Brace Yourselves: 11-Speed Triple Clutch Gearboxes Are On The Way
We’ve only just wrapped our heads around the idea of nine and 10-speed automatic gearboxes, but manufacturers are far from done when it comes to adding new ratios.
Last year news emerged that Honda had patented an 11-speed, triple clutch transmission, and now Car is reporting that General Motors is proposing its own 11-speed ‘box.
Like the Honda unit, the GM gearbox has three clutches, and it has two reverse ratios in addition to the 11 forward gears. GM already produces a 10-speed transmission (below), currently seeing service in everything from the Chevrolet Tahoe to the Camaro ZL1.
Ford and Lexus also have 10-speed ‘boxes and Mercedes now has a nine-speed unit across much of its range, so what’s behind the new obsession with offering a mountain bike-like selection of cogs to choose from? As you’d probably expect, it’s all about efficiency.
More cogs makes it easier for the ever more clever gearbox control units to keep the engine speed at the most efficient point possible, whatever speed you’re doing. This new generation of 11-speeders will apparently be good for a five per cent fuel economy improvement, amid worldwide efforts to drastically reduce carbon emissions by 2025.
What are your thoughts on the incoming wave of many-cogged gearboxes? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section…
Source: Car
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
Ford and GM built there 10 speed trans at Ford together. It will only be in there high end cars/trucks. But none the less sounds badass
Why on earth would you need two reverse gears?
For those wondering why they aren’t just using CVTs - typically CVTs typically can’t handle nearly as much power as an ordinary gearbox because they are belt-driven, and the belts represent a significant weak point compared to solid metal gears. Just to give you an idea, Mercedes’ Autotronic CVT is rated for a maximum of around 260lb. ft of torque, whereas the traditional planet and sun gear setups of the 7G-tronic and 9G-tronic boxes can handle up to 560lb. ft and 740lb. ft respectively. Naturally 260lb. ft is more than enough for the typically low-powered A-class hatchbacks, but on the C-class and above, they use the 7G or 9G-tronic boxes because all of them are either close to, or exceed that limit.
It might be possible to make a CVT that would be strong enough to handle similar amounts of torque, but more strength means bigger, chunkier components, and whether a CVT with a comparable torque rating is practical and cost-effective in comparison to traditional automatic boxes is another matter.
heavy breathing
K
Sooner or later we’ll have 18 speed transmissions in pickup trucks…
Nice…. A truck gearbox in a car
Car throttle is gonna have to change their logo with all those new gears