Automatic transmissions: automatic transmissions are standard with manufacturers. BMW
The classic manual gearshift in the car has had its day. New automatic transmissions are faster and more economical, and some of them are a million-dollar success. But one disadvantage remains.
Drivers of automatic cars have had a hard time for decades. Not only were they considered soft. They also had to pay for their laziness in shifting gears. That started with the hefty markup on the purchase price. Then the expensive automatic always guzzles more fuel than a car with a normal transmission – and was still slower. In the end the used one sold even worse, because tired fuel guzzlers are a deterrent.
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In former times it was even worse. "automatic" was written in big chrome letters on the rear of the mercedes, also "automatique, in squiggly lettering. Inside the car, mostly older drivers held the big steering wheel in their fists, often with a hat and a roll of paper on the rear shelf in a crocheted cover.
They moved their automatic car deliberately, uphill very deliberately. When the lettering adorned a 200 D with almost two tons, 55 hp and 113 newton meters of maximum torque, even a hot sport could hardly act more than deliberately: acceleration 0 to 100 in 31 seconds.
Automatic transmission – in the days of this 200 D, this was something for those who were not confident in using the clutch and gearshift lever, and who seemed somewhat overtaxed in road traffic. So it was all the more courageous that zahnradfabrik friedrichshafen, better known by its abbreviation ZF, began to build an automatic transmission at this time.
Because the trend reversal has now been completed. Today, cars with automatic transmissions accelerate better than similarly powered models with manual transmission, they are even more economical – and a boon for the driver in stop-and-go city traffic.
Automatic transmissions are becoming increasingly important – even in the small classes. This is not least thanks to used car portals such as mobile.De and I want to be a car.De confirms, they record a 100 percent increase in demand for automatic transmissions over the same period a year ago. Almost one in three new cars is now delivered with an automatic transmission.
Also indispensable in super sports cars
It was a long way to the people’s automatic transmission. 3HP was the name of ZF’s first model in 1965: H stood for the torque converter, P for the planetary gearbox. This one had three gears, hence the number 3 at the beginning. They corresponded to the model from the US specialist borg-warner. For the americans, the automatic car was already the norm back then. BMW and peugeot were the first customers in 1965, followed quickly by alfa romeo, citroen, lancia and maserati, other addresses in the upper echelons of european automotive engineering.
The successor design 4HP from 1982 already contained four gears and a lock-up clutch for the torque converter. This eliminated the remaining slippage at higher speeds, thus increasing efficiency. The 5HP series from 1990 with adaptive control recognized an uphill pass and avoided the annoying upshifting that had been common until then when the throttle was released before a bend. ZF had thus established itself as the world’s leading manufacturer of automatic transmissions – also with other premium customers such as audi, jaguar, volvo, even porsche and rolls-royce.
Now there are the 8HP and 9HP versions. They were developed specifically for the rapidly growing range of compact cars with transverse engines. Both are also suitable for start-stop systems and for hybrid and plug-in models. They also allow sailing, taxiing with the engine disconnected.
Automatic transmissions have long been a matter of course, even in super sports cars. ZF supplies not only porsche, but also bentley and aston martin, for example. If you wanted to, you could change gears quickly and without interrupting traction using the tiptronic system. "nested multiple downshifts" over several gears ensure powerful traction even without the driver’s intervention when accelerating – in the standard 0 to 100 km/h sprint just as in practice. Best values can be achieved by simply accelerating, manual shifting requires careful handling of clutch and shift lever.
Moderate consumption as well
And automatic cars have long since ceased to be drunks – on the contrary. Its standard consumption is often lower than cars with manual transmissions that have the same engine. The difference in practice can be even greater. Eight- or nine-speed automatics in particular allow the engine to operate at low and therefore economical engine speeds whenever possible. They also increase comfort by reducing the noise level in the car.
In the future, there will be many more electrified cars – mild, full and plug-in hybrids. They have an electric motor in addition to the combustion engine. ZF installs it in the transmission housing of full and plug-in hybrids instead of the torque converter. The electric motor supports the burner when accelerating. In city traffic, it can drive alone – with drastic consumption advantages.
ZF currently produces 2.6 million automatic transmissions per year. New alternatives have established themselves alongside conventional automatic transmissions. Above all, the dual-clutch transmission, which is now also a multi-million success in the volkswagen Group. It combines the efficiency of a gear transmission with the ease of use of an automatic, but especially in stop-and-go, it doesn’t quite match the smoothness and comfort of the classic automatic.
Second alternative is the stepless automatic movement. A link chain or belt runs over V-belt pulleys that can change their distance continuously.