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http://wardsauto.com/print/technology/new-9-speed-pushes-tech-limit-gm-says
Like the old 6-speed units, which GM refined over the years and expects to continue applying to its vehicles into the near future, the 9-speed was developed through a partnership with crosstown rival Ford.
Both automakers also derive 10-speed variants from the work. Ford brought that gearbox to market recently in the F-150 large pickup, while GM got first dibs on the 9-speed. GM's first application of the 10-speed will be in the '17 Chevy Camaro ZL1, a 640-hp supercharged version of the sports coupe due later this year in the U.S.
[...] In-house logics software inside a 32-bit transmission control module handles all shift events for smooth, precise ratio changes, GM says. It also monitors transmission performance and compensates for wear in parts such as the clutch plate to maintain consistent performance over time.
"This transmission shifts very smoothly, very precisely," Kline says.
The controller is mounted outside the gearbox to reduce packaging and manufacturing complexity, and it pulls vehicle-specific calibration from the cloud to be added to the core program as the car or truck exits the assembly line. It also enables manual shift control and grade logic, GM says.
The 9T50 features a wider 7.6:1 overall ratio, compared with 6.0:1 in its 6-speed predecessor, a deep 4.69 first gear for off-the-line performance and a tall 0.62 top gear for fuel-efficient, low-rpm highway cruising and optimal NVH.
Sixth gear is equivalent to eighth gear on the new transmission, too, so compared with the 6-speed the 9-speed offers two fuel-saving overdrive gears. Seventh gear is the direct-drive gear, while ninth gear is in use up to 52% of the time.
While the article doesn't say, my guess is that the design is also optimized for automatic/robotic assembly — even though the manufacturing plant is in Mexico.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 03 2017, @10:11PM
Honda is no longer the path to maintenance free joy, my friend.
I was a Honda man for decades, but my last Honda (Odyssey) was built with cheap parts that fail early. (My neighbor has one as well with the same exact issues.) The killer is that the scheduled maintenance (forget the maintenance to fix broken stuff, of which there will be a lot) is expensive as well. Honda is coasting on an out of date reputation at this point.
Broken axles, motor mounts, rotors that warp if you use them in heavy rain, can't hold an alignment, interior light bulbs burn out just after chintzy warranty expires (WTF?), engine requires full synthetic oil every 5,000 miles, regular flushes required to hope the weak, undersized, quirky Hondamatic transmissions doesn't give out, and more...
Go Toyota if you must buy Japanese: it's built better and parts are cheaper.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 03 2017, @11:20PM
I have a friend of mine who insisted that Honda was a Chinese made car in a recent argument because they have declined in quality and reputation so bad. We literally had to stop and look it up before the conversation could move on.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Wednesday January 04 2017, @04:43AM
No, don't get a Toyota. They suck and they're boring. Get a Mazda instead; they're fantastic cars these days, reliable, extremely fuel-efficient (for the power level), and very importantly, fun to drive.
However, I do want to address some of your points about Hondas:
1) full synthetic every 5k miles - I'm pretty sure any decent car these days requires full synthetic, because of fuel efficiency concerns and extremely tight tolerances. My Mazda uses 0W-20, and I don't think that's too unusual now. But are you sure it needs to be changed at 5k miles, or was that what your stealership told you? On mine, I have it set for "flexible", so the infotainment system tells me when to change it by keeping track of the driving conditions. The last time, I changed it at 7500, and it still wasn't at "0%" so I could have gone longer.
2) interior light bulbs burn out - that is weird, but indicates cheap bulbs. But why are you using bulbs at all? You can buy cheap LEDs to fit in there on Ebay for next to nothing (or spend more and get better-quality ones). LEDs look much better anyway, plus they don't burn out so quickly.
3) rotors warping - is this just you, or is this really endemic to the model or brand? Warping rotors were a problem on Hondas 20 years ago when I had an Integra; the main problem was stupid tire shop people overtorquing the lug nuts. I never had any problems, but that was because I always used a torque wrench and tightened them properly as the manual directs, and I never took my car to a tire shop (I brought the wheels in by themselves to change tires). Tire shop personnel do not use torque wrenches, or even the "torque sticks" they're supposed to use. I have a friend who used to work at tire shops and I've heard lots of stories about how the other workers massively overtighten nuts because they "don't need" torque sticks, and even a few stories about wheels falling off after the car pulls out of the shop. It's not Honda's fault that Americans are incompetent and don't care about doing a good job the way Japanese people do.
4) alignment - are you hitting too many potholes?
5) broken axles and motor mounts and failing transmissions, however, sound like real problems.
As for Toyota, the prevailing opinion of those I've seen is similar: they're coasting on their brand name. The last Toyota I drove, a Corolla rental, was absolutely miserable. American rental cars have better driving dynamics, and that's really sad since American cars have traditionally had horrible driving dynamics compared to Japanese cars.
(Score: 1) by toddestan on Thursday January 05 2017, @04:02AM
No, don't get a Mazda. The bodies are garbage and they rust like something built in the 80's. Around here 10-year Mazda will be showing significant rust around the wheels and at the bottom of the doors, and as soon as the rust starts showing the resale value plummets. Meanwhile even GM has managed figured out how to build a car that doesn't rust after 10 years in the salt belt. I wish I could say something nice about Nissan... but I just can't anymore.
I do have to agree about Toyota and Honda, as they both seem to be coasting on their reputation. Though in Honda's case, their automatic transmissions were always fragile. Meanwhile Toyota seems like the next GM. They need to step their game up or they'll find themselves bankrupt in 20 years.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday January 05 2017, @05:36AM
Mazda's rust problems are in the past, just like Ford's exploding gas tank problems. All Mazda's new cars are winning awards left and right.
I do agree, don't buy a 15 year old Mazda, especially if it was used in a state with snow.