EDM vs. JDM

[Nemesis]

I was recently in Germany and picked up a Galant catalog at a Mitsu. dealership. I totally dig the bumper w/ integrated fog lamps and the TLs. Since it's easier for me to get parts from the EU vs. Japan, does anyone know what the differences are for these parts over the Japan spec?

(Wouldn't mind getting a tirptronic tranny or at least a stinkin' leather armrest)

[Reelax]

they are basically the same thing... germany is left hand drive right? so the headlights and possibly the fogs are the only difference for the front fascia vs. JDM spec... you will have the proper beam pattern (low left high right) although they may b E-Code units not DOT (which is the US equivilant). E-Code lights are "not legal" stateside, but then again who's gonna know?

JDM and "world spec" can b used almost interchangeably in this situation since the US is one of the few countries that have their own truly distinct version of the galant. we get the most powerful NA engine (no other market got the 3.0 SOHC V6) but get screwed in the aesthetic translation (everybody wants the JDM '98+ VR4 / Viento bumper). so it's a case of u win some, u lose some (unless of course u take the parts u want from other markets and put them on your ride to have your cake and eat it too!)

for more detail on the JDM front end conversion, talk to mochanges; he has successfully pulled it off using european and asian parts. his car looks dope btw!

[Nemesis]

Is changing the gear selector to a trip-tronic (assuming you could get the parts) too complicated to attempt?

[Reelax]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Nemesis)</div><div class='quotemain'>Is changing the gear selector to a trip-tronic (assuming you could get the parts) too complicated to attempt?</div>

umm... you would have to modify or replace the US ECU since our trannies are electronically controlled... even though you are selecting gears w/ the lever, the computer has final say wether the gear is selected or not. btw, triptronic (at least on our cars and eclipses) is just fancy for what we allready have; both are limited by the computer. for instance, no matter what you do, you can not downshift to 1st at any speed above 25mph even though 1st redlines at about 45mph!

[Auto-9]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Reelax)</div><div class='quotemain'>umm... Â*you would have to modify or replace the US ECU since our trannies are electronically controlled... Â*even though you are selecting gears w/ the lever, the computer has final say wether the gear is selected or not. Â*btw, triptronic (at least on our cars and eclipses) is just fancy for what we allready have; both are limited by the computer. Â*for instance, no matter what you do, you can not downshift to 1st at any speed above 25mph even though 1st redlines at about 45mph!</div>

I agree with that statement...one of the features of the tiptronic tranny is that it's supposed to allow you to hold revs longer and higher, but I've found that if I floor it from a dead stop the car doesn't change gears until about 5600 rpm in each gear anyway. Pretty much no difference...unless you have the ability to start from a stop in 2nd gear in a tronic. Now that would be useful.

[Nick VR4]

I think he means the INVEC gearbox not just a Auto
http://www.mitsubishi-cars.co.uk/images/features/technology/invecs_pic.jpg
Mitsubishi's clever INVECS transmission (it stands for Intelligent & Innovative Vehicles Electronic Control System) was first made available in the Galant nearly a decade ago. It has now been developed into INVECS II, and is seen in the current Shogun Sport 3.0 V6, the Shogun, the 1.6 Colt and Space Star, the 2.4 Space Wagon and all Galant variants.

In simple terms INVECS II is a computer-controlled automatic transmission which has the ability to "learn" your driving style, using its Adaptive Shift Control software. As soon as you start driving the computer begins to monitor your driving style, and after a short while sets the up and downchange points to suit, thus smoothing out progress on the road. It's almost like having a person sitting next to you who, having seen how you drive, adjusts the automatic gearbox accordingly.

For the fully automatic mode to be in operation, the gear selector is simply left in 'D'. But on the Space Star, Galant and Shogun models, if you want to use the manual mode - which gives the driver more control over the transmission, and allows higher engine revs in each gear - then the lever is slid over to the left into another gate, which is Sports Mode.

Now, tapping the lever forward prompts an electronic upchange, while moving it back downshifts. Effectively you have a clutchless gearshift, but you don't need to worry about suddenly being caught out at low speed in a high gear, because when stationary the transmission automatically reverts to first.

[Reelax]

our US spec tranny has a version of INVECS as well. the ECU "learns" your driving habbits and adjust shift points accordingly. as for the electronic shifts, even though our levers have to actually move to the lower positions to hold gears, they are still really only giving electrical signals to the ECU to shift. we can "hold" any gear (PRND2L). the problem is just like 3G eclipse sportronic where you just "touch shift"; the ECU will not let you drop into 1st gear above 25mph even if you drop the lever all the way to "L" to select 1st gear. this is of course a saftey lock out to prevent overreving. the problem is in our 8g US trannies, 1st gear redlines at 6250rpms at 45mph (very tall 1st gear)... but unless you get below 25mph, you can't downshift into 1st to get into the sweet spot of the power curve from 4000rpm to 6250rpm in 1st. at least you can drop into 2nd at any speed below 80mph.

[Nemesis]

While modifying the ECU is significantly beyond my scope, and since us Southern Califonians rarely (if ever) need to start in second, it sounds like a bit too much work for the novelty. A supercharger addition, on the other hand...