8 and Beyond: A New Generation of
Automatic Transmissions I
t was 1981: The 4-speed auto- matic overdrives were the latest transmission innovations coming
out of Detroit. Finally there was a 4-speed automatic for the modern car. Japan quickly jumped on the 4-speed bandwagon with the introduction of the A40D, A140 and 4N71B. Almost twenty years later along
came the 5-speed 5R55E from Ford. It was fun to drive, in part due to its split
gear ratios. It provided great accelera- tion and fuel economy. Now it’s 2012: Yesterday’s 4- and
5-speeds are old news. Even the latest 6-speeds are quickly being re-evaluated for efficiency. Today’s transmissions are engineering marvels that are quick- ly being outdated and replaced by the transmissions of tomorrow. How in the world do the engineers
come up with this stuff?
by Mark Puccinelli
members.atra.com www.atra.com
Here’s some preliminary data on
what’s ahead for a few Dodge and Chrysler vehicles in 2012.
The 845RE This is an 8-speed transmission
developed by ZF (Figure 1). In 2012, it’ll be introduced in the Charger SXT and Chrysler 300 coupled with the Pentastar V6. ZF refers to this transmis- sion as the 8HP45. Other versions and
Figure 1 20 GEARS January/February 2012
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71