has anyone messed about with tiptronic gearboxes, ive been looking at some at the breakers yard and some have what look like an actuator to change the gears. its got me thinking if i can use one of these boxes with a cable to make it like a sequential box. i might go and buy one off an fto just to test it.
adam

like a early bmw smg box?

I believe that most gearboxes of this type are actually automatic, that allow manual control of gear changing, and that the actualtors open and close valves that operate the gearbox hydraulically.

The americans are well into this stuff, (they don't have the fear and loathing of autos in sports situations that we see in
the UK), and is usually achieved by using a modern auto (which are all electronically controlled, of course) with a custom ecu, which can be programmed with a laptop or manually controlled by switches.

As above, Propper Tiptronic boxes have tourque converters and are autos with a different control set up. robotised Manual Boxes are just that though, but I doubt you'd find one that was RWD for cheaps as the only RWD ones I can think of are on really exspensive stuff. There are alot of FWD Fiats, Alfas, Audis and VWs with them though.