Yes, the subject says it all. Is anyone with me? Mazda should start putting in more gears in their transmission instead of the CD. The 2.5 Skyactiv turbo has plenty of power to grind more gears.

 

As a general rule, more gears does not mean a taller final drive ratio, it just means a narrower numeric ratio between bands.

 

I understand the appeal of more gears. The other side of the equation is that more gears adds more complexity and troubles.

The brands that have gone with more gears, CVTs, Dual Clutches and so on have huge reliability issues.

I will stick with 6.

 

Well sort of, the longitudinal 8-Speed ZF unit used in BMWs, Chryslers, and numerous other brands is considered to be one of the most bullet proof and reliable autotragic transmissions ever built. Now, the transverse 9-Speed ZF unit has an absolutely horrible reputation.

 

I understand that but more gears will give smoother shifting and can attain higher overdrive. Mazda should invest on developing 8 speed tranny instead of the Cylinder De-activation which, in my opinion, doesn’t really contribute to significant fuel saving.

 

Like I wrote above, the "higher overdrive" thing is a myth.

 

A slightly higher top ratio would be nice IMHO. Currently, we are running
over 2000 rpm at highway speeds. No need with the turbo version.

My 2¢

 

I cannot think of a single 4-cylinder engine, turbocharged or otherwise, with a highway cruising RPM under 2,000. The problem is, the dynamic pressures in the combustion chambers at such low RPMs can get too high for the current state of the art metallurgy and fuel formulations. For high displacement V8, such as the motor on a Corvette, yeah, no problem, 1,750 RPMs at 80 is still comfortable because the power produced by each cylinder is still pretty low. For a CX-5, especially for the turbo versions, you would quickly destroy the engine.

 

Agreed. Happened with VW for example. They had a perfect 6-speed DSG automatic. Then they went to 7-speed and a lot of reliability issues popped up. The more is not always better Same applies for razor blades, I stopped at three blades

 

LOL we all, well some of us can remember the power glide...

Lets let development of transmission technology grow naturally because we all forgot to mention with more gears resulting in higher gear ratio's engines need more torque developed to support those more gears and higher gear ratio's. LOL