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EcoTec 4 speed Vs 6 Speed.

20K views 23 replies 13 participants last post by  Jcol 
#1 ·
Has anyone noticed the difference between the 4 and the 6 speed ecotec 4cylinder engines?

If so is the difference drastic? How about MPG?

Anyone have the HP Ratings?

LEt me know what you guys think

Is it a deal breaker on when it comes to buying the car?
 
#2 ·
You can't get a A4 anymore unless you buy a used one, and they both have 169 HP in the I4. Overall the A6 is the better tranny. It will have better gear ratios for more pep, and give a little better mileage. BUT, the older A4 is much smoother and more willing to downshift and upshift when you want it to, not when the EPA wants it too.
 
#6 ·
The 6 speed does contribute to better fuel economy and power. The 6 speed is particularly important with the 4 cylinder. It can keep the engine in the optimal powerband, so it will feel more powerful.

I never drove a 4 speed, but the 6 speed does have some annoying qualities. The delay in downshifting is what bothers me the most. When I'm on the highway and I need extra power for passing, there's a 1 - 2 second delay before the transmission kicks down to a lower gear - very annoying.

Overall, the 6 speed is a pretty smooth transmission, but the downshifts should be instantaneous.
 
#4 ·
In simplicity... 6 > 4. This is for both the transmission and the number of cylinders.

Most V6 drivers are reporting fuel economy with in 2 or 3MPG of what the 2.4 delivers. If you can afford to upgrade, get the V6... you won't regret it.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I think there's a bigger difference on the highway. I had the GM 3.6 liter
6 cylinder in my previous car and the best I ever got on the highway was 26 MPG. Most of the time, I got around 25 MPG. I get around 33.5 on the highway with the Malibu 4 cylinder with the 6 speed.

In fact, Chevy rates the Malibu 4 cylinder at 33 MPG on the highway. They rate the Malibu 6 cylinder at 26 MPG on the highway. So that's a difference of 7 MPG.

There's probably less of a difference in city driving.

It will be nice if they add direct injection to the Malibu 4 cylinder. The Buick Regal has the same 4 cylinder as the Malibu except it has direct injection. It adds about 15 HP.
 
#7 ·
A V6 in city traffic will get much worse mpg compared to a 4-cyl, not the other way around. It's idling more and has more cylinders, it weighs more, and consumes more to get up to speed.

On the highway I routinely get over 30 mpg from my V6. In daily driving I average between 18 and 22, and I drive 10 miles each way to work, mostly freeway.
 
#16 ·
I'm actually disappointed with the City MPG that I get out of the 4 cylinder. But there's more grey areas with City MPG. Where I drive in the city, I literally stop at a traffic light at every corner. There's an expression where I live: Happiness is making 2 green lights in a row. Anyway, with this type of city driving, I get around 14 MPG. I've seen even less. When I had the 3.6 Liter V6, I would get from 11 - 12 MPG. Not that big a difference. I do get around 33.5 on the highway with the 4, but unfortunately, most of my driving is city.

With the type of city driving I do, I was expecting better MPG. Probably closer to 17 MPG. I knew I wasn't going to get 22 MPG.
 
#13 ·
2008 4cyl 4 speed, 50% city 50% Hwy, Avg 26.5 Mpg

Just rented a 6 speed for vacation and hated the tranny.

The car did not respond when I pushed the pedal compared to my 4 speed,
It made me so uncomfortable with the car that I switched to the Manual mode
(which I did like) for the majority of the trip.

Somtimes when i tried to accelerate the RPM just danced up and down with almost no apparent acceleration, After that happened a couple of times I switched to manual mode.
 
#15 ·
If you want to see what your "City" fuel numbers are, reset the MPG calculator one weekend and take a trip of 10-15 miles without getting on the highway. I imagine you will see numbers somewhere around 20.


I drive 45 miles one way each day. I'm averaging 28 mpg. Of those 45 miles, approx 18 are Hwy and 27 are city. 45 miles/28mpg means I use 1.6071429 gallons/day.

I obtained 34 mpg on a long hwy trip. Assuming I'm doing 34 mpg on my daily hwy trip which accounts for 18 miles, I would use (18/34) which would be 0.5294117 gallons.

1.6071429 - 0.5294117 leaves 1.0777312 gallons used during city driving.

The 27 miles I drive in the city using 1.0777313 gallons of gas would come to 25.05 mpg. Of course this is based on rounding of the miles driven, and assuming the 34 mpg on the highway.

Also, I have been driving easy, trying to squeeze out better mileage, which will not last long before I go back to driving like the maniac I normally do. :) Typical or not, this is what I’ve been averaging over the last 4 tanks.
 
#19 ·
In my V6 I can get my instant mpg to go to 99. What that tells me is whether or not the PCM is causing the injectors to squirt fuel.
 
#20 ·
I have the I4 and the 4 speed and I am satisfied but kind of wish I had the 6 speed it seems that it would help a little in the MPG department.
 
#21 ·
Some of you need to go back and read the orginal posters question. He was asking about the difference between the 4 cylinder with the older 4 speed transmission vs the 4 cylinder with the 6 speed! He was not asking for a gas mileage debate about the 4 vs 6 cylinder motor,, which is what he mostly got. Sometimes this forum really needs a mod to step in and keep things on topic.:eek:
 
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