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The Truth About Cars Rounds Up Details On Ford’s New 10-Speed Automatic Transmission

The Truth About Cars recently published an inside look at where the Ford and General Motors collaborative effort stands on the upcoming 10-speed automatic transmission. The transmission is being co-developed by both companies to be used in next generation rear-wheel drive trucks and cars. Patent sketches give us an idea on how the engineers at Ford are developing their newest generation of transmissions, being the most cogs we’ve seen in a vehicle ever. Educated guesses combined with patent information help paint a picture of how the new 10-speed should perform, and how it will work. The unit is estimated to weigh no more than GM’s 8L90 8-speed do to clever packaging similar to the current 8-speed designs on the market. To share a few technical details, we’ll quote TTAC directly:

-There are a total of 10 forward ratios (of course) and 1 reverse ratio There are six forward under drive ratios (i.e. the input turns faster than the output There is a direct drive ratio where the input and the output shafts spin at the same speed There are three overdrive ratios (i.e. the output turns spins faster that the input) -There are 4 simple planetary gear sets, just like the ZF 8HP and the GM 8L transmission families -There are six shift elements (as compared to 5 for the ZF 8HP and the GM 8L) 2  brakes (A and B)  that are nested (one shift element is packaged inside the other) 4 clutches (B, C, D, and E), two of the clutches (D and F) are nested as well -For any of the 10 gear ratios, 4 shift elements are closed and two are open. Consequently the frictional losses are likely to be no worse than the 8 speed transmission designs -The nesting of shift elements means that the overall package size will be pretty similar to the 8 speed transmission designs -All shifts up and down need one shift element to be opened, and another one to be closed simultaneously. This is identical to how the ZF 8HP and the GM 8L transmissions work. The shift performance should therefore be very good.

TTAC suggests that Ford has taken the lead on the project for the 10-speed transmission. In exchange, General Motors is hard at work on a new 9-speed transmission to power front-wheel drive vehicles. Rumor has it the first prototypes of the 10-speed transmission were installed to Ford vehicles last year, and controller development is ramping up as you read this. Late 2015 may be an estimate as to when we would see the new transmission, but 2016 is more likely. It will be interesting to see where CVTs end up in the competition, as the extra cogs found in this new 10-speed design are able to handle more torque than a CVT can in its current state. It’s also another necessary step to meet upcoming federal fuel economy standards as they near closer. For a full technical write up, and renderings of the transmission, you can follow the jump here.

Sean is a staff writer for GM Authority and Motrolix. When's he's not busy taking in local automotive culture, he's probably detailing his car.

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