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8 speeds is soooo 2014

5K views 26 replies 20 participants last post by  FAUEE 
#1 ·
Land Rover have a 9 speed and Sergio is quoted in this article as saying 200,000 vehicles will be sold with a nine speed in 2013.

Drive - Land Rover Testing 9 Speed Auto

Time to trade in the MY2014.

Frankly, I'm happy with 5. I like the clunk from gear to gear and having half a clue which gear I should use for a corner when in sport mode.
 
#7 ·
One of the head folks from ZF has stated that 9 speeds are the theoretical limit for transmissions. Apparently, the gains in performance, smoothness, and efficiency are too minimal to be worth the extra complexity and weight.

For what it's worth the new Cherokee (NOT Grand Cherokee) will most likely be getting the new ZF-designed 9 speed transmission that Chrysler will be using. The 9 speed is not designed for the higher torque applications of the CRD or HEMI, so don't expect the 9 speed to show up in the Grand Cherokee.

Also, Land Rover is behind the times. Jeep already has a 21 speed transmission available in the Compass: All Things Jeep - Men's Jeep Compass Hybrid 700c Bicycle- Satin Gray
 
#9 · (Edited)
Apparently, the gains in performance, smoothness, and efficiency are too minimal to be worth the extra complexity and weight.

Didn't Chrysler say this about the TorqueFlite? Lol.

sorry my friend.....but the 8 speed is amazing.
Hey, I'm sure it is amazing. I drove past a Jeep dealer today and had to fight the urge to pull over and go and have a chat to the sales guys about maybe a new car.....while I'm more than happy with my MY12 5 speed, does not mean I don't want a new one!
 
#10 ·
Didn't Chrysler say this about the TorqueFlite? Lol.



Hey, I'm sure it is amazing. I drove past a Jeep dealer today and had to fight the urge to pull over and go and have a chat to the sales guys about maybe a new car.....while I'm more than happy with my MY12 5 speed, does not mean I don't want a new one!
I just picked up a '14 with the 3.6. The difference between the two transmissions is night and day. I didn't have any "major" issues with the 5 speed in my '12, but having driven the 8, I wouldn't want to go back. Much more responsive and far smoother.
 
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#11 · (Edited)
Sounds like they've improved it since they put it in the LX cars, that's a good thing - it sucked in those cars when I drove them, constantly shifting, never had any idea what gear it wanted to be in, really just a terrible implementation. Clearly software fixes have come out since then.

I'm rather over the need for more gears. Even manual transmissions are trying to have 7 and 8 gears now, and frankly that's just too many. 6 gears is the best amount for manuals, with 6-7 being the best for automatics IMO.

I've not driven an 8 speed vehicle yet that I didn't think "it'd be better if this thing shifted less". That includes previous Chryslers with it, BMWs with it, and Hyundais. I didn't have that feeling with the 7 speeds form Nissan and MB.

Maybe it's just personal preference though, I don't like it when my vehicle shifts a lot. Clearly they're going to keep developing more gears because consumers always think more gears is better. Unless it's a CVT with infinitely many gears, then they like it less. Go figure.
 
#12 ·
Clearly they're going to keep developing more gears because consumers always think more gears is better. Unless it's a CVT with infinitely many gears, then they like it less. Go figure.
I don't think it's really consumer driven (I want more gears) type stuff, it's that they have to hit those CAFE standards here, in the EU, and in China.

All of which are going up.

Same reason you will see more and more diesel powered vehicles here in the US (GM, Mazda, etc...).
 
#14 ·
As soon as they make one that can handle more power than a golf cart or compact.
 
#15 ·
Nissan has used CVTs behind the VQ35 for a decade or more and they hold up. ~300hp give or take 10% on them in CUVs and bigger sedans.

They can do it but typically people who buy V8 and big vehicles are less concerned with the fuel savings of the CVT. And I'm not sure I'd want to try towing with a CVT.
 
#25 ·
Tadge Juechter is the chief engineer for the Corvette C7. He was interviewed by Car and Driver in the March 2013 ediction. Here is a relevant portion of a comment from him: "The number of speeds isn't everything. We introduced the C6 with a four-speed automtic and brought in a six-speed transmission in the second year, and had a hell of a time beating the four-speed on both fuel economy and performance. We operate at high torque, high efficiency across a broad rpm range, so we don't need more gears. That said, we see the market going to more speeds, so we'll keep an eye on that and when we can offer genuine improvement in fuel economy with more speeds, we will."

Naturally, a Corvette has nothing in common with our WK2, except perhaps that the Corvette's engine and WK2's hemi's are both high torque engines.

Perhaps the direction is that a vehicle will benefit more readily from additional gears if it has any of the following traits: low torque, narrow power band, heavy vehicle?
 
#26 ·
What about all the other car companies that use more than 4 gears, are they just not doing it right? There is more to this world than a v8 so we can't compare the gears to just that.
 
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