Shifting Times

[4WD]

We all witness a lasting trend of more and more gears in the modern automatics. Name a vehicle you had 5-10 years ago that could have been much better with 6 to 10 gears I’d start with a Hummer H3 … the 4L60e was not ideal for an I5 and 4.56 gears What say you?

 

[Chris142]

My 69 chevelle was a 3 on the tree. I liked it. The new semi trucks are using 8,9 and 10 speeds. 40+ yrs ago they had more gears.4x4,5x4 and 13speeds were the norm

 

[Boomer]

How about the 1963 Chevy I learned to drive in? Had the slush matic of the times....two forward speeds.

 

[555]

The Chevy in my sig would be much nicer with at least a 6 speed auto as would the Jag. Wouldn't mind a six or seven speed(manual)for the Mustang either!

 

[IndyIan]

I think unless you have a high strung, high rpm NA engine, the more gears thing isn't doing much for you in normal driving. I wish my manuals had a top gear set up mileage, instead I do many of my passes without down shifting... It does help with mileage and is a slight performance boost, so I guess that's why we see more many geared automatics.

 

[MCompact]

My ti has a 3.45 rear gear set with a close ratio five speed; 5th gear is 1.1. I'd like a 4.11 rear set with a six speed with 6th being a .80 overdrive.

 

[ls1mike]

I feel like my 2002 2500HD could benefit from the current 6 speed auto. I always felt the old 4 speed in my 3800 cars was good, just could have been beefed up a bit.

 

[PimTac]

I can go back into the sixties. Three on the tree was still common. The influx of Japanese vehicles changed the notion of the column shift to the floor shift. As for automatics, 3 speeds were mainstream for quite some time. Did older cars have different gear ratios, especially in the rear end? My recollection is that gears were held longer then compared to today. Granted, fuel economy plays a role in the quick upshifts today but perhaps there is more to the story. My dad always taught me to wind up the motors, meaning getting rpms up high before shifting. He was a truck driver so that certainly played a part in his opinion but today’s transmissions are so fast to upshift there is not much chance of winding up the engines unless you are doing it manually, either with a manual or automatic if able. This has the makings of a great thread. Ps: to keep on track with the general gist of this thread, more gears mean nothing if the upshifts are happening quickly.

 

[CR94]

The '54 Chevy my parents bought new and much later gave me as my first car had a 3.70 axle ratio, along with the standard 3-speed manual and 235 cubic inch "Stove Bolt" I6. That meant about 3000 revs/mile, which was handy for slogging through mud or climbing steepish hills without downshifting, but way too low for relaxed cruising on good roads. It needed the then-optional overdrive. Typical for small cars of its day, my '72 Subaru was geared very low, with 4.02 overall ratio. Even with a 1267 cc engine, it could've used a 5th gear for cruising. Five-speeds came a few years later, as exemplified by my Mazda.

 

[Silk]

My scooter has one gear, that's all it needs. 5 speeds was a good step for motorcycles, there was normally a big gap between 2nd and 3rd to have a smaller gap between 3rd and 4th, with 5 speeds thay are better spaced out. 6 gears are just more to change, and I don't like the 6 speed manual utes either, too m uch gear changing. The older 4 speed trucks (Bedfords etc, not pickups) had a crawler 1st gear with a huge gap to 2nd, scream the engine out in 1st, and then try to get it into 2nd...on a cold morning they often used to stall on the 1 2 shift.

 

[PimTac]

Originally Posted By: CR94

The '54 Chevy my parents bought new and much later gave me as my first car had a 3.70 axle ratio, along with the standard 3-speed manual and 235 cubic inch "Stove Bolt" I6. That meant about 3000 revs/mile, which was handy for slogging through mud or climbing steepish hills without downshifting, but way too low for relaxed cruising on good roads. It needed the then-optional overdrive. Typical for small cars of its day, my '72 Subaru was geared very low, with 4.02 overall ratio. Even with a 1267 cc engine, it could've used a 5th gear for cruising. Five-speeds came a few years later, as exemplified by my Mazda.

