V36 5 Speed Vs 7 Speed Auto

[projectx]

Hi all,

Im hoping to get my hands on one of these in the coming months. Im after opinions/feedback from v36 owners as to which is better. I think the v36 was released with 5 speed auto in 2007 which im guessing was the same as the v35 5 speed? Then in 2008 they came out with a 7 speed.

Has anyone had any gearbox dramas with either 5 or 7 speed?

Is there any differences apart from the obvious?

Do both have the blip the throttle feature when changing down?

Does the 7 speed have trouble deciding which gear it wants when you put your foot down resulting in lag?

any info would be great.

thanks

[Nightcrawler]

I am keen to know this also. I love the blip of the throttle when you change down in an R35GTR. I wish we could buy a simple plug-in solution for my 2003 V35.

[M34N]

Hi all,

Im hoping to get my hands on one of these in the coming months. Im after opinions/feedback from v36 owners as to which is better. I think the v36 was released with 5 speed auto in 2007 which im guessing was the same as the v35 5 speed? Then in 2008 they came out with a 7 speed.

Has anyone had any gearbox dramas with either 5 or 7 speed?

Is there any differences apart from the obvious?

Do both have the blip the throttle feature when changing down?

Does the 7 speed have trouble deciding which gear it wants when you put your foot down resulting in lag?

any info would be great.

thanks

Has anyone had any gearbox dramas with either 5 or 7 speed?

Both are very good, they are very smooth and I've not read of any drama's with them at all either on here, G35Driver or other forums. Never had a problem in over one year's ownership.

Is there any differences apart from the obvious?

I drove both the 5-speed and 7-speed auto's in the V36, to be honest I only noticed a difference when going high-speed and the auto in the 7-speed would sit in a high gear, then when you floored it the gearbox would feel like it hesitated a little before it found the right gear (gear hunting, as they call it). So yes there is lag, but it's minor; put it in DS mode and the problem is mostly solved as it will keep the lowest gear possible before selecting the next gear. Seemed a good mix to me and I'd get it if it was within your budget. The 7-speeds are only available with the 3.7L V6 VQ37VHR engine with VVEL, so it should consume less fuel and be better over the longer distances. I guess it would be a high priority if you were doing a lot of long-distance or rural driving. Otherwise the 5-speed is more than capable for every-day driving, IMO. I guess you could argue the 5-speed feels 'sportier' in auto mode as it has less gears to pick from and will usually sit in (or closer to) the right gear, but if you're driving it manually, then the problem doesn't exist.

Do both have the blip the throttle feature when changing down?

Yep, they call it "Downshift Rev Matching", and it's magic.

I think the v36 was released with 5 speed auto in 2007 which im guessing was the same as the v35 5 speed?

Not sure on this one. They both have a FM platform, so I wouldn't be surprised. Don't know if anyone else can confirm?

Just some other things to note;

I settled on the 5-speed as it was fair bit more for the 7-speed in a 2008 370GT sedan (this was over a year ago), and it wasn't worth the extra coin IMO. Also it's not a common known thing, the 370GT with a 7-speed weighs an extra 50kg over the 350GT with a 5-speed due to the bigger gearbox and larger engine, so performance-wise they are virtually identical 0-100 times and same top speeds, despite the 3.7L putting out more power. It wouldn't be a deal-breaker in my book, I would choose the 7-speed if I had the choice, but the 5-speed is more than capable. Both are great and you won't be disappointed with either.

Also just to clear one thing up for you, from 2006-2008 the V36 350GT sedan came with a 5-speed auto, then in 2007 the 370GT coupe also came with a 5-speed auto. Only in 2008 did both the 370GT sedan and coupe both come with 7-speed autos (as the 350GT sedan was replaced by the 370GT). The 250GT from 2006-current only comes in a 5-speed. Hope that helps.

[projectx]

Cool. Exactly what i was looking for.

I had a feeling the lag thing might be noticable on the 7 speed. I was really happy with the 5 speed in my v35 and very rarely switched it to sport mode. I probably would'nt use sport mode much if i got a v36 either so i think i might be better of with the 5 speed.

One more question, can you use the downshift rev matching without switching it to sport mode? So you leave it in auto but when your slowing down for a corner you tap the paddle to shift down but as you start to accelerate it just goes back to auto by itself?

[M34N]

Cool. Exactly what i was looking for.

I had a feeling the lag thing might be noticable on the 7 speed. I was really happy with the 5 speed in my v35 and very rarely switched it to sport mode. I probably would'nt use sport mode much if i got a v36 either so i think i might be better of with the 5 speed.

One more question, can you use the downshift rev matching without switching it to sport mode? So you leave it in auto but when your slowing down for a corner you tap the paddle to shift down but as you start to accelerate it just goes back to auto by itself?

