Any idea if is decided to make a 6-speed Lancer EVO in the US??

 

There has been no announcement.

I don't understand the infatuation with 6-speeds anyway. I ahve yet to meet a 6-speed gearbox I liked - and that includes the vehicle I own and drive every day.

 

Mark: More gears must be better of course! Maybe we can get an 18-speed tractor-trailer transmission next!

 

Quicker gearing is always going to be faster when it is done right plus the sixth can be used as a cruising gear. More gears is always faster when the ratios are spaced out acording to the powerbands peak. As far as the 18 speed thing, there is a point at which the shift time and added weight of the gears themselves are hurting performance more then the closer ratios are helping. 's new 6 speed is faster in all acceleration tests than an equally equiped 5 speed. Personally though I like the way a 5 speed feels and the longer gearers are nice sometimes.

 

I want the 6 speed so I can spank that RSX (reference the RSX vs. EVO 8 video) at 155 mph (way too slow). Honestly, I don't know enough to say but besides just better fuel economy and top end what are the other benefits of 6 speeds. Correct me if I am wrong but for the 1/4 mile and autoX, a 6 speed is unnecessary and just requires more shifting?

The only thing I am concerned with is the strength of the current 5 speed. Has there been any comparisions or discussions concerning past EVO's trannies 5 & 6 speed?

 

The JDM and the UK 6-speed have a final drive ratio similiar to our 5-speed. 6-speed (.69), 5-speed (.72). So as long as the differential gears stay the same (4.529) then the top speed will be very close. I believe the differential gear in the 6-speed car is actually lower. From the way the gears are spaced, the only benefit I see is one more gear added between our 4th and 5th which will mostly help on a higher speed racetrack. 5 is ok with me.

 

The first 6-speed I ever experienced was in a Miata. There never seemed to be a "right" gear in that car. Same with my Spec-V. I deliberately waited until 03' to get a car with the revised gear ratio's since I already knew from experience the 02' gearset was not ideal for autocross. The 03' is better but I still end up doing 3rd gear upshifts when my competitors don't. On the street I go through all 6 gears so fast that I think the car would get along happily with 3. Hell, I can cruise at 40mph in 6th gear all day long in that car yet when it comes to attacking the cloverleafs 4th is too tall and 3rd is too short.

I just don't think that more is always better.

BTW

As I understand it the 5-speed was chosen for the U.S. market because its a stronger box.

 

spanked: A 6 speed will help an engine with a narrow power band stay within that powerband as you go up through the gears. This is because you can more closely space the gears, losing less RPM at each shift than a 5 speed might.

However, given the same amount of transmission space to work with, 6 gears have to fit in the same space as 5 gears, making each one slightly smaller and therefore potentially weaker than in a 5 speed.

Obviously I was being silly mentioning the 18-speed. You only need that when you're trying to bring tons of cargo up to cruising speed from a dead stop.

 

I understand that in Japan they have an EVO 6-speed called GSR, that would be great if they could bring that to the US to compete against the STI, but it would probably cost too much

 

Thanks for the education. The EVO will be my first manual transmission car and eventhough I was joking about wanting the 6th gear to spank a RSX is has been on my mind since hearing that they might bring a 6 speed next year. But after all your responses I won't think twice about getting the EVO with a 5 speed. Just thinking twice about the cost $30,000+ for car or $30,000 down payment on a $300,000 house! New York is not cheap and I can barely find something for that price! What to do...