I am thinking of purchasing a new 06 Megacab with 6sp manual. Can anyone offer any feedback? Curious whether the 6sp manual is the way to go? Gear ratio recommendations? General concerns? Expected mileage with 3.73s as opposed to 4.10s? RPM in high gear with manual as opposed to automatic with either ratio. General reliability? Thanks in advance.

 

With the G56 there are no gear ratio options. Its 3.73's and thats it. This is because 6th gear is i believe .79. At 70 im around 22-2300 rpms. At 80 im at around 25-2600 i believe. This is fine cause im putting 35's on this week hopefully and i believe this will be perfect for those tires.

 

You have no choice in gears-dodge will only build them with 3.73's if you get the manual. Highway rpm is several hundred higher with the 6 spd than with the auto, if the auto has 3.73's. A little too high, in my opinion. Regardless, you can get EXCELLENT mileage in town if you know how to drive the 6 spd, better than the auto. The auto will probably do better on the highway, since the loose torque converter is locked up and quits being a disadvantage. I shift my '06 6 spd at about 1250 rpm in town unloaded when I'm driving for mileage. It gets close to 20 driving it that way. Keep in mind, I pay attention to what's going on way ahead of me, so I can let off and coast up to red lights and such. JUST shifting at 1250 won't get you there. The gears are very closely spaced, so it doesn't drop rpm much from one gear to the next.

There are no chronic problems with the g56 and clutch that I know of. The clutch is a dual mass type, which means that the flywheel can't be resurfaced if I understand correctly. However, there are kits to swap it to a solid flywheel when the time comes to replace the clutch. Not a bad deal at all, overall. Especially considering the weight of a megacab, I bet your in town mileage will be a bunch better than most auto megacabs.

 

And don't anticipate getting super decent mileage for several thousand miles. There are tons of threads about this - do a search.... My truck, with the older NV5600 manual tranny with 3.73s, gets about 17 - combined city and highway - probably more city than highway. Also, I tend to 'play' with it more than I probably should, but it's FUN !!!

 

The G-56 6-speed(built by the Mercedes Commercial Vehicle Division , not Getrag as early rumors had mentioned) is used instead of the NV5600 that has been used for the last 5 years.The G56 is a true Medium duty tranny that will actually be over kill for the Ram application,this is good.It has two access plates on the sides for PTO access,another feature that shows the strength of this unit. The G56 being used mostly in Europe, does not have a following yet due to no one knowing about it.I have an 06 with the G56 and I like it more than the auto, not that the auto is bad, the 48RE is a good trans.When your spending the money these trucks cost you should certainly get the truck you want the way you want it,go drive one if you haven't already. I went and sat in mine and just shifted the gears, not a salesman around,didn't drive it,already knew It was what I wanted.Not one regret.