Does anyone else think the 6-speed is not necessary? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

blue2000s · 02-14-2007, 06:08 PM

Gears 4, 5, and 6 seem way too closely spaced. I hardly use 4th and never use 5th. I'd much rather that Porsche had put in a torsen diff than the redundant gear.

Has anyone tried a lower final drive ratio? I can imagine that would make the car a liitle quicker and make the 6-speed ratio spread a little more useable.

wanna986 · 02-14-2007, 07:34 PM

I thought it was just my lack of experience, but, yes, an awful lot of gears past 4th in my opinion too.

MNBoxster · 02-14-2007, 08:53 PM

Hi,

Gear ratios are designed to keep the engine in the sweet spot. That said, unless you're absolutely flogging the Boxster on a Daily basis, 6 speeds of closely ratioed gears has a lot more to do with matching the Competition in the Marketplace than it does in actually bettering the car...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

SD987 · 02-14-2007, 10:02 PM

I'm in agreement here; 5th gear is the superfluous gear amongst the six in my mind and the S would be just fine with five on the floor.

3rd gear in either tranny takes you into the 90s, at least in the 987.

John Y · 02-15-2007, 05:25 AM

It's definitely more of a marketing thing than a necessity; my GTI 2.0T has a 6-spd and really doesn't need it - the car has an a--load of torque so the gear you're in isn't all that important. The extra shifting can become annoying. I think the base Box could probably use it more than the 'S', but that's where the marketing comes in - you'll find it as a feature on higher-end, premium cars, not necessarily where it's needed.

John V · 02-15-2007, 05:44 AM

The synchros are tough in these transmissions. Just skip the superfluous gears when in town. I very rarely use 5th gear.

Sammy · 02-15-2007, 06:34 AM

When I first met NickCats he asked me about the 6 speed and I commented on how the extra gear seemed pretty worthless to me. I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed. 5 gears is plenty for me...

porsche986spyder · 02-15-2007, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blue2000s

Gears 4, 5, and 6 seem way too closely spaced. I hardly use 4th and never use 5th. I'd much rather that Porsche had put in a torsen diff than the redundant gear.

Has anyone tried a lower final drive ratio? I can imagine that would make the car a liitle quicker and make the 6-speed ratio spread a little more useable.

I agree, while a sixth gear seems worthless, I do find myself using 4th and 5th when on an open highway. 5th only when I'm in "cruise control mode" on a long stretch of highway, like say the interstate on a road trip. My brother has a 6th gear in his Toyota Celica GTS and says he NEVER uses it either. It's definately a marketing thing. People tend to think if it has that "extra" gear then it must be sooo much faster and have even more power.

blue2000s · 02-15-2007, 06:48 AM

Wow, total agreement. Is that a 986forum first?

Perfectlap · 02-15-2007, 07:15 AM

Necessary? Well to reduce the engine wear and promote longevity I think you'll find the lower RPMs you run the longer the engine will last.
Whenver I upchange to 6th gear on the highway the revs come down. May or not be the best for the fuel consumption but its easier on the engine life me thinks.
When I commuting in city traffic I keep the at 3rd and 4th to strike a good balance.

I also try to short shift in the winter as much as possible before the oil temp is in the safe zone.

blue2000s · 02-15-2007, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

Whenver I upchange to 6th gear on the highway the revs come down. May or not be the best for the fuel consumption but its easier on the engine life me thinks.
When I commuting in city traffic I keep the at 3rd and 4th to strike a good balance.

That's the same thing all the other posts have noted if you read them.

porsche986spyder · 02-15-2007, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blue2000s

That's the same thing all the other posts have noted if you read them.

Ditto! What those last to guys just said.

CJ_Boxster · 02-15-2007, 07:50 AM

Thats interesting cause when im driving with normal easy acceleration, I feel that the gear ratios are too short and when upshifting the the car is lightly jolted backward cause the rpms are either droping too fast of im not shifting fast enough. There are times where its smooth but mostly not.

FrayAdjacent · 02-15-2007, 07:52 AM

My previous car was a 6 speed manual. I had wanted the 5 speed, but took what they had on the lot. I liked it, but yes, the gears were pretty closely spaced. First gear went by VERY quick, and people that supercharged that type of car lamented that first gear became all but useless, as all it would do is spin the tires.

6th gear was also probably not the greatest ratio, as when travelling at freeway speeds (75mph or so), the engine was at or higher than 4000rpm!

Anyway, I like the gearing of my 5 speed Boxster. It works out well. For my commute, I almost never get to 5th gear since the highest speed limit between here and there is 45mph. And I've already found that she does great on the highway! (trip to Dallas and back rated 30.2mpg!)

Tool Pants · 02-15-2007, 07:56 AM

This has been debated for a long time. The ratios on the 6 speed Boxster are the same as the 996, but the 996 has more hp.

At least that is what was being said when the Boxster S came out.

Perfectlap · 02-15-2007, 08:01 AM

well I don't care about marketing, if I had the option of a 5 or 6 speed gear box I would take the 6 speed for the highway/touring which is where most of my miles accrued. When the momentum has me at 75-80, I try to keep the revs as low as possible.

For track or AutoX as someone noted, the revs stay in the powerband with only 3rd, beyond 2nd for Autox well then its not really an Autox anymore.

eslai · 02-15-2007, 08:32 AM

Probably not a necessary thing, I agree.

However, to the original poster, I'd have to say that I don't see how having a sixth gear is any way related to having a torsen diff. It's not like you can only have one or the other--the six speed transmission has a differential as well, just not a torque-biasing or otherwise slip-limiting one.

Am I missing something?

BuffaloBoxster · 02-15-2007, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blue2000s

Wow, total agreement. Is that a 986forum first?

Not in total agreement.. Even in the 5-speed the ratios are designed for track speeds. 2nd in my base 986 is good for 72 MPH at redline. On the track, your acceleration will be compromised at higher speeds if the gears are spaced further apart.

I've also thought that changing the final drive would be a great bang-for-the-buck performance upgrade, but I don't recall ever seeing one for the Box.

John Y · 02-15-2007, 08:50 AM

I think his point was that the LSD would have been a more valuable standard feature for the car than an extra gear, in his opinion.

Gary Gaukler · 02-15-2007, 09:05 AM

The usefulness of the Boxster's six gears and 5th gear in particular really depends on how/where you drive the car. I agree that in the US, where you really ought not to exceed 90mph or so on a public highway, 5th is fairly useless. I shift 4-6.

But the car was not developed exclusively for the US. When trying to accelerate to Autobahn speeds - e.g. past 115mph - 5th gear makes a lot of sense to me. The same can be said for track driving. Even at TWS, which is a fairly slow track, you will run out of 4th gear before the end of the straight.

Gary