I was actually thinking about starting a new thread this a.m. seeing how many other 6.0 guys loved their manual tranny as much as I do, I flew/drove back over 1,200 miles (each way) to buy my truck as it was one of a handfull on the west coast that had a 6-speed in it at the time I was buying.

6-speed:

Cons: It does have bottom end lag if you don't drive it right, you don't want this trans if you want to be out drag racing the rice burners stoplight to stoplight, not the best to drive in heavy urban areas (unless you can be patient and drive like semi guys) and it has some mechanical noise to it.

Pros: Incredible control while towing, better mpg, cheaper/easier to maintain (no system flushing/changing out filters etc like an auto, no "memory" to have to re-learn your driving habits after a flash or you've had your batteries disconnected (or an electrical hiccup). If you're going to keep it for a long time and put high mileage on it, from what I've seen, that kind of buyer will generally jump on a manual trans high mileage diesel over a high mileage auto (again, that's MY experience/opinion).

To each his own and I certainly am not knocking the TS at all, it just that for me, even the $5,000+ ATS auto tranny I had in my other truck can't hold a candle to this 6-speed while towing (I bought my truck to tow).

Plus, it just feels so darn right rowing through the gears on a big truck like these.