GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I took my Vibe to Marathon Key, FL, for a three-night gig at the Hurricane, and it did great loaded with music gear and luggage. The best part was the gas mileage. My first tank of gas in the Vibe (a few weeks ago) yielded about 196 miles - much better than about 180 in my 2002 GMC Jimmy, which had a larger tank!The second tank got about the same, but the third tank - the one that I put in before leaving Tampa - got me 299.9 miles down the road before giving out! I could have made it further but gas stations are a little more spread out in the Keys and I wasn't taking any chances.The fourth tankful made it 306 miles before giving out. I put my fifth tankful in at Naples, and even now in Tampa, it's barely below the "FULL" line. Have any of you noticed how long the needle stays above F, instead of falling immediately like every other car I've had?Anyway, I got a lot of looks, and saw no other Vibes down there. I am very happy with the way this car handles longer trips and can't wait to take it to the mountains soon.

Nice trip! My father-in-law is in Florida for the Winter and we expect to Vibe down in January. Hey LavaTroll! No Jazz or Blues in your Vibe? or was that just an oversight?

Frosty or Lavatroll - what kind of rpm are you seeing in 5th at say, a steady 70 mph on flat ground ?Even in my GT, I've been closing in on 30mpg. That's why I'm wondering what kind of revs you guys are seeing with your 5-speeds. I normally cruise at 3000 in 6th at 70.

Yoda,I happened to pay attention to this, so I can actually answer: at 70mph on more or less flat Florida highways - and considering the 80-90 degree temperatures we've had up until today's 60-something - I am at about 2700-2800 RPM. When I go to 80mph, it's at about 3100-3200. It seems to me that fifth gear is just a gas-saving, cruising gear. I could run in fourth at these speeds and not blow up the engine.Is the Vibe geared differently than the 5-speed GMC Sonomas I used to drive? I'm not very car technical, but it sure seems they distributed the power differently in this car. It's crazy.Oh, and by the way, no jazz or blues on this trip - mostly James Brown, Dead Kennedys, my recordings, Ramones' first album, and various 50s rock. I bet "Kind Of Blue" sounds great on this system, though, and will try it soon.

Joey Ramone R.I.P.

quote:Frosty or Lavatroll - what kind of rpm are you seeing in 5th at say, a steady 70 mph on flat ground ?Suprised to hear that the 6 speed doesn't rev lower than the 5 speed. I find my car is very nice and relaxed at hwy speed, and gets great mileage. However it does require a downshift to 4th on long hills, a downshift to 3rd rewards great passing grunt up to 80 in no time. Someday I would love to trade keys with a GT or XRS owner. I have never seen one on the street here. Just bases and XR's.

5th gear in the 5-speed manual is the same ratio as 6th gear in the 6-speed manual, however, the 6-speed manual has a lower (numerically higher) final drive ratio than the 5-speed manual. This causes the 6-speed to have a higher RPM in 6th gear than the 5-speed in 5th gear at the same speed.5-speed manual:1st : 3.172nd : 1.903rd : 1.314th : 0.895th : 0.73Reverse : 3.25Final Drive Ratio: 3.946-speed manual:1st : 3.172nd : 2.053rd : 1.484th : 1.175th : 0.926th : 0.73Reverse : 3.25Final Drive Ratio: 4.53

quote:This causes the 6-speed to have a higher RPM in 6th gear than the 5-speed in 5th gear at the same speed. Thanks Mr. Nova.What a curious set up with the higher final drive and more gears within the same span of ratios. It seems to me that the benefit of the extra gears would have been better realized if sixth gear was lower numerically for relaxed economical cruising.

Remember, the 6-speed is for the GT engine only. The GT engine makes power and torque at higher RPMs than the base engine so that gear keeps the engine RPM higher to match the GT's higher peaks. Also, the lower final drive ration helps the GT get better acceleration with less torque at lower RPMs.

Thanks for the numbers, Nova - I agree that this trans would do well with a slightly lower 6th cog. 70 is really about 3100rpm. I can use it easily from about 40mph up. Normally cruise at 80 or so and the engine is always on the boil and ready to pass (almost 4000 rpm) even without downshifting. I would trade that "feature" in a heartbeat for being able to quietly cruise in 6th at 90 mph or so. Passing should involve downshifting. IIRC - the trans came over unchanged from the celica - Top speed in 6th gear probably made more sense in that car. I'm not sure I would choose a lower number final drive (like when I swap out the diff) - I do like how it snaps off the line.

This thread only serves to remind me that cars are NOT my area of expertise Signed, A Musician Who Really Loves Extended Warranties

quote:I would trade that "feature" in a heartbeat for being able to quietly cruise in 6th at 90 mph or so.I'll trade you the 2.96 gear in my auto for the 4.53 gears in your 6-speed.Auto (2WD):1st : 4.012nd : 2.213rd : 1.434th : 0.98 (gee, not much of an "overdrive")Reverse : 3.27Final Drive Ratio: 2.962WD auto w/16" wheels:60 = 2350-rpm70 = 2741-rpm4WD auto w/16" wheels:60 = 2404-rpm70 = 2805-rpm5-speed w/16" wheels:60 in 4th = 2840-rpm70 in 4th = 3314-rpm60 in 5th = 2330-rpm70 in 5th = 2718-rpm6-speed w/16" wheels:60 in 5th = 3376-rpm70 in 5th = 3938-rpm60 in 6th = 2678-rpm70 in 6th = 3125-rpmNOTE 1: rpms will be slightly less with 17" wheels (less than 100-rpm).NOTE 2: the 4WD automatic has different gears and final drive ratio than the 2WD automatic.As you can see, the 5-speed gets the lowest engine RPMs for each speed while the 6-speed gets the highest. This is just one reason a 5-speed base gets the best fuel economy.

Mr. Nova:At the risk of making your head explode, you amaze. Coming up with all those #'s in a couple of hours is remarkable. Thanks.

It's not remarkable, it's math. All you need are the gear ratios, tire circumference, PI, the number of inches/mile and an Excel spreadsheet.The 16" tires are 24.9" in diameter.Circumference = 2 x PI x RCircumference = 2 x 3.14159 x 12.45 = 78.23"5280 = feet/milefeet/mile x 12 inches/foot = inches/mile5280 x 12 = 63360 inches/mileMPH / 60 = miles per minuteUse the following formula and you have the numbers in an instant:(miles per minute) x (inches per mile) / (tire circumference) x (gear ratio) x (final drive ratio) = RPMFor 60 mph:(60 / 60) x 63360 / 78.23 x gear ratio x final drive ratio = RPMFor 70 mph:(70 / 60) x 63360 / 78.23 x gear ratio x final drive ratio = RPM