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Whats Wrong with the 5 Speed - HEMI

13K views 41 replies 22 participants last post by  Devils6 
#1 ·
Hi - I bought a 2013 R/T AWD a little less than 2 weeks ago. I have the 5 speed and all I read about is how sluggish and slow the transmission is by motor trend car & driver and allot of other posters on this site. I apparently have not driven a quick transmission. I have no complaints what so ever about this tranny. Its a Hell of a lot quicker than my G8 and quicker than any other car I have driven. When up shifting via auto stick its very responsive and quick enough to feel like changing the gears manually means something. Then when its just in D and I am slamming through the gears its seems very quick as well and its feels like a manual. that sudden left off the gas and that sudden Slam (for lack of better term) into the next gear. My G8 drew it out and made it all smooth and such. I am not sure if changes were made to the programming on the 2013's but I am more than satisfied and I am curious why its labeled as such a slow transmission.
 
#3 ·
It's not really as bad as the reviews make it out to be. Sure, an extra gear or two would give slightly better fuel economy and it could be a little quicker on the ****s, but this is a Dodge, not a Ferrari. The 5 speed still gets the power to the road and provides decent fuel economy while doing so. Besides, the reluctance to downshift is something you will find on almost all new cars, as transmissions are programmed to always be seeking the highest gear in the name of MPGs.
 
#5 ·
Taken by itself...not, it's not a bad unit. For one thing, it's damn-near bulletproof.

But in light of newer tech out there with more cogs, it's easy to look at it and say "It's sh!t". No, it's not, but it is outdated...a holdover tech contract from the Dumbler Days that is coming to an end.
 
#6 ·
It's brand new, give the TCM a few weeks to learn how to be stupid.

That seems to be the logic incorporated into the controller.

It gets worse than what you have right now, trust me.

It's possible they have a different program for the 2013's, it can be a decent transmission with the blue top solenoids or the Tranzformer, stock, it's a pretty ****ty transmission.
 
#8 ·
I have never understood the complaints of the NAG1. I love mine, sure she gets slow when you drive like a grandma....but its suppose to thats the adaptives. Now ride her like a $%^& and wow will she slam and bang the gears like it should!!

This transmission is almost bulletproof and will outshift any manual transmission. Sure its old but so is a powerglide transmission and how many of those are still running and dominating at the 1/4 mile....along with the 727...and their variants?

Old is not always a bad thing or outdated
 
#9 ·
I have never understood the complaints of the NAG1. I love mine, sure she gets slow when you drive like a grandma....but its suppose to thats the adaptives. Now ride her like a $%^& and wow will she slam and bang the gears like it should!!

This transmission is almost bulletproof and will outshift any manual transmission. Sure its old but so is a powerglide transmission and how many of those are still running and dominating at the 1/4 mile....along with the 727...and their variants?

Old is not always a bad thing or outdated
Exactly, except auto magzines/media just LOVE to bash old tech. Which is why they think a 5spd trans is out dated when 8spd or 9spd autos are flooding the market.
 
#10 ·
There is nothing wrong with the NAG1 5 speed tranny. It's damn near bullet-proof and runs like a bear. The only issue is with the programming. The current 8 speed tranny suffers from the same issue. I've driven them so I know.

Get a Mopar TCM, Tranzformer, or modify with the predator and it becomes a real beast. Yes, it's old, but so is a '69 Charger with a 426 Hemi 3 speed auto...but it can still kick serious butt at the track and make the modern competition cry.

Old isn't bad, crappy programming is. Don't confuse one for the other. ;)
 
#13 ·
Stock mode its picky, finicky, it tries to shift too soon, it sometimes shifts too late. It tries to manage my driving too much. It stutter shifts. I feel it trying to manage torque all the time unless I'm wide open throttle. It shifts slow at times.

I said all that to say now, that I have a DiabloSport Trinity T1000 I have 20% throttle boost and shift firmness increased my Charger drives like a whole new car. It is the muscle car engine and transmission I've always wanted. It reacts to my inputs immediately. Now with traction control completely off... I can get sideways in a red second but thats the way it should be and I like it.
 
#14 ·
It's all relative, and when you live and breathe on the cutting edge, old seems older to you than it does to most folks. A lot of stuff that came standard on the Charger when first introduced was amazing for a car from a domestic maker at that price point, Independant rear suspension, touchscreen nav with integrated phone, dual zone climate control, advanced stability control systems? For Mercedes owners, this was old hat, from an four year old design, they had seen all of this stuff on thier cars for years.

But to people used to the 300M, and the Ford Crown Vic or Taurus, these things were way out there. Like the five speed auto, just wasn't a thing domestic makers were doing in 2006. and when it was offered in Mercedes cars, it was lauded as a great transmission. But time passes and new stuff comes out. When my OG slider Droid came out, it was fantastic. But compared to todays phones, it's slow and clunky and cant do a lot of stuff a newer phone can. Didnt even have an NFC chip, fercrissakes:)
 
#15 ·
I love my NAG1

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#17 ·
It is a brutal transmission.

It is barely above the old Torqueflite 727 in performance

To drivers whose last car was a 1994 Intrepid if feels like a good transmission

To those of us who actually drive other MODERN performance cars it is a POS

I have to laugh at the people who down car magazines. Why? Because they put out facts that destroy the fanboy myths in your head?

