50 years of innovations: dual-clutch transmission and no end?

[=” ” ]50 years LuK, 50 years of innovation. The Schaeffler brand LuK celebrates 50's history this year, looking back on 50 years of innovation. Time and opportunity for mein-auto-blog to experience the milestones of the LuK inventions!

In cooperation with LuK.

8, 9, or even 10 courses?

Where will the future take us in gear manufacturing?

If you want to deal with the future, you should also know the past. As part of the anniversary celebration 50 years of LuK, 50 years of innovations I was able to speak to the experts on the topic of gearboxes on site. And in Bühl you really know what gearboxes are.

Volkswagen uses the “dry dual clutch” with seven gears in a large number of company vehicles. Hardly anyone knows that the technology for implementing the dry double clutch comes from LuK and was developed in Bühl. In contrast to the “wet” dual clutches previously used, the new 7-speed dual clutch transmission was 10% more efficient, despite having one more gear. And in addition to the driving pleasure that the quick-shifting transmission provides, everyday automotive life is about increasing efficiency, minimizing fuel consumption and reducing CO² emissions.

While wet double clutches are designed as plates in an oil bath, the “dry” double clutch from LuK is more similar to a “classic” clutch disc. The adhesion is established via friction linings. The biggest advantage of this solution? The increased efficiency.

And in the future? More gears?

There are currently two trends! Either massively more gears. Volkswagen has already announced ten gears and more for the dual clutch variants. In addition, the continuously variable transmissions with their theoretically infinite number of gears also play a greater role.

On the other hand, there are the hybrid vehicles, which with the support of electric motors and their torque available from speed 0 can handle a larger spread of the gear ratio without having to rely on a multitude of gears.

A good example of this is the Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybridthat we currently have in the endurance test. This vehicle has two electric motors on the axles, a generator and a petrol engine that can be switched to the front axle with a fixed ratio, i.e. in theory with only one gear.

In many cases, plug-in hybrids and hybrid vehicles use continuously variable transmissions, but none CVTbut planetary gear sets. A complex technology, which, however, has a high level of efficiency compared to large automatic transmissions.

More gears or less! 

As contradictory as this sounds, the future will either be about “more gears” or a reduction. And all at the same time. While combustion engines have to use a large number of gears to ensure the best possible efficiency, electric drives and hybridized drive technologies will have to manage a smaller number of gears and still remain efficient.

My colleague Ralf Schütze conducted an interesting interview on this topic (and others) on behalf of “ENGINE DIALOG” with Dr.-Ing. Hartmut Faust led:


Part 4 of the five-part series on the occasion of the company anniversary of the Schaeffler brand LuK.

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