Anyone who pays attention to the automobile industry knows that domestic new cars listed in recent years tend to use dual clutch gearboxes, including Starway -TX, Geely Yue Bin, Haval F7X, Lectra 03, Pentium T77 and other popular models. Speaking of cars, we often hear people say that at and CVT gearboxes are good, but few people praise dual-clutch gearboxes (except Porsche owners). Since the dual-clutch gearbox is not very optimistic, and even left a shadow in the hearts of consumers, why can it still be favored by independent brands?
Avoid patent problems
Independent brands are so fond of dual-clutch gearboxes. In fact, the biggest pain is the patent issue. Although AT gearbox and CVT gearbox have a long history, they have also been applied for a large number of patents by foreign companies. We are familiar with ZF (ZF), Jieke (Jieke) and Aisin (Aisin), all of which are giants in the gearbox field. How easy is it to break through their technical barriers? This is a bit like Toyota's hybrid technology patent, which is enough to make the latecomers miserable. The research and development of dual-clutch gearbox by independent brands not only brought it to Liangshan, but also was influenced by the establishment of a subsidiary between Borgwarner and Zhongfalian Investment Co., Ltd. in 2008. The members of China Development Association are Geely, FAW, Dongfeng, Great Wall, Chery and Jianghuai. With the help of Borgwarner, participating car companies can develop their own dual-clutch gearboxes through the technical platform. Therefore, we can see that many domestic cars mentioned the word "Borgwarner" when promoting dual-clutch gearboxes.
The production cost and the research and development difficulty are low.
Hearing the name of dual clutch gearbox, many people will definitely think that its production cost and research and development are very difficult, but it is not. From the main structure, the dual-clutch gearbox is actually more similar to a manual gearbox, except that there are some dual-clutch modules, shift modules and automatic gearbox control units. Therefore, if car companies have a foundation in the field of manual transmission, it will undoubtedly be more beneficial to powershift's research and development. In contrast, the planetary gears and hydraulic torque converter of AT transmission are not simple at all. On the other hand, if independent brands want to enter the field of AT and CVT gearboxes on a large scale, it is difficult to avoid patent conflicts with foreign companies except investing a lot of R&D funds and introducing equipment. If each gearbox has to pay some money to others, will the cost be low? Therefore, independent car companies either directly independently develop dual-clutch gearboxes to achieve self-sufficiency, or directly use gearboxes provided by brands such as Aisin.
Dual clutch gearbox has obvious advantages.
In addition, domestic cars favor the dual clutch gearbox because it has advantages that at and CVT gearboxes do not have:
1. The dual clutch gearbox is small in size. For ordinary family cars, the smaller the position of the engine and gearbox, the larger the space of the passenger compartment and the more flexible the layout.
2. The shifting speed is fast. Dual-clutch gearbox has two sets of clutches working alternately, which control odd and even gears respectively, and can realize fast gear shifting. This is also the reason why a large number of dual-clutch gearboxes are loaded on racing cars and sports cars.
3. The transmission efficiency is high, because the dual-clutch gearbox has no hydraulic torque converter and does not use steel belt transmission like CVT, so it can realize more direct gear shifting, with less power loss and improved fuel economy.
Research and development of dual-clutch gearbox has the opportunity to "overtake in corners"
In some people's eyes, the dual clutch gearbox is synonymous with "frustration" and "many problems". The early Volkswagen DSG gearbox did leave a shadow on some car owners, but with the progress of technology, the performance of today's wet dual-clutch gearbox has stabilized. Moreover, it is precisely because the dual-clutch gearbox is imperfect and small in size that there is an opportunity to "overtake in corners", which is a bit like the efforts of independent brands in the field of new energy vehicles. "People don't have me, people have me, and people are superior." There is still some wisdom and truth.
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Considering the good reputation of AT gearbox, some independent brands such as Changan and Chuanqi have invested in Aisin 6AT. Compared with the 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox, Aisin 6AT has more fans. But in any case, the determination of independent brands to seek breakthroughs is still worthy of recognition, and we look forward to seeing more excellent dual-clutch gearboxes on domestic cars in the future.