Just curious, we all know that basically the 6-spd covers the same overall gear range as a 5-spd.

Can you pretty much start off in 2nd? One of my pet peeves with the maxima 5-spd is it's very difficult to put it in 1st if you're not almost stopped, therefore, we usually have to use 2nd.

The thing is, if you're not going fast enough, 2nd lugs the motor, which is bad and annoying, but it's not as bad as forcing the stick into 1st.

The way I see it is if you now have another gear that's lower than the 5-spd 2nd, bada-bing!!

Where it would benefit me is EZPASS in PA or NY because it's frustrating that there's no proper gear to roll through at 5 mph (except in NJ where it's 15, the 5-spd is fine). I really do hate lugging the motor but the alternative is to stop and put it in 1st or speed through the toll.

 

the new 6 speed gearbox is not the same as the 5 speed, most people think the 6 geer is a overdrive but its not

 

just double clutch it....

for example.....

your going 7 mph and want to go into 1st... just put the stick into neutral then let the clutch out..then step on the accelerator to rev it up a bit, then push down the clutch and boom now you can put it into 1st.


much easier than getting new gears haah

 

Sometimes from a very slow roll I start out in 2nd. There is plenty of torque to pull it. It doesn't even lug.

 

oh comon don't be lazy

 

its call 3.5 litre torque baby, not 1.8 litre of um.. i forget the term for "weak" torque

 

actually, people with all sorts of cars will keep their cars in 2nd gear when coming to a quick stop at stopsigns and stuff... it has nothing to do with the torque. Though I do know that my friend's 2001 Maxima can go from a complete stop in 2nd gear and it'll be smooth as heck.. I've not tried it with my "weak torque.. sorry I dont' know the word either" gt-s.

do you even drive a 5spd max?

 

I can start out in 2nd from a stop with absolutely no problems as long as I'm not going up hill. I just have to let the clutch out a little slower and feed it a little more gas. I only use 1st when I'm at a complete stop. Anything else is 2nd.

Dave

 

Yes, I'd suggest double-clutching as mentioned above, or in general, rev-matching back into first. I don't have any problems in rush hour crawl-type traffic, except for the fact that it is annoying to double-clutch your way along. A few of my friends are big on starting in second - some do so more than they start in first. I'm not a big fan of 'lugging the motor' as you say.

There is a cutoff where if you try to shift the lever into first when going too fast, it will grind. For cases such as this, where you need acceleration immediately, go from second. If you're still just slowing down, double-clutch.

 

The 6-speed does in fact have 2 overdrive gears. 2nd-4th are slightly lower however in the 6-sp vs the old 5-speed. 5th in both tranies is about the same .800 vs .809, 6th is an additional higher overdrive. The numbers have been posted here several times before.

 

Yep, the gearing of the 6 speed Max is so close to the 5 speed gearing that it will make absolutely no difference. Just think of the 6 speed Max as a Max with a much needed highway overdrive. It's a gimmick as far as I'm concerned. Take the 96+ Mustang Cobra for example. It comes from Ford with a relatively tall 3.27 rear gear. Going to a 3.73 does very little (maybe .1). Most guys go with a 4.11 or 4.33 gear which is good for about .3. Going from a 3.27 to a 4.11+ gear is a dramatic step up in torque multiplication. The 6 speed Maxima hardly has anymore torque multiplication than the 5 speed. If Nissan wanted to make the 6 speed quicker, they should have changed the overall gear from a 3.82 to a 4.10 or something. All they did was change 2, 3, and 4 to a slightly deeper ratio. In the world of drag racing, this deeper ratio will do jack in terms of performance. It's a gimmick.


Dave

 

When I got 30 MPG on the highway this weekend, I didn't think it was a gimmick. Did Nissan say the 6 speed Maxima was for performance only?