Products already benchmarked
The primary focus of Ricardo’s transmission benchmarking programme is upon emerging technologies. This is clear when considering a review of the products for which reports have already been completed. The Volkswagen DQ250 DCT in the Golf was the first application of a dual clutch transmission in a mainstream production vehicle. Similarly the Aisin AW TF-60SN was the first 6-speed automatic transverse transmission developed for front wheel drive applications, and the Jatco CVT3 is the highest torque capacity CVT offered by that company.
For each of the above transmissions all aspects of the transmission performance are covered, as described in the Technical Capabilities section. Below is a brief summary of each report, highlighting some of the areas covered:
VW DQ250 DCT
The first OEM to install DCT technology into a mainstream production vehicle
350Nm torque capacity
Detailed design review and durability analysis
Reverse engineering of controls strategies
Rig based efficiency testing
Shift scheduling and shift quality
Hydraulic shift actuation system
Jatco CVT3
The latest and highest torque capacity CVT offered by Jatco
350Nm torque capacity
Detailed design review and durability analysis
Reverse engineering of controls strategies
Rig based efficiency testing
Detailed reverse engineering of hydraulic circuit, including detail on method of ratio control
Aisin AW TF-60SN
The first 6 speed automatic transverse transmission developed for front wheel drive vehicle applications
320Nm torque capacity (limited in 1st gear)
Detailed design review and durability analysis
Reverse engineering of controls strategies
Rig based efficiency testing
Detailed reverse engineering of hydraulic system including failure mode analysis
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In addition to the above three benchmarked products Ricardo have also conduted benchmarking on the following two transmissions. The first is the Mercedes A-Class CVT (WFC280), and the second the BMW AMT (SMG3) as fitted to the BMW M5.
Mercedes A-Class CVT (WFC280)
This study includes:
a detailed design and functionality review
reverse engineering of the transmission control strategy (for both gasoline and diesel)
in depth analysis of the influences of market acceptance of a CVT transmission into the European marketplace
subjective evaluation of the Mercedes A-Class CVT
For further details of the A-Class CVT Benchmarking, including excerpts from the report, click here:
BMW M5 AMT (SMGIII)
SMGIII Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) fitted to the BMW M5. represents the first 7-speed automated manual transmission, a new design exclusively for use in the BMW M5. The layout is specific for AMT application and is not simply a manual transmission with a retrofitted automatic actuation system for gear selection and clutch control. This makes the SMGIII unit ideal for a design and functionality review. This includes the generation of a 2D layout of the transmission, and a comprehensive design review of interesting and novel features.
In addition to the design review, the hydraulic circuit has been reverse engineered and the functionality of the system assessed and a hydraulic circuit generated.
Also featured in the SMGIII benchmarking report is the reverse engineering of the transmission controls strategy. Of particular interest are the wide variety of shift maps from the five different Drive settings. In addition, adaptive modes for hill, brake assist and sporty driving have been investigated.
Further details of the BMW M5 SMGIII Benchmarking can be seen by clicking here: