Seiko 5 reserve power my rear-end

Back when I was modding SKX007’s, my first step was to swap the 7S26 with a 4R36. I really disliked the 7S movement. I would also swap the day disk with OEM Kanji disk.

Edit to add a few pics of my Zimbe’s & King Turtle

I was watching a you tube thingy about the 6r. Seiko tends to put it in higher priced watches. Some dude got a bunch of new ones and was testing them out of the box. Some were very respectable some were on the high side of seikos listed tolerance. I’ve had good luck my few week old KS has been on the money.

The YouTube guy was trying to get people to complain to seiko about their QC. He brought up a good point about Japanese companies CEO’s taking it very seriously when they get a bad rap.

Perhaps a poor example but I can remember when Honda had that issue, I think it was with cars just accelerating out of control Hondas CEO was apologizing and crying why doing so. If I remember correctly in this case several people died which is a major difference to be 16 seconds late but still Seiko would have to (I think) take seriously a large amount of complaints on what is an ongoing issue.

I don’t watch a lot of YouTube watch content so I don’t recall the guys name but he was regulating the 6r’s that ran poorly out of the box and getting them to run a couple seconds either way so it seems seiko is skipping a step. Once again I’ve had good luck but I’m just one buyer out of millions or whatever the numbers are

The accuracy of the movement is only as good as when it leaves the regulators bench or the Seiko factory.
Decent bumps and shocks from transit handling could change the rate, so unless the "out of the box" tests were done on Seiko's doorstep, bitching about it is a waste of time.

Well I see what you’re saying and you would know more about the transit impact on watches than I. I just brought it up as it seems to be a common complaint with seiko lately but tbh I really haven’t experienced many problems with the new seikos I have purchased but all I have is a free app I downloaded to test my watches. I’m my eyes yes accuracy is important but on something I need to reset frequently I don’t get overly upset just trying to look at it through different viewpoints as I stumble across things as I look for reviews prior purchase or out of interest.

I was mulling over doing a real life test on the 7S26 (hey I'm using up my remaining holidays, it's raining and I'm going a little stir-crazy) but then remembered I have an unused NH35 here so get ready for a far more exciting head to head battle of the movements!
The NH35 is housed in an Enoksen - Joakim Nyström that I bought direct a year ago for my tennis mad nephew, I can't for the life of me remember why I didn't give it to him but I do know exactly what he's getting for Christmas this year 😉 I digress. I initially thought 12 hours on the wrist should give a decent benchmark but after getting "the look" off the missus when she got home I decided a 9 hour test would suffice, my arm was getting tired anyway.

So......Let's get ready to ruuumble!!
I danced the Seiko shuffle with the watches back to back for one minute, the Enoksen's straight out the blocks at 183 amp while the Seiko's lagging behind on 165 both running well. Round one to the NH35. Strapped both to my right arm and out for the mornings 1.5ish mile stroll, a quick check on return the timegrapher shows Enoksen at 210 up 27, Seiko picking up the pace at 196 +31. Round 2 a slim win for the 7S26. A fairly lazy day mooching about the house doesn't really add much more power then out for an afternoon 2.4 (I turned my app on this time) mile constitutional. A bit more mooching and the final reading is Enoksen 233 +23, Seiko 226 +30. So less gain with more pain 😕 I did notice a bit more resistance around this level in the 5 minute challenge or maybe I just walk like Putin? It would have been nice to get them into the 240's but hey ho. Another round to the 7S26. The NH35 is still ahead but no knock out blow, let's see how long they run...
Well that is interesting. After 16 hours (apologies for the odd timescale but life got in the way) the young pretender NH35 is down to 143 while the old warrior 7S26 is still throwing punches at 182. We have a new front runner. 18 hours in and the NH35 is on the ropes it's lines are looking decisively shaky, can't be long now.
And it's all over, a shock result at the Leeroy household today! Fair play to the youngster he hung on longer than I thought, just over 20 hours. The champ 7S26 is still plugging away at 168 which should be another 10+ running hours.


Psst gov'nor, do you wanna buy a watch?

I was sent a DM informing me that no two movements are the same so I would like to take this opportunity to point out that no two movements are the same, thank you.
I don't think the Seiko's been used much, it still had its back sticker when I picked it up and I've only worn it three times but its oils are most probably still 24 years old which may account for its poor performance at low power. The NH35 was fresh out of the box and hadn't been run in? I'll let it run for a couple of weeks before I wrap it up for Christmas, I'm sure it'll bed in nicely.
So all in all a fairly pointless exercise but it kept me amused for a couple of days. Please don't take it too seriously it was only a bit of fun.

@Dsloan I have watches at this level I'd be happy to upgrade and others I would like to keep original, I don't know were you are with yours but I don't see an issue with servicing a decent 7S26.

On a side note the people at Enoksen were extremely friendly and helpful, they were happy to dig through and find a watch with a sentimental serial number for me, 5*.