PH Blog: eighth wonder
Harris on why ZF's eight-speed gearbox is a game changer
No, not that Eighth Wonder...
So, component of the year is: The ZF 8HP transmission. (Allows the applause to die down.)
If memory serves, this automatic transmission first appeared in the new Audi A8 - the one that looks like an A4, and an A6. Or was it the new 7 Series? Offering eight forward gears and weighing around 90kg this flagship product from ZF looked like it would perform the usual role: appear in the flagship German saloons and maybe percolate down into the fancier powertrains of the 5 Series class. This it did. And it was always absolutely excellent.
Then it appeared in the Panamera Diesel because PDK wouldn't work with the oil burner. It was miles more pleasant than PDK. This was a surprise.
And now this year it has appeared in a BMW 1 Series. In the M135i the ZF is so quick and intuitive I had to re-record a section of film because I had assumed it was a dual-clutch system. It will upshift in 200 milliseconds and then drop into BMW's Eco-Pro mode for some fuel saving. It's the first gearbox that appears to have the same breadth of aspirations, in terms of performance and economy, as the average car enthusiast's brain.
Script re-write required after revelation
A few years ago, in the midst of the double-clutch boom - when everything fast was moving in that direction - I asked someone from a German car manufacturer if he thought all cars would soon be using such transmissions. He grinned. "Just wait till you see the next generation of automatic." He was right.
Chris
The Co2 nonsense and general move to "efficiency" means that car makers are going to force us all into auto boxes one kind or another.
Now I like autos. But there is a part of me that thinks it will be sad to lose the manual box.
People can bang on about wanting a manual all they want. For me, my next cars will be autos for the plain reason that 99% of the time they make the journey more pleasurable. So many cars on the roads today, everything is stop start. I'd rather give my feet a rest than be endlessly holding the clutch down or feeding it in. For the 1% of time where a back road opportunity presents itself, I would say at least 50% of these opportunities are ruined by the growing hoard of complete idiots driving today. Bumbling along at 35 mph with a long train of people who dare not overtake.
So 0.5% of the time I may then wish I had a good manual box to stir away at. But given how infrequent that would be, I am happy to just forego it altogether.
Who care's if the car can accelarate 0.2seconds quicker with an Auto, or that I'd have to pay an extra £30/year in tax for the higher C02 emmitions for having a manual.
I WANT A MANUAL GEARBOX !!!!
At the same time more car users live in an urban environment - global trend, this. Autoboxes make more sense than a manual, there.
I like a nice manual box as much as the next man but I can't see anyone wanting to manually shift through 8 or 9 gears every day. C'est la vie.
So 0.5% of the time I may then wish I had a good manual box to stir away at. But given how infrequent that would be, I am happy to just forego it altogether.
My driving conditions are pretty much the opposite of yours.
C
I rather prefer to put my manual car in neutral and give both feet a rest, then have to stamp on the brake all the time to keep it in place, or even if I put it out of D, to have to reapply the brake before being able to push it back into D and drive off.
I can see the benefits of an auto if you do a lot of driving, especially in stop start traffic but when I drive one now it just bores me s
tless.Wonder how much a manual box would weigh, I remember lifting boxes from Golfs and stuff easily but I suppose a box from a bigger car would still be pretty heavy even with only 3 ratios.
I imagine that long term this gearbox would prove a more robust choice than the equivalant dual clutch, etc system?
DSG boxes appear to be quite robust while some autos are made of chocolate.
Depeneds more on the car and the specific box. I'd imagine the 8 speed to be fine in an M135i though if it's coping with a Pana and a 760i
I rather prefer to put my manual car in neutral and give both feet a rest, then have to stamp on the brake all the time to keep it in place, or even if I put it out of D, to have to reapply the brake before being able to push it back into D and drive off.
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