cawimmer430

GM considers eight-speed gearbox
Posted on Wednesday 17 October 2007

Earlier this month information from leaked UAW documents revealed the Corvette may get a new dual-clutch transmission and now reports are claiming GM is also working on new seven and eight-speed gearboxes. The key now for GM is determining whether the improvements in fuel economy and performance would justify the cost of engineering them into a vehicle.

The executive director of GM Powertrain’s Transmission Engineering, Jim Lanzon, told The Car Connection that every possibility is being looked at including a similar gearbox design to the one used on the high-performance BMW M5. GM has the technology but as Lanzon explained, “there is more to making a seven or eight-speed transmission than adding more modules. You’ve got to be concerned about the parasitic losses that neutralize the fuel-economy gains.”

New computer design tools have sped up the development of GM’s recent gearbox technology. Where once it would take close to a decade to develop three or four new transmissions, with the aid of computerized tools GM has launched nine new six-speed transmission models in just four years.

Dual-clutch technology is slowly filtering to other companies after the Volkswagen Group first pioneered the gearboxes in their mass market vehicles. Mitsubishi’s Evolution X and the Nissan GT-R both get dual-clutch gearboxes and Ford is bringing it to market very soon.



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Merc1

I just love it when GM nearly dies and then starts hitting back with one advancement after another. Shame it took losing over 10 billion dollars to wake them up. Don't think about it, do it. An 8-speed will surely allow them to give everything else a 6-speed eventually. The 4-speed in certain cars (Cadillacs even) has to go!

M

bmer

I agree. IMO it's a disgrace in the 21st century.