Has anyone turned a manual gearbox into a semi-auto one?

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machin
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Joined: 25 Nov 2008, 14:45

Re: Has anyone turned a manual gearbox into a semi-auto one?

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I´m currently working on these:

http://www.enginetechnologyinternationa ... wsID=43324

definetely not something you´d be able to tackle successfully at home.
Nice... am I right in saying that the DCT is a dual clutch "conventional" arrangement, i.e. not a planetary/epicyclic? Its not clear from the linked article....
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Tommy Cookers
Tommy Cookers
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Joined: 17 Feb 2012, 16:55

Re: Has anyone turned a manual gearbox into a semi-auto one?

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@marcush.
as yet I have just skimmed the reference that you linked

but it reminds me of a nagging question on stop/start operation
does this have the intelligence to remain inactive if the line voltage is low ?

I drive almost entirely in 5 km journeys
(with the high current taken by power steering) it takes 5 km or more to replace the energy used in starting
so an intelligent stop/start system would never activate itself in my driving
and an unintelligent stop/start system would be a disaster

marcush.
marcush.
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Joined: 09 Mar 2004, 16:55

Re: Has anyone turned a manual gearbox into a semi-auto one?

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machin wrote:
I´m currently working on these:

http://www.enginetechnologyinternationa ... wsID=43324

definetely not something you´d be able to tackle successfully at home.
Nice... am I right in saying that the DCT is a dual clutch "conventional" arrangement, i.e. not a planetary/epicyclic? Its not clear from the linked article....
correct.
Clutch 1 is for gears 1,3 and 5 and clutch two for the others .You got a two part mainshaft (one inside the other ) and apart from that it´s pretty much a stad synchromesh gearbox.
The clutch is pretty amazing piece of kit with a plethora of shims ,clutchpacks and pistons to accomodate hydraulic activation and it is wet clutch like what you see on bikes.
The clutch sits on a hub with piston rings supplying the assembly with oil -for cooling and actuation of the clutch packs..

autogyro
autogyro
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Joined: 04 Oct 2009, 15:03

Re: Has anyone turned a manual gearbox into a semi-auto one?

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Did I read that there is an application for pure electric and hybrid vehicles?
Any gearbox that can be developed to work with electric traction shows design genius.

marcush.
marcush.
159
Joined: 09 Mar 2004, 16:55

Re: Has anyone turned a manual gearbox into a semi-auto one?

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Tommy Cookers wrote:@marcush.
as yet I have just skimmed the reference that you linked

but it reminds me of a nagging question on stop/start operation
does this have the intelligence to remain inactive if the line voltage is low ?

I drive almost entirely in 5 km journeys
(with the high current taken by power steering) it takes 5 km or more to replace the energy used in starting
so an intelligent stop/start system would never activate itself in my driving
and an unintelligent stop/start system would be a disaster

I drive the thing daily .... and it does stop after 3 seconds standstill and applying the brakes -provide your heatervalve is not more than halfway open ..I don´t understandd that logic but you can stop it from doing start stop turning on the heater (not the blower fan!) more than half.

It also does not start stop when it´s very cold outside ...or was it the heater agaain triggering this ?

Not comparable to the sophiticated logic of these days cars -the eco symbol only lights when all parameters are met and only then stop start is active.

langwadt
langwadt
35
Joined: 25 Mar 2012, 14:54

Re: Has anyone turned a manual gearbox into a semi-auto one?

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marcush. wrote:
Tommy Cookers wrote:@marcush.
as yet I have just skimmed the reference that you linked

but it reminds me of a nagging question on stop/start operation
does this have the intelligence to remain inactive if the line voltage is low ?

I drive almost entirely in 5 km journeys
(with the high current taken by power steering) it takes 5 km or more to replace the energy used in starting
so an intelligent stop/start system would never activate itself in my driving
and an unintelligent stop/start system would be a disaster

I drive the thing daily .... and it does stop after 3 seconds standstill and applying the brakes -provide your heatervalve is not more than halfway open ..I don´t understandd that logic but you can stop it from doing start stop turning on the heater (not the blower fan!) more than half.

It also does not start stop when it´s very cold outside ...or was it the heater agaain triggering this ?

Not comparable to the sophiticated logic of these days cars -the eco symbol only lights when all parameters are met and only then stop start is active.

if you have the heater on it probably means you want heat, only to way to give you that is too keep that oil burning thing that drives the car running ;)

autogyro
autogyro
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Joined: 04 Oct 2009, 15:03

Re: Has anyone turned a manual gearbox into a semi-auto one?

