Johnnyma45

What is the advantage of a 6sp auto with the same engine? Better gas mileage? I test drove a Mazda6 with the 6sp auto as opposed to the 4sp and found a noticeable increase in low end torque. Any feel of that?

Detroit RX8

The 6spd auto will give a better feel for the driver and more control.

Imagine you had a manual with only 4 gears, since the car will still go around the same speed, the gears will be larger so at the low end of the gear you will not have very much power. It will be better geared to take advantage of the possibilities of the engine so there will be a bit more pickup lower in the gears.

After talking with one of the Mazda guys, the reason the Auto engine has lass HP is due to the automatic itself.. The housing and porting is completely different on the Auto Renesis to generate more tourqe by sacrificing HP. I didn't really understand the whole concept, but I do know the guy I was talking with knows what he was talking about and has also helped a vendor on this forum with one of thier proudcts that was causing issues with the Renesis.