Media post: The 4 Types of Car Transmissions

Dual Clutch Transmission 

Originally, all cars had manual transmissions; you either learned how to operate a clutch and gearshift or you didn’t drive. Today, there are many more options for you to choose from and each has its own positives and negatives. In this article, we will discuss the 4 basic types of transmissions so you have a good idea for what options are available when you are looking at buying either a new or used car.

Manual transmissions

The simplest type of transmission still in use is the manual. This is how they work: A vehicle with a manual transmission uses a friction clutch to connect the engine’s rotating flywheel to the transmission’s input shaft. From there, a fixed set of gears are engaged using gear-selector connected to the gear shift. The gear shift, of course, is what is operated by the driver to change gears. Power is then fed to the output shaft which connects to the wheels. It’s a simple design.

In spite of fewer and fewer being sold each year, the manual has a lot of advantages over the more complicated transmissions.  Its simplicity means that it’s less likely to need expensive repairs than any other transmission type, and if it does have a problem, it’s likely to be cheaper to repair. Perhaps the most compelling case for a stick shift is the driving experience itself. For true driving enthusiasts, nothing can beat the feeling of a manual transmission.

Automatic transmissions

In the early days of automobiles all vehicles were manual but that didn’t mean that every driver enjoyed the experience of using one. Many drivers wanted something easier to use. As a result, after much research, General Motors introduced the first fully automatic transmission in the early 1940s. Though quite complicated internally, the driving experience was greatly simplified.

Though most automatics can’t match a manual for performance or fuel economy, the ones made today are much closer than previous generations. In fact, Patrick BMW of Schaumburg, IL, a full service BMW dealer says some BMWs with automatic transmissions offer the same gas mileage as the models optioned with standard transmissions.

Continuously variable transmissions

Many automakers today offer Continuously Variable Transmissions (CVT). CVT transmissions don’t have any gears at all. Instead, they use a belt and pulleys to produce an infinite range of ratios. The car’s main computer decides how to adjust the pulleys to create the optimal ratio for the particular driving situation. Since they’re not as complicated as automatics, CVTs are less prone to failure and costly repairs.

Dual-clutch transmissions

The newest transmission type is a Dual-Clutch Transmission (DCT). Think of it as a hybrid between an automatic and manual transmission. In a DCT, there are separate clutches for both odd and even gears, which allows for incredibly fast shifts. Like the other automatic transmissions, the shifting of the gears and clutch movement is controlled by solenoids and a computer. DCT transmissions offer cutting-edge performance with ultra-fast gear changes. Currently, these gearboxes are mainly found on race and high-end sports cars but they are starting to appear on production automobiles.