[xzellerate]

I went to the dealer today to get my thousand mile check up, and to my surprise, there was an Ivory/Willow 5AT coupe in the showroom floor, and a Carribean/Willow 6mt outside. As my car went in for inspection, I asked one of the salesmen to let me drive the one outside, so I took it for a spin. I don't know why, but my sedan feels faster. Can anyone explain why? I asked one of the mechanics and he said that the sedan is lighter but could this be it?

XL

2003.5 5AT Sedan Ivory Pearl/Graphite Leather Sport/Premium/Aerokit

 

[Wren57]

For one thing the engine probably hasn't been broken in at all. I would also suspect you didn't really push the limits of the 6mt, launching off the line and chirping tires... My BMW is faster than my Highlander, but my Highlander *feels* faster simply because it is bigger, has more tq, etc. The feeling of "fast" I believe is defined as feeling of "on the edge".
Mario Andretti said it well. "If you are in control, you aren't going fast enough."
Although I haven't driven the sedan, I would imagine the coupe has more control, thus making it feel more comfortable at the same speed as the sedan, making it "feel" less fast. Hope this helps

Laser Red, Graphite, 6MT, due June

 

[Semi On]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I don't know why, but my sedan feels faster. Can anyone explain why?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Two possibilities I can think of:

1) One of several psychological phenomenons by which you justify your purchase to yourself by convincing yourself of your car's superiority.

2) You need more practice with the transmission.

As to the weight, the difference between the stock auto sedan and the 6MT coupe is less than 100 pounds. Hardly enough to account for any real perceivable difference in speed.

 

[G-Man]

Actually, Gentlemen, Road and Track (as referenced in their current "Road Test Summary") tested the manual coupe 0.1 second faster than the automatic sedan in 0-60 tests. Do the math; it tells me that, even allowing for driver differences, the lighter sedan is faster than the coupe, despite the factory horsepower claims.

2003.5 G35 Sedan 6MT

 

[Semi On]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by G-Man

Actually, Gentlemen, Road and Track (as referenced in their current "Road Test Summary") tested the manual coupe 0.1 second faster than the automatic sedan in 0-60 tests. Do the math; it tells me that, even allowing for driver differences, the lighter sedan is faster than the coupe, despite the factory horsepower claims.

2003.5 G35 Sedan 6MT
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

This makes no sense whatsoever. The coupe tested as .1s faster and you conclude that the sedan is faster based on this?

 

[xzellerate]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Semi OnTwo possibilities I can think of:

1) One of several psychological phenomenons by which you justify your purchase to yourself by convincing yourself of your car's superiority.

2) You need more practice with the transmission.

As to the weight, the difference between the stock auto sedan and the 6MT coupe is less than 100 pounds. Hardly enough to account for any real perceivable difference in speed.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Phycological phenomenons are telling me you are a coupe owner aren'tcha? []

XL

2003.5 5AT Sedan Ivory Pearl/Graphite Leather Sport/Premium/Aerokit

 

[G-Man]

Sorry for the poor communication, Semi. What I meant to conclude, was that the MANUAL sedan was faster than the manual coupe. Based upon a 6.2 second 0-60 in the AUTOMATIC sedan, through no hard proof, only through engineering logic, surely a manual in that same sedan would shave off 0.2 second? What do you think?

2003.5 G35 Sedan 6MT

 

[Semi On]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by G-Man

Sorry for the poor communication, Semi. What I meant to conclude, was that the MANUAL sedan was faster than the manual coupe. Based upon a 6.2 second 0-60 in the AUTOMATIC sedan, through no hard proof, only through engineering logic, surely a manual in that same sedan would shave off 0.2 second? What do you think?

2003.5 G35 Sedan 6MT
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

I don't know about their comparison. Car & Driver now last rated the Coupe 6MT a 5.5s car and they're getting performance out of it better than the Z.

As to how much the manual shaves off of the Auto, that is pretty wildly variable. I really have no idea what the actual measured difference is between the two. If anyone can find some real world comparisons on this car, I'd love to see them.

xzellerate,

Duh!