Yeah it works, as soon as you gear up/down using the paddle shifters it will show you the gear on the LCD near the speedo (instead of just 'D'), and let you drive manually until you relax on the throttle and it will flick back to auto mode ('D') by itself. Sometimes it takes a while, I guess it depends on how aggressive you are. Don't do it very often, it will know when you brake hard into a corner then accelerate and automatically rev harder for you, that's what makes the car great. The power is always there anyway, even in auto mode.

[projectx]

love it

[Yo-Yo]

shamelessly ripped off from myg37.com: http://www.myg37.com/forums/g37-coupe/185836-gear-ratio-2009-7a-vs-2008-5a-vs-6mt-acceleration-5at-might-be-better-0-60-a.html

5Auto | 7Auto | 6 MT

1st gear: 3,84 | 4,92 | 3,79

2nd gear: 2,35 | 3,19 | 2,32

3rd gear: 1,52 | 2,04 | 1,62

4th gear: 1,00 | 1,41 | 1,27

5th gear: 0,84 | 1,00 | 1,00

6th gear: ---- | 0,86 | 0,79

7th gear: ---- | 0,77 | ----

Final drive ratio: 3,69 | 3,36 | 3,69

Comments:

The 08 5AT gear ratios seems to be more short, so less 0-60...than the 2009 7A.

The 5Auto is pretty close to 6MT, and the only gains might be only on mpg, not for 0-60 like infiniti claims too...

Take a look on the final drive ratio, the 7A is lower than 6MT and 5A, so might have less acceleration....but due to lower 7th gear ratio than 6MT, they will get the advantage from better mpg.

Waiting your coments guys...i hope i was wrong, but i will need the help from the experts...

check out the link, imo in real life there will be sweet FA in it for acceleration, it's more of a fuel economy thing. I'm happy with my 5 speed. Waiting to see what the new generation model will look like, they have a second series facelift on the current g37 models in the US so a new model is due in the next 1-2 years imo, & by then infiniti will be here in aus. Hope it looks good, never been a fan of the v35 styling mainly due to the headlights. Always liked the v36, can't wait to see how the new model turns out

[M34N]

shamelessly ripped off from myg37.com: http://www.myg37.com...ter-0-60-a.html

check out the link, imo in real life there will be sweet FA in it for acceleration, it's more of a fuel economy thing. I'm happy with my 5 speed. Waiting to see what the new generation model will look like, they have a second series facelift on the current g37 models in the US so a new model is due in the next 1-2 years imo, & by then infiniti will be here in aus. Hope it looks good, never been a fan of the v35 styling mainly due to the headlights. Always liked the v36, can't wait to see how the new model turns out

Check out this thread, I posted a fair bit on there about the new V37 on page 2. A few pretty pictures as well.

Also for what it's worth, they have done numerous tests on the 350GT 5-sp and 370GT 7-sp (look up YouTube, plenty on there) and all have come to the same conclusions; virtually identical 0-100 times and top speeds in both cars. Like you said, fuel economy is the main issue addressed with the 7-sp, not performance. Also the 6-sp MT has been proven to be just as fast as the 5-sp AT, so there is no benefit to going manual (in this car at least )

[projectx]

For me response time is more important then 1/2 a second quicker 0-100 time. Modern auto gear boxes tend to have a lag issue more and more. Im talking about when your rolling along at low speed approaching a roundabout, you put your foot down to scoot through while grandma lets another 30 cars past on the right, and the gearbox takes "what seems like forever " to figure out what gear you need and finally you kick off.. I had a honda accord 2009 after the v35 and this was one of the reasons i sold it. Ok, it helps fuel economy and also has the gradient sensitive feature where it automativally shifts down if your going up a hill or down a hill for braking. BUT in other ways it feels like crap. My girlfriends civic does the same thing. One of the things i loved about the v35 was that it was always ready to go regardless of what speed your doing. f**k i miss that car. Any v35 owners thinking of selling should think carefully. You might regret it. Unless of course your upgrading to a v36..

[scarf]

a fair few people on myg37.com have had issues with the 7spd. Thankfully I haven't and feel it works well. I like using the paddles, so keep it in sports mode a lot of the time. You dont have to shift down if you dont want to as it does this automatically - good for lazy people when cruising to a stop. Rev-matching is a cool thing.

[projectx]

So i checked what all the fuss was about on myg37.com. Wow!! there is a lot of unsatisfied 7AT owners describing the exact problems that im trying to avoid. Im really glad i looked into this before buying!

[Alkatraz]

Two options then, pay less and get an 08 with the 5MT like mine, or look for a manual. Keep in mind though that the G37 is a very popular car in the US, I saw dozens of them whilst I was there for two weeks in October. It may only be a small percentage of people who are actually complaining.

