The good news is, I am hard at work on SEVERAL ideas for affordable transaxle alternatives.
The bad news is, for some reason otherwise rational people want a custom transaxle for the same price as a USED transmission. I see people on various forums, for various build types, that have no problem buying a new transmission and rearend assemblies for their projects. So why is it so difficult to get people to understand REALITY?
A transaxle is a combination unit, with the axle assembly integrated into the casing of the transmission. So it is essentially TWO units in ONE. People who build a Cobra will spend $3000 on a transmission and another $1500-2000 for a rear axle. These components are spread among ALOT of suppliers/vendors and have a huge base to work from. The options run the gamut. What this means is, even for these specialty aftermarket parts, there is a very large market...mass production means savings. Each part costs less to manufacture than small runs.
I have the means to build an affordable, dependable transaxle utilizing existing transmission and ring & pinion components. These units are ALL NEW designs, using existing components. That means all new castings. However, even if I were to suddenly be the ONLY supplier of transaxles to ALL kit builders, I would only be building about 500 transaxles a year. Not even sure that would be every year.
Where am I going with this? I want people to stop being cheapskates and trying to bully a manufacturer into providing them with quality products at WalMart prices. If you can't afford to spend the coin on your project car, you shouldn't be building it! These are not necessities, after all.
I don't mean to come at people sideways, but I feel it is necessary to speak to adults as the adults they are. Honestly. No more whining, none of us are helpless children. Whining gets no one anywhere and accomplishes nothing, but making some of us grit our teeth.
I intend to design and manufacture these units correctly. That is going to cost me money on the front end. I intend to recoup that money on the back end, ie when I have completed units for sale. I also want to keep these units affordable, while turning a fair profit.
What this means is, if spending at least 100-150% of the separate component costs of a manual transmission and rear axle assembly is outside of your budget for a CUSTOM transaxle unit, have you budgeted realistically AND is reliability versus a reconditioned "low-buck" Audi unit (that may have to be rebuilt and/or replaced) not important to your custom crafted replica/kit?
The bad news is, for some reason otherwise rational people want a custom transaxle for the same price as a USED transmission. I see people on various forums, for various build types, that have no problem buying a new transmission and rearend assemblies for their projects. So why is it so difficult to get people to understand REALITY?
A transaxle is a combination unit, with the axle assembly integrated into the casing of the transmission. So it is essentially TWO units in ONE. People who build a Cobra will spend $3000 on a transmission and another $1500-2000 for a rear axle. These components are spread among ALOT of suppliers/vendors and have a huge base to work from. The options run the gamut. What this means is, even for these specialty aftermarket parts, there is a very large market...mass production means savings. Each part costs less to manufacture than small runs.
I have the means to build an affordable, dependable transaxle utilizing existing transmission and ring & pinion components. These units are ALL NEW designs, using existing components. That means all new castings. However, even if I were to suddenly be the ONLY supplier of transaxles to ALL kit builders, I would only be building about 500 transaxles a year. Not even sure that would be every year.
Where am I going with this? I want people to stop being cheapskates and trying to bully a manufacturer into providing them with quality products at WalMart prices. If you can't afford to spend the coin on your project car, you shouldn't be building it! These are not necessities, after all.
I don't mean to come at people sideways, but I feel it is necessary to speak to adults as the adults they are. Honestly. No more whining, none of us are helpless children. Whining gets no one anywhere and accomplishes nothing, but making some of us grit our teeth.
I intend to design and manufacture these units correctly. That is going to cost me money on the front end. I intend to recoup that money on the back end, ie when I have completed units for sale. I also want to keep these units affordable, while turning a fair profit.
What this means is, if spending at least 100-150% of the separate component costs of a manual transmission and rear axle assembly is outside of your budget for a CUSTOM transaxle unit, have you budgeted realistically AND is reliability versus a reconditioned "low-buck" Audi unit (that may have to be rebuilt and/or replaced) not important to your custom crafted replica/kit?