Bridgestones do seem to be the common factor in GTD tramping, for those of us experiencing it. I do feel that they’ve impeded the low end performance a little by fitting these over another brand. They seem worse on a damp road than a properly wet road with laying water. I’m sure you’d get short shrift from a dealer complaining that the tyres are compromising the car and therefore you want them swapped under warranty, even though I am envious of those who got Continentals (and less so – Pirellis). That supposed “anti-tramping” feature touted on the GTD brochure doesn’t seem to work for Bridgestone shod GTDs.
The gearing in 6th doesn’t feel any taller than on my 170TDI Scirocco (about 2200rpm/80mph), but as standard 5th and 6th feel a lot more limp on the GTD. It may be down to the way the power is delivered (it’s a lot smoother on the GTD, but the Scirocco feels racier by being a little more savage – I sometimes miss that). It is a lot more rapid when you look at the dials progressing than it actually feels.
Agree that sitting in a really high gear and putting your foot down is bad for consumption. Sitting in a high gear and wavering by a few mph is fine, but A short burst of hard acceleration to get to cruising speed is more economical than 5x as long for moderate acceleration to reach the same cruising speed. When you can see your instant mpg dip from 55 to 10 for 2 seconds, it’s got to be better than seeing it dip from 55 to 30 for 10 seconds. To be honest I never seem to do anything with 5th but sit between 30 and 40 mph. As long as you’re economical with the rest of your driving to preserve your momentum (anticipating traffic and approaching roundabouts etc), getting up to speed quickly is as economical as getting there over a longer period with less acceleration, if not more economical.
I’ll accelerate in 2nd or 3rd to get up to 30-40mph and then sit in 5th, I’ll accelerate in 3rd or 4th above 30mph to then slot it in 6th at my reached my desired cruise speed that is at least 40mph but could be as high as 80. If I’m sat in 6th at any less than 60mph, I would knock it down to 4th to accelerate quickly, but I wouldn’t drop to 5th. It’s a cruising gear only. 60-80mph, if I need to accelerate, I’ll generally leave it in 6th.