Quote:
Originally Posted by SpencerC_6MT
A shorter ratio for auto cars doesn't seem very beneficial to me, just because the amount of gears allow for such a wide range of ratios while not having huge jumps between gears. 7th gear in 8HP cars is roughly equivalent to my 6th gear, while their 5:1 is vastly shorter than my 4.11:1. So the auto has more down-low torque, smaller jumps between ratios in the mid-range, and more overdrive up top.
By contrast, the shorter ratio in my car comes with more benefits (and compromise). When stock, 1st topped out at 40mph, 2nd at 70, 3rd at 110, 4th at 150. The 1-4 shifts cause a huge drop in RPM, but the 4-6 are very close together. changing 3rd gear from topping out at 110mph to 95mph made driving more enjoyable, purely because I could wind out 3rd in an everyday onramp pull. I can even top out 4th (125 vs 150mph) without being on a dark highway at 1:00a. Of course, I turn 3300 revs at 80mph on the highway now. If only BMW had followed in Porsche/Chevy's footsteps and given us a 7th gear...
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I've grown to appreciate the taller gears in my Blackwing vs my 340ix. Yeah it doesn't feel as twitchy/accelerate as fast, but it leaves me room to grow into the gears once I tune it. Being able to cruise at 85mph at 2600-2700rpm is much nicer than the 3k rpm I was at before. I'm typically 1 gear lower than I would be, or I wait a bit more mph before I shift. Also, it forces me to downshift a gear or 2 constantly if I want to pass. No complaints since the Tremec TR-6060 is world's better than whatever ZF 6-speed BMW uses. Makes me enjoy rowing the gears.
Basically, BMW could've geared the manual better, even with just 6 speeds, but I get it.