auto-x/ track difference between 5spd/6spd
auto-x/ track difference between 5spd/6spd
Hey guys,
I was at an auto-x event this weekend and noticed that there were more MR's there than there was gsr/rs. I currently have a IX GSR and I am considering road racing in the near future so i am thinking about trading in for an MR. I know the IX GSR and MR has similiar gear ratios so for auto-xing i'll be fine but have you guys ever been in a road racing event where the 5th gear of the MR becomes an advantage since the 4th gear in the IX is short. If possible i would like to hear opinions from owners who had both car or anyone that can chipped in. Thanks a head of time for your time and input.
I was at an auto-x event this weekend and noticed that there were more MR's there than there was gsr/rs. I currently have a IX GSR and I am considering road racing in the near future so i am thinking about trading in for an MR. I know the IX GSR and MR has similiar gear ratios so for auto-xing i'll be fine but have you guys ever been in a road racing event where the 5th gear of the MR becomes an advantage since the 4th gear in the IX is short. If possible i would like to hear opinions from owners who had both car or anyone that can chipped in. Thanks a head of time for your time and input.
This has been touched on several times already
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...light=5spd+spd
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...light=5spd+spd
You have a IX, so there is a big difference after 4th gear. The MR has a definite advantage from 100-130, but then if you go over 130, it has to shift to 6th while the 5spd goes from 100-160 in one gear. Not as much pull from 100-130, but enough to make up the difference when the 6spd has to shift. I actually do shift to 6th on my local track, but that's only because at altitude I run out of breath above 6k rpm. If I was at sea level, then I'd leave it in 5th to 7k. However, since I'd probably get there sooner, there's still that possibility of needing to go to 6th, which is not helpful. I love using 4th and 5th constantly on the road course with my MR, but since I haven't driven a IX 5spd or VIII 5spd on the track, then I can't say definitively that my 6spd is better.
Thanks for the input warr, I was thinking the same thing about how big the difference is after 4th gear but since it will make up the difference when the 6spd shifts...I think my IX will be okay.
Evolving Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 197
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^ what vanisher said
I've tracked a different 6-speed. A 2002 Merceded C230 Sport Coupe. Top speed was electronically limited to 130. To get there, I used sixth gear on long straights such as Virginia International Raceway (VIR) which has a 4000' back straight and a 3000' front straight. 5th gear was more convincing in the 6-speed, but 6th was a dog. Basically 2 wasted shifts in long sweepers.
Now with the 5-speed, on the same track, I am in 4th and 5th gears around most of the track(s). I can do many of the 4th gear turns in 5th with an increased top speed on the straights. Someone had said in another thread they had driven both and they prefered the 6-speed. Which I can understand because of the extra pull in 5th. On a track with a short straight like Summit Point Main or Carolina Motorsports Park, 5th would pull you faster out of the momentum turns before the straight. However, if you are that much faster in the beginning of the straight, you may have to shift to 6th near the end of straight, then back to 5th for the turn. With the 5-speed, you can just leave it in 5th, mantain a faster speed through the turn and exiting the turn, and with less shifts. At VIR, I ran 4th through rollercoaster and tried both 4th and 5th through hogpen. 4th was the right gear, but in a 6-speed 5th worked nicely. In the 5-speed I hit 130 right after the flag tower and pulled hard to 145 by the braking zone for T1.
Anyone know what MPH the 6-speed is hitting at the flag tower?
I've tracked a different 6-speed. A 2002 Merceded C230 Sport Coupe. Top speed was electronically limited to 130. To get there, I used sixth gear on long straights such as Virginia International Raceway (VIR) which has a 4000' back straight and a 3000' front straight. 5th gear was more convincing in the 6-speed, but 6th was a dog. Basically 2 wasted shifts in long sweepers.
Now with the 5-speed, on the same track, I am in 4th and 5th gears around most of the track(s). I can do many of the 4th gear turns in 5th with an increased top speed on the straights. Someone had said in another thread they had driven both and they prefered the 6-speed. Which I can understand because of the extra pull in 5th. On a track with a short straight like Summit Point Main or Carolina Motorsports Park, 5th would pull you faster out of the momentum turns before the straight. However, if you are that much faster in the beginning of the straight, you may have to shift to 6th near the end of straight, then back to 5th for the turn. With the 5-speed, you can just leave it in 5th, mantain a faster speed through the turn and exiting the turn, and with less shifts. At VIR, I ran 4th through rollercoaster and tried both 4th and 5th through hogpen. 4th was the right gear, but in a 6-speed 5th worked nicely. In the 5-speed I hit 130 right after the flag tower and pulled hard to 145 by the braking zone for T1.
Anyone know what MPH the 6-speed is hitting at the flag tower?
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At Summit? Hmm, I don't think I ever used the tower as a reference point, but I was hitting 125-130 at the end of the straight back when I had around 300whp. I was using race gas with maybe 1-2more psi, but nothing crazy.
Wow, 135 in a stock IX on street tires. I was maxing at 130 at the top of 5th with 300+whp and V700s. I know you have more experience, but that's hard to believe in a stock IX.
Evolving Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 197
Likes: 1
Originally Posted by Warrtalon
Wow, 135 in a stock IX on street tires. I was maxing at 130 at the top of 5th with 300+whp and V700s. I know you have more experience, but that's hard to believe in a stock IX.
