6 speed or 5 speed?

[marcello]

which one is better if you could get the spec with the 5 speed from the regular S-ER or keep the original 6 speed in the spec v???

[nametakennow]

Then there'd be no point to getting the Spec other than some different body work and the tighter suspension (which I'd assume you'll be switching out anyway).

Remember, the 6spd has an HLSD that the 5spd does not.

[marcello]

what excactly does the hlsd do?

[nametakennow]

It's a limited slip. The purpose of a limited slip is to keep the drive wheels spinning at the same speed, which means you don't spin your inside wheel while turning under acceleration or if they're on uneven surfaces, etc. Basically it puts power down more evenly, which makes the car quicker and handle better.

[marcello]

so you could also have better launches?

[nametakennow]

Yes, better traction.

[marcello]

thats sweet. what about like chirping gears? like 2nd?

[nametakennow]

Chirping is doable. It's technically slower, but there's enough torque to do it. The LSD makes it easier to shift quickly without chirping.

[marcello]

thats cool. i bet with a short shifter you could get that thing up to 60 pretty fast.

[VMPhil]

it depends on the year. 0-60 times went up after 2003 years because of the Taller first gear. in the 02-03 specs the first gear was impossibly short and damn near useless as the top speed was like 14 mph in first. yes you can chirp the tires in second. actually the first time my wife drove the car she did it by accident, she was used to driving her much weaker Neon.

[marcello]

yeah the first gear in specs are wack. but i may get a regular ser because i dont like how the 04+ look with the front bumper

[64dodge540]

yes difinetly like the bumper facia on the 02-03 se-r. thats why I bought mine, went to the dealer at dusk and looked at it with the lights on and said nice. but yes I wish I had the 6 spd just for the LSD. but the 6spd has the same rpm at 70-75 mph as the 5 spd.

[gregfarz78]

2nd is easy to chirp I've chirped 3rd a few times on a stock motor. 1st gear is very annoying its too short. I got the spec b/c of LSD, nicer interior, and 6 spd. Just get the SER then and do a 02-03 spec v bumper swap, I see plenty of people sell them for ugly *** body kits

[marcello]

yeah but i really want the lsd. and its not like when i race i am going to do it from a dig. i hate those because if you get a bad launch you get beat almost 90% of the time. so i like 20mph and up rolls the best.

[marcello]

and i also heard that spec v's are really good in rolling races.

[SpecDRacing]

RS6F51H.....that is the designation for the Sentra SER V-Spec 6 speed transmission. RS6F51A is the designation in the Maxima without LSD and RS5F51A is the 5 speed transmission.

The third digit in the code is the number of gears. The last digit in the code is the type of differential. A = Open, H = Helical, V = Viscous (mainly used in RWD applications but was available in I30s and Maximas in the early to mid 90's).

The LSD in the 6 speed is a Helical type, meaning its pretty small, does not contain clutch packs and uses the oposition of gear rotation to "lock" the diff. The early M30 (infiniti) had this for a rear end.

Forget the Ring gear wrapped around the differentail. Where the axles go into your transaxle, there are splines. Each axle has its own set of splines that connect them to the differential (the big round portion that odly sticks back from your transaxle). Those splines are the inside of two seperate tubes (one for each axle). The other side of the tube has a gear on it. Imagine a barrel with grooves on the inside and teeth on the outside. Those outside teeth come in contact with 4 small gears (picture North South East and West of the teeth on the tube). So now we have two tubes with grooves, and 4 gears on each tube equaling 8 gears. Those gears are long enough to contact each other, even though the tubes do not. This is all held together by a case (carrier). When one turns, they all turn. So if one axle spins clockwise, and the case holding all the gears and tubes together is held stationary, the other axle will turn counterclockwise. When only the case is turned, and the pressure on the both axles is equal, they will both turn equally. There's more to it then that as some contain springs and others use different turning ratios of the helical gears to create a form of breakaway torque (that term is typicaly reserved for clutch type LSDs).

In an open diff, there is a pinion in the middle of the two tubes. It has a gear on each end shaped like a cone (side gears) and they are in contact with the case as it has teeth cast into it. This is good for gas mileage and hard to soft surface contacts (like one on the asphalt and one in the dirt). The down side, there is no limiting factor to keep the wheels spinning together with equal power distribution.

So, back to 5 speed or 6 speed. 5 if you like 1st gear.....6 if you need the ability to select just the right rpm to enter or exit a turn. Not much difference other than that. 6th is overdrive (I think it's 0.63:1) just as 5th is. The only difference is at what speed you'll redline your tach.

Maybe I can post some pics up of a HLSD for you.

[SpecDRacing]

A few pictures to show you the difference. It seems that the major part of deciding 5 speed or 6 speed is basically the diff.



This is the engine side of the 5 speed transaxle (or where the passenger axle enters the transmission). If you look into where the axle goes, you'll see a metal pipe in there. That is the pinion for the open differential. This is a different pinion then when people talk about a "ring and pinion" set as that is refering to a rear wheel drive setup. This pinion is inside the differential itself. This is what allows the two axles to spin independently of each other.



A closer look. Sorry for the poor lighting, but I just couldn't get enough in there to get a good look at the pinion. But, all nissan FWD transmissions that have an open diff, will have this pinion. It is visible from either side where the axles go in.



This is a look at the Helical differential out of the transaxle. It is sitting on cardboard (gear grease is just nasty to mess with). You can see straight through this.



This is a side shot. The plastic (white) gear near the top is the speed gear or ....hmm....brain fart, can't remember the actual name, but it drives the speed sensor. Those humps in the case that are going around the diff are what house the helical gears. You can see the edges of some of them near the top of the carrier. See how the ones you can see come down, and beside them there are humps closed off....well, those humps closed off are the helical gears for the other side of the diff. They contact each other where the humps touch. That's the locking action of a helical differential.

I hope this helps some. I have these parts available as I am building a 6 speed to go with my VQ35DE that I am installing into a B13. I hope to make a video showing the build of that transmission and post it on nico.

Other then the diff, the differences in the 5 speed and 6 speed are just gear ratios. I guess my post was a little off topic, but it did leave this a little open ended for me to throw some pics in. Later gang!

[marcello]

o thats cool.so what about rolling races?

[SpecDRacing]

On the roll drag racing takes away the fight over reaction time and traction. It really tests the vehicles and leaves the driver out of it. It's hard to screw up shifts. A six speed will win, but only by a camera shot finish, and in a lab enviornment. If you can beat them rolling, but not from a stop, then you know you have a better drivetrain. Just practice better launch tactics and calm your nerves some. Getting the thought of a race out of your head before your actually in it will help you win. I do hope we are talking about on the dragstrip racing here........"right". Anway, I dont really condone street racing, but we all do feel the need to show that Corvette or Mustang next to us that we paid less for just as much fun. Organized street racing though should atleast make an attempt to set something up at a local strip. Trust me, I was in it for long enough, and with the money we all spent on speeding tickets and such, we could've paid for weekly sessions at the local strip (and I mean rented the track, not just pay to race).

[zer099]

6 speed all the way.

[marcello]

hahhaha yeah the drag strip. but i love autox and i heard sepc v is a good autox car. my bo autox his rx7 and my brother in laws vr6 jetta and his brothers m3. they go a lot. and i cant wait to do it with a spec.

so are they good??????