Okay I'm no mechanic but I've been thinking about something. In a lot of high end sports cars you can get a 6 spd manual and the auto if offered in that model will often be a 5spd auto. It seems there is always one less gear if the tranny is auto. Would it make the car perform closer to the manual version if it had the same number of gears? It just seems to me it could be geared to better use the power of the engine. If it would be faster, why isn't it done? Cost?

 

Well, adding another gear will allow you greater flexibility in setting gear ratios. The gears don't have to be so tall if you have more to work with. But the major weak point of the auto tranny is probably the torque converter. Basically, the TC is the 'clutch' for your automatic. But unlike a mechanical clutch found in a manual gearbox, this one is hydraulic. That is where a lot of power is lost. So, getting a stronger TC would help. There is a lot of good info in TC's and transmissions at :

http://www.levelten.com
http://www.protorque.com

Check it out