# The difference is very slight...explanations....

Posted by Mike S. (93gxe) on July 09, 2003 at 22:42:02: In Reply to: i was under the impression, posted by Walka on July 09, 2003 at 19:25:27: With the gearing of the maxima 5sp and auto, the 5sp is geared for performance. A manual is more efficent at getting power to the ground and less is wasted in the tranny. However, in the case of the maxima, 5th gear will run higher than my 4th gear. Above ~45mph in our auto's, the torque converter "locks" and thus makes the car like a manual. If it didn't unlock, the car would stall when I would come to a stop. The t converter is what transfers the power from the engine to the tranny, and its what makes auto less able to get the power down (it gets wasted in the converter). So in closing, on the highway, my torque converter is locked, making the car simmilar to a 5sp, and with the lower gearing, most likely a Maxima auto will get better MPG with steady highway crusing. Mike S. Replys:

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: With the gearing of the maxima 5sp and auto, the 5sp is geared for performance. A manual is more efficent at getting power to the ground and less is wasted in the tranny. : However, in the case of the maxima, 5th gear will run higher than my 4th gear. Above ~45mph in our auto's, the torque converter "locks" and thus makes the car like a manual. If it didn't unlock, the car would stall when I would come to a stop. : The t converter is what transfers the power from the engine to the tranny, and its what makes auto less able to get the power down (it gets wasted in the converter). : So in closing, on the highway, my torque converter is locked, making the car simmilar to a 5sp, and with the lower gearing, most likely a Maxima auto will get better MPG with steady highway crusing. : Mike S.