Gearing Automatics to get better FE

[suprapsu]

Is it possible to change the gears to your automatic transmission to obtain a better MPG?

I know with the 03 Camrys there is a 4 speed automatic, with the 05, which is the same body style, they have the 5 speed automatics which gets better FC by an extra 2 MPG. So I was thinking. HOw hard is it to change the gears on your car to get better FC. Also would it be possible to have 5 speed automatic instead of a 4 speed automatic??

[SVOboy]

You should compare the transmissions and engines and things to see what the difference is, it might be that you can swap them, but it's hard to say with such a new car. I would trade it in for something stick,

[omgwtfbyobbq]

Um... It's a PITA, but doable in a couple/few days. I want to say that the 5sp auto would bolt up, since it has the best OD ratio and in the past, Toyota has had manuals that couldbolt to both the four and six, but I'm not sure. It'll cost at least ~$500-1000, maybe more, and take many hours.

[bzipitidoo]

Easier to change the gear in that than fool with the tranny.

[brucepick]

I think the general interest in FE is going to increase the demand for standard trans cars.

Might take a while before we see any effects of this in the marketplace (like higher prices or less availability of stick shift cars) because the reduced prices for sticks is kind of hard-coded into the "blue book" system.

[GasSavers_Red]

I might increase demand, but how many people on the road know how to drive a stick?

[brucepick]

They're going to want to learn to drive stick.
Some of them anyway.

Plenty "closet" stick drivers too, I'll bet.
Three drivers of four in our household can drive stick but are now driving auto.
# four thinks he can (22 yrs old), also on auto now, so that's 4 out of 4 really.
With mpg becoming more important I suspect at least 2-3 of the 4 will become stick drivers with our next cars.

[rh77]

The 'Teg is an auto, which isn't by choice, but by default.

While the auto remains to survive with the EOC and traffic-light stop/start (about 20K miles so far), then into 'D', once it goes, a manual swap will be considered, but I'm not going to kill it intentionally...BUT

The auto allows a lower RPM at 55-60 mph than the manual version (with the TC lockup and final drive)....EVEN STILL

The same model in 5-speed form yields better overall mileage, and the ability to bump-start and no losses in swashbuckling through the ATF is another set of FE benefits...HOWEVER

Newer vehicles have an auto final drive that has a better EPA FE -- which I think the U.S. favors. People who actually prefer a true manual transmission is rare in the U.S. and Canada. So, automakers are making the autos more efficient (on paper).

I miss driving a standard-shift every day. The problem is that the TC engagement is intermittent with EOC (fuzzy logic / hill logic-control is confused by the EOC) and I drive quite a bit of highway speeds. When it goes, sign me up for a swap, but until then, I'm saving the $$$ on the mod.

RH77

[MorningGaser]

I don't feel so bad having an AT Yaris...it is rated by the epa at 39 Hwy, and the manual is 40, and for city driving the rating is the same: 34 mpg...but with the help of a ScanGaugeII I routinely get 44 mpg out of my auto-tranny...granted I might get a tad more if I had a stick, but I doubt by much...with proper gas pedel control one can often "manually" shift, so this issue seems moot to me...these newer electronically controlled auto trannies are getting better and better, and with some cars they are rated even better then a manual version...

[Bill in Houston]

They (automatics) are sometimes rated better on the EPA test, but I don't think that it holds up in the real world. Over on a Honda Element group that I am in, every time that someone complains about their gas mileage, they are driving a automatic... That is anecdotal, I know.