[M34N]

Two options then, pay less and get an 08 with the 5MT like mine, or look for a manual. Keep in mind though that the G37 is a very popular car in the US, I saw dozens of them whilst I was there for two weeks in October. It may only be a small percentage of people who are actually complaining.

Yep, the 'problem' really is minor, and like I said if you drive the car manually and gear down yourself, the issue is not there. If this is the biggest issue people have with the car, then I would be pretty happy with that. If there was an actual genuine problem with the 7sp, does anyone really think it would of been in production since 2008 then?

[projectx]

Yep, the 'problem' really is minor, and like I said if you drive the car manually and gear down yourself, the issue is not there. If this is the biggest issue people have with the car, then I would be pretty happy with that.

I dont plan on gearing down myself (apart from showing off every now and again) so it would be good if the car could do a half decent job of it. I have a bit of traffic to get through on the way to work and back so would be good if it was smooth even at stop/start pace.

If there was an actual genuine problem with the 7sp, does anyone really think it would of been in production since 2008 then?

I dont know.. how many years was the GT8 in production for again?

[scarf]

I dont plan on gearing down myself (apart from showing off every now and again) so it would be good if the car could do a half decent job of it. I have a bit of traffic to get through on the way to work and back so would be good if it was smooth even at stop/start pace.

I dont know.. how many years was the GT8 in production for again?

You really need to test drive a 7spd to see if it has the mentioned issues. The one I got thankfully is smooth during traffic in auto mode.

if this is your main concern, go for the 5spd, have piece of mind, and more money in your pocket.

[M34N]

I dont know.. how many years was the GT8 in production for again?

Point taken, but I hope you're not going to suggest now the 7AT is as bad as the 8CVT? The 'problem' people in the US are reporting is just a lag in gearing down (flooring it) when already in high gear - this is hardly a 'my gearbox is randomly blowing up' issue. Unfortunately, you cannot have economy and power BOTH at the same time. I notice you mentioned the Honda earlier, my brother has an 8th Gen 3.5L Accord and with a 5sp, that is pretty slow flooring it in ANY gear. The 'problem' with the 7AT that I experienced was only when in a high gear, not down low.

From my experience both the 5AT and 7AT are great, it's all up to your personal preferences and/or driving style. Maybe you should test drive one of each to make a decision yourself, I know I did and I found nothing major. Good luck with your purchase, hope this has been helpful.

[Commsman]

I dont know.. how many years was the GT8 in production for again?

Nice one Tom.

[projectx]

Steve, im not suggesting that it could be as bad as the 8CVT, just that they might not pull it off the shelf until the end of the cars life cycle (as they did with the 8CVT). Out of all the complaints i read about, only a small percentage were serious enough for the gear box to be replaced. The rest were comfort and smoothness issues. But im pretty fussy, and unlike the Japs or the Americans, we cant go bugging the local dealerships to give us software updates etc.. We are left to our own devices. (at least until infiniti opens its doors in oz) So given there are 3 options, and im keen on an auto. The 5 speed seems like the logical choice for me. On the economy subject, like you said, "its personal preference" for me economy takes a back seat over driving pleasure. Im not suggesting that the 5at is more pleasurable to drive then the 7at, but the satistics tend to point that way.

I should probably add to this, from what i understood from myg37 forum. It sounds like nissan has been constantly working to update software to iron out any issues with the 7AT. Heaps of guys on the myg37.com had software updates at dealerships which in some cases fixed the problems all together. Other times it just improved it. Some of the newer posts with guys buying 2010 or 2011 models said they didnt have any problems at all. So they must have fixed it by now. Only problem is, I cant afford a 2011 one. And we cant get the software updates here, yet. (correct me if im wrong)

[zei20l]

have you checked to see if there is a valve body upgrade available for it?? in the US there was an electronic repgrogramming from infinity available, there is a TSB out there somewhere for it

the RE5R05As respond very well to this upgrade

[projectx]

I ended up getting a 5 speed auto, and after nearly a month of driving, i want to share my thoughts..

Well i hate to say it, but the 5 speed box in the v35 wins. Lag is not really the issue here. There are a few scenario's that dont sit right with me.

These are all in auto mode. I havent really experimented with sport mode that much yet.

1) If you want to do a quick 0-120km for example and you more or less floor it from 0km per hour. When it changes from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd it kicks you in the back. Its like a big nudge. In the v35 this was seamless. It was smooth as butter and fast.

2) After you reach your desired speed and you lift off the throttle. The gear box stays in that gear for a few seconds (revving the tits off the engine) even though your foots not even touching the accelerator. Then finally you get a kick in the ass when it finally decides to change up. and another one for the next gear up...

Both of these issues are only there if I have my foot to the floor. If i lift off a bit before it changes gear, then its totally smooth and fast changes, reminding me of the v35.

Is this something that others have noticed?

Pisses me off that they have to f**k around with something that isnt broken in the first place.