Your thoughts on the 6 speed manual in the Gladiator?

[Chocolyle]

Just got my 21 Willys Sport M6, I love this truck! Still getting used to my takeoffs as I sometimes can't hear the rev and conk out.. Embarrassing but oh well! Lifted it and put 39s. I don't see 5th gear anymore.. Lol! But it's not as bad as everyone in this forum said it would be. Re-gearing to 5.13 as soon as the shop can schedule me in. (Only one guy I trust here in Guam to do this) overall, I think once I re-gear and upgrade my exhaust, I'm gonna love my JT even more! I'm old-school when it comes to trucks.. "If it ain't manual, it ain't a truck!" no offense to anyone!

Easy fix for not hearing the engine, cut out the suitcase muffler. I have bad hearing and it was one of the fist mods I made. Front and read resonators are still there, just straight piped the muffler, nice sound, no drone and can hear it.

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[tcolt45]

I love the 6MT in my Rubicon. definitely had to get used to it. its my first truck with a manual. dont regret getting it. now that I just installed an exhaust its even better since I can control the sounds. lol

 

[RLOW]

Easy fix for not hearing the engine, cut out the suitcase muffler. I have bad hearing and it was one of the fist mods I made. Front and read resonators are still there, just straight piped the muffler, nice sound, no drone and can hear it.

You know what... I might just do that and save some money for some driveshafts.

 

[solfrost]

Daily drove a MT Miata for 7 years before getting my 2020 MT Gladiator. The MT is fine, it's not amazing or anything but it works as well as it needs to. Mostly just repeating what other folks here have said, but sixth gear is useless, just pretend it doesn't exist.

Unrelated but for some reason the throw to third is a little weird on mine, it just isn't as smooth as the other gears, not sure why.

If you like MTs get it, they're only getting rarer as time goes on.

 

[Pappyjp21]

I was just reading an article that only 2.4 percent of midsize trucks in the U.S. are now manuals the Gladiator and the Tacoma. I have only owned Jeeps that were MTs ....CJ7,Jk,Jt and when I think of a Jeep in profile it is with the two shifters sticking out of the center hump. When I orderd my Gladiator,before the chip issue, I peered into the many Jeeps on the lot and not one was manual.Is it really more fun letting your vehicle shift for you while your left foot sits on the aptly named "dead pedal" ?...I think not!

 

[GoBraves95]

I want to learn to drive stick, but don't have anything to practice on. My wife and I watch the amazing race. Told her if we ever get on the show I'm trading in for a manual transmission gladiator to practice, lol.

 

[seven30]

Just got my 21 Willys Sport M6, I love this truck! Still getting used to my takeoffs as I sometimes can't hear the rev and conk out.. Embarrassing but oh well! Lifted it and put 39s. I don't see 5th gear anymore.. Lol! But it's not as bad as everyone in this forum said it would be. Re-gearing to 5.13 as soon as the shop can schedule me in. (Only one guy I trust here in Guam to do this) overall, I think once I re-gear and upgrade my exhaust, I'm gonna love my JT even more! I'm old-school when it comes to trucks.. "If it ain't manual, it ain't a truck!" no offense to anyone!

With 39s 5:13 should transform it. The dual-mass flywheel makes it too easily to stall but otherwise I like the clutch in these manuals.

 

[hjdca]

With 39s 5:13 should transform it. The dual-mass flywheel makes it too easily to stall but otherwise I like the clutch in these manuals.

Yes it will. I ran both these Rock gardens in Big Bear, Holcomb Creek Badge of honor trail in low lock granny gear, 37s, stock clutch, 12 PSI, only the Rear Locker on, and I only put the clutch in twice. Otherwise I was braking, and putting on the gas most of the time... It crawls great. For a few large boulders, I touched the clutch to get a little rev., but, otherwise the torque is there with the 5:13s.

Even with Rock crawling, sometimes a consistent slow roll that a manual gives you can keep the traction high due to the momentum you carry.

 

[seven30]

Yes it will. I ran both these Rock gardens in Big Bear, Holcomb Creek Badge of honor trail in low lock granny gear, 37s, stock clutch, 12 PSI, only the Rear Locker on, and I only put the clutch in twice. Otherwise I was braking, and putting on the gas most of the time... It crawls great. For a few large boulders, I touched the clutch to get a little rev., but, otherwise the torque is there with the 5:13s.