This is part of my thinking. Cars are being geared higher for fuel economy so would that pushed the need for more gears. Also what I see is a 1:1 ratio not at the high gear but further back. Since overdrive was considered anything beyond 1:1 I am seeing OD gearing at the top two speeds. Coupled with smaller engines makes more gears a necessity. Of course there is a limit of value. 6-7-8 speeds may be the sweet spot. A 10 speed might be playing on the idea that more is better.

 

[bcossa2001]

My 1974 Fiat X 1/9 turned 4000 rpm at 60 mph. It certainly would have been nice to have had a 5th gear...

 

[ffhdriver]

My '61 Ford Fairlane had a 3.0 rear end and a Cruise-o-matic transmission which had two D positions so you had a choice of either two or three forward gears. It performed fine.

 

[Silk]

1st was sometimes an option - on the early Mercedes (finny) autos it only went into 1st when you went full throttle. On my 1993 Nissan Laurel there was a switch on the consol that said ''slow'', when it was on it locked out 1st and took off in 2nd. My 1954 Austin A40 pickup had a sticker on the quarter window - do not use 1st gear. It had a low ratio rear end that put 2nd nearly where 1st was in the car, if you used 1st it would just go <span style="font-style: italic">bang</span>! and wind the diff and springs up.

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted By: Silk

The older 4 speed trucks (Bedfords etc, not pickups) had a crawler 1st gear with a huge gap to 2nd, scream the engine out in 1st, and then try to get it into 2nd...on a cold morning they often used to stall on the 1 2 shift.

I've got a "granny low" NP-435 behind a 3.9L-4BTA Cummins in a F-350 with 3.55's. 1st is about worthless, so I usually just take off in 2nd. The jump between 3rd and 4th is HORRIBLE - I have to get to 3000 RPM in 3rd before trying to get in 4th. My old Harley Shovel 4 speed was worthless around town - 2nd rev'd too high, 3rd lugged. My 1988 Softail is MUCH better - all 5 seems evenly spaced.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I like the 5 speed manual in my F-350 paired with 4.10 axles. It does the trick. 1-2 is a bit of a stretch sometimes since 1st is a granny gear and if it's cold out, I'll have to double clutch the shift. A few times when towing the Jeep on bigger hills I was limited to about 35 in 3rd ... didn't want to wind the engine out too much, but didn't have enough power to pull 4th. Absolutely HATED my focus 5 speed. I always said it was a 6 speed missing 1st gear. Was awful taking off. The Forester that replaced it is just about perfect. 4.44 final drive and a somewhat close ratio 6 speed. Would be a bit nicer if it wasn't screaming on the highway as much. My cherokee has an adequate number of gears but the bigger tires with factory gearing just don't cut it. I really need to get it regeared. I don't even bother trying overdrive. Luckily the torque converter takes up a lot of the stress and not a clutch

 

[Silk]

The worst cars I've driven as far as gears go are the English sidevalve 4 cyls - Prefect, Anglia, Popular. Totally gutless, low reving and 3 speed...and vacuum wipers.

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted By: ls1mike

I feel like my 2002 2500HD could benefit from the current 6 speed auto. I always felt the old 4 speed in my 3800 cars was good, just could have been beefed up a bit.

Think it would too~Can hardly tell when my 6 speed shifts but can for sure with my 4L60e ... Really enjoyed driving my son’s Charger with an 8 speed … it gets allot out of the V6 P-star

 

[JeffKeryk]

GM used various versions of 2 speed automatics until 1966 I believe. My 66 GTO (what a great car) has the stronger 2 speed, in 67 they used the 3 speed. For example, a built 200-4R is a great replacement for any of these cars. I have an original 4-4-2 with the 2 speed Junk-Away, one of the worst trannys ever made.

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted By: JeffKeryk

GM used various versions of 2 speed automatics until 1966 I believe. My 66 GTO (what a great car) has the stronger 2 speed, in 67 they used the 3 speed. For example, a built 200-4R is a great replacement for any of these cars. I have an original 4-4-2 with the 2 speed Junk-Away, one of the worst trannys ever made.

My BIL had that goat in high school and the 2 speed did some monster burn outs …