transmission swap

Let others know about your performance modifications, and help members find the parts they want.
Dthrill_08
Posts: 71
Joined: Sun Mar 23, 2014 12:14 pm

That was one of the main reasons I wanted a sportback. It's rarity and look. It performed well with the paddle shifters. I know both have CVT but I felt the Sportback was a little quicker, smoother, etc. I enjoy my Kizashi. Thanks for your input.
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KuroNekko
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Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:08 pm
Location: California, USA

Dthrill_08 wrote:That was one of the main reasons I wanted a sportback. It's rarity and look. It performed well with the paddle shifters. I know both have CVT but I felt the Sportback was a little quicker, smoother, etc. I enjoy my Kizashi. Thanks for your input.
I know what you mean about the Lancer being quicker. My former car was a Mazda3 with a 5 speed manual. It had the 2.3 liter engine that was rated at 160 HP. However, it felt faster than the Kizashi. Car and Driver has the Mazda3 (2.3 liter 5MT) doing 0 to 60 in 7.4 seconds. They have the Kizashi GTS (2.4 liter 6MT) doing 0 to 60 in 7.5 seconds. Despite the negligible difference on paper, the Mazda definitely felt faster especially in acceleration. I attribute this mostly to vehicle weight:
My Mazda3 sedan was around 2700 lbs curb vehicle weight.
My Kizashi Sport GTS is around 3250 lbs curb vehicle weight.
The difference of over 500 lbs would probably be the main reason why the cars accelerated differently. I can imagine a similar factor would apply to the Lancer GTS which weighs about 200 lbs less than the Kizashi (both as autos). If your Kizashi is AWD, your car is about 3500 lbs versus the Lancer Sportback GTS' 3164 lbs.

That being said, the Mazda3 and the Lancer are far more chintzy compared to the Kizashi. The 3 and the Lancer are compact economy cars while the Kizashi is more like a small midsize sedan with a higher level of refinement.
Hands down, the Kizashi is a much better car to drive for noise isolation, ride quality, and comfort than the Mazda3. In fact, I got rid of the Mazda3 for the Kizashi for these reasons. If you value these qualities like I do, you made the better choice over the Lancer even if the Lancer was a bit more sportier.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
Dthrill_08
Posts: 71
Joined: Sun Mar 23, 2014 12:14 pm

You're right. Unfortunately i have the 5 speed Auto so you know my misery. I do 0-60 in low 9s I believe. I do not care too much for this because I was planning on getting a good MPG car like Elantra, Mazda, Ford Focus, Etc but I figured I rather do a little less gas mileage but be in a comfortable good looking bigger car. I am 6 ft 210 pounds too big for a small compact car. Thank you for your input =]
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KuroNekko
Posts: 5216
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:08 pm
Location: California, USA

Dthrill_08 wrote:You're right. Unfortunately i have the 5 speed Auto so you know my misery. I do 0-60 in low 9s I believe. I do not care too much for this because I was planning on getting a good MPG car like Elantra, Mazda, Ford Focus, Etc but I figured I rather do a little less gas mileage but be in a comfortable good looking bigger car. I am 6 ft 210 pounds too big for a small compact car. Thank you for your input =]
5 speed auto? The automatic Kizashi has a CVT with no gears at all. The 6 "gears" that you can shift manually are ratio presets between the pulleys of the CVT.

No doubt the Kizashi is more comfortable than compacts like the ones you named above. In fact, the car drives differently. Maybe it's just me but I can really feel the difference between a compact and a midsize in how it drives. I'd take the fuel economy tax any day over a compact's inferior ride quality and noise isolation. This was the main factor in me leaving the Mazda3 for the Kizashi.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
Dthrill_08
Posts: 71
Joined: Sun Mar 23, 2014 12:14 pm

KuroNekko wrote:
Dthrill_08 wrote:You're right. Unfortunately i have the 5 speed Auto so you know my misery. I do 0-60 in low 9s I believe. I do not care too much for this because I was planning on getting a good MPG car like Elantra, Mazda, Ford Focus, Etc but I figured I rather do a little less gas mileage but be in a comfortable good looking bigger car. I am 6 ft 210 pounds too big for a small compact car. Thank you for your input =]
5 speed auto? The automatic Kizashi has a CVT with no gears at all. The 6 "gears" that you can shift manually are ratio presets between the pulleys of the CVT.

No doubt the Kizashi is more comfortable than compacts like the ones you named above. In fact, the car drives differently. Maybe it's just me but I can really feel the difference between a compact and a midsize in how it drives. I'd take the fuel economy tax any day over a compact's inferior ride quality and noise isolation. This was the main factor in me leaving the Mazda3 for the Kizashi.
I don't know much about CVT but when I put my Kizashi in Shifttronic it actually has 5 gears. I can manually change it.
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KuroNekko
Posts: 5216
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:08 pm
Location: California, USA

Dthrill_08 wrote:
KuroNekko wrote:
Dthrill_08 wrote:You're right. Unfortunately i have the 5 speed Auto so you know my misery. I do 0-60 in low 9s I believe. I do not care too much for this because I was planning on getting a good MPG car like Elantra, Mazda, Ford Focus, Etc but I figured I rather do a little less gas mileage but be in a comfortable good looking bigger car. I am 6 ft 210 pounds too big for a small compact car. Thank you for your input =]
5 speed auto? The automatic Kizashi has a CVT with no gears at all. The 6 "gears" that you can shift manually are ratio presets between the pulleys of the CVT.

No doubt the Kizashi is more comfortable than compacts like the ones you named above. In fact, the car drives differently. Maybe it's just me but I can really feel the difference between a compact and a midsize in how it drives. I'd take the fuel economy tax any day over a compact's inferior ride quality and noise isolation. This was the main factor in me leaving the Mazda3 for the Kizashi.
I don't know much about CVT but when I put my Kizashi in Shifttronic it actually has 5 gears. I can manually change it.
Yeah, they are not gears though. They are preset positions of two pulleys with a belt in between. Continuously Variable Transmissions have no gears. It operates by pulleys connected via a belt changing ratios. The "gears" you feel are just preset positions.
Also, I'm sure there are 6. All the reviews and discussions here have discussed 6 positions, not 5.

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2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
~tc~
Posts: 999
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2011 3:33 am
Location: Houston, TX USA

There are definitely 6
2011 Sport SLS with nav Black Pearl Metallic
MrNWA
Posts: 104
Joined: Mon Sep 23, 2013 3:17 am

cant access 6th until over 80kph!! but definitely 6 gears in the cvt
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honsonwong
Posts: 201
Joined: Mon May 06, 2013 6:01 am
Location: B.C. Canada

If you are using auto, it is easy to get 6th around 50-60kph. If you are using manual, it needs around 2500-3000rpm to get 6th.
KansasKid
Posts: 429
Joined: Sun Mar 31, 2013 2:19 am
Location: Kansas City, Kansas

After watching those CVT videos you posted Kuro, all I can think about is a little metal belt wedged between a bunch of clutch plates when I drive my Kizashi now.

It's good to know how the CVT is actually working when I shift it into manual mode now though.
My Cars (Their Names)
'93 Ford Escort (Jorge - Prior)
'06 Kia Optima EX (Sakuya - Prior)
'11 Suzuki Kizashi SE AWD (Azumi)
'09 Subaru Impreza 2.5i Base 5MT(Akari - Prior)
'11 Chevy Cruze Eco 6MT (Erika - Prior)
'12 Suzuki Kizashi Sport SLS AWD (Kitsune)
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