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Kyle Busch
Automotive ExaminerKyle is an auto enthusiast and consumer advocate with over 30 years of experience. Author of “Drive the Best for the Price…” He welcomes your comments and car questions on his website www.DriveTheBestBook.com . Kyle’s car has over 500,000 miles and he even has the same name as the #18 NASCAR driver.
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Upshifting with new transmissions
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by Kyle Busch, Automotive Examiner
I did a recent article on fuel-efficient 2009 vehicles, a number of which
had manual transmissions. Although today’s automatic transmissions
have come a long way with smooth shifting and fuel economy that almost
matches and sometimes even exceeds their manual counterparts, manual
transmissions have some pluses. They enable a smaller fuel-efficient
engine to drive more powerfully, they allow more driver involvement, they
cost less, and as my article pointed out, they can obtain better gas mileage.
The number of adults who drive cars equipped with manual transmissions
has been in steady decline over the years and now stands at about 17
percent. Does this downshift mean the end of the manual transmission?
And if so, what new transmissions will most vehicles have in the future?
Recent advances in electronics, hydraulics, and manufacturing processes
suggest two types of transmissions. Expensive upscale vehicles will likely
have dual-clutch transmissions and moderately priced cars will have
Continually Variable Transmissions.
PDK - Porsche's dual-clutch transmission
Porsche’s new 911
has a dual-clutch
gearbox system
the company calls
Doppelkupplungsgetriebe
(that’s German) or PDK.
In simple terms how
does it work? Well, the
transmission has
seven forward gears,
reverse, and two hydraulic clutches operated by a computer. And no clutch
pedal needed! One clutch works with gears 1, 3, 5, 7, and reverse, and the
other clutch works with gears 2, 4, and 6.
When the gearshift is put in drive, and at a certain RPM, the hydraulic
clutch engages 1st gear, and the driver is off. With the second hydraulic
clutch disengaged, it goes to 2nd gear. At a certain RPM, a computer
disengages the clutch associated with 1st gear and engages the clutch
operating 2nd gear. The computer synchronizes each clutch to engage
while the other disengages.
When in 2nd gear, the other clutch disengages and the system moves
into 3rd gear and the swap between the clutches happens again. The
computer works each gear engagement up and down.
The driver pushes the gearshift forward to upshift or pulls the shifter
back to downshift. Additionally, the driver can also choose to push
buttons on the steering wheel (as in formula 1 type cars) to shift
up or down.
Car enthusiasts who would not be caught driving a manual transmission
say the dual-clutch system is so good they would drive a car equipped
with it.
In addition to being driven “manually,” the transmission can be put in
automatic mode. Thus the computer decides when to shift although the
clutches still allow the system to work the gears up and down!
Why not just simply drive an automatic? The clutches enable the
transmission to hook-up like a manual thus avoiding the slippage found
in today’s automatic transmissions.
In 7th gear on the highway, a Porsche equipped with PDK is motoring
along at 125 miles per hour and the engine is turning at 3,200 RPM.
Most cars drive at 75-80 miles per hour at 3,200 RPM. Drive the Porsche
with PDK at the speed limit, and the engine would be running at about
1,600 RPM. Needless to say, this 345 horsepower sports car gets about
28 miles per gallon on the highway.
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CVT - Continuously Veriable Transmission
Most drivers cannot
afford to drive a
Porsche, so what
transmission will
likely be in their
vehicles? Most
common cars will
have a Continuously
Variable Transmission
or CVT.
This transmission
works with two pulley
and a steel belt. The
belt rotates up and
down each pulley
changing the ratio
of which each spins.
Think of a 21 speed bike except the transmission has pulleys and a steel
belt.
Continuously Variable Transmissions have many fewer parts compared
to today’s automatic and even manual transmissions. They operate
smoothly and the driver has no perception of its changing ratios.
Additionally, excellent fuel economy will be achieved with this
transmission.
Both of these shifts will be coming to a vehicle near you soon!
Kyle Busch is the author of “Drive the Best for the Price…” He
welcomes your comments or car questions at his auto web
site: www.DriveTheBestBook.com.
Topics: gas saving , Car transmissions , PDK , CVT , Car information , news , transmissions
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