manual vs geartronic

[piper1st]

Hello all.

I have been away in the world of japanese car for a while, but i am now serious about returning to Volvo's, particularly the S60 T5/R or the V50 T5. :B_thumb:

I've never owned an automatic, but having started my search, the market seems to be flooded with 'geartronic' versions. I've done a bit of searching, but really can't find anything reliable about the geartronic box, and how much control the driver has over the gear changes.

Has anyone got any info or has driven/own/owned one?

Thanks,
Ross

[Wobbly Dave]

Depends what you want - for just cruisin' about then geartronic will be fine.

V50 has a better chassis & turning circle than the S60, but you will get more car for your money.

If you want to tune it up & go track days & 1/4 miles then I would go for a manual - simply because the geartronic has a torque limiter in 2nd.

When I drove the V70R geartronic I found the changes frustratingly slow - but that was sometime ago & perhaps the software has improved?

[lance]

I have a v50 6 speed manual I paid under 5k 18 months ago and with a fewest she is now running 300 bhp the manual box is a peach and the engine so torquey you can tootle in 6 th at under 40 mph if your feeling lazy. I saw one recently on the trader for under 4k and when you compare it to a focus st same engine gearbox and chassis it's a lot of car for the
money without the Chav look

[dalhousie2008]

Why not go the whole hog and go for an s60r, i picked up a mint tuned one (MTE 2 FERRITA FULL SYSTEM) with 88k for under £2000.

Plus re-sale on a manual is better

[graemewelch]

If yr in no rish ill be selling my car in the near futurd due to emergrating. In no rush to sell though and dont realy want to part with it

[MattM]

Manual.

[zip929]

And another manual.
The 6 speed manual box is a pleasure to use. Very smooth.

[piper1st]

Cheers for all your replies guys!! :) Preformance is defoe key here! So geartronic is not like Audi's DSG gearboxes which are double clutches and actually better than manual! Still the same old slow lazy automatic with a fancy new name?


V50 has a better chassis & turning circle than the S60, but you will get more car for your money.


Sorry, more car for your money with the S60, or the V50?


Why not go the whole hog and go for an s60r, i picked up a mint tuned one (MTE 2 FERRITA FULL SYSTEM) with 88k for under £2000.

Under £2k!! :wow: That was a crackin' price!! I'd really like an S60R. Can you find me another one of them?


If yr in no rush ill be selling my car in the near futurd due to emergrating. In no rush to sell though and dont really want to part with it

What kind of car is it, and what will you be looking for, for it? (PM me if yo would prefer).

[Wobbly Dave]

S60 is generally larger & can feel more luxurious is what I meant. Geartronic is just an auto with up/down switch.

As performance is more important I would go for a manual.

[ROZER]

I have had 2 v70 t5s and 2 s60 t5s 3 where manual and 1 was geartronic all the manual ones i owned felt slower than the geartronic power delivery when planted in the geartronic felt brutal. so i keep the s60 t5 geartronic and gave her a nice ferrita 3 " dp and full s/s exhaust .then for a nice stage 2 rica map . yes shes limited in first and second gear but as soon as she hits 3rd your holding 18psi of boost and 100 mph in seconds.i here all the time of blown engines or bent rods in the manuals where people are chasing big power and high boost the geartronic box has been perfect and i have done 30k with this power running through it no problem so far .

[M-R-P]

M56LK with the 3.75:1 final drive - 5 speed, 65 in 2nd, 113 in 3rd, 146 in 4th, 192 in 5th.
nuff said ;)

[LeeT5]

I have a v50 6 speed manual I paid under 5k 18 months ago and with a fewest she is now running 300 bhp the manual box is a peach and the engine so torquey you can tootle in 6 th at under 40 mph if your feeling lazy. I saw one recently on the trader for under 4k and when you compare it to a focus st same engine gearbox and chassis it's a lot of car for the
money without the Chav look

i agree and when compared to a Focus ST-2 which is only 225bhp/320Nm, you get a lot of car for your money.

[lance]

Yeap mine was only that before Hlm did a few mods for me. I think overall the s60 v70 is a great fast grand tourer for A roads and motorways but the v50 is much more fun on the backroads and b roads and the 6 speed manual box is fantastic as I guess it is the p2.5 s60s I guess it's hard to ignore the R now but there is a lot to go wrong and Irrc the s60r gaytronic is slower than an s60 2.4 ltp 0-60! So manual all the way for me.

[dalhousie2008]

Yeap mine was only that before Hlm did a few mods for me. I think overall the s60 v70 is a great fast grand tourer for A roads and motorways but the v50 is much more fun on the backroads and b roads and the 6 speed manual box is fantastic as I guess it is the p2.5 s60s I guess it's hard to ignore the R now but there is a lot to go wrong and Irrc the s60r gaytronic is slower than an s60 2.4 ltp 0-60! So manual all the way for me.

A little bit wrong there lance, there is two flavors of geartronic s60r, one that's 7.2 and the other is 6.5.

I think both are faster than the 2.4 lpt, but i did find in real world terms autos usually a little slower on paper but much easier to launch as there is nothing to worry about.

I imagine the auto s60r is fast once moving and i believe they are held back and a simple software upgrade gets the 7.2 down to 6.5. One of the auto owners was saying the other day when i was looking for a s60r.

