# 5 speed vs 6 speed
**URL:** https://forums.speedlife.net/t/5-speed-vs-6-speed/208911
**Category:** NYSpeed Automotive
**Created:** [February 6, 2011, 8:37am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/5-speed-vs-6-speed/208911 "2011-02-06T08:37:05Z")
**Posts on this page:** 18
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@itsgoindown513](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/itsgoindown513)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2011, 8:37am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/5-speed-vs-6-speed/208911/1 "2011-02-06T08:37:05Z")
Whats a better transmission and why? Is 5 speed capable of being more torquer or no… Just a general questions. I know a few basics things but just trying to learn more.
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### Author:  [@08GT500](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/08GT500)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2011, 8:37am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/5-speed-vs-6-speed/208911/2 "2011-02-06T08:37:59Z")
This will end well :io:
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### Author:  [@boosteds13sleeper](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/boosteds13sleeper)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2011, 8:45am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/5-speed-vs-6-speed/208911/3 "2011-02-06T08:45:05Z")
well it depends on what kind of trannys were talking lol and what car were talking about. tremec,getrag,factory trannys. some cars 6 speeds are way stronger then the 5’s then other cars 5 speeds are better then the 6"s.
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### Author:  [@NYstanger](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/NYstanger)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2011, 8:45am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/5-speed-vs-6-speed/208911/4 "2011-02-06T08:45:32Z")
Most of the time the gearing for 1-4 are relatively the same. With the 6 speed you just get 2 overdrive gears with the 6th gear being the same ratio as the 5th on a 5 speed.
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### Author:  [@cougarspeed](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/cougarspeed)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2011, 9:18am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/5-speed-vs-6-speed/208911/5 "2011-02-06T09:18:10Z")
Wow I thought I was going to have to moderate the hell out of this. Thanks for the civil responses guys.
Op. As stated more info is needed.
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### Author:  [@Motocrossx23](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Motocrossx23)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2011, 9:19am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/5-speed-vs-6-speed/208911/6 "2011-02-06T09:19:53Z")
I’ll be honest, this is a good question because admittedly I can use a lesson about it. I’ve always assumed it was for overdrive gear ratios.
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### Author:  [@sobo](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/sobo)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2011, 9:22am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/5-speed-vs-6-speed/208911/7 "2011-02-06T09:22:03Z")
> [@NYstanger](#):
>
> Most of the time the gearing for 1-4 are relatively the same. With the 6 speed you just get 2 overdrive gears with the 6th gear being the same ratio as the 5th on a 5 speed.
Sometimes though 6 speeds have another ratio crammed in between though and not at the end.
The Evo 8 MR tranny is like that. At 75mph the rpm’s are almost the same between that 6 speed and the regular evo’s 5speed
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### Author:  [@itsgoindown513](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/itsgoindown513)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2011, 10:20am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/5-speed-vs-6-speed/208911/8 "2011-02-06T10:20:09Z")
It’s just a general question I don’t have a specific transmission in mind I’ve just heard a few different things and wanted to get other peoples opinions.
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### Author:  [@psphinx81](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/psphinx81)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2011, 10:25am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/5-speed-vs-6-speed/208911/9 "2011-02-06T10:25:08Z")
> [@boosteds13sleeper](#):
>
> well it depends on what kind of trannys were talking lol and what car were talking about. tremec,getrag,factory trannys. some cars 6 speeds are way stronger then the 5’s then other cars 5 speeds are better then the 6"s.
this basically sums it up
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### Author:  [@See4Ways](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/See4Ways)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2011, 10:41am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/5-speed-vs-6-speed/208911/10 "2011-02-06T10:41:43Z")
all vehicle specific
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### Author:  [@Rovert](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Rovert)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2011, 2:35pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/5-speed-vs-6-speed/208911/11 "2011-02-08T14:35:48Z")
my MKV gti’s 6 speed feels pretty clean from 1st through 6th as in my old 1.8t once you shifted from 4th to 5th you really felt it kinda drop into over drive. any tranny your looking into im sure you can google the drive ratio’s and get an idea of how the car will behave. i will say i love having a 6 speed, 75/80 mph sits right around 3,000 rpm and sipping fuel.
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### Author:  [@theblue](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/theblue)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2011, 9:37am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/5-speed-vs-6-speed/208911/12 "2011-02-09T09:37:22Z")
I’m just not sure if green cars are better than red cars? or how this thread’s questions is any different.
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### Author:  [@Paulo](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Paulo)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2011, 9:41am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/5-speed-vs-6-speed/208911/13 "2011-02-09T09:41:04Z")
There’s nothing wrong with someone wanting to learn about this.
OP - I would suggest diving into how a transmission generally works. It will help you understand why everyone is saying “it depends”. There are a lot of variables involved so it means that one may not necessarily be better than the other for what you’re asking.
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### Author:  [@boardjnky4](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/boardjnky4)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2011, 9:57am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/5-speed-vs-6-speed/208911/14 "2011-02-09T09:57:14Z")
I think it all depends on what kind of driving you do.
The closer gear ratios on the 6-speed will definitely improve accelaration. That could be a good thing and a bad thing. In drag-racing you may want less shifts to get down the track though, so maybe 6 speed is less desirable? On a road coarse it’s probably a good thing. I personally like it, but with street driving light-to-light, it’s noticeably more shifting when compared to a 5-speed.
I know on subarus, someone on here mentioned that the 5-speed wrx tranny is stronger than the 6-speed sti tranny.
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### Author:  [@97FormulaWS-6](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/97FormulaWS-6)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2011, 10:05am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/5-speed-vs-6-speed/208911/15 "2011-02-09T10:05:35Z")
There is no “correct” general answer to this, like has been said, all depends on the vehicle, use, manufacturer, etc.
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### Author:  [@system](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/system)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2011, 10:34am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/5-speed-vs-6-speed/208911/16 "2011-02-09T10:34:13Z")
> [@boardjnky4](#):
>
> I know on subarus, someone on here mentioned that the 5-speed wrx tranny is stronger than the 6-speed sti tranny.
I really don’t think this is right but i’m just a bit too busy today to search around. I know the STI 6-speeds are pretty stout.
You may have been refering to the 5-speed v. 6-speed EVO tranny. The 5 spd is much stronger.
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### Author:  [@Wahoo](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Wahoo)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2011, 10:35am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/5-speed-vs-6-speed/208911/17 "2011-02-09T10:35:08Z")
I think the car with more gears might get better gas mileage depending on many variables mostly gear ratios if same car is used. My friends 03 Stang is a 5 speed, he can’t go into 5th until around 40mph because it will feel sluggish at the RPM in that gear, and then his RPMs on the highway are higher then mine too. My car has a 6speed and I can go in to 5th gear just above 30mph, and since I have the extra gear my ratios seem to keep my rpms down while driving on most roads and highways. If I was driving 90mph my car would be at like 2,000rpm lol
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### Author:  [@boardjnky4](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/boardjnky4)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2011, 10:44am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/5-speed-vs-6-speed/208911/18 "2011-02-09T10:44:45Z")
> [@maxwell](#):
>
> I really don’t think this is right but i’m just a bit too busy today to search around. I know the STI 6-speeds are pretty stout.
>
> You may have been refering to the 5-speed v. 6-speed EVO tranny. The 5 spd is much stronger.
I really don’t remember to be honest, just something I randomly recalled. Someone on here mentioned building up a WRX 5-speed. I asked, why not just pick up an STI 6-speed and that is the answer I got (from someone smarter than me). It may not be true in this exact case, but I am sure there are some cars out there where this may be true.