5Speed vs 6Speed

[drdisque]

The Freestyle and 500 were slated to get a 3.5L Duratec making ~250 hp, but it wasn't done in time, It should be out for '07.

[BlackGT2000]

Yeah I read about the new 3.5 duratec, I heard it may go into the V6 mustang as well.

[mason_RsX]

Originally Posted by deadbolt_35

it's a shame they're not selling very well because they're really good cars. it has a lot better handling then you'd expect. it's got awd, really comfortable seats, really good ergonomics and driving position, and some really nice options (6disc cd player/mp3 player, and the flip-down dvd player is especially nice for long trips).
i'm telling you, if it had three engine options, the 3.0L V6 it has now, a bigger 6-cylinder engine making around 250hp, and then the V8 out of the Volvo XC90 (i hear they're on the same platform, so it would fit quite nicely) that makes 300hp, and you would sell every freestyle you could make.
....okay, so i got really off-topic there. sorry about that.

Haha staying off topic...I think the freestyle isn't selling well because Its generally pretty bland, like its sibling the Ford 500 it really doesn't command attention...Its a practical but generally boring automobile...and with competitors making practical, attractive and fun to drive vehicles, your going to get left behind...

And about the CVT...I know that when your pulling hard the engine just stays at redline for as long as you need it to...thats because the gears are constantly changing ratios to give the best ratio for that speed...but apparently the 3.0L Duratec sounds awful at high revs and your gonna stay at redline for a solid 10-15 secs

[deadbolt_35]

it's true, the 3.0 really doesn't sound very good, nor does it perform very well. that 3.5 will do wonders for the car i'm sure, but i hear the freestyle is being replaced pretty quickly because of sales anyway.
i agree with the bland styling. i like personally, i see it more as in a simple, clean looking car, but i definitely agree that it doesn't exactly stand out in a crowd and say, "buy me! i'm a fun, exciting car!"
if it only had a better engine...everythink else is in place: it has really good handling and road manners (relative to other cars the same size and weight of course), it's got good ergonomics and comfortable seats, awd, and a dvd player.
i'm amazed how much more attactrive a powerful engine makes a car look. The Evo is the perfect example

[YukiHime]

Now I am really confused and want to know the truth.
If you guys are saying that the more gear the better chance to go fast, so why are you guys saying the less gears the faster the car is in the drag race?

Also, if more gear is better, wouldn't it be the best to have CVT?

[deadbolt_35]

Originally Posted by YukiHime

Also, if more gear is better, wouldn't it be the best to have CVT?

eventually they will be. right now, cvt's are pretty new, and the technology is far from perfect. in theory though, cvt transmissions will eventually allow cars to out-accelerate vastly more powerful cars and at the same time, give them far better gas mileage than less powerful, economic minded cars. we'll just have to wait and see if cvt's start becoming any more popular in the years to come.

Originally Posted by YukiHime

If you guys are saying that the more gear the better chance to go fast, so why are you guys saying the less gears the faster the car is in the drag race?

more gears is generally faster around a track. more gears give you a better chance of being in the right ratio for optimal power coming out of a turn, but less gears is generally better for drag racing because shifting takes a lot of time. so the less you have to shift the better (to a degree).
which is why cvt's are theoretically the best. it removes any lapses in power due to shifting, and is able to hold the engine in the most powerful spot in it's rpm range the whole race

[YukiHime]

But the CVT has been made since 1980's.
They still have not figured out how to make it as good as AT or just because the cost is much higher?

[drunken monkey]

the important thing is the ratio between gears.
having an extra gear means you can keep them shorter and closer together, allowing you to stay in the rev range with maximum torque to keep acceleration as stong for as long as possible.
in some cases, that extra gear is used as an extra long cruising (6th) gear instead of being used to aid acceleration.

[deadbolt_35]

Originally Posted by YukiHime

But the CVT has been made since 1980's.
They still have not figured out how to make it as good as AT or just because the cost is much higher?

that's a wonderful question. i don't really know. my guess would be that they tried it back in the 80's, but they didn't really have the technology to make it very good, so it just died out. now your seeing them in more and more cars: the new ford cars (freestyle, and 500), the nissan murano and i think i remember a cvt being in one the hybrid cars. there's probaby more, but that's all i can think of off the top of my head.
anyway, that's why i think it's just now becoming more prevalent; we know the incredible potential of the cvt and now we have the technology to finally start developing being it.

[VAD0R]

Actually according to Wikipedia or who ever contributed to that article there are several different kinds of CVT. However, according to this article CVT was first developed by GM 1930s. I even recall looking up a high end luxury car from 1938 that had CVT, probably the pulley kind.

[Pavlo]

CVT seems like an interesting/efficient concept to fully develop.
Anotherthing on 5spd vs 6spd. Generally the 5-speed gears are larger, as there is more space allowing bigger gears. In effect the 5-speed tranny generally handles more power than the same transmission except with an extra gear. Ex.- S15 Silvia has a 6-speed and for several racers it broke under harsh conditions, unlike the 5-speed. Another example is acura RSX and the type-S.
Hope my words made sense.

[kman10587]

Another good example is Mercedes' AMG cars. As far as I know, all of them are using Mercedes' venerable 5-speed automatic, not the 7-speed used by cars such as the SLK350. Why not use the 7-speed in, say, the SL65 AMG? Because 600+ horsepower would tear it apart!