Albins AGB10-SS6

[Simon]

Im considering buying a car which has this gearbox and associated parts with it (brand new and not fitted) but I've never heard of this manufacturer before.
Apart from the stratospheric price, is there anything else to know about it?
To be honest, it seems to be waaaaay more than I need so I may sell it and go with a different 'box.
Any advice?
Thanks

Simon

 

[Scott]

Simon,

Albins makes really nice gearboxes. I think they got their start with Australian V8 supercars and expanded into off-road, endurance etc. I'm building a high-HP SL-C and I'm swapping my Ricardo out for anAlbins ST6-M. Agile Automotive uses them in their Aeros and endurance SL-Cs. I'm not sure of all of the differences between the AGB10-SS6 and the ST6-M, but I think the AGB is heavier and has helical gears where as the ST6's gears are straight cut. The ST6 has a bunch of features that I discussed in this post. I'm not sure what type of shifting mechanism the AGB has, but the also has a roller bearer selector mechanism as described in this post.

 

[Tom]

I have no experience with Albins, but they certainly have a good reputation. Bigger question - is it sequential shift/dog box? If so, best reserved for track use only.

 

[Simon]

Sequential but helical gears

 

[Scott]

Simon, I just looked at their site and the AGB has to two options, Full synchromesh or Full Dog Engagement. You shift the former like a "normal" car and the later with fairly violent shifts. You'll damage one by driving it like the other -- you don't want to drive a full synchromesh violently and you don't want to drive a dog box gently. For this reason, and to Tom's point, the dog box is usually only used on the track. I've been driving stick for my whole life and the first time I drove a dog box was a rude awakening!

I'm a nut so I'm using a dog box on the street. That said, no way would I want to manually shift it on the street so the engine and the air shift servo will be managed via MoTeC. Since the ECU perfectly matches the revs so there is no need to blip the throttle when downshifting and the clutch is only used when going from neutral to first or neutral to reverse. I'll have a street tune and a race tune with the former retarding engine timing to less violent shifts. I'm also going with a triple carbon clutch because they're more slipable and less binary.

I assume that like the ST6 there is a mechanical lockout for neutral and reverse. You don't want to accenditaly shift it into neutral and overrev the engine or cause a real mess by inadvertaly shifting it into reverse! So, if it's like the ST6 and you'll either need to hold the clutch in or pull a lever to get it into neutral. Since I have an aftermarket ECU, I'll defeat the mechanical safety and configure the ECU to only shift into neutral or reverse if the correct button is held on the steering wheel.

So the big question is if you have dog box.

 

[Ryan L]

Albins are located about an hour west of Melbourne where i am, in a town called Ballarat. From what i understand, they actually started making various gear sets for different forms of motorsport, primarily circuit, drag and of course off road and buggy racing. Ballarat is fairly hilly and rough so charging around the bush up there is a good testing ground for this sort of stuff. They have been doing this for at least the last 15 years that i know of. obviously making things like VW beetle and Kombi box upgrades, then stepping up to Porsche boxes and then finally into making their own boxes. A few years ago they got the initial contract to supply the V8 Supercars race series with the rear mounted trans-axle for the car of the future project. This was a contract to supply the whole grid of cars with a bespoke control gear box. Series is powered by v8 push rod engines predominantly, in the region of 600Hp, normally aspirated. around a 10" slick on the rear, car weight is probably around the 1500kg mark, they are big full size 4dr sedans, or they were at the time. circuit race series, turning right and left, tarmac track with some rough curbs and typically a bit of contact.

So based on the above, you can assume that Albins know how to make a decent gearbox.

MacG racing in the UK have been using one in their Ultima race car

 

[Rod Brace]

I have a Holinger MFT sequential 6 speed I'm going to drive on the street (paddle shifted) they have been around for years.

 

[Zeke]

Im considering buying a car which has this gearbox and associated parts with it (brand new and not fitted) but I've never heard of this manufacturer before.
Apart from the stratospheric price, is there anything else to know about it?
To be honest, it seems to be waaaaay more than I need so I may sell it and go with a different 'box.
Any advice?
Thanks

Simon

I have an albins in my superlite. Great box. Also running an ls7 katech NA. Strong box yet light. Has a 11.5inch crown that dwarfes Ford 9inch diffs. ALBINS support many race teams and do quick rebuilds (1week turnaround) for $1500 or so AUD.