I'm gonna stir the pot a little here... 6 speeds are overrated. I had one in my Sentra SER Spec V and I drove it like a 3 speed all the time. 1-3-6. About the only time the other gears were used was when I was passing someone, climbing a steep hill, or just banging through all of them for fun when I felt like going fast. Granted that was a car and this is a Jeep, theres not much of a difference other than 4wd off road capabilities. On normal road driving, I'll bet you still use the 1-3-6. On the trail you'll never get out of 1-2. I live in a pretty snowy area and agree that a stick is usually easier to control when the situations get a bit squirrelly. Why not stick with a direct 5 speed swap though and save the hassle? Are the final drive ratios that much better on the 6 speed?