Seriously - go drive a current AMG, M, or even the V and come back and talk about this tranny!
 
#19 ·
No doubt....tell you what, go strap on a Veyron then come back and tell us how great the AMG and CTS-V are.
 
#21 ·
I love my NAG1, like Ddaddy said in a previous post the shift programming is the problem not the tranny itself. The 8 speed trannys are great on the street for fuel economy and smooth acceleration, but at the track, 1/4 mile
or on a road course you might be using only half of those gears, and are these new trannys as strong as the NAG1?
 
#22 ·
Depending on which "model" of 8-Speed, they have been in use in other applications for quite a while...and in stuff that a lot more powerful (BMW, Audi, Bentley, Rolls).

Yea yea, I know it's Wikipedia...but here's an application list for the ZF 8-Speed:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZF_8HP_transmission
 
#24 ·
There are many engines out there far more powerful than the 6.4 hemi

You don't even have to look at Europe

Both Ford and Chevy have motors with over 100 more HP than this motor


My big concern with 8 speed transmissions is

1. Will they hunt for gears too much
2. Are the slow to downshift 2 or 3 speeds at once?

If you are in 8th gear and need to get to 3rd or 4th for highway passing power, are they slow to shift?
 
#27 ·
The beauty of 8 speeds is you don't need all of them. For years manual transmissions have been shifting from first to fourth, many people never even noticed. The 8 speed doesn't need to hit every gear.
 
#25 ·
Are there better trannys out there? Yes... you probably don't know what you're missing until you drive a dual/wet clutch.... Still, I bet the Charger's adaptive 5-spd tranny is LIGHT YEARS above my 4R70W. You don't know how good you guys have it until you catch 2nd gear (1.55) on a 4R70W 99-04 Mustang GT auto tranny... you wonder when you will actually accelerate. 2nd gear SUCKS on this tranny. Still, I can catch the 1/4 in under 14 seconds on a good day with 260+hp, 3300lbs of weight and this POS tranny.

Come on... give credit where credit's due.
 
#26 ·
To all the naysayers; just remember the current S63, SL63, and S600 still use a variant of this 5-speed. The Maclaren SLR used it.

It's a point of perceived weakness that people like to pick on. There really isn't anything bad anyone can say about the current R/Ts or SRT8s, so people will latch on to anything in order to talk smack, or justify their more expensive S6, M5, C63, M3 purchases.

Fellow in a 2010 C63 liked to shove his 7 speeds and "true luxury car" in my face. Right up until his head bolts snapped and hydrolocked his motor (known issue on the M156 motors).

I'll take barndoor engineering built to last over newfangled gizmos any day of the week in a performance car, thank you very much. Once the tech is proven, I'll bite. 8-speeds are rumored to be coming for 2014 SRT8s, so we'll see.
 
#28 ·
No, the only Benz that still uses this transmission is the 65 series

That is because they have like 700 lb-ft of torque over a wide RPM range

With that much torque you would be fine with 3 speeds

The 5 speed is a weakness, not just perceived.

but 8 speeds seems like way too much unless you have an engine that is weak on torque
 
#29 ·
To All

Read this. This probably explains why I am so happy with my tranny as it is out of the factory vs. other people with the NAG1 Tranny who thinks it is slow and lacks response etc. TSB on the tranny. Get her updated if you have not read this and done it yet.


http://www.chargerforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=159538
 
#34 · (Edited)
Wow, we all evidently own Dodge Chargers soo..... why are we bashing? if you don't like it why don't you sell your car and get the hell off the forums. You can share your negativity elsewhere, go bash a Prius forum where you can really make people cry.

I own a charger with a 5 speed and have no problems with it. If I wanted a TIP-TOP performing car I would have got a different car (and most likely paid a LOT more), but I like the charger and I bought a charger (well, I am on my 3rd one 2 of which have the 5spd).

I have zero complaints with the 5 speed, it gets the job done for me and it's exactly what I want. If I wanted something else I would have got something else. I knew the market and the car when I purchased it, I didn't drive home and say DAMNET I GOT A 5SPEED, AWW HELL THIS CAR IS A POS!

If you don't like the 5 speed then it's on you, go get what you want for God's sake rather than throwing your immature, insecure, compensating b***h-fest here on this forum where there are very many strong Dodge supporters!
 
#37 ·
Even if I was not a Moparhead........I cant find a signle reason to bash any modern transmission, everyone produces solid ones:bigthumb:
 
#35 ·
First he compares it to a TF 727, a tranny that has been installed in a production car since the 80's, then boasts because a Hyundai has ONE MORE GEAR in their six speed auto, and states is sooooo inantiquated.

And "I" am clueless?:D Guess that cavier accustomed butt of yours just can't handle an average man's tastes and needs? :banana: Me, I just like a beer and a burger. :beerchug:
 
#41 ·
Thought I'd chime in since I am new to Dodges and this is my first atx car in a while. I have a '13 R/T R&T with STP and I can tell you first hand that the tranny is on par or better than anything else at the high-$30K price point because I drove 'em all including G37, TL, and SHO. I wish it a had a sixth gear but I sure as hell don't want 8 gears. More is not always better.
 
#42 ·
With everything i have done mod wise... My 42rle is excellent.

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