6 speed vs. 5 speed acceleration comparison

[Kraziken]

Not to add fuel to the fire, but I can a little perspective on this.

 

Now first of all, my car is an older leg (1999). But I've researched this a bit, and I believe my old 5 speed gearing (4.11 rear diff) is the same as the newer Legacys.

 

I have an 04 STI engine in my car.

 

Last year I raced a STI up a hill. We were pretty even until I hit middle of fourth gear. Granted this was a steep hill so that has effect on this as well.

 

I could see a slight hesitation, I'm pretty sure it was the STI shifting into 5th gear. He walked on me the rest of the way pretty easily as my car slowly pulled on 4th. I later talked to him and he claimed his car was fully stock. Inspecting his car I didn't doubt his claims.

 

I just put in a JDM 6 speed in my car because I broke my old transmission.

 

0-60 times are not that much different. Butt dyno tells me, that 60mph rollon acceleration thru 100mph is much faster.

 

I technically should have a slight advantage in acceleration since my fifth and sixth gears are shorter than a USDM STI. In 6th gear at 70mph I cruise at about 3100 to 3200 rpm.

 

I love having the extra option. Someone mentioned tired of shifting? I actually can shift less if I want to. I can ride my car in higher gears without shifting lower. I downshift if I want a bit more power, but I don't have to.

 

The 6 speed is definately worth it in my opinion. I considered a strong 5 speed or RA gearset, and I'm glad I didn't go that route.

[Vimy101]

^^^^

 

Answer - YES! We have!

 

I find the whole debate interesting because of its provenance. When the 06 Spec.B came out, many on this site pooh-poohed it because of its price and no OEM incentives/rebates etc. Then when the Spec. times began to be published, more rationalizations began to appear. "It's the tires", "It's the suspension" or "It's a ringer" were thrown about. Basically, there was a whole lot of Spec.B dissing going on. Even the suspension that, according to some, made the car faster came under fire. The wheels, the paint, the interior, the Nav/info system. Everything about the car was criticised. It almost seemed like some kind of class warfare ensued. I used it to my advantage.

 

I used it to my advantage by picking up a near new 06 Spec. for an insanely good price because of the huge depreciation. I agree that the original invoice price was high and I think SOA acknowledged that fact by equipping the 07 model with more toys and a stronger tranny (which is always a good thing) and asking the same money for it.

 

At the original OEM invoice, the Spec.B was getting into the price realm of more prestigious brands like BMW, Infiniti, Audi, etc. Most here don't have that kind of dough to throw at car and found the LGT an excellent budget and value minded alternative. That's how I think about my car purchases as well. I shop for the ugly duckling and to the majority of detractors on this site, there is no ducking uglier than the 06 Spec.B.

 

So here I am defending my purchase of an excellent car from its detractors. "Methinks they doth protest too much."

[mccorry]

^^^^ That's just it, Vimy. I'm happy you like your car. But why do you have to "defend your purchase"? That is why everyone has had it with your "discussions". You beat the thing to death.

 

You have a limited edition LGT. Nothing more... nothing less. Enjoy it and stop "defending" everything.

[Vimy101]

^ I like it because it teh fasterest OEM LGT ever made.

 

And the brick red interior....

[mccorry]

^ I like it because it teh fasterest OEM LGT ever made.

 

And the brick red interior....

 

 

Good... I'm really happy for you. Go live the dream!

 

 

Oh.... and..... you wanna race? I've got money that says mine's faster.

[Vimy101]

The Spec. is only more powerful than a stock LGT. Those insanely easy ECU remappings unleash vast amounts of power.

[mccorry]

PLEASE... everyone note Vimy's and

That was sarcasm... don't go all again.

 

Back to Trabbic's wonderful MT discussion!

[hogmeat]

This thread sux.

[praedet]

So ONE Dyno of a 07 SpecB, wich has no uppipe cat, and and ONE magazine test that showed a SLIGHTLY faster 06 SpecB, means that ALL SpecBs, 06 and 07 are Faster than ALL Gts

[trabbic]

So ONE Dyno of a 07 SpecB, wich has no uppipe cat, and and ONE magazine test that showed a SLIGHTLY faster 06 SpecB, means that ALL SpecBs, 06 and 07 are Faster than ALL Gts

 

You realize that his mind does not work like everyone else's? Using logic will not work, we have tried already.

 

Good luck though!

[edkwon]

Yes, everyone please stop provoking Vimy, he's like a religious fanatic, absolutely certain in his convictions, let him be happy with them, but if you try to get into a discussion to change his point of view, you're just going to get annoyed and frustrated. I've been learning to just stop reading his responses (because i already know what they say). I'm pretty sure his responses are macroed into his keyboard anyway. so everyone just ignore, or blindly agree with him, but do not debate him, because it's simply going to annoy everyone else too.

[Faster_nu]

More gears is not always good for performance driving as it increases the chance for a missed shift or improper gear selection. This is why F1 cars have sequential gear boxes with no clutch use after initial take off. Sequential gear boxes are expensive and have a limited lifespan compared to a typical street vehicle. A 6 speed however, can have better ratios for increased performance by keeping the RPMS within the HP and Torque range.

