Anyone driven a stick yet?

How's the Cruiser through the gears? Does first get in the way of second, or can you run it up to thirty without redlining? Let's say you want the engine to last three years. Now, what's your normal top speed in each gear?



Anyone seen the T-bird site? You'll need Explorer or Navigator to hear the thundering percussion ( http://www.fordheritage.com/tbird/ ). I'm glad the new bird hasn't left the nest yetÂ*Â*might kiss the PT goodbye & cruise on. Hell no, what am I saying?!



There's a T-bird survey at the Ford site that may interest you. One of the questions asks whether manual shift should be offered and, if so, would you prefer 5-speed or 6? Six?! What's the sixth forÂ*Â*140 & up? Yi

[BobC]

Sixth is so you can have a car with a V8 that gets 30 mpg on the highway at 65 mph when you want it to, and 157 in 5th. On my Trans Am, 4th is 1.00, 5th is .74, and 6th is .50. R/E Ratio is 3.42, BTW, so it revs about 1200 to 1400 at 65 mph. You end up with longer engine life (if you don't lug it) and better fuel economy (if you aren't jumping on it) while still having a high performance car. As for speed, 3rd is good to a bit over 100.

In summary, 6 spd is good

[BobC]

There should be more 5 spd PT's out, soon. The restriction has been lifted on them, finally. I'd like to hear where the shift points are, too. Maybe someone will get theirs and fill us in...

Personally, I wish they had built a 6 spd for it. Nothing like having both good performance and good gas milage.

I went to that T-Bird site. I think Ford would be wise to do a 6 spd one. I also think they are very wise to use the web to survey what people want.

If Chrysler ever offers a 6-speed tranny on the PT, I hope all the low gears aren't compacted. Wouldn't you hate to stumble over first if it redlined at 20 mph? Perhaps it will make sense with a future turbo option.

[BobC]

Naaaaa, even without a Turbo, they have enough power to support the 6th gear. Look at the 2.67 final drive ratio on the Auto vs 3.21 on the 5 spd. You'd be looking at over 30 mpg highway, I'd expect, with no loss in performance in 6th as compared to the Auto.

With the Turbo, it'd be that much better...