Anyway...  We've both driven a BMW M3 with paddle-shifted DCT and thought "this thing would be great on the track".

So I've spent some time thinking about different engine and transmission options... but I don't want to stifle your creativity by telling you my boring ideas.  What would you build?  Into the existing chassis?

In reply to ekauppi7 :

I think you probably already listed the top pick....an M3 engine/trans sounds perfect  :)

I was going to suggest a bike engine and trans with a paddle shift setup but I think the Brunton Stalker is pretty heavy for a bike engine. So yes M3 engine/trans sounds perfect. Power and parts availability are good. Not some funky Maserati thing that would be impossible to repair and also not some antiquated setup like the Toyota mr2 Spyder smt. Seems ideal. Would it fit??

Yeah the fit is the question.  You can get a V6 or a V8 into a Stalker but I'm not sure about that long (and very sweet) straight six.  Some of it would be pretty far forward, not so great for weight distribution.

When it was just "more power" I was suggesting Nissan VQ with matching manual trans.  And it  can be gotten from a wrecked 300zx  or 350z with the auto and converted to paddle shift...  but it's still a torque converter slushbox.  I know folks say that with a shift kit and the right torque converter they can be great... but it's outside of my experience.

Yeah i think the car is too big for a bike engine.  It would be a step backwards.  And even if the power was there it would be hard on the bike trans.

Googling I didn't find very many RWD not-transaxle DCT's.  What else...?

Which V6?  GM made quite a few.  If it's one of the 90 degree sixes, I'd think about a 6L80 automatic.  If it's the Chevy 60 degree, the options are more limited but there are 4L60s that can bolt in.

Either one can be set up to be controlled 100% manually.

I doubt they have an application that will work with your transmission, but I recently saw an interesting sequential shifter for manual transmissions on Lucky Costa's YouTube channel.  Installation:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFTgosB69lY  Test run after installation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRdG200NdyI 

It's made by an Australian company:  https://www.s1sequential.com

Mx5 engine and trans from an auto NC, add a supercharger for the power.

The 6-speed Auto has decent gearing and flappy paddles, add a good cooler and it should be great on track.  It blips the throttle on downshift and provides decent engine braking like a manual could.

An ND drivetrain would be a bit better from a dynamics standpoint, but more expensive and integration for either could be tricky, but then the BMW solution may not be terribly easy to integrate either.

Worth a test drive in any case.

Why shift at all? Drop in a 'glide and a powerplant with a broad torque curve.

Learn to berkeleying shift.

Taking your VQ idea a bit further, what about a 370Z powerplant and keep the rev-matching capabilities? It does the heel and to for you....just clutch in and jam it into the gear you want. You can pop the clutch and it will be totally smooth.

Paddle shift your GM trans

Several people have put various forms of the LS V8 engines in Stalkers however I don’t think there is room for a automatic transmission. There is barely enough room for the 5 or 6 speed manuals. The foot boxes are already very narrow. I think any straight six would be too long as well as too tall. 

I compete against several V8 powered Brunton Stalkers in EMod and they are amazing, buy or build one of those.  The Mineharts out of Florida were selling a couple of used ones a while back.

Wasn't there a thread on here where the poster used some hydraulic or pneumatic linear actuators to run a shifter and clutch? Seemed like a lot of effort to me, but still really cool.

white_fly said:

Learn to berkeleying shift.

Says someone with two working legs and arms.

Well not a paddle shift but how about a Jericho, Lenco or one of the other clutch less shifting manual gear boxes.

loosecannon said:

I compete against several V8 powered Brunton Stalkers in EMod and they are amazing, buy or build one of those.  The Mineharts out of Florida were selling a couple of used ones a while back.

Yep, the few autocrosses we did with the Mumpkin with the Dixie region the orange stalker with an auto/V8 always showed. Very fast.

buzzboy said:

Why shift at all? Drop in a 'glide and a powerplant with a broad torque curve.

This is exactly my thought. A bike engine will mean frequent shifting and worrying about staying in the power band. The V8 option in a Stalker is a proven winner, and I think that those guys are mainly shifting into 3rd and leaving it alone.

In reply to Kreb :

How does a power glide handle street driving? If it would be a mostly track sometimes cruiser car? 

Seeing as the Brunton Stalker is the topic of this thread it should be mentioned Dennis Brunton who built and developed the original Stalker passed away I believe on 1/18/19. He was a great guy, witty and colorful character. I’m sure he would be questioning why anyone would want to change his wonderful little car.

In reply to Somebeach :

A powerglide could be made to work for autocross, but I wouldn't be inclined to use it on a road course.  

Corvair powerglides do well in autocross. My dad won a couple of ice dice championships with a 95 hp corvair powerglide. A regular full size aluminum powerglide only loses about 18 hp. A powerglide will handle street driving just fine,millions of Chevrolet’s,Canadain pontiacs,Holden’s,opels,Vauxhalls were built with them. Plus powerglides work great with lightweight cars.

I was just reading that the newer Goldwings come with a DCT. That gives you a lightweight 1833cc flat 6, ~100hp and a DCT. Just need a smaller car for it.

buzzboy said:

I was just reading that the newer Goldwings come with a DCT. That gives you a lightweight 1833cc flat 6, ~100hp and a DCT. Just need a smaller car for it.

all of that sounds great except the 100 hp out of a 1.8l part. I thought honda was famous for getting 100 hp PER LITER out of their car engines? what gives on the goldwing?

ekauppi7 said:

Googling I didn't find very many RWD not-transaxle DCT's.  What else...?

Every DCT in a BMW hooks directly to the V8 or I6 in front of it. 

There is a guy currently swapping one into a Miata. But they are HEAVY, complicated transmissions for which Getrag doesn't sell maintenance/replacement parts. 

So I don't think it makes for a good option.