ok, so about 6 months ago i bought a 05 scion Tc w/ 12k miles and i absolutly love it. at the time i didnt know too much about cars and wasnt to intrested. well all thats changed now and now this thing called the Tc is ruleing my life. lol so recently ive been doing little mods like LEDs inside my vents/cupholders/footwells and my next step is to go to performance... but my car is automatic. ive heard it doest really pay to invest in preformance in an automatic car but idk. i heard that there might be a way to re-scan the computer to change the shift points and get more out of an auto car. anyone heard of this? do you think it might be better to eventually just trade in my car (which i keep it prefect condition) an get maby an 06 or 07 manual Tc or is this crap about automatic cars... someone give me some good news... i dont wanna sell my baby!

 

I have an A/T and dont regret it too much. It does cost more to play with the big boys though. With the factory SC they reflash to change shift points if you get a turbo kit you can use the emanage ultimate or possibly the new AEM F/IC if it does tranny settings, not sure on it though. Also once you get up to about 200 I'd suggest a valvebody upgrade. After say about 250whp or so you should start considering internal upgrades in the tranny to protect it from the heat and stress from the new extreme pressures being placed on it. A tranny cooler is practically a must have on any charging setup IMO. If you want to go all out a new torque converter could be purchased. New hydraulic systems can be purchased too. Depends on what all you want to achieve man As long as you have money its endless to an extent. If your looking for sound and not really the much bump in power then you can do CAI, header, spipe and catback and get some gains. Seriously though, thats what I have on mine. Def. a difference between mine and a stock one b/c I've driven both and I was like holy crap its slow! However, as much as it seems that its nice. A modded out tC like I just mentioned is actually putting out the same whp that stock m/t tC would be putting out. Thats just kinda how it works. The only benefit we get is consistant track times and the ability to hold more boost while shifting b/c the engine isnt going to spin down as much as a m/t would during a shift. Hope this helps, its just my views and opinions others well add theirs.

 

hey mattTc..

sure, anythings possible.. you can make an auto tc go fast - only if you plan on getting it boosted. i used to be automatic. thinking that i was gonna gain a "significant" amount of hp/tq with bolt-ons, i went and got an Intake/Header/Exhaust setup with a pulley on the side.. and with that setup, i still lost to my friends STOCK manual tc past 55mph every time. then i decided to swap my auto tranny to a manual. i was able to get it done for cheap cuz i got hooked up through a friend, so i got really lucky with that. so through my experience through both worlds, auto and stick, i'd definitely trade in my auto for a manual IF you're looking for performance.. but if you decide to just keep the car for show, just keep the auto. it's all up to you and your needs and wants. good luck!

 

yeah cause ive been thinking alot about a trade in to a manual but im just scared that i wont get used to shifting as much, i've been learning on my friends srt-4 and got most of it down but idk still, after a while do u not even relize the extra work? and idk what the value of my trade in would be- 05 Tc great condition w/ 16.5k miles, with tint, the after market rims from scion, and LEDs in my air vents, cup holders, and foot wells... anyone have a guess at what that trade in value would be?

 

well if this is your first manual car, everyone learns the same way, and thats by doing it. Shifting eventually becomes second nature, and imo, is not extra work, even in traffic....in fact, you have much more control with a stick than an auto.....well every little "non stock" part on your car lowers the value when you trade in.....if your exterior is clean with no dents, scrapes etc, you'd probably get 12-13.5k, for an 05 with your mileage.....i had a 06 with all the factory goodies (ground effects kit, spoler, ipod radio, rims, etc) and i actually got 18k for my trade in....this was at a nissan dealership, where the guy thought tCs started at 20k.....i was like, ok 18k sounds, good.....now I make payments on my 350z that are cheaper than the tC ones, lol

 

get a turbo kit- i might be selling mine soon!!

 

A good shiftkit and tune can have you shifting faster than any manual, and a shift kit will give you manual contral over the gears, this would be hard with the gated system the tc uses for the autos though, and i dont know anyone who makes a shift kit for the tc. But a good dyno tune will be able to alter shift points and sync your engine and transmission for best performance.

 

yeah a shift kit would be soo nice, I still havnt found anyone that will make one for us

 

yeah if someone made one im sure alot of people would buy it

 

I have an a/t and love the car, ca not complain at all

 

Autos are slower out the box of course but why worry if ur lookin to upgrade it? Obviously if ur serious about upgrading ur auto's performance then its not exactly gonna be slow anymore unless u think I/H/E is gonna make u fly around...
I'm auto and turbo'd and I'll eat a stock 350z/EVO/G35. Not so slow any more are we???

 

whaaaaaaaaaaaaat, I would like to know your cars specs sir

 

-Greddy 18G custom RCT Performance modified stage 2 Turbo
-Set of (4) RC 440cc injectors
-Set of (4) Denso Iridium 1 step colder plugs gapped at 0.38-0.40
-Greddy E-Manage Blue
-Greddy RS BOV w/ aluminum weld flange
-Stri performance X-line J-Spec boost gauge
-5qts. of GR2 (5w40) turbo/race oil
-Custom pre-made plug-n-play wire harness for E-manage unit
-modified -10AN oil return line bulk head adapter
-modified ECU map
-Greddy Evo 2 exhaust w/out resonator
-Agency Power lightweight crank pulley
-272WHP/272 LB TQ @ 7psi & 5500 RPM's

That's my setup FOR NOW.
In the future I will be adding a boost controller and changing my fuel pump to push around 325 - 350WHP @ 9 or 10psi

 

have you reinforced the auto transmission at all ? I thought that the trans starts going out at those numbers

 

Not yet. I've heard that also but so far I have no problems. I'm not even running a tranny cooler that everybody and their mom told me I'm gonna need. Car never gets hot. I've driven maybe 5k miles on the turbo and its my daily driver I put a few hundred on her every week. I'm sure I'll run into tranny problems sooner or later but I don't beat on the car often. Here in NY u have to watch for potholes and bumps/dips and my cars lowered with a body kit and 18's so I don't want to smash into a bump lol. I open up sometimes on a highway.