I see GMC now offers a 6-speed transmission on the 09' Sierra. The new F-150/Ram also offers this option. Looks like for once all auto producers are on the same page.

 

In this market these days you have to be on the same page as the competitor or ya get eaten alive.

 

I just priced a ram on their site and it didn't give me the option of 6 speed. Just 4 and 5. It also came out to quite a bit more money that my equivalent spec Platinum and i know what i would rather have.

 

The editor of Truck trend on his page didn't have very much good to say about the 09 Ram. It's worth a read.

Tim

 

The RAM is a 6-speed, but has two 2nd gears. It uses one for upshifting and little bit different ratio if you kick back into second. It has 5 forward gears from a dead stop. They are spaced pretty good as well.


Upshift 2nd = 1.67
downshift 2nd = 1.50

Why it is this way instead of 6, I don't know.

 

That sounds silly. All that extra complexity... for just a different ration for 1 gear depending on weather your accel or decel?

 

That redundant gear is little different from the TorqueShift, another 6-speed that acts like a 5-speed.

 

The Dodge Ram has a 5 speed transmission which is going to be very rough shifting, not a good shift quality and noisy compared to our 6 speed.

 

The 08 isn't!!

 

My best guess on this is that the 6-speed auto that they use is really like a 3-speed box with a 2-speed secondary gear set. They may have had to go this route to get the primary 5 ratios to space out properly, and/or to make the internal shifting more logical depending on which gear you're coming from (up or down shifting). Once you have enough grunt in first (and second) gear to get the thing rolling, and enough "length" in the top gear for mileage, you then get to spacing out the intermediate gears properly. The shorter upshift gear probably lets them get the trans out of first gear quickly, and keeps 2nd gear a bit longer when you punch the gas at 35 mph or are driving up a mountain. Probably helps the EPA mileage numbers as well.

George

 

I see you haven't ridden in a Ram with a 5spd auto.

 

If it shifts anything like the durango 5 spd then yes it's shifting is rough. Ok cant compaire it to the 09 f150 but when compaired to our 6 speed boxes and even 5 speeds it feels rough. Unless that just how dodge's feel. They feel just like my crappy jeep gearboxes and built just as bad as well.

 

The engineers have and this is what they are saying about the Dodge 5 speed.

 

Oh, THAT'S a great source! An engineer who could possibly loose his(her?) job if the new truck doesn't sell well!

Remind me to ask that engineer what they think of the Tundra....lemme guess....no power, right?

 

The quicker a shift is accomplished, the less wear on the clutch packs and bands. I had a '98 Acura 2.5TL which had an auto trans that had characteristically hard shifts; although I sold it at 132k miles (bought it at 36k), the trans had never had a problem of any kind, and I had read on the Internet that these boxes will often go 250k or more miles...and also read that yes, they do shift hard.

Although I'm not a Dodge fan per se, I know that Mercedes may have played a part in some of their transmission designs, and the "rough shifting" is likely a design feature, not a flaw.

These are trucks, for God's sake. If you want a silky smooth vehicle, buy a Lincoln or something. It's amazing that trucks used to be rough and tough vehicles, where they are now expected to be fancy, padded, luxury vehicles....and this is why they weigh 6000 lbs. This market will be gone soon enough, with trucks being used to actually do work, not drop off a suit at the dry cleaners.

Rough shifting, so long as it doesn't jar (and break) drivetrain parts, is something I like. Too bad if the 1-2 shift causes you to smear your mascara.

George