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Driving only 5 km journeys sounds like the need for either an electric car or a car operated solely by charged flywheel.
The EV would allow the car to be pre-heated sufficintly for 5 km without onboard heating.

Tommy Cookers
Tommy Cookers
646
Joined: 17 Feb 2012, 16:55

Re: Has anyone turned a manual gearbox into a semi-auto one?

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how much energy does the battery lose by internal dissipation per week ? (in km equivalent)

the biggest deficiency with EVs is the batteries
but EVs don't need clutch work ? which is boring after going through the gears 10 million times

bucker
bucker
8
Joined: 02 Aug 2012, 21:33

Re: Has anyone turned a manual gearbox into a semi-auto one?

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Best engine is one from motorbike. Mount electric motor to the gearbox paddle. You will also need some sort of electronic computer to control upshift and downshift (rotating electric motor left and right for short period of time). Clutch can be similar to the clutch in F1, except you will need mechanical link, while in F1 it's electric. I have never used clutch while driving, only at the start and when i had to complitely stop.

autogyro
autogyro
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Joined: 04 Oct 2009, 15:03

Re: Has anyone turned a manual gearbox into a semi-auto one?

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Clutch 1 is for gears 1,3 and 5 and clutch two for the others .You got a two part mainshaft (one inside the other ) and apart from that it´s pretty much a stad synchromesh gearbox.
The clutch is pretty amazing piece of kit with a plethora of shims ,clutchpacks and pistons to accomodate hydraulic activation and it is wet clutch like what you see on bikes.
The clutch sits on a hub with piston rings supplying the assembly with oil -for cooling and actuation of the clutch packs.
The Getrag DCT is the best geartrain layout for minimal torque loss from this type of stepped layshaft gearbox.
Clutch reliability can be a problem, although I am sure they have a handle on that.
I am interested to see the design and activation of the selector components and shift mechanism.

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coaster
16
Joined: 30 Jun 2012, 05:10

Re: Has anyone turned a manual gearbox into a semi-auto one?

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i heard alot of hillclimb guys have to beef up the motorbike gearbox for the extra weight eg; thicker output shafts, better clutch basket.

xxChrisxx
xxChrisxx
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Joined: 18 Sep 2009, 19:22

Re: Has anyone turned a manual gearbox into a semi-auto one?

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autogyro wrote:
Clutch 1 is for gears 1,3 and 5 and clutch two for the others .You got a two part mainshaft (one inside the other ) and apart from that it´s pretty much a stad synchromesh gearbox.
The clutch is pretty amazing piece of kit with a plethora of shims ,clutchpacks and pistons to accomodate hydraulic activation and it is wet clutch like what you see on bikes.
The clutch sits on a hub with piston rings supplying the assembly with oil -for cooling and actuation of the clutch packs.
The Getrag DCT is the best geartrain layout for minimal torque loss from this type of stepped layshaft gearbox.
Clutch reliability can be a problem, although I am sure they have a handle on that.
I am interested to see the design and activation of the selector components and shift mechanism.
What do you mean by efficiency?

The selector are just normal forks and a barrel cam (or two barrel cams if you want fancy preselection both ways).

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andylaurence
123
Joined: 19 Jul 2011, 15:35

Re: Has anyone turned a manual gearbox into a semi-auto one?

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coaster wrote:i heard alot of hillclimb guys have to beef up the motorbike gearbox for the extra weight eg; thicker output shafts, better clutch basket.
Mine's standard. The ones that are modified, from what I've seen, are those that have more power than standard and need the hardened output shaft to take it. A popular conversion is a Kawasaki output shaft on a Suzuki engine - they're stronger, but the standard Kawasaki item is used.

HowlerMonkey
HowlerMonkey
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Joined: 08 Sep 2013, 05:06
Location: West Palm Beach, Florida

Re: Has anyone turned a manual gearbox into a semi-auto one?

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Toyota took a normal manual transmission and fitted the clutch and servos for shifting it electronically as used in the MRS or MR2 spyder.

It was first offered in 2002 with 5 gears and then in 2003 with 6 gears.

http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/KALAM ... embily.jpg

woohoo
woohoo
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Joined: 10 Aug 2008, 01:12

Re: Has anyone turned a manual gearbox into a semi-auto one?

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uhm... Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and FIAT have been doing this for years.. :)

The "F1" shifting mechanism in the Ferraris, the "Selespeed" in Alfa Romeos, the "Dualogic" of the FIAT are all the same family of electro hydraulic shifting attached to a normal manual gearbox :)
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