Even with Rock crawling, sometimes a consistent slow roll that a manual gives you can keep the traction high due to the momentum you carry.

You know Im going to have to get a soft top one of these days

 

[Mr.volleyball13]

I am still on the fence. Have only owned manuals, however, test drove both and found the manual pretty sluggish compared to the automatic. You guys still enjoying the manual? Plan on putting 35, possibly 37's. Anyone have a lift and larger tires with the manual? How does the 6-speed handle it? I drove an automatic with 37's and i can see it being manageable without rehearing. Worried the manual will being way too sluggish.

 

[NachoRuby]

I am still on the fence. Have only owned manuals, however, test drove both and found the manual pretty sluggish compared to the automatic. You guys still enjoying the manual? Plan on putting 35, possibly 37's. Anyone have a lift and larger tires with the manual? How does the 6-speed handle it? I drove an automatic with 37's and i can see it being manageable without rehearing. Worried the manual will being way too sluggish.

Still loving it. This thread is only like a week old haha. Don't think anyone's opinion has changed that fast. I'm on 35s. It's fine. But I wouldn't go to 37s without re-gearing, though. At some point, I may even regear with the 35s, but its not bad. I'd like to be able to use 6th gear on the highway more is the only reason. What gears do you have? If on the 3.73s, you might not like it on 35s, definitely not on 37s.

If you don't have at least Rubicon/Mojave 4.1 gears, I'd probably stay at 33s or less.

 

[Gvsukids]

I am still on the fence. Have only owned manuals, however, test drove both and found the manual pretty sluggish compared to the automatic. You guys still enjoying the manual? Plan on putting 35, possibly 37's. Anyone have a lift and larger tires with the manual? How does the 6-speed handle it? I drove an automatic with 37's and i can see it being manageable without rehearing. Worried the manual will being way too sluggish.

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/6-speed-manual-regrets.37154/

 

[NortonJTSS]

I am still on the fence. Have only owned manuals, however, test drove both and found the manual pretty sluggish compared to the automatic. You guys still enjoying the manual? Plan on putting 35, possibly 37's. Anyone have a lift and larger tires with the manual? How does the 6-speed handle it? I drove an automatic with 37's and i can see it being manageable without rehearing. Worried the manual will being way too sluggish.

I’m guessing you’d be fine with 35s and pushing your luck with 37s (without regearing) but I haven’t taken the plunge on new tires yet.. I’m gonna go with 35s

 

[Mr.volleyball13]

Still loving it. This thread is only like a week old haha. Don't think anyone's opinion has changed that fast. I'm on 35s. It's fine. But I wouldn't go to 37s without re-gearing, though. At some point, I may even regear with the 35s, but its not bad. I'd like to be able to use 6th gear on the highway more is the only reason. What gears do you have? If on the 3.73s, you might not like it on 35s, definitely not on 37s.

If you don't have at least Rubicon/Mojave 4.1 gears, I'd probably stay at 33s or less.

I am looking to get a mojave, so 4.10 gears. Test drove one this weekend and found it to be pretty sluggish and had a hard time keeping rpm out of a corner.

 

[NachoRuby]

I am looking to get a mojave, so 4.10 gears. Test drove one this weekend and found it to be pretty sluggish and hard a hard time keeping rpm out of a corner.

It needs rpms. You won't get past 3rd or 4th gear until you hit the highway. That's what takes a little while to get used to. 3rd is super long. I could theoretically hit the speed limiter in 3rd on 35s. But if you aren't wanting to feed it RPMs, and shift a lot, the auto might be a better choice. If it falls below 2000-ish RPMs, it won't pull at all. You said you've only owned manuals, as have I. So I think you'd get used to it. But if your gut is telling you to go auto, you probably should, rather than end up with an expensive vehicle you don't thoroughly enjoy.

As long as you let it have the RPMs when it needs them, it'll move well enough. But the torque curve isn't conducive to low RPM cornering at all. It requires active downshifts, often.

Other option is regear, of course, to get a little more torque multiplication.

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