I would be interested to drive an auto, just for comparison.

[LiamT4]

The 5spd auto s60r is a great car in most ways, just not when it comes to performance, off the line or when on the move. It certainly doesn't feel like a 300bhp car and it doesn't go like one either.

If you want an auto s60/v70r then it would be best to try and find the 6spd version, downside with that is they are a harder to find and cost a lot more.

[nosh]

Hello all.

I have been away in the world of japanese car for a while, but i am now serious about returning to Volvo's, particularly the S60 T5/R or the V50 T5. :B_thumb:

I've never owned an automatic, but having started my search, the market seems to be flooded with 'geartronic' versions. I've done a bit of searching, but really can't find anything reliable about the geartronic box, and how much control the driver has over the gear changes.

Has anyone got any info or has driven/own/owned one?

Thanks,
Ross

hi
i have a 5 speed geartronic box in my s40 t5 and am running nearly 400bhp & 450lb torque and have had no problems with the gear changes it runs very smoothly.
i have had a double oil cooler & the oil pressure turned up also have had the software updated.

[dalhousie2008]

hi
i have a 5 speed geartronic box in my s40 t5 and am running nearly 400bhp & 450lb torque and have had no problems with the gear changes it runs very smoothly.
i have had a double oil cooler & the oil pressure turned up also have had the software updated.

Whats it like acceleration wise?

[piper1st]

Pretty much a mixed bag then, pro's and con's either way. Thanks to everyone for their input. On reflection then, I would still prefer a manual, but they are rare and geartronic's seem to be a lot more available.


yes shes limited in first and second gear but as soon as she hits 3rd your holding 18psi of boost and 100 mph in seconds.

But it's the 0-75mph thats the fun (and legal) bit ... having loads of power from 70 to 100 is great for a race track, but not so much for normal day to day driving?!


Whats it like acceleration wise?

+1 ... whats it like off the line and through 2nd?

[lance]

Mine this summer has the Anti skid light flashing a lot with 300 bhp and 350 lb ft so Nosh's must be mental, to be fair I havent driven a gaytronic S60r or s40 v50 t5 I have been in a passenger in a tuned s60r gaytronic (sorry I phone won't let me spell correctly) and it wasn't slow but didn't feel any quicker than tuned t5 I have driven an 850r auto with 19t and it was quick and Hlm s60 d5 auto which also was pretty good but there just not my bag. However big v12 and supercharged jags and large engined mercs seem to suit autos but that's just my opinion and preference. I once owned a gaytronic s80 t6 and it could have been one of my favourite cars superb acceleration 0-100 lovely engine and cabin but the knobbly handling and awful gearbox put it very close to being one of the worst cars I have ever owned there with the fiat regreta and Renault extra van and dare i say it Austin maestro van. However that was a 4 speed with 3 computers telling it what to do not me and I am sure the boxs are much better now but i like Volvo manuals and have never had a problem with any manuals in over 10 years of doing relatively high miles in several t5s typically 15 to 20k per year.
Over the years I have seen members on here have a lot of pain and cost involved via gaytronic to the point they have left the brand altogether admittedly more on the early phase 2s so it maybe that they are better now, especially with extra tranny coolers fitted.

[Al115]

I have owned a geartronic V70 T5 and a manual V70R and for driving involvement and performance it's manual all the way for me.

The gaytronic was a nice smooth ride if you weren't interested in actually driving.

[dalhousie2008]

Pretty much a mixed bag then, pro's and con's either way. Thanks to everyone for their input. On reflection then, I would still prefer a manual, but they are rare and geartronic's seem to be a lot more available.



But it's the 0-75mph thats the fun (and legal) bit ... having loads of power from 70 to 100 is great for a race track, but not so much for normal day to day driving?!



+1 ... whats it like off the line and through 2nd?

Not to sure about the sub 100, i think it depends where you live.

Around waterlooville we have a quite a few dual and motorways and long slip roads.

There is a short stretch of 2 1/4 miles between junctions on the a3, where i can easily achieve 160 (and thats kph ;o) and then get off the next junction.

So that includes braking etc, just gave it a try when i first got the car but rarely boot it now.

I also noticed s60r speedo is pinpoint accurate compared to the sat nav and road hawk.

[nosh]

Whats it like acceleration wise?

acceleration is awsomely quick & smooth, my mate has a c30 t5 which has the same turbo & power as my s40 but his is manual and he couldnt believe how quick mine was (even quicker than his)
i also have mates with evo's & scoobys running similar power and mine can still hold its own with them both in a straight line and they have 4wd (they loose me on the corners though)
i am buying a racelogic performance box so will post up the results!!!

[LiamT4]

acceleration is awsomely quick & smooth, my mate has a c30 t5 which has the same turbo & power as my s40 but his is manual and he couldnt believe how quick mine was (even quicker than his)
i also have mates with evo's & scoobys running similar power and mine can still hold its own with them both in a straight line and they have 4wd (they loose me on the corners though)
i am buying a racelogic performance box so will post up the results!!!

Why don't you just go to one of the rwyb events? Loads of them throughout the summer and a few of us going avon on the 22 july.