Is a 5 speed gearbox enough?

[ee01akk]

I am thinking of buying a Seat Ibiza 1.8 20VT FR/ Cupra to replace my current Corsa 1.8 SRI.

The main gripe I have about my existing car, is that apart from the shoddy handling, it desperately needs a 6th gear on the motorway for better fuel consumption, less engine wear and a quieter ride, and what's putting me off the Ibiza is that, even in the Cupra version there are only 5 gears.

Can someone tell me if 5 gears are sufficient for the FR and Cupra which have 150 and 180 bhp?? I assume they would have to be pretty well spaced to achieve such higher speeds.

I have test driven a Seat Ibiza and not only was the ride a bit uncomfortable, it felt very flighty at higher speeds, although not nearly as bad as my Corsa. The main thing I liked about it was that the performance.

I know the Leon equivalents 1.8 20VT Cupra engine has 6 speed gearbox, so is the Ibiza missing out on only having 5 gears??

 

[stezo2k]

i'm pretty sure you can get 6 speed versions of the ibiza, not sure if they're in the cupra or FR series though
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[Nick_J]

The Iibza tdi Fr and Cupra come with a 6 speed box

 

[Marc_4]

Pre Facelift 20vt has 5 gears

 

[Gooner_Mike]

Only TDi examples of the FR and Cupra have 6 speed boxes. The petrol versions have 5 speeds but it is fine! Cruising in my FR at 70mph only pulls 3k revs so it is quite civilised...

 

[Nath.]

Yep, 5 speeds is Ok with the 20vt, Rashcupra on here has 350bhp and he reckons 5th is good for 160mph and with the money he has spent the car would have deffo had a 6 speed fitted if it needed it.
^^^^^edit, I think the car has changed hands now and sold to another forum member.

The gears are quite well spaced out (long legs) and for a petrol engine you will be very pleased with the lower end torque and grunt (only a nats less than a 100bhp diesel) you can use 4th from 20mph up and over a ton.

The reason the diesel has 6 gears is because on a diesel you need to concentrate more on keeping the engine in it's power band. the diesel delivers most of it's power in a smaller rev band.

6 gears would be needed if the 20vt was a high revving screamer like a civic type r or a celica 190 but because it has a turbo it can get away very well with 5. (70mph @ 3k revs)


As said an ibiza with 6 gears will be diesel only unless it has a leon/tt type gearbox fitted.

 

[ee01akk]

Yep, 5 speeds is Ok with the 20vt, Rashcupra on here has 350bhp and he reckons 5th is good for 160mph and with the money he has spent the car would have deffo had a 6 speed fitted if it needed it.
^^^^^edit, I think the car has changed hands now and sold to another forum member.

The gears are quite well spaced out (long legs) and for a petrol engine you will be very pleased with the lower end torque and grunt (only a nats less than a 100bhp diesel) you can use 4th from 20mph up and over a ton.

The reason the diesel has 6 gears is because on a diesel you need to concentrate more on keeping the engine in it's power band. the diesel delivers most of it's power in a smaller rev band.

6 gears would be needed if the 20vt was a high revving screamer like a civic type r or a celica 190 but because it has a turbo it can get away very well with 5. (70mph @ 3k revs)


As said an ibiza with 6 gears will be diesel only unless it has a leon/tt type gearbox fitted.

Thanks for the information.

I test drove my dad's Seat Leon Cupra (05 version 1.8 20VT 180 bhp) and what a joy it was to drive, and it felt it didn't need 6 gears. Does anyone know if the gearing ratios are the same on the 20VT Cupra and Ibiza models?

Also in terms of remapping the Ibiza Cupra (not TDi version), from 180 bhp, how much extra hp and torque can be achieved without having to upgrade brakes/ suspension/ clutch etc??

I'm beginning to like the Seat a lot right now!! Good performance, excellent tuning capability, low costs and average fuel economy.

 

[Fordy_FR]

There's tons of different phase 1 remaps for the 20VT, have a look in the sponsors section. If you get a Cupra you will definitely not need to upgrade the brakes but FR it's a personal choice, I've just got my TT brakes for my TDi FR.

 

[kriso]

Thanks for the information.

I test drove my dad's Seat Leon Cupra (05 version 1.8 20VT 180 bhp) and what a joy it was to drive, and it felt it didn't need 6 gears. Does anyone know if the gearing ratios are the same on the 20VT Cupra and Ibiza models?

Also in terms of remapping the Ibiza Cupra (not TDi version), from 180 bhp, how much extra hp and torque can be achieved without having to upgrade brakes/ suspension/ clutch etc??

I'm beginning to like the Seat a lot right now!! Good performance, excellent tuning capability, low costs and average fuel economy.

The gear rations are all different between the Cupra, FR and other Ibiza models. 6th gear would be nice like on the Leons, but 70mph at 3000 rpm is ok.

I've got 240 out of the Cupra which is about the max you can safely get without changing the turbo Brakes and clutch are fine, suspension could be better tho (coilovers )

 

[ee01akk]

The gear rations are all different between the Cupra, FR and other Ibiza models. 6th gear would be nice like on the Leons, but 70mph at 3000 rpm is ok.

I've got 240 out of the Cupra which is about the max you can safely get without changing the turbo Brakes and clutch are fine, suspension could be better tho (coilovers )

Well I suppose it isn't too bad 3000 rpm @70 mph, but if you want to remap the car, the top speed won't change much. I think the top speed of the Seat Ibiza Cupra is 140 mph, so a remap to 200+ bhp won't get you much higher than that due to the gear differentials and rev limiter, you will only get to the top end a bit faster. It's a shame, but I think I prefer to buy the Leon (old shape as I prefer that to the new shape model ).

*Sigh*, if only the Ibiza Cupra (1.8 20VT) had a 6 speed gearbox!!

 

[kriso]

The top speed won't change, but it makes it completley different to drive. 140mph is fast enough for me