Pros and cons of ABY vs 3B

[Chris5044]

What are the basic, summerised pros and cons of 3b against an ABY?

I know weight is lighter 3b = 1420kg
ABY = 1520kg

ABY 6 gears ... but is that really a benefit?
ABY coil pack -- what benefit is this?
ABY battery under rear seat.. = better weight distribution
(but apparantly you can mod the 3B to do this .. would this take much? sounds like a pain)


ABY have newer lights? HID's?

[denniselbows]

i would say there is good and bad things in both 3b and aby s2. having the battery unber the bonnet is the easyist place to get to if you need to jump start any time. the 6 speed is a stronger gearbox than the 5 speed but the 6 can be notchy on gear change. aby has 5 coils to play up were as 3b has 1 .so it's more what things you like in a car than any benefit between the 2 i would say .

[andyg plym]

having owned 6 s2's ive got a fair idea what they are like:

3b 1st gear is amazing !! (when you get it right)

6th gear has the same final drive as the 5 speed so on paper not really much point, but in practice is rather good. i pootle around town all day in 6th.

3b lacks room under the bonnet with the battery in situ. i know coilpacks can be a pain when they go but the thought of now going back to a dizzy makes me shudder!

generally the aby imo offers a better all round package, better lights,interior, chipping the ecu seems slightly easier, and i must add that coupes seem to be holding their money far better than avants.

just my 2p worth....

[Phil Payne]

No bother. ABY - NO CHUFFIN' UNREACHABLE DISTRIBUTOR!!!

(Anyone want to guess what I had to do the day before yesterday?)

[Foeglass]

My S2 coupe ABY weights 1463KG according to its german (and now dutch) papers?

[Wiell]

i havent seen a 3b with the battery under the bonnet. always under the rear seat. maybe only you english ******s that have that.
i have a 3b, think the aby is a better engine. if the coilpack fails buy better 115r coils then your set.

[Rocco]

My 3B has the battery under the rear seat just behind the driver seat (LHD car)

i think that the 3rd gear in ARV gearboxes are better for use it as everyday car :mischeif: and may in the tracks too

[Rusty]

As per my other post, a Homefried ABY with 3B flywheel does well IME. 3rd on the 5 speed is indeed better for sprinting and on track 4th on the 6 speed is a little short but that's with stock power and for all the times you'll not be on track it's really not an issue IMO. Depends on what your plans are for the old girl. ABY also has beefier front shocks and the breather system is a little better thought out...

[geryS2]

if u want real power, ABY are much easyer and cheaper to tune and 6 speed gearbox is great,

although i found the 3B more nervous and enjoyable to drive if in standard setup

[Knight Rider S4]

I have both cars ...but strangely enough I prefer the 3B ..the ABY is ok and pretty straight forwrd motor ...but the 3B has a bit of fun about it, longer 3rd gear, when tuned and running single mass flywheel is full on all the way ...the dizzy bit I prefer as so much easier to fix if you have ignition fault >plugs>leads>cap>rotor arm>dizzy>coil simple ...dont get me wrong can be a pain to fix in the rear of the engine bay but you get use to it and have the home made tools all set aside for all the awkward jobs

[Acidburn]

I seriously prefer a 3b to aby

5 speed in 3rd = 115mph
6 speed in 3rd = 97 mph

less problems with the dizzy over coil packs

3b's are more likely to come with opening rears than aby's (good on track to save opening front windows)

lighter flywheel
easy access for jump starts if need be

[quattrostyle]

I'm seriously in doubt now, got a 6-speed lying for my 90q 20VT conversion. But is having a 6-speed worth all the extra money? The gearbox itsself is more expensive and then I have to buy for about €300,- on custom gear linkage and make me some gearbox mounts...

So what would you do?

[s2driveruk]

though I dont own an ABY, i thought the gearchange was slower and heavier than the 5spd too.

Change the fan and get the space back in the 3b. Access to lots of stuff in the 3b engine bay is crap with the battery try and abs block location but after a while you get used to it.

3bs can usually be decatted, little bit lighter out the box but airbox is terrible to access, voltage drop usuallly means the stock lights are poor.

Its easy to spend not a massive ammount of money and overcome the key issues with a 3b but go for north of 450bhp, then the ABY unit is much easier to modify with coilpacks

[speedfr38ky]

Are the driveshafts and hubs different between the 2 cars??

[Error404]

Nope all the same.