I know I could go test drive one... but I thought I'd ask here first. Did the transmission gearing change for the '07 model year? One of my biggest annoyances in the wife's G is that it's churning up 3000-3100 RPMs while cruising at 80 MPH. Did this change on the '07? If they fixed this and the seat controls that make my right leg cramp after driving for an hour or so - I would be inclined to toss our '05 up on Craigslist and see what happens!

Heath

 

Considering the new car has a redline of 7,500RPM, churning 3,000 at 80mph is perfectly fine.

 

^ +1

 

I agree, as far as not damaging the engine. It just seems odd to me... I would prefer that the car be able to drop down to about 2500 RPM to lower the exhaust pitch and increase fuel economy. The last time I drove a car at 3000 RPMs at 80MPH, was a 4banger Civic.

I'm sure there are a lot of compromises in the enginering, and they obviously leaned toward peppy in-town driving. Maybe they're trying to keep the car in a "sweet spot" for emissions or something too.

Just a minor annoyance that I am curious to see if it was addressed.

Heath

 

Just curious as to why this is a problem? The car is smooth and quiet at 80 and 3k...?

 

To me it seems a little "torque-y" for interstate cruising... I even notice it a little with the cruise on as it backs of the throttle after cresting a hill. Some of this stems from my exprience with the Q, which has always seemed most at home cruising at 80+ on the interstate - and a little heavier around town without really kicking it in the ****...

So does your G run at 3000K at 80?

Heath

 

Don't take this the wrong way, but...

It IS a SPORT SEDAN after all.

I think if you are looking into a more suddle and quieter car, the Lexus ES350 would be a suitable one.

 

^I agree the ES350 would be more subtle and would definitely more quiet.

For the OP, the seat controls have been moved to the side but the gearing will be similiar.

I'm not following your statement about the cruise control/throttle backing off on the crest of a hill. All cars do this and even more so if the gearing is taller. This would require more throttle input on the incline to maintain speed when the car is revving lower and making less power.

 

plain and simple.....you buy an infiniti to be a driver's car (get proper feedback from every element of the vehicle). You want something that is quiet and numb....get a lexus. IMO its a boring brand.(styling and performance).

 

I drove to a client in CT from NYC today and I did 80 for a good chunk and I was around 3k rpms... Thought it was a tad high, but the car never felt sluggish, so I didnt care. I was too busy watching the mpg meter go up and down...lol

 

Get a manual and your RPM's will be lower at 80.

 

Think in terms of a manual transmission. If you have a car in 2nd at 50MPH, reving at 5000RPM - you're going to feel every minute change in throttle position. At 2000RPM in 4th gear you won't feel it as much... Same thing here, just on a lesser scale.

I absolutely agree...I wouldn't even consider going to the dark side, except for maybe that new LS since Infiniti is dropping it's true flagship level car with the 2007 model run. Hopefully they'll bring back a Nissan President-Based car in the mid $60 - low $70K range soon. This is my third Infiniti and 6th Nissan product - so I understand the whole "driver's car" vs. souless Toyota argument.

This is just a minor annoyance that I see has not been resolved - and as I said before, I'm sure it's a compromise issue with the engineering - either for emissions or in town driving "pep" purposes. I suppose the ultimate solution will be a 6AT so that there's a higher gear for interstate cruising. Or as jerminator said - get a M/T and I can't even imagine trying to teach the wife how to drive that!

Heath

 

I see what you're saying. I think you're right in the example you use. However, the difference in making a gearing change that brings the rpms down a couple of hundred wouldn't be noticable at highway speeds in top gear.

The major benefit of lower rpms at highway speeds is slightly better economy and reduced noise. I would like to see top gear be more of an overdrive too.

BTW, I drive an MT.

 

Drove over 300 miles today and much of it was at 80 mph. The car is very quiet and composed regardless of the rpm. As speedaholic said, this IS a sports sedan.

A sixth gear would be good for fuel economy but even without it, the car hums along.

 

I stopped by the dealership and looked at the '07s today. They are sweet looking cars! I didn't have time to get inside or test drive one, but I did put the '05 up on Craigslist just to see if anyone bites...

Heath