To me, it's the most annoying transmission of them all since it just winds but never actually shift. We must not forget the CVT which doesn't have a clutch or torque converted but a stretchy rubber band/metal band that moves around a cone to change ratio. However if you drive in bumper to bumper traffic a lot, you could end up wearing out your clutch like you would a manual transmission. Then we have the single and double clutch transmission like the SMG, DSG, PDK which still rely on actuated clutch plates but can automatically switch gears instantly up or down much like a motorcycle. The line between semi-auto and automatic is very blurry.Ī true automatic has a torque converter but BMW was able to turn that into a shiftable transmission that can hold gears and quickly change gears with a clever use of electronics. dual clutch gear box'ed car ll sound like crazy fast gear changes on a flyby. you ll feel the clutch on first few meters as well but the rest you wont. their gear layout is different and using 2 clutches for 2 different sets of gears. recent sporty torque convertors may sound like a double clutched though.ĭouble clutched transmissions: they re around less than 20 years in traffic. automatic ll sound like on a flyby, softened dramatic rev drop while changing gears. even though it is much faster than traditional torque convertors but still. they have PRND and sometimes L for low gear or gears only. torque convertor has a clutch inside though but different than traditional one. semi autos ll sound like manual transmission on a flyby with slower shifting speed depending on the transmission model.įull autos: they dont have a traditional clutch. so SMG is not like Easytronic and other that lets you feel like an old nanny changing gear for you. it cant change gear from 6 to 2 for example. SMG is a "sequential" transmission with robotized clutch. Semi Autos: same principle with manuals, a robotized clutch is being used, often dont have an "Park" on the selector and instead of D there is generally an A. Make no mistake, this new ZF has a torque converter like in the automatics of old, but has been tweaked to shift as quickly as a dual-clutch while retaining the reliability and ability to handle power like a torque converter. Of late there's been a renaissance of sorts for the old torque converter automatics, led by the new ZF 8 speed that's found in many of today's high performance cars. BMW DCT, Porsche PDK are dual clutch gearboxes, with complex gear trains with two clutches, each operating alternate odd/even gears, to allow faster shifting. Then came the dual clutch gearboxes, pioneered by VW. BMW SMG, Alfa Selespeed, Ferrari F1, fall into this category. After that came the robotised manuals (aka single clutch auto) which was basically a manual gearbox with a computer controlled actuator which worked the clutch for you. Then they added buttons or paddles to introduce a semiautomatic mode to torque converter gearboxes. Traditional auto gearboxes used to be torque converter gearboxes. This is different from the actual type of gearbox mechanism. Nowadays nearly all automatic cars have paddle shifters to give you a semi-auto mode. Some use a gated shifter like the Alfa Romeo Q-system (uses an Aisin gearbox). Semi automatic refers to a gearbox that also gives you the option to select your own gears but does not require you to use a clutch pedal.įully automatic cars with a semi-auto mode have been around for a long time, with various methods of gear selection. Think of the automatics in older cars with just the P, R, N, D, 1, 2 options. For that the human mind is by far superior (if you know how to drive and understand vehicle dynamics of course).Ĭomputers get smarter and smarter, for instance use GPS map data to predict if a corner is coming up, but they can't anticipate on where you want to go or, most of the time, what happens on the road (obstacles, traffic lights etc), that still dictate on what gear one should choose.įully automatic refers to a gearbox that does all the shifting for you. I think in the end the biggest difference is whether you let a computer choose the gear (automatic) or that you do it yourself (semi-automatic, manumatic or manual).īecause the thing a computer can't do is anticipated driving. I think technically the 'zf auto' is a manumatic and not a semi automatic.Īnd a dual clutch gearbox or a SMG is a semi automatic: So what are the main differences nowadays between them for the driver? Especially in BMWs we are also able to put our ZF-autos into manual mode, even with optional paddleshifters.
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