[kismetcapitan]

6 speed trannys are obviously more bling than five, and nowadays we're seeing seven-speeds on the latest supercars, but honestly, what is really the benefit? what do you really gain by having more ratios between your lowest and highest gears, especially if your car is tuned to have a broader torque band? After all, 911 Turbos used to make do with four gears....

 

[GTRSTILL]

Personally I find six gears a little short... depending on the car.

However, I do like cars that have 5 gears and 1 motorway cog...

this would really help fuel economy on my GTR

 

[leggus]

I find that when driving my R32 GTR 'with gusto' that it feels it could naturally slip into a sixth gear on the motorway for example.

Time to start saving

 

[kismetcapitan]

I find that when driving my R32 GTR 'with gusto' that it feels it could naturally slip into a sixth gear on the motorway for example.

Time to start saving

I've thought the same thing - my Sentra SE-R was much the same. The thing is though, most 6 speed sets have the 6th cog at the same ratio as the 5th cog in a stock 5-speed, which would leave us in the same boat - spirited on the highway and wishing for one more gear.

 

[kingsley]

I used to have a 6 speed box on my previous car. It was great fun sometimes but at others it seemed that I was forever changing gear because it was close ratio.

Also, if you go too far with close ratio, what is gained by being able to keep the engine closer to max power more of the time can be lost by the extra time you spend changing gear rather than being on the power. Obviously less of an issue with SMG type gearboxes such as the BMW M6 7 speed (and has been shown in another thread, that car has a narrow torque hump at high rpm which would benefit from a very close ratio box).

I do agree that the GTR could do with a higher top gear for cruising comfort and economy.