In 2006 the revised Tribute was released, one main point was the V6 auto gearbox was revised to gain around 10% more fuel efficiency. See link below 2006 Mazda Tribute |*CarAdvice <b> Basically the same auto was revised to work more efficiently and new shift points added. Question is, is the newer 2006 model electronic or did it stay with the mechanical setup. If it stayed mechanicle then theres a chance it may bolt directly into and previouse 2000-2005 models and get an instant fuel efficiency gain

 

Unless you talk to a Mazda Dealer, you're unlikely to get an answer as that's a very expensive swap. Time will tell. You never know.
Good Luck.

 

It dosnt nessacarily have to be a g/box swap. One thing i know about car manufacturers, if its expensive chances are they wont even look at the idea. So it cant be anything amazing, would be somthing to do with the clutches and just a change in shift points. Basically if I can apply these changes (whatever they are, surely this forum has g/box technicians on it that would know) then I could get a cheap wheel power increase and fuel saving at the same time.

 

The article you spoke of said it was engine tweaks and not transmission tweaks, as qutoed from wiki " Engines remain the same, but the V6 has been modified to reduce fuel consumption by over 10%" so its not in the tranny but in the engine where the improvements lie. Also in your article they said "drivetrain" which is Engine->Transmission->Driveshaft->Diff/Axle or Engine->Transmission/Diff->Axle so they were speaking of the engine in this case.

 

I dont wish to be argumentative (bad forum etiquette ) as you may be correct but this is how I read the article

Im confident if its just the tourque converter and shift points and nothing more, then it shouldnt be too difficult to apply this to earlier models and get the benfits of it. I spend around $3500 a year in petrol, if i just buy parts and do the work myself then hopefully its not gonna cost the earth and would see a payback in less than 2 years.

 

In that case it sounds like they either redesigned the impeller/stator/turbine to be a bit more efficient so you would need to get your hands on a TC from a newer model, the shift points MIGHT be able to be programed into the ECU but you would have to ask the dealer about that, there might be some updates to the hardware/software that could impede this. All in all though the cost of the TC alone (if bought new) will negate any sort of fuel savings for years, we might be talking pennies if that per tank. Best thing to do would be to just drive slower, keep your speed under 55mph (80kph ish) on the highway where cars get their best mileage and bump your tires up to the maximum recommended for the load you carry. Gas is expensive here as well, fuel is $2.013/L AUD, $2.015/L CAD and $7.718/G USD, I drive every day all week and fuel is my number one expense behind rent......and sometimes car parts, I just dont go anywhere with the car(s) anymore its just not worth it. Last year I spent $4225AUD in fuel and that was only with 12,000kms, granted my job eats the gas but still. You COULD always find the manual transmission and put that in, would improve fuel economy as well and reduce weight.

 

Hmm, somthing to think about. I thought it might work out, but maybe not too. I would still really like to know what the changes exactly were, surely someone else on this forum whos a bit more g/box savvy has wondered the same thing and worked this out. The last holden forum i was on had random peeps everywhere that could tell you everything about a holden and was quite a good community. Is there another section in this forum that I could post this that would be more likely to capture the eye of the resident G/box experts? Im new to this forum and still navagating it slowly.

 

Could give the General Tech section a try, some guys only stay in their sections and dont leave since they dont own that particular model but may gravitate over there.