beas_tc_oupe06

1.8L I beleive... my guess its the same trans as the GTS.

Beginning to look hopeless, but anything is possible

eston

Why don't we just swap the fifth gear or the final drive?

djct_watt

The Celica GTS, Corolla XRS, and Matrix XRS all share the same motor and 6 speed tranny.

Too much work and money for me. . . all that cash for such a minute mod wouldn't really save you enough money on gas to be worth the work.

But if it were for performance purposes (ie, higher top speed with speed governor removed and gobs more power), then it would be worth it. . . or perhaps a close ratio 6 speed. This is not a high speed track car, and it would take extensive work to make it so. Now if you wanted a fast car for a road course, then you'll never really exceed 140-150mph at the very most, so you wouldn't need tall gearing anyway.

But when it comes to that, you might as well swap the engine too. . . maybe a nice Caldina swap. . . mmmmmmmmmm

Diversion

Get an 07 and drive 65 mph and get your 31-32 mpg. ;) I rarely drive more than 68-70mph on the highway.. Keeps the Police off my tail and off the radar.

Of course, I'd love a better geared tC, that was my first complaint the very first time I drove one. I was like "Good god, who thought putting in these gears was a good idea, i'm spinning nearly 4000 rpms just cruising up the highway!"

I guess Toyota wanted to keep the car feeling "quick" even in 5th gear. We can STAND to use a taller 5th.. The torque is definately there to handle it and it would potentially increase highway gas mileage to 34~

Jay

djct_watt

At this point, there's nothing we can do. . . it's not THAT bad. It's actually quite liveable, IMO. I had an xA, and it was at 4100RPM at 80 MPH, and it was a very NOISY 4100RPM. Now I have a tC and it comfortably does 90MPH at the same engine speed, and does so VERY quietly and smoothly. I really don't mind it so much. . . a six speed would be nice, but it's not like Toyota is going to magically give us new transmissions, being that we've already purchased the car.

If you guys think it was that bad, maybe you should have paid a little more attention on your test drives. . . after all, that's what a test drive is for. Nobody lied to you and denied you from seeing how short 5th gear is. . .

The MPG really aren't THAT bad, considering how quick this car is, and that it churns out 160hp with a decent amount of torque. What other cars do you know of that perform at the same level that get THIS GOOD of MPG. My xA only had 103hp and didn't fare that much better (avg 34mpg). You want better mileage? Buy a more expensive car (BMW 330ci gets 30mpg and is a LOT faster) or buy a slower car (base Civic or Corolla).

Prototype_xB

On www.Turbo-Kits.com under turbo accessories for the tC it has a few ZPI products and 1 of which being a "6 speed w/ LSD" $TBA

http://www.turbo-kits.com/tC_turbo_kits.html



Been that way for almost a year now. Looks like another ZPI lost cause.

AndrewGene

I emailed them a couple of days ago and asked them about it. They said that it can be done but it hasn't been done on a tC yet.

Brakefade

My only question is, how long would it take to make up the money you paid for the 6-speed tranny, and probably the installation, in gas savings? Probably just best to get a taller final gear. Performance wise, swapping a 6-speed is a waste of money IMO.

djct_watt

That's pretty much the opposite of what I said. The cost is NOT going to offset the gas savings. . . unless you drive eleventy kagillion miles a day. The only real application would be for performance. . . and unless you're maxing out at redline in 5th gear or you've already maxed out your power mods, then it wouldn't be worth it.

BLUEMEANIE

the GT Celica has had the same problem since 1990 ... 5th @ 80mph puts you at almost 4k. I don't mind it durring day to day driving or even a weekend out but on long distance hauls or road trips (I drove 14hrs to Canada) its annoying.
I'll never understand why they put the tC out without a 6spd option in this day and age.

ehj

Well the 1990 Celica had a 1.6, 2.0T and a 2.2 motor. I can understand the 1.6 motor needing short gears, but a decent hp/torque engine like the tC's 2.4 doesn't need ultra short gears since its got good power to begin with.

beas_tc_oupe06

Well I think the gearing in gears 1-4 is fine, but 5th is just tooo short. Infact I attribute alot of our cars quickness to the 1-4 gearing, as dont the auto's run considerably slower in the 1/4 mile?

My buddies MazdaSpeed Miata is the same way... in 6th gear hes at like 4200 at 80mph... nice not having the downshift to pass someone (read: always building boost) but just seems unnecassary.

ehj

Yeah, I gave a Mercedes C230 a pretty good beating today. It's funny how the look on the 50 year old man's face when I left him behind every green light. Sticking his car out of the crosswalk didn't help him either. After about 3 beatings, he made a turn.