Volkswagen 6-speed gear ratios - wtf?

Oct 9, 1999
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well here is the deal.. during city traffic you can use the 4th gear (or extreme hills), 5th gear is also for passing and climbing hills, 6th is cruising.

but it beats teh hell out of me to why make 4th taller than 5th....


the sad part is you cant get the manual on the GLX but you can on the GLI .. I want a VW Jetta.. and I am going to pester VW to give me a 6 speed for the GLX and drop teh damn 5 speed auto steptronic.
 
Jan 9, 2002
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Not 'steptronic'- Tiptronic! Coolest automatic transmission (if there ever was one), next to Audi and Ferrari's F1 paddle shifters. I'd still go with a stick though, and yeah, it's unfortunate it doesn't come on the GLX, but the 1.8T is more fun than the VR6.
 

PG

Diamond Member
Oct 25, 1999
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That must be a misprint, it makes no sense. Maybe 5th should read 1.09 or something instead.



 

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
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probably for the same reason champ cars go faster in 5th than 6th: fuel economy
 

LAUST

Diamond Member
Sep 13, 2000
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Coolest automatic transmission (if there ever was one),
TH400 400R 4L60-E 4L85-E A1000 C4 C6(which BTW can be dropped out of a plane and still work just fine ;))

There are plenty good one's it just has to serve the right purpose.

 

Ultima

Platinum Member
Oct 16, 1999
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It has that printing "error" for other VW's with the 6 speed as well. It also mentions *two* final drive ratios: 3.94 and 3.09. Maybe the 3.09 applies to gear 5 and 6? In any case it's strange.
 
Jan 9, 2002
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I'm really not 'in tune' this far in depth into mechanics, but if it's like the ol' Volkswagen Bauhaus way, it was done like that for a reason. Ya got me. I'm just glad to see 6-speed manuals coming to nearly all models now (New Beetle- Turbo S, Golf- GTI 337, Jetta- GLI, Passat coming soon, Phaeton coming soon, Touareg coming soon)!
 

Cyberian

Diamond Member
Jun 17, 2000
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Originally posted by: Ultima
It has that printing "error" for other VW's with the 6 speed as well. It also mentions *two* final drive ratios: 3.94 and 3.09. Maybe the 3.09 applies to gear 5 and 6? In any case it's strange.
There is only one final drive ratio in any given car.
(Exceptions would be on Road Ranger rear ends on large trucks and semi tractors)

It definitely is strange, and I'd agree with PG that it was a misprint by VW.

 

TuffGuy

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2000
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No, a car can have multiple final drive rations. The SVT Ford Focus also has two ratios. It's been a while and I forget how it works.
 

Noriaki

Lifer
Jun 3, 2000
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Originally posted by: NightFlyerGTI
Not 'steptronic'- Tiptronic! Coolest automatic transmission (if there ever was one), next to Audi and Ferrari's F1 paddle shifters. I'd still go with a stick though, and yeah, it's unfortunate it doesn't come on the GLX, but the 1.8T is more fun than the VR6.

Oh come on, the F1 paddle shifters aren't even Automatics. They are manuals with a computer controlled clutch and hyrdralic shift.

The Tiptronic is an Auto that lets you decided when you want to shift. It's still a slush box.
 

Noriaki

Lifer
Jun 3, 2000
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Why would you want multple rear end gearings in a normal car?

Have 1st-4th on a different rear end gear than 5th-6th?

That just seems insane...wouldn't that be really complex? And much easier just to change 5th and 6th gears to be the same final ratio as 1st-4th.

The final 1 and final 2 columns probably just mean that the car is available with 2 rear end gearings, I don't htink that can explain the 4th being 1.15 and 5th being 1.19.

Either there is another reason for it, or it's just a typo....

I don't think that changing the rear end gearing for two transmission gears would be that easy or make that much sense. Not that it's not possible...it just doesn't seem likely.
 

Cyberian

Diamond Member
Jun 17, 2000
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Originally posted by: TuffGuy
No, a car can have multiple final drive rations. The SVT Ford Focus also has two ratios. It's been a while and I forget how it works.
I stand corrected.
This is the first I have ever heard of this.
6-SPEED GETRAG TRANSAXLE

With its six-speed manual transaxle from the German manufacturer, Getrag? the SVT Focus joins the 2000 SVT Mustang Cobra R as the only cars in the Ford line equipped with six-speed gearboxes.

This unit?s innovative design incorporates an input shaft flanked by two layshafts, and each layshaft has its own set of final drive gears. Layshaft #1 carries first, second, fifth and sixth gears, and a 2.88:1 final drive ratio, while layshaft #2 carries third, fourth, reverse, and a 4.25:1 final drive ratio. All six forward gears, plus reverse, are fully synchronized.

This design gives the SVT Focus the performance advantages of a close-ratio, six-speed gearbox in a remarkably compact and lightweight package. Dividing the output shaft into two allows the transaxle to be much shorter than a conventional single shaft six-speed, thus occupying the same space as the ZX3?s 5-speed gearbox. <snip>
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