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<\/p>\n<\/div>Los Angeles <\/i>\u2014 Rocketing onto Willow Springs Raceway\u2019s front straight at 100 mph in fourth gear, the 2017 Chevy Camaro ZL1 rifles off barely perceptible automatic upshifts \u2014 five-six-seven \u2014 at 100-millisecond intervals to reach 150 mph. Two hundred miles southeast in the Anza-Borrego desert, a Ford F-150 Raptor sport pickup goes airborne over a sand dune at 60 mph, its transmission holding the highest possible gear so its 35-inch tires maintain momentum when they hit the desert floor again.<\/p>\n
The Camaro and Raptor may seem an odd couple. But they are the cutting edge of automotive technology: They represent the first application of automatic, 10-speed transmission technology in the industry.<\/p>\n
Developed jointly by General Motors and Ford Motor Company, the 10-speed combines an unprecedented range of performance and fuel efficiency in one gearbox. They allow the ZL1 and Raptor to be on-course warriors one minute \u2014 and domesticated, on-road commuters the next. With government mandating increased fuel efficiency at the same time consumers expect increased performance, the 10-speed satisfies both goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 10-speed has a greater ratio spread, which enables fuel economy in the upper gears while providing more torque multiplication in the lower gears,\u201d says Ford drivetrain engineer Seth Goslowski, who did extensive, extreme development on the Raptor in the formidable Borrego sands east of San Diego.<\/p>\n
Ford was the lead engineering team on the rear-wheel-drive 10-speed, while GM leads development on a joint, 9-speed, front-wheel drive tranny.<\/p>\n
The effect of an automotive 10-speed is not dissimilar in theory from an 18- or 27-speed bicycle, says Goslowski. Like a bike, multiple gears allow for better torque at low speeds, better cruising in high gear. For Raptor that translates to steep rock crawling where the big truck uses gears one-two. For the Camaro the closer low-end gear ratios enable it to better manage the pony car\u2019s awesome 650 pound-feet of torque in order to go 0-60 in just 3.5 seconds.<\/p>\n
But don\u2019t expect 27-speed drivetrains<\/a> from cars anytime soon.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 10-speed came about because its manufacturing complexity and weight makes sense,\u201d says Goslowski. \u201cA 12-speed does not have enough performance and fuel efficiency benefit to justify the added weight and complexity of adding more gears.\u201d<\/p>\n Crucial to the joint program, dubbed 10-Speed Rear Drive (or 10R for short), was that the gearbox\u2019s packaging would fit the same space as the base Camaro\u2019s eight-speed transmission and the Ford F-150\u2019s six-speed automatic.<\/p>\n \u201cWe spent a lot of time crafting a 10-speed that has minimum content\u2014 low losses, light weight, (economic) package \u2014 but also give us performance and efficiency improvements over our existing products,\u201d says Chevy transmission engineer Jim Borgensen<\/a>.<\/p>\n Camaro Chief Engineer Al Oppenhimer says the 10-speed was the perfect fit for the low-volume, high-performance ZL1. Tested on some off the world\u2019s most challenging race tracks, the Camaro shares GM\u2019s most capable V-8 \u2014 the 650-horsepower, 650-pound-feet LT4 \u2014 with the Corvette Z06.<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say we did this match-up with the Camaro for (federal fuel-efficiency mandates),\u201d says Oppenheiser. \u201cWe did it to match the powerband of the engine and track requirements because of the close-ratio of gear sets. It works perfectly with a 650-horsepower engine.\u201d<\/p>\n The ZL1\u2019s 100-millisecond upshifts put it in supercar territory; dual-clutch, $200,000 Porsche Turbo gearboxes shift in 500 milliseconds. Combined with turbo technology, the 10-speed allows the 5,518-pound Raptor<\/a> to gain 16 percent fuel efficiency over the previous-generation six-speed gearbox.<\/p>\n Ford\u2019s first application goes in its highest-volume vehicle: In addition to the Raptor, Ford has announced that all F-150\u2019s with the Ecoboost V-6 engines will get the 10-speed. As a result, the automaker optimized the transmission for both power and gas mileage.<\/p>\n Although the F-150 and Camaro may appear to be an odd couple, Ford\u2019s Goslowski says the performance benefits of the 10-speed to a nearly three-ton pickup and 3,944-pound sports coupe are similar.<\/p>\n \u201cThey both need to be sporty and aggressive in their shifting,\u201d he says. \u201cBut towing at low speed in a truck and getting grip-torque off the line with a 6.2-liter V-8 also put similar demands on a transmission.\u201d<\/p>\n Ford has not announced other applications beyond the F-150, but GM has said that it will put its so-called Hydra-matic 10R90 transmission in eight other GM products.<\/p>\n