7 Speed DCT Vs 8 Speed TC Gearbox

Faults and Technical chat for the Volvo XC40
Felindre
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Post by Felindre »

Oldie wrote: Sat Apr 16, 2022 5:42 pm Yep, the 7-speed DCT sounds like an OK gearbox, but again my preference is the TC - the XC40 was originally designed with the TC gearbox, its a gearbox that is fitted to many a top marque and in my opinion suites the relaxed style of the Volvo marque too, whereas the duel-clutch in my view is positioned more towards a manual experience and have read it's a gearbox fitted to Protons???
Is that meant to cast shade on the DUAL clutch technology because it's also used in croutons, sorry protons...?
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Deleted User 3629

Post by Deleted User 3629 »

No not at all - after all if its good enough for a Proton its good enough for a Volvo
blastpipe
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Post by blastpipe »

Is a duel clutch where the two clutches fight each other to death?
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Post by Deleted User 3629 »

:lol: :lol: :lol: yes
Richard_Hants2
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Post by Richard_Hants2 »

The move made by many manufacturers from traditional torque converters to DCT gearboxes is mainly about efficiency gains as typically performance, economy and emissions improve with a DCT.

The balance between the 2 types may change moving forward as there has been a lot of effort put into making TCs more efficient and we are starting to see manufacturers start to re-introduce.

I find the DCT works really well in a hybrid XC40 but cant comment on how it compares with a car fitted with the TC as this had already been discontinued when I bought my car in late December.
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Post by Deleted User 3629 »

Think the move from TC to DCT on the XC40 has more to do with costs than anything else - if it was for the other reasons above, think the XC60 and XC90 would have followed suite
bba
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Post by bba »

I quite like the brisk shifts typical of a Geely, Ford or BMW DCT as to my mind a TC can feel a bit 'soggy'. I have had a good few TCs with V8s which was nice but indulgent and I wonder if they would have been even quicker with a DCT? Also I would imagine there are less losses in a DCT so better fuel mileage, poor fuel mileage being one of the reasons I left the V8s.
Last edited by bba on Wed Apr 20, 2022 12:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Greggspies
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Post by Greggspies »

I believe the limitation in using DCT boxes as currently designed in bigger cars is due to how much torque they can handle. This is true of BMW (Aisin) boxes and probably Volvo as well.
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Krystof
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Post by Krystof »

Greggspies, that's correct. The Volvo/Geely DCT has an input torque rating of 330 Nm (http://global.geely.com/intec/g-power/). The XC40's B4 petrol engine produces 300 Nm and the B3 produces 265 Nm, so the safety margin is no problem there. But the B5 produces 350 Nm, and therefore needs a TC box.
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Moss
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Post by Moss »

Krystof wrote: Wed Apr 20, 2022 1:39 pm Greggspies, that's correct. The Volvo/Geely DCT has an input torque rating of 330 Nm (http://global.geely.com/intec/g-power/). The XC40's B4 petrol engine produces 300 Nm and the B3 produces 265 Nm, so the safety margin is no problem there. But the B5 produces 350 Nm, and therefore needs a TC box.
That’s correct, Krystof, but it doesn’t explain why (say) the MY 2020 XC40 T3 3 cylinder 163 HP producing 265 Nm has an (Aisin) TC 8 speed gearbox while the present T3 has the Volvo/Geely 7 speed DCT . What Oldie says a few posts earlier is the real reason for the move from TC to DCT on the XC40 : it has more to do with costs than anything else.

It doesn’t necessarily mean that the DCT is a bad gearbox, but this and many other (sometimes silent) changes in specs over the years clearly show that the present Volvo XC40 is no more than an incomplete copy of the European Car of the Year 2018. In other words, if the MY 2018 would have had the specs and build quality of the present XC40, it would IMHO never have been Car of the Year.
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