High gearing

[SimonD]

We've had our '07 B9 for a couple of weeks now and did our first longish run with a decent load yesterday. I was really surprised that it couldn't hold its speed in 5th up a gradient. The last car I drove that required a change down up a hill was my 27hp Citroen 2CV.

A quick look at the specs gave a clear answer. Gearing for the B9 is roughly the same as for the 3.0 Outback and Legacy. First is a bit lower and the final drive has been changed presumably to take account of the larger rolling radius of the wheels/tyres. This means that a car with a top speed of 121mph has the same gearing as that of a Legacy with a top speed of 147mph. The aerodynamics of the B9 must be dreadful. Peak power is generated at 6,600rpm this gives 184mph in fifth and 154mph in fourth!:confused:
I assume that top speed is reached in fourth and if I want to maintain speed on a long incline I will need to be around the peak torque figure (98mph in fourth!).
Weird!
It is easy to see why Subaru redesigned the engine for 2008 and I was curious to see if they have adjusted any of the transmission ratios but the US site doesn't give that kind of detail.
I appreciate that European cruising speeds are probably a little higher but does anyone else notice this?

[crazycanuck]

There have been lots of discussions on the 06-07 tribecas having issues with its tranmissions hunting for gears going up hills. It seems the only way around it is to shift into sport mode to hold the gear. I cant image the aerodynamics any worse than any other SUV/CUV on the market.

[bionicbadger]

Yes, they remapped the tranny for 2008 so they are different from the 06-07 models.

EDIT:This is the information I found about it: "New Upgraded 2nd generation 5 speed automatic SportShift transmission"

[Magic Marker]

Yeah, I use Sport Shift when I know I need to hold a gear longer (especially for passing).