Mitsy Galant 2.5 V6 - Yey/Neh?
Discussion
I'm looking at a Galant V6 to replace my aging Mondeo V6, how do the two compare engine-wise? What are the Mitsy autoboxes like - good for high mileages? Are the parts and servicing really much more than any other car and it the fabled Jap reliabilty applicable to these? Any particular weakness? Hopefully they don't have waterpumps that disintegrate like the Ford V6! Any Galant info much appreciated, I don't see much about.
If you are looking at an auto box then make sure it's been serviced regularly. They can go forever or a few thousand miles - all depends on if it's been looked after.
The 2.5 V6 is a good engine, but not sure if it's enough for the weight of the Galant. Make sure you test a couple before you take the plunge.
The 2.5 V6 is a good engine, but not sure if it's enough for the weight of the Galant. Make sure you test a couple before you take the plunge.
Thanks ninjadave. I must admit I wasn't looking for an auto initially but test drive one as it's all I could find within reasonable distance and I was fairly impressed at the responsiveness of it. Much better than other autos I've driven, most seem to be auto even the VR4's. I guess that what is involved servicing the auto box is fluid change every so and so? There was a nice collection of dealer stamps in the book which was promising. I didn't find it made such a nice V6 rarr as the Mondeo but I guess that's as it's SOHC rather than DOHC - how do they do that as it's still 24v?
The basic mitsi tip-box service is just a filter change and fluid check. The next service is fluid and filter change. This has more risks as the box should not be over-filled. My box has been over-filled every time I've taken it to a garage for a service, and it blew the excess all over my air filter and battery 
I think that was because most garages haven't got a clue about FTOs though; at least a lot of Galants are sold in the UK without the nasty tag of 'import', so garages have a manual to tell them what to do.
The tip-box is something I wish I'd not got, and held out for a manual when I first had the car. Now however, I quite like it: it changes faster and cleaner than I can, and I still get to choose what gear I'm in with the sequential selector. Just a shame they suck sooo much power from the wheels compared to a manual box
My V6 engine howls rather than growls, and then only really after the high-rev cam set comes on. I think it's just the tuning the mitsi engines run at compared to the fords. Still they get a lot more power out per litre than the yanks manage
All in all the FTO runs well, and just takes the same looking after as any car that can and does rev highly. The parts for all Galants are easy to get these days, and cost about the same as Ford or Pugeot parts. Also, most garages know how to look after them, and jobs don't really take any longer than any other car.
All in all, I think you get a lot of car for the money with a Galant, just have to be careful of depreciation.
>> Edited by ninjadave on Tuesday 5th April 15:46
I think that was because most garages haven't got a clue about FTOs though; at least a lot of Galants are sold in the UK without the nasty tag of 'import', so garages have a manual to tell them what to do. The tip-box is something I wish I'd not got, and held out for a manual when I first had the car. Now however, I quite like it: it changes faster and cleaner than I can, and I still get to choose what gear I'm in with the sequential selector. Just a shame they suck sooo much power from the wheels compared to a manual box
My V6 engine howls rather than growls, and then only really after the high-rev cam set comes on. I think it's just the tuning the mitsi engines run at compared to the fords. Still they get a lot more power out per litre than the yanks manage
All in all the FTO runs well, and just takes the same looking after as any car that can and does rev highly. The parts for all Galants are easy to get these days, and cost about the same as Ford or Pugeot parts. Also, most garages know how to look after them, and jobs don't really take any longer than any other car.
All in all, I think you get a lot of car for the money with a Galant, just have to be careful of depreciation.
>> Edited by ninjadave on Tuesday 5th April 15:46
Do they get more more power? My understanding is the Ford 2.5 V6 develops something like 170bhp and the standard Mitsy 2.5 is 160bhp approx. Are you talking in context of the VR4? Do you knbow anything of the history or age of the Mitsy lump, it looked to me like it has a traditional dizzy cap which is surprising, thought it would be all electronic these days. Seems like its perhaps been around a while...
Not entierly sure about the Galant lump, but from what I know:
The V6 FTOs run the 6A12 engine. It's a 2 litre block, producing 180ps. The block can have a different head fitted and a different set of high-lift cams. This is the mivec version, rated at 200ps (still running at a 2 litre displacment). There's also more electronic gizmos installed to run it.
The blocks were developed in the late eighties, and I think they only went into the FTOs.
The V6 Galants run the 6A13 engine, which is 2.5 litre block. There is no mivec option for the block (though people are trying for some odd reason). To compensate there is a turbo and a twin turbo option. I think it was origonally developed as a low-end GTO/3000GT engine option in the early 90's/very late 80's, but they decided just to use the 3 litre block instead with the GTO... I'm sure I'll get flamed for being wrong now.
So the block is pretty old. The new (2005) Galants are using newer engine designs, but I would expect anything before 2003 to have the 6A13 installed.
I would expect it to be tuned to run a nice flat torque, peaking with about 190ps. I would also expect it to have the limiter set to about 7,000-7,500rpm, so not to stress the engine - this would also limit the power available (power is really just torque * rpm, so more rpm available = more power).
Becuase the engine design is pretty old, it's easy to tune. This means there are a lot of parts for it, and you can easily get them running at 220bhp for less than a grand, if you really wanted to.
HTH.
The V6 FTOs run the 6A12 engine. It's a 2 litre block, producing 180ps. The block can have a different head fitted and a different set of high-lift cams. This is the mivec version, rated at 200ps (still running at a 2 litre displacment). There's also more electronic gizmos installed to run it.
The blocks were developed in the late eighties, and I think they only went into the FTOs.
The V6 Galants run the 6A13 engine, which is 2.5 litre block. There is no mivec option for the block (though people are trying for some odd reason). To compensate there is a turbo and a twin turbo option. I think it was origonally developed as a low-end GTO/3000GT engine option in the early 90's/very late 80's, but they decided just to use the 3 litre block instead with the GTO... I'm sure I'll get flamed for being wrong now.
So the block is pretty old. The new (2005) Galants are using newer engine designs, but I would expect anything before 2003 to have the 6A13 installed.
I would expect it to be tuned to run a nice flat torque, peaking with about 190ps. I would also expect it to have the limiter set to about 7,000-7,500rpm, so not to stress the engine - this would also limit the power available (power is really just torque * rpm, so more rpm available = more power).
Becuase the engine design is pretty old, it's easy to tune. This means there are a lot of parts for it, and you can easily get them running at 220bhp for less than a grand, if you really wanted to.
HTH.
Gassing Station | Japanese Chat | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff