School me on trans axles, Boxster 6 v Cayman 6 Options

[HalfMoon]

Well, I've decided the time has come to change my sbc powered teener to a better trans axle but in doing some research, I'm not clear on a few things...I've pretty much narrowed it down to either a Boxster or Cayman 6 speed.
While I know there are gads and gads of alternatives many of which the reader will no doubt recommend, for a variety of reason I'd rather we stay on point the original post. And while your guess's are fun to read, first hand experience is far more valuable.

First, I gather the Boxster S and Cayman Six speeds are essentially the same the Cayman having a higher gear set ratio.
True? False?

Renegade Hybrids stated the adapter they make for the Boxster is for the S six speed because their opinion is the five speed isn't robust enough to take the torque developed by a v-8.
True? False?

When it comes to the Boxster and the Cayman five speed, I've heard the Passat five speed is essentially the same but quite a bit less expensive.
True? False?

Would a sbc developing 400hp with something like 350 ft Lbs of torque have the ability to grenade the Boxster/Cayman (or Audi if true) five speed box if driven responsibly with frequent track days?
Yes, no?

And forgive this last question, the Audi FWD 01E trans axle six speed, what models used this trans axle and would it, could it, be used in the above noted spec engine without grenading?

Thank you in advance for your input and first hand experience.

[Mike Bellis]

Boxster & Cayman are essentially the same transmission with like a 0.01 difference in final ratio. Different model number too.

There are two styles on Boxster 6 speed. One has the traditional "Audi" shape bellhousing and one is round. The O1E has the traditional Audi style shape.

The O1E was never imported as a FWD transmission. Or the numbers are so low you will never find one in a car. They can be had cheap from Ebay.UK

I got my Boxster 6 speed (GETRAG) from the UK for under $1k shipped.

If I were you, look for an O1E or a TDI tranny from the UK. The TDI has taller gearing for the diesel motor. This would work better than the O1E or my GETRAG 6 speed.

I forget the exact year the round bellhousing is from but you would be buying a Porsche tranny and paying the price for it.

The Passat uses an Audi FWD tranny and so do many of the European TDI vehicles from VW, Audi, Scoda, etc.

A Passat tranny can be had for under $400 and is almost identical to the Boxster 5 speed. Since is is the traditional Audi shape, I bet it could even be fit to a 944 motor.

Thay all use the same or similar hydraulic slave cylinder. I use a Passat slave on both the 5 & 6 speed. Two reasons: Cheaper than the Porsche unit and 034 Motorsport sells a 3AN fitting adapter for it. When I swap trannies, I leave the slave in the car and swap it without bleeding.

[andys]

Boxster & Cayman are essentially the same transmission with like a 0.01 difference in final ratio. Different model number too.

There are two styles on Boxster 6 speed. One has the traditional "Audi" shape bellhousing and one is round. The O1E has the traditional Audi style shape.

The O1E was never imported as a FWD transmission. Or the numbers are so low you will never find one in a car. They can be had cheap from Ebay.UK

I got my Boxster 6 speed (GETRAG) from the UK for under $1k shipped.

If I were you, look for an O1E or a TDI tranny from the UK. The TDI has taller gearing for the diesel motor. This would work better than the O1E or my GETRAG 6 speed.

I forget the exact year the round bellhousing is from but you would be buying a Porsche tranny and paying the price for it.

The Passat uses an Audi FWD tranny and so do many of the European TDI vehicles from VW, Audi, Scoda, etc.

A Passat tranny can be had for under $400 and is almost identical to the Boxster 5 speed. Since is is the traditional Audi shape, I bet it could even be fit to a 944 motor.

Thay all use the same or similar hydraulic slave cylinder. I use a Passat slave on both the 5 & 6 speed. Two reasons: Cheaper than the Porsche unit and 034 Motorsport sells a 3AN fitting adapter for it. When I swap trannies, I leave the slave in the car and swap it without bleeding.

Mike,

I bought my O1E from England some 14 years ago, and it is a TDI. From what I recall, and I used to be very familiar with the 012 and 01E codes, the TDI is an 01E and only differs with the ratios (perhaps this is what you mean?). Not all TDI's have the favorable ratios, and should always be verified against the code number. As a general rule of thumb, any 01E with the 3.89 1st gear, and/or the 4.11 R&P, are the ones to avoid. I have all the codes and ratios somewhere in my files. I'll stand corrected, as this is all from my poor memory.

The 5 speed 012 is reputed to be the weaker transaxle; I have no direct experience with it. The gears are narrower, and there is one less bearing in the countershaft. There are one or two rare codes of the 012 that have a taller R&P ratio. From memory, the code is DUK; don't recall the other.

I like your idea of leaving the slave in the car....it never occurred to me. Yeah, bleeding the slave is difficult. BTW, my slave is from and Audi 90. If I remember correctly, I used it because the hydraulic ratio was a better match for my Wilwood clutch master.

Andys

[HalfMoon]

Boxster & Cayman are essentially the same transmission with like a 0.01 difference in final ratio. Different model number too.

There are two styles on Boxster 6 speed. One has the traditional "Audi" shape bellhousing and one is round. The O1E has the traditional Audi style shape.

The O1E was never imported as a FWD transmission. Or the numbers are so low you will never find one in a car. They can be had cheap from Ebay.UK

I got my Boxster 6 speed (GETRAG) from the UK for under $1k shipped.

If I were you, look for an O1E or a TDI tranny from the UK. The TDI has taller gearing for the diesel motor. This would work better than the O1E or my GETRAG 6 speed.

I forget the exact year the round bellhousing is from but you would be buying a Porsche tranny and paying the price for it.

The Passat uses an Audi FWD tranny and so do many of the European TDI vehicles from VW, Audi, Scoda, etc.

A Passat tranny can be had for under $400 and is almost identical to the Boxster 5 speed. Since is is the traditional Audi shape, I bet it could even be fit to a 944 motor.

Thay all use the same or similar hydraulic slave cylinder. I use a Passat slave on both the 5 & 6 speed. Two reasons: Cheaper than the Porsche unit and 034 Motorsport sells a 3AN fitting adapter for it. When I swap trannies, I leave the slave in the car and swap it without bleeding.

Mike,

I bought my O1E from England some 14 years ago, and it is a TDI. From what I recall, and I used to be very familiar with the 012 and 01E codes, the TDI is an 01E and only differs with the ratios (perhaps this is what you mean?). Not all TDI's have the favorable ratios, and should always be verified against the code number. As a general rule of thumb, any 01E with the 3.89 1st gear, and/or the 4.11 R&P, are the ones to avoid. I have all the codes and ratios somewhere in my files. I'll stand corrected, as this is all from my poor memory.

The 5 speed 012 is reputed to be the weaker transaxle; I have no direct experience with it. The gears are narrower, and there is one less bearing in the countershaft. There are one or two rare codes of the 012 that have a taller R&P ratio. From memory, the code is DUK; don't recall the other.

I like your idea of leaving the slave in the car....it never occurred to me. Yeah, bleeding the slave is difficult. BTW, my slave is from and Audi 90. If I remember correctly, I used it because the hydraulic ratio was a better match for my Wilwood clutch master.

Andys

Man, if you could share that list of codes and ratio's I would be ETERNALLY grateful. I've spent hours looking for a compilation of codes for naught :-(