ImportedRoomate

NEW GEARBOX SHIFTS IN ZERO MILLISECONDS AND BLITZES ROAD TEST


ZeroShift Ltd, a UK company, has successfully road tested its radical new shift technology.


The time of a gearshift is the period during which drive is interrupted while the next ratio is selected. In the case of ZeroShift(TM), that period is ZERO time. A ZeroShift(TM) gearbox (patents pending) provides an uninterrupted shift, the fastest possible gearshift.

By way of comparison, the dual clutch transmission (DCT) recently released in the Audi TT V6 is no quicker than a good driver using a conventional manual. The same can be said of the BMW SMG, the F1 system in the Ferrari 360 and the Aston Martin Vanquish automated manual transmission (AMT). A car fitted with ZeroShift will convincingly out-accelerate any otherwise identical vehicle - smoothly.

Even current F1 cars take around 60 milliseconds (0.06 secs) for a complete shift sequence that involves an (audible) engine power cut. F1 fans will appreciate that this is a long time to lose on every shift.

ZeroShift Ltd is so confident of the new technology (recently road tested in a TVR Cerbera 4.5) that the company plans to fit a standard 225bhp Audi TT with the system and race it against the new TT V6 DSG (DCT) in front of the media to prove the point. The automotive media has praised the Audi DSG gearbox as the future of transmissions. Watch this space!

ZeroShift represents a radically different engineering approach. Where AMT adds weight and complexity around the gearbox and DCT adds weight and complexity inside the gearbox, ZeroShift addresses the switching of ratios more fundamentally. In simple terms, ZeroShift components replace synchromesh components. AMT and DCT transmissions are merely complex ways of operating 80-year-old synchromesh.

ZeroShift Technical Director Bill Martin says: `AMT and DCT are just faster steam trains - as a consequence, they are heavier and more expensive to make and maintain.`

On the road, according to the ZeroShift team, the performance is `amazing`. ZeroShift spokesman Phil James describes it: `What you get is acceleration, acceleration, acceleration through the gears. That`s instead of acceleration, declutch, yaw, acceleration, declutch... in a conventional manual; or acceleration, slur, acceleration... in an auto.

`The difference in performance and feel is very noticeable with the TVR Cerbera where, with the conventional gearbox, the violent acceleration through the low gears really emphasises the yaw of de-clutching between first and second gear accelerations. With ZeroShift, the car just keeps accelerating - it`s pretty addictive! You lose no momentum or sense of thrust through the gear-changes. Two ZeroShift gear-changes between standstill and 100mph are worth more
than a second.`

A standard Cerbera 4.5 has been timed at 8.4 secs to 100mph, so McLaren F1 drivers should not be complacent if they see a chrome ZeroShift badge on the car beside them at the lights. To wring the best 0-100 time from the F1 needs deft gear-changing skills - the ZeroShift driver will have optimum shifts, every shift. This will be the badge to look out for!

ZeroShift is about much more than going faster, though. The performance advantage is a factor of the efficiency of the system that provides other benefits too, including emissions reduction, lower fuel consumption and smoothness. Bill Martin: `Emissions and fuel consumption are spiked by conventional gear-changes because the off-then-on action on the accelerator pedal momentarily enriches the fuel mix. ZeroShift does not need the off-and-on gas action. The smoothness issue is one of the ZeroShift system`s strongest suits. Shifts are imperceptible, other than noticing change in engine note.`

ZeroShift is able to modify existing transmissions for rapid introduction to the market. But a gearbox developed to fully exploit the ZeroShift system would be considerably smaller and lighter than whatever gearbox it is designed to replace.

Unlike other `revolutionary` gearbox concepts, a ZeroShift transmission is based on a donor manual gearbox, albeit with extensive internal modifications. No changes to the clutch or bell housing are required. As a consequence, a ZeroShift gearbox can fit straight into a car. Furthermore, ZeroShift can be operated by a conventional stick shift, by column-mounted paddles, or it can be fully automated to work like a conventional automatic. The development car is using its standard H-gate stick shift.

Phil James: `ZeroShift is smooth for luxury cars, fast for supercars (including motorsport) and economical for minis. With the same engineering element at its core, only the shift strategy changes to suit the application. We think you will see a variety of new supercars offered with ZeroShift from as early as 2005.`

Meccadeth

Yayyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!! I think I know what mod is coming soon for my car

I was just b*tching on here the other day about how we need a radically new transmission. We haven't advanced far in transmission technology in the past 60+ years.

Burmite

Correct me if I'm wrong, but since this can be adopted to any manual transmission, this is not a CVT transmission. Therefore there are gears in the transmission. One gear needs to be swapped for another in any shift. That takes time, no matter how small the time period is. The only way I can think of for a zero shift time is a CVT that responds to a gear shift command to expand or contract.

Someone clarify this please.

ImportedRoomate

According to Zeroshift's websiteit should be updated today, so I guess we can get more info by later today.

ImportedRoomate

Unlike other `revolutionary` gearbox concepts, a ZeroShift transmission is based on a donor manual gearbox, albeit with extensive internal modifications. No changes to the clutch or bell housing are required. As a consequence, a ZeroShift gearbox can fit straight into a car.

Sounds like all the internals of the gearbox are replaced (no more gears ) , but it all fits in the same space.

WishIHadAZ

My guess is that it's just measured in nanoseconds now instead of miliseconds. It probly still takes some measurement of time to shift.

morb|d

this is just so much marketing fluff that sounds like the drivel you hear on late night infomercials. it sounds "awesome" and "amazing" and legitimet with claims of "proof" etc... yet they don't really tell you anything beyond the fact that its "radically different."

i'm going to call BS on this until i read something more concrete and objective on the topic.

HuJass

I agree with morb|d.

Who invented this thing, Ron Popeil?

Z28Wilson

I saw them raving about that new Audi manual on C&D TV last weekend, but it just looked like another variation on the "manumatic" concept that has been in cars for years now. Heck Chrysler has done the "Autostick" for years but no one has thought twice about it.

muckz

And now, for a LIMITED TIME ONLY, get a 50HP boost with your ZeroShift transmission by simply quoting coupon number A9834XB8823, which entitles you to a FREE Tornado system, customized for your vehicle. A $200 value!

PaperTarget

Ford started producing CVT transmissions in mass in February. Does this qualify for radical? Granted that type of transmission is found easily in recreational vehicles, but not cars.

Eric Bryant

Sounds suspeciously like the "semi-automatic" dog-style gearboxes that have been used in drag motorcycles for a long time. They involve selecting two forward ratios at the same time, with the lower ratio actually propelling the vehicle and the higher ratio just freewheeling, due to an angular cut on the dogs. Shifting to the next higher gear involves simply deselecting the lower ratio.

Get rid of the synchros in favor of dogs, and there's a lot of different things that can be done to minimize shift time, and none of which are really all that useful for a daily driver.

My other thought would be that they ditched the usual primary-/counter-shaft arrangement for a Lenco-type planetary geartrain, which is also a really damn fast way to shift gears.

PaperTarget

Ford also claims their CVT will increase MPG by 4% to 8% depending upon the application...not too bad.

morb|d

a manually shiftable auto (ex: autostick) and the dual clutch manual in the Audi are completely different things. the dual clutch is an improvement on the regular automatically (electronically) shifted manuals like the ones used in F1. except it's supposed to be much smoother in operation for daily use.

Meccadeth

I had a CVT in my Insight, and though it was very impressive for what it was, it wasn't radically new. It was just an idea based on an old technology that saves some gas milage. I don't know how CVT's are for performance, how long it takes for the transmission to select its ratio and adapt to it before it allows to much power...i dunno...