5Speed vs 6Speed

[uiony]

What's the difference between the two?

[NISSANSPDR]

Difference: one extra gear!

[BlackGT2000]

Haha what kind of question is that?

[VAD0R]

Originally Posted by NISSANSPDR

Difference: one extra gear!

Don't laugh just because he wants to know something. Do you know exactly how a sequential gearbox works without looking it up on Google?

And another question, would a 6 speed gearbox be better for fuel economy and since there is probably a longer ratio between 3rd and 4th on a 5 speed does that mean a 5 speed would have better mid-latteral acceleration? Also, why would a 4 speed be more ideal for drag racing? Answer me that one Poindexter.

[BlackGT2000]

You have me on one thing, I have no clue what a sequential gear box does. I know that for drag racing you don't really want that many gears because every shift is going to take up more time, so the longer you can stretch out a gear the better. Thats why generally vehicals with broader torque bands will fare well in a drag race.

[SuperHighOutput]

Well on some 6-speeds you have two overdrives which allows for better fuel economy, for example the Corvette Z06 gets 26 mpg hwy even with 505hp.

[NISSANSPDR]

Originally Posted by VAD0R

Don't laugh just because he wants to know something.

I didnt. I just gave him a simple, barebones response.

[kman10587]

Theoretically, a 6-speed will always have better performance and/or fuel economy than a 5-speed. However, when you consider real-world factors, such as the aspect ratio of your tires, aerodynamics, shift lag, and traction, the answer isn't always as clear.

[deadbolt_35]

6 speed is also better when the road gets twisty. why do you think the new M5 has 7 gears? when you have 500hp you don't really need 7 gears, and your quarter time would be better with less (although not much since sequential gearboxes shift incredibly fast nowadays)if you didn't have so many, but with more gears, you can always find the perfect ratio going into and coming out of turns

[kman10587]

Again, though, that's situational. Let's say that the perfect speed for coming out of a corner is 38 mph. Car A, with a 7-speed transmission, has a 2nd gear sweet spot of 33 mph, and a 3rd gear sweet spot of 43 mph. Car B, with a 5-speed transmission, has a 2nd gear sweet spot of 38 mph. The 5-speed is going to be the superior option when coming out of that corner, because its second gear will put at exactly the right speed. I will admit, though, that having more gears increases your chances of coming out of a corner fastest.

[deadbolt_35]

Originally Posted by kman10587

I will admit, though, that having more gears increases your chances of coming out of a corner fastest.

bingo

[VAD0R]

Originally Posted by NISSANSPDR

I didnt. I just gave him a simple, barebones response.

Sorry, that response was meant for BlackGT2k's remark, which he actually ended up responding quite nicely to.

Anyway, according to this site a sequential transmission is one that has a drum gear that ensures you go through every gear in sequence without the worry of skipping a gear, so for example if you want to go from 1st to 3rd you automatically go through 2nd. It also doesn't seem to need a clutch eithe.

As for CVTs they seem to be like automatic but instead use a pulley system of some kind to operate a couple with many tiny teeth that have ratios set to ensure that the engine stays at the best rpm for peak hp and torque. Anyone else is welcome to fill me in or correct me on this.

[BlackGT2000]

Thats interesting about the sequential, I haven't ever researched them. As for the CVT, I had a friend who worked at a ford dealer and he said that the CVT was one of the strangest things to drive. He said that it would accelerate to a certain RPM and there was no shift but it would gain speed as a normal car would. He said he was left waiting for a shift that never happened, I can immagine that being a little odd to drive.

[deadbolt_35]

my parents have a ford freestyle with the cvt, and it does take some getting used to. it's far from perfect, but they did a pretty decent job of it their first go-round. i'm amazed how well the cvt uses every horsepower to make a really underpowered car go. granted, it's still pretty slow (it's 4112 lbs and only 200 hp), but i don't think it's nearly as slow as it would be with a 5spd (especially since it probably would have had a 4spd if it weren't for the cvt). also, with the cvt you can still get 25mpg out of a pretty heavy, grossily underpower car.
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.

[uiony]

Now...I know thanks.