Nissan mods the Versa: fuel economy up by 1 MPG

[swng]

The 2.4L engine in my wife's Matrix AWD has only 4 forward gears. Everytime I drive it, I feel that there is enough torque there for a tall 5th gear.
Also about the Matrix, I think it would be nice to have a switch to let the driver choose to start the car in the 2nd gear. There should be more than enough torque there to accomplish the task, at least on a flat surface.
I hope to see the manufacturers shift their design philosophy more toward FE. I think Nissan is in the right direction about their Versa.

[roflwaffle]

Originally Posted by lovemysan

With 2-3 people and some luggage it gets worse. Requiring a downshift to 4th on average hills to maintain the speed limit.

What's so bad about downshifting?

[MetroMPG]

I don't get it either. Downshiftphobia apparently runs rampant. It's always trotted out as an argument against taller gearing.

If you don't want to shift... buy a what?

---

I just did a 1500 km journey that took me through the northern part of the Appalachian Mountains. The loaded-down re-geared Flea was frequently trudging uphill in 4th gear, below the speed limit with the 4-way flashers going. Right along with the big trucks. Several times I had to downshift to 3rd. Big deal! I'll take 75 mpg, thank you.

[metromizer]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

call me a pessimist, but I'd bet that most North Americans who drive stick don't know enough to downshift to pass...

ok, you're a pessimist. Now that's out of the way...

In an era when many cars with proximity sensors on the rear bumper, GPS navigation systems in every other car, multi-screen DVD systems, etc, all that's needed is new thinking.

Car makers could impliment a simple yet well enginnered driver interface system would educate/guide the driver as to which gear to choose, some feedback as to "which gear am I in" and maybe a little clutch management to smooth out jerky starts. One man's opinion.

[PaleMelanesian]

My tiny 1.6L civic, with a peak 106 hp, is geared way to short. 2750 rpm at 60 mph. I'm usually in 5th at or before 30 mph. Then I'm wishing for a 6th and 7th gear.

Not enough torque? Completely FALSE.

[i_am_socket]

If I could swap my auto for the 5 speed manual for free, I'd do it in a heartbeat. In 4th gear I'm doing 60 @ ~2100 rpm. With 130 peak HP (125 ft/lbs torque), it might handle a 6th gear as well.

[basslover911]

Yep, with my tiptronic I always start in 2nd gear unless im at a REALLY steep angle.

Problem is, I want to make it not even go to first, because everytime I stop I have to manually push it up again to 2nd... I dont even want first!! GRRR... but I have no idea how to change that

[whokilledthejams]

Originally Posted by roflwaffle

What's so bad about downshifting?

Nothing!

Even today's most asthmatic "underpowered" cars could do well with taller gearing. What happened to the days of 90hp V8s with mushy three-speeds? Oh yeah, we realized that was stupid, because 0-60 in 30 seconds is too slow even with this crowd.

It's not like we need gears so tall we have to be push-started salt flat style, but there's no need to have an engine revving at peak torque when cruising on the highway at a constant speed.

In-gear-acceleration is not just overrated, it's unnecessary, and is a big part of why cars are generally over-powered.

[tjts1]

On RWD cars like my bmw 318i you can swap out the whole differential in about 2 hours. My car left the factory with an idiotic 4.11 limited slip differential. I picked up a 3.64 differential from the JY for $50 and I couldn't be happier. Whats more, I sold the 4.10 for $250. Not only was the 4.10 diff annoying on the highway, but driving around town I found myself using 4th gear around 25mph and 5th over 30. When Accelerating from a stop light I would have to shift to 2nd before I even made it across the intersection. Really really annoying.




The beauty of these old cars is you can find about 10 differential ratios in the JY between 2.79 all the way up to 4.45