[STiguy555]

A friend of mine just got his license and he let me try out his 87' Sentra. 4 door, 5 speed, with the good ole' 1.6 liter. I was amazed how easy it is to drive. I am pretty darn good at standard trannys, but this had to be the smoothest I have ever driven. The engine was adequate, for relaxed driving, but really lacked oomph. As I have seen in most B12 Sentras around here, the exhaust is bad. But it was fine since it was only obtrusive under acceleration and you just gotta love the WRC-like backfires.

After driving the B12, it has reaffirmed my lust for a early 90s SE-R. I am not looking to buy currently, but I may be looking by the end of the year. I don't want to deal with the Probe's bitchy fuel pump again this winter.

 

[ryco n12]

I absolutely fell in love with my B12 when I first got it. It's getting pretty beat up now but it has always got me where I wanted to go. When I need some extra umphhh, I just hop in my Pulsar.

 

[sentrastud]

yah my mom hates the exhasut sound in the car with a passion... Me and my friends though love it cause it sounds powerful... Yah, they need a little more oomph and I freqeuntly find myself for more than 3 gears (Autotranny) and a good torque converter but hey, the car has held up extremely well after all these years. I love my B12!

-Nick

 

[RiceBox]

No one believes me when I tell them that I prefer my B12's tranny to a Honda tranny. It's so smooth and the throws are just the right length.

 

[STiguy555]

Since he doesn't have a tachometer, I need to know what the gear ratios are for the 5MT. Anyone have a site on hand?

Thanks for responding everyone!

 

[STiguy555]

Oh nevermind, finally found it myself. http://www.sentra.net/tech/transmission.php#RS5F31A

 

[RiceBox]

I have a tach so I can tell you the max speeds in wach gear.

 

[STiguy555]

According to my math, the shift points are:

29>50>74>100>130+
Is that about right? This is considering the redline is 6,200 RPM, and with 155/65-R13s. I am not so sure on tire size, I remember reading it off his tires but I am not quite sure.

 

[ryco n12]

That's about right for RPM but the power really starts fading off by that time. I tend to shift a little eariler at about 5500 rpm.

 

[RiceBox]

The tires are 175/70R13's or 155/80R13. I too shift at 5500. The engine is just too rough above that point.

 

[STiguy555]

Ah yes, he has the 155/80s on his. Since the power fades after 5,500, I will put the into consideration too.

Thanks!

 

[89Sentra]

i dont even have an RPM guage on my B12

 

[STiguy555]

i dont even have an RPM guage on my B12

I think most B12s don't have tachometers, it was an option right?

Anyways, heres a little excerpt from a document I made for my B12-owning bud.

1st 3.333 MAX:32MPH SHIFT: 29MPH
2nd 1.955 MAX:55MPH SHIFT: 48MPH
3rd 1.286 MAX:83MPH SHIFT: 74MPH (Beyond this point, the speedometer may be inaccurate by as much as +/- 5MPH
4th 0.926 MAX:112MPH SHIFT: 105MPH (Thats about the top speed)
5th 0.733 MAX:146MPH SHIFT: HA! Yeah... right.
Sedan Final Drive 3.895

 

[sentrastud]

What about the 3 speed automatic? My car maxes out at 112mph or so. But saying just pretending that the car had the power to max out third gear, how fast would i be able to go?

by the way, how do you calcutale this stuff?


-Nick

 

[STiguy555]

I calculate the speeds of each gear with a handy program called Gear Speed Calculator located at http://www.performanceprobe.com/index2.cgi.

You must know the tire size and the particular gear ratios to make it work.

 

[STiguy555]

If you are on 155/80s, your max speed with the auto is about 120mph.
Also, your speedometer may be indicating 112, but it is probably really going 105 or so. The faster you go, the more inaccurate your speedo will get.

 

[sentrastud]

wow almost 200 KM/h!!! Thats pretty good!!

-Nick

 

[STiguy555]

The gearing on my Probe GL tops out at 150mph.(250 kmh)

But the max speed the last gear means nothing. Ungoverned, my Probe would go to about 125. It is governed to 113 though.

But if third gear on the 3AT on your Sentra maxes at about 120 at 6200 RPM, then how is it when going 70mph on the freeway? It must be spinning at well over 3,500 RPM. Not ideal for fuel economy.

 

[sentrastud]

Ive never hit a governer on my Sentra, Ive hat it up to 175km/h donw a hill and she could have still gone faster if hadnt chickened out.

yeah, its true, the automatic doesnt get good fuel econmomy on the highway. When your drving at about 100km/h (60mph) the engine is turnign 2500ish. At higher speeds, I tend to cruise at about 130km/h, the engine noise is noticable in the car and your right, the enigne is working fairly harrd.

still i can get 500kms easy 1 tank of gas averaging 125km/h.

-Nick

 

[RiceBox]

My car in 5th at 140km/h is 3900RPMs. That's pretty fast and at that speed I get crappy milage. At 100km/h (62 mph) the engine is at about 2500 RPMs