6th Gear?

[Xenolith]

At highway speeds I normally run in 6th at 75MPH. Hills, I will downshift as necessary. I can get 21+MPG.

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[Blazing Saddles]

I am always intrigued by what other manual drivers see. I am in 6th gear by 50-55 mph and stay in it constantly. I can only imagine that people that have an issue with 6th gear are either using sport gearing or trying to move a lot of weight. I have 4.88s on 33s. I also live in an area that goes up over 3k in elevation in about 10 miles or so.

 

[Chugiakguy]

When I have to drive to my office I don't like taking the Jeep because the computer hunts too much on the freeway, I prefer driving my other car with its higher horsepower.
[/QUOTE]

When I was driving a 2021 Ram 2500 pickup at a job at a mine last year, which was on a mountain, I found the automatic transmission did this same thing as well, in a very annoying manner, in the lower gears. I routinely just put it into manual mode, and would leave it in 1st or 2nd or 3rd, whichever gear was appropriate for engine braking while descending the mountain, rather than having it lurching back and forth every couple of seconds between gears.

I don't know if the automatic transmission in the current Wranglers do this same thing, but if they do, then I'm glad that I got the manual.

 

[Chugiakguy]

I am always intrigued by what other manual drivers see. I am in 6th gear by 50-55 mph and stay in it constantly. I can only imagine that people that have an issue with 6th gear are either using sport gearing or trying to move a lot of weight. I have 4.88s on 33s. I also live in an area that goes up over 3k in elevation in about 10 miles or so.

That's because you have a Rubicon. And I know that many Rubicon owners seem to implicitly think that every Jeep out there is a Rubicon, but that is far from the case. The 3.45 that I have in my Willys Sport would be lugging in 6th at 50-55 mph on totally flat ground.

 

[Blazing Saddles]

That's because you have a Rubicon. And I know that many Rubicon owners seem to implicitly think that every Jeep out there is a Rubicon, but that is far from the case. The 3.45 that I have in my Willys Sport would be lugging in 6th at 50-55 mph on totally flat ground.

I never said or alluded to such. In fact, I said that people seeing this issue have sport gearing, which you do.

 

[Chugiakguy]

I never said or alluded to such. In fact, I said that people seeing this issue have sport gearing, which you do.

OK, sorry, I had misread or misunderstood your post there, Blazing Saddles.

 

[Blazing Saddles]

OK, sorry, I had misread or misunderstood your post there, Blazing Saddles.

No worries. It would probably be better to state I am interested in all views on this as I am the kind of person that likes large data sets. There is a huge swing in how people perceive the 3.6 and the manual and it seems that people with sport gearing or people that tow tend to have the most negative experiences.

 

[jbcrane]

I have a 2022 with manual 6 speed. Rolling down the interstate at 80 in 5th I am running about 2500 RPMs. Does anyone even use 6th? It doesn't seem to have the juice to run hilly country at 75-80 in 6th and 75 is about the top end of speed limit around here.

When I’m on the highway - which isn’t often-I see 6th regularly since re-gearing to 4.88’s. There is actually power in 6th with 4.88’s/315-70’s. Running 3.45’s/stock 245/75 tires getting into 6th was uncommon here in Colorado.

 

[Chugiakguy]

No worries. It would probably be better to state I am interested in all views on this as I am the kind of person that likes large data sets. There is a huge swing in how people perceive the 3.6 and the manual and it seems that people with sport gearing or people that tow tend to have the most negative experiences.

Well, since I do plan on towing with my Jeep (but haven't yet, and don't plan to until next spring), I may be one of those considering regearing not too far down the road.

Sigh. "Just empty every pocket".

 

[djb1]

I've only done test drives trying to figure out what I want in a JLU. I've tried a Sport with 33s and stock 3:45 gears, and a Rubicon on 33s and 4:10s. I even live at elevation and thought they both drove just fine at 60-70 MPH in 6th. My impression is that the 3.6L horsepower and torque specs might be a bit higher than published. But I am coming from a recently deceased 4 cylinder Tacoma.

 

[Tethmes]

I use 6th at anything over 70, but where I'm at in MI is pretty flat, so torque is not necessary.

 

[Deleted member 59498]

I have a 2022 with manual 6 speed. Rolling down the interstate at 80 in 5th I am running about 2500 RPMs. Does anyone even use 6th? It doesn't seem to have the juice to run hilly country at 75-80 in 6th and 75 is about the top end of speed limit around here.

In my 2020 I always used 6 on highway it went ok never an issue. Only a couple of hills worth mentioning. Rubicon with 4:10 though maybe matters.

Now with the diesel it doesn't notice hills.

 

[txj2go]

I've only done test drives trying to figure out what I want in a JLU. I've tried a Sport with 33s and stock 3:45 gears, and a Rubicon on 33s and 4:10s. I even live at elevation and thought they both drove just fine at 60-70 MPH in 6th. My impression is that the 3.6L horsepower and torque specs might be a bit higher than published. But I am coming from a recently deceased 4 cylinder Tacoma.

I've done a lot of long trips to Colorado, through Colorado, and to Utah. I've driven to the highest point in the US that you can drive a Jeep to. (JLU Sport, 3.6L, 8-speed, 33" tires) I have not had any problems with this combination and I get 21+ mpg on those trips. The transmission will hunt a little bit when it needs to. I'm sensitive to this but sometimes I don't even notice. With a manual transmission I would notice because I would have to downshift. I'll say that most of my driving life I've driven manual transmissions. I didn't want a manual in the Jeep because I didn't want an extra pedal to deal with on the side of a mountain.

 

[bjm00se]

I use sixth all the time and consider going to it anytime I'm above 50mph. But yeah, I'm a Rubicon with 4.10 gearing, and on top of that I drive like an old man.

No matter what, you can't drive it like an automatic. If you need to accelerate, you also need to immediately drop a gear, or even two. I often shift sixth-to-fourth, or fifth-to-third.

 

[djb1]

I've done a lot of long trips to Colorado, through Colorado, and to Utah. I've driven to the highest point in the US that you can drive a Jeep to. (JLU Sport, 3.6L, 8-speed, 33" tires) I have not had any problems with this combination and I get 21+ mpg on those trips. The transmission will hunt a little bit when it needs to. I'm sensitive to this but sometimes I don't even notice. With a manual transmission I would notice because I would have to downshift. I'll say that most of my driving life I've driven manual transmissions. I didn't want a manual in the Jeep because I didn't want an extra pedal to deal with on the side of a mountain.

Honestly If I could stand an automatic I'd probably just get an old 4Runner. The whole reason I'm lurking here is I lost my beloved regular cab 4X4 Tacoma in an accident and the new ones have deviated too far from the recipe I prefer. What used to be a fun little utilitarian beast has morphed into a bloated form over function dad-wagon with bad ergonomics and an even worse powertrain.

I never would have considered a Jeep until I spent a day in my brother's new used JKU. Compact dimensions, visibility, maneuverability, and just plain driving enjoyment are the closest I've experienced to my deceased truck. Not to mention in a Wrangler Unlimited as in my regular cab Tacoma, I can sleep comfortably in the back instead of fiddlef***ing around with rooftop or ground tents. I like manual gearboxes, manual transfer cases and locking differentials, and couldn't care less about touch screens, luxury features or highway driving dynamics.

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