5 or 6 speed tdi 130

[minty0_10]

im thinking of buying a b5.5 130 tdi in the new year either a sport or se i know what the differences are so all depends on the price and car at the time.
my dilemma is i know the sport is a 6 speed and se 5 speed. im planing on have the car chipped or remaped soon after buy so any idea on what best what gearbox to go for.

i had a new bmw 320d on hire a few weeks ago with a 6 speedbox and 166bhp and to be honest its the most impressive car ive drive to date genuine 150mph diesel:D!
anyway would a 130 bhp with a remap be up with the same sort of power?
5 or 6 speed? and why?

[Crasher]

I would recommend the six speed.

[Zub]

My SE is a 6 speed.

[minty0_10]

what year? i thought only the sports had a 6 speed

[Col]

It depends how you drive.

The 6 means you can get to all that loverly torque at lot easier and makes for better progress however you will change gear a lot more.

The 5 means less gearchanges and marginally slower progress.


Other differences on the 5.5 with either a 5 or 6 speed are...

5 speed = 285nm torque
6 speed = 310nm torque

Both produce 130bhp though.

Another thing to consider is that the 6 speed box (allededly) isn't as strong as the 5.


I currently have a 5 speed 5.5 but would have the 6 speed by the way !

[minty0_10]

thats interesting i dident think there would be a difference torque.
i normaly drive with mpg in mind even more so now with the current price of diesel.
but while i had the 320d hire car i had a permanent grin on my face and a lead boot. mpg went out the window:Blush:

[Michelin]

I have a 6 speed tdi 130 Sport and i have had it re-mapped and i think the difference is amazing.I drove my mates 5 speed tdi 130 se the other day and the difference was unreal,just to give you a bit of an idea there was a 56 plated Mondeo 2.2 tdci st in front of me the other day and he saw me behind him and put his foot down i did the same thing we where both doing around 60 mph and if we had been alongside each other i would of passed him no problem i was easing of the pedal sometimes otherwise i would of gone into the back of him.My car will pull really well from 0 to 120 topping out at 140 on the clock obviously on a test track,but the difference it has in pick up is amazing the only thing with it is before i had it re-mapped the power delivery was quite smoth now its really aggresive it's a waste of time trying to put your foot down in first it will just spin the wheels and it's the same in second a lot of the time aswell,but would i still of re-mapped it if i'd of known then what i know now yes most certainly i'm even thinking of buying mysef a Golf GTTDI 150 and doing that aswell and giving the Passat to the misses cos i like it so much i want to keep it in the family:biglaugh:

[explorer]

Hi..im driving a 2001 130 passat se with a 5spd box....i considering upgrading over next few months to a 04 or 05 130 se or highline etc but i was wondering about the gearbox......i will be doing a fair bit of towing with the car-pulling around a car transporter with a car on top....
im wondering if ye people think the 6spd isnt quite as robust/strong /reliable etc as the 5 spd?......
if there was a greater number of people complaining about gearbox issues concerning the 6 spd as opposed to the 5spd>then i would just buy a 5spd for an easier life/less chance of hassle......is the 6 spd much more economical than the 5?51 mpg to 48mpg etc?.......
also timing belt should be done at 60k or 80k or whats is recommended?
thanks

[Baron_Samedi]

After reading your post I'm not sure whether I would use a 6speed as a tow car.

But, I am sure there are people who do, and it is worthwhile noting that the six speed motors give 310Nm torque rather than 285Nm of the 5 speed...

[angus]

Having had both, I wouldn`t consider a 5 speed.
The 6 speed is a far nicer box, much faster to use and having a narrower gate is more accurate when working it hard. The Sport has a higher maximum torque as the box can handle it whereas the 5 speed is too close to its safe limit.

I`ve never encountered any suggestion that the 6 speed is unreliable, my dealer suggests the opposite, also pulling a heavy caravan you appreciate the additional ratio.

TBH, having had both (now also got a B6 with 6-speed), if I had to have a 5 speed I`d buy something else, I really found it that antiquated, and it made the driving experience altogether less pleasant.

And needless to say, I don`t expect the owners of 5 speed boxes to agree.

[explorer]

sounds like a 6 spd is the way to go so.......just wondering why my 01 130 se has a red D and red I where as some 05 130 bhp s/se/highline dont all have red D red I??.....some only have red I....its only a small thing...
when does timing belt get done -every 80 or 60 000 miles??thanks

[passat>sport]

60

[Baron_Samedi]

sounds like a 6 spd is the way to go so.......just wondering why my 01 130 se has a red D and red I where as some 05 130 bhp s/se/highline dont all have red D red I??.....some only have red I....its only a small thing...


Its a mystery to most people! I don't think even VW have a grip on things - hence they have no consistent marking policy!