 

Pro Drag cars have only 2 gears as it wastes time shifting, however because of the HP and Torque Pro Stock cars dont have any problems with only two gears.

 

The Original WRX STI had low 0-60 times as you had to make a shift just before the 60 mark, this was one of the reasons that the EVO seem to make faster times with less HP. The new transmission changed this. The 6 speed transmission however was made to take 300 hp unlike the 5 speed which was originally designed with only about 200hp in mind so durability is also a factor.

 

It seems to me now that 2 companies make Automatic transmissions that are Faster than the manual transmissions as it reduces the shift times dramatically, I think they are MB and BMW. CVT transmissons could be far more efficient and faster once they become more durable as these could keep a engine in its peak hp and Torque areas during acceleration.

[robust]

in passing, there has been mention of the spec b's better mileage on the highway due to the lower rpms at speed. do we even have empirical evidence of this? i don't doubt there is some gain, but is it marginal or substantial?

[edkwon]

in passing, there has been mention of the spec b's better mileage on the highway due to the lower rpms at speed. do we even have empirical evidence of this? i don't doubt there is some gain, but is it marginal or substantial?

 

comparing my mileage in a 6MT with other 5MT owners, theres no dramatic difference. if i drive in a restrained and disciplined way for a long period of time, it may improve overall mileage, but i drive in varied styles all the time, so i only net 23-24 MPG in city conditions.

 

Ed

[Vimy101]

So ONE Dyno of a 07 SpecB, wich has no uppipe cat, and and ONE magazine test that showed a SLIGHTLY faster 06 SpecB, means that ALL SpecBs, 06 and 07 are Faster than ALL Gts

 

Yes. Going from the evidence at hand which I seem to have compared to the nay sayers who have didley squat.

[Vimy101]

in passing, there has been mention of the spec b's better mileage on the highway due to the lower rpms at speed. do we even have empirical evidence of this? i don't doubt there is some gain, but is it marginal or substantial?

 

As per Nav, I'm currently getting 24.3 over about the last 5000 miles of mixed driving. Over last summer I was getting 26.4.

 

Going to the donut store in snow storms is hard on the ole mpg.

[robust]

comparing my mileage in a 6MT with other 5MT owners, theres no dramatic difference. if i drive in a restrained and disciplined way for a long period of time, it may improve overall mileage, but i drive in varied styles all the time, so i only net 23-24 MPG in city conditions.

 

Ed

 

 

city or combined? 23-24 is damn good for only "city."

[robust]

As per Nav, I'm currently getting 24.3 over about the last 5000 miles of mixed driving. Over last summer I was getting 26.4.

 

Going to the donut store in snow storms is hard on the ole mpg.

 

implied was the 6 vs 5 spd, i know what mileage i got on my 5 spd.

 

<--------- look at the "Car" portion

[edkwon]

city or combined? 23-24 is damn good for only "city."

 

i drive in city and highway everyday, i didnt know how the fuel computer can calculate and give me separate values for isolated city and highway driving, how do you get it to do that?

[Vimy101]

implied was the 6 vs 5 spd, i know what mileage i got on my 5 spd.

 

<--------- look at the "Car" portion

 

I thought it might be germane as I have OEM 18"s which effectively makes for taller gearing. (Actually, I'm running 215/50-17 right now as my winter setup but that is very close to the OEM 215/45-18 circumference.)

[NovaWolverine]

W/ regard to the '06, we know that the interior and suspension are the only differences, so doesn't that mean that if it is more powerful, that it's simply from a more aggressive tune? The '07 also has the nice suspension and the better transmission which obviously will make a difference. But I don't know why someone would be so ecstatic if the performance differences between his car and the LGTs can be had for relatively cheap. And I'm not talking about the ability to put power down, we all get that, I'm talking about with power output from the engine.

[NSFW]

i drive in city and highway everyday, i didnt know how the fuel computer can calculate and give me separate values for isolated city and highway driving, how do you get it to do that?

 

It's easy to get city-only mileage - the trick is to only drive in the city for a few days. Highway-only mileage works the same.

 

I averaged 22.8 for the last 1000 miles or so (trip meter B), but for the last couple days it's been reading about 14.something because I've just been going stoplight-to-stoplight (trip meter A, like 20 miles total).

[edkwon]

It's easy to get city-only mileage - the trick is to only drive in the city for a few days. Highway-only mileage works the same.

 

I averaged 22.8 for the last 1000 miles or so (trip meter B), but for the last couple days it's been reading about 14.something because I've just been going stoplight-to-stoplight (trip meter A, like 20 miles total).

 

Yeah, im not really in a situation i can do that.

 

Ed

[Vimy101]

W/ regard to the '06, we know that the interior and suspension are the only differences, so doesn't that mean that if it is more powerful, that it's simply from a more aggressive tune? The '07 also has the nice suspension and the better transmission which obviously will make a difference. But I don't know why someone would be so ecstatic if the performance differences between his car and the LGTs can be had for relatively cheap. And I'm not talking about the ability to put power down, we all get that, I'm talking about with power output from the engine.

 

Easy and cheap performance gains can be had via ECU remapping.