Tansmissions-Powertrains

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Seems like a CVT would be the most cost-effective transmission design to the average Joe unskilled about hypermiling.

[niky]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

I have read a bit about the 1.3 IDSI equipped Fit. I only wish you could get that motor in a Honda in the USA that was not a hybrid. They are known to get mileages as good as the original Civic VX engines, and the CVT seems to work well with the fairly low horsepower output of the 1.3 which I think is a dual plug 2 valve head, with good swirl due to the offset valve locations, without any lean burn.

regards
Mech

It's one of THE best engines I've ever seen in terms of economy. About as good as many engines with a cylinder less in traffic. Shame Honda killed it in favor of a VTEC variant with the GE Fit. The fuel economy has not been the same since.

We pulled the plugs on one for an oil change, the color on the plugs was amazing. Perfectly reddish in the middle and tinged white further away from the electrode... almost as if the engine were direct injection (which it isn't). Shame they dropped this fantastic motor simply to give buyers fifteen more horses at revs they'll never reach in daily driving... and the IDSI had better low-end response, too.

[nemo]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Seems like a CVT would be the most cost-effective transmission design to the average Joe unskilled about hypermiling.

Personally I think the manual transmission is the most cost effective. Cheaper to buy, cheaper to repair, efficient and reliable. With the the 1k to 1.5 k cost advantage you can buy quite a bit of fuel. But not everyone wants one and in many vehicles it is not an option.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by nemo

Personally I think the manual transmission is the most cost effective. Cheaper to buy, cheaper to repair, efficient and reliable. With the the 1k to 1.5 k cost advantage you can buy quite a bit of fuel.

My dad agrees with you

But heavy city traffic often disencourages some people who would want to learn how to shift gears manually. I know how to shift gears, wouldn't mind to do so in a daily commuter if I had to get a stickshift instead of an automatic (either a traditional or a CVT), but honestly I hate the clutch pedal...

[user removed]

I hate the gas pedal and the clutch pedal as well as the brake pedal. I also hate the fact that you can not recover energy without an electric motor and hundreds of pounds of batteries. Even with the motor and batteries you can only recover a small percentage of otherwise wasted energy.

Sure a manual transmission would be great if it could recover braking energy and always have a gear that allowed only best BSFC engine operation, but there has not been one built in hundreds of years and if it ever is built it will not be simple and inexpensive. A manual can not maintain a constant speed while the engine is cycled on and off in only it's most efficient range of operation.

I want a transmission that has capacitive energy storage and infinitely variable ratios. A transmission that allows me to hypermile like I could in the ideal set of hills that would allow best BSFC climbing and engine off coasting, while my speed does not change 1 MPH in the whole sequence.

I want to be able to do this on flat ground, in stop a go bumper to bumper traffic. In every scenario you can imagine except a very steep dowhill grade of many miles that would mean I would coast down that grade at over the practical speed limit.

A few years back I built a flywheel that would spin for over 3 minutes if you let the bearing run dry, but that time was cut in half when the bearings were oiled. In a manual transmission you have 6 or more gear sets in constant mesh as well as 6 bearings, both bathed in gear lube that are also creating resistance and drag. It seems like the generally accepted range of losses in a manual is about 10%, with more losees in the rest of the powertrain with every connection contributing to those losses, both with friction and inertia.

Twp pedals gimballed so when one is depressed, the other rises. Right side is go forward, left side is slow down and even go backwards after you stop and push a button, so you wouldn't back up into the car behind you at a traffic light.

regards
Mech

[mechman600]

Sign me up! Where can I buy one?

[serialk11r]

Old Mechanic I think that's a little unrealistic :P

What I want is a 7 speed manual (for a 4 cylinder engine, more cylinders it better have 8 speeds) with a capacitative weak hybrid system onboard. Then I can retrofit my own electric drive and increase the energy storage capacity, and have steering column mounted electric motor throttles. It would be nice if they got some high temperature thermoelectric generators to the market by then so the alternator would only be used for braking and power generation upon cold starts.

For example take the C64 Toyota transmission, ratios are 3.166, 2.050, 1.481, 1.166, 0.916, 0.815, final drive 4.529. Great when you're going 35mph or less, not so great when you're doing 50-70mph. A great 7 speed manual IMO would be the first 6 gears from the Quaife sequential transmission but a teensy bit bigger spacing, so like 3.200, 2.250, 1.647, 1.348, 1.110, 0.916, 0.680 and a 3.9 final drive, for about 2400rpm at 60mph (less with the bigger Lotus wheels and tires), which should be good for 50mpg just cruising like that with a usual 1.8L engine say the 2ZR-FE (I bet the Honda R18 would do a bit better). I get 39mpg with my engine turning 3300rpm at 60mph. A supercharged 218bhp 2ZZ should be able to hit 160mph in 6th given good enough aero. The small rpm drop between gears should make driving it a huge pleasure. The 7th gear can be dropped even more if you like, but I think that's a decent compromise.

[user removed]

How about a system that can provide power to each wheel individually or regenerate from each wheel individually and weighs the same as the brake components you no longer need. In a high speed turn you could add more power to the outer wheels to enhance your steering. ABS and traction control would be accomplished through changing the "gearing" of each individual wheel instead of simply applying friction brakes to maintain grip.

You could even apply forward power to one side and reverse to the other and turn on a single axis point, like a skid steer.

Completely eliminate any mechanical connection between each self driven wheel.

regards
Mech

[nemo]

Still sounds like hydraulics to me.

[Frank Lee]

I want a 3-speed manual with a direct drive top gear- fewer gear meshes, fewer spinning parts, less friction. I skip shift most of the time anyway, combined with short-shifting and the engine doesn't have to cope with much of an rpm spread.

I want 4-wheel drum brakes too.