Too many gears? Too complex?
By my count, the new-for-2019 Chevrolet Silverado is the second pickup truck on the market to pack a 10-speed automatic transmission (in certain trim grades). Remember when transmissions used to have four speeds, then five? Shortly after, it seemed like a six-speed transmission was the new standard. Then, seven-speed transmissions started to emerge. Then eight-speed transmissions. A ninespeed transmission? Also somewhat common. So, a 10-speed automatic? Why not? Of course, this huge number of forward gears leads to plenty of questions from sceptics and veteran pickup owners alike. In my circle, friends and family and readers often have the same few comments and questions. “That’s too complicated” “That’s more stuff to break” “It must be constantly shifting and hunting for the right gear” “Why the heck do you need 10 gears!?” “What happens if the transmission breaks?” I even had one YouTube commenter insist that failure of a transmission this complex would write off the entire vehicle. He suggested that any transmission with more than six gears is a “disaster waiting to happen,” and simply a ploy by automakers to sell you a vehicle that would incur some massive repair bill, just out of warranty, so you’d have to buy another vehicle. That was good for a chuckle. Anyhow, here are a few fun facts you may find interesting if your next pickup truck happens to have a 10-speed automatic.
WHY SO MANY GEARS?
More gears than fewer gears enable several benefits demanded by today’s shopper. Key among them? More gears means a more refined powertrain since the gap between each gear ratio is smaller; this means gearshifts are smaller and less detectable. More gears gives your engine more options when you give it a boot full of gas, meaning the vehicle will accelerate faster, too. Finally, more gears means lower revs during cruising, which saves fuel. The gist? More gears means higher performance, more smoothness and decreased fuel use, which helps sell vehicles.
MIMICKING THE CVT
Have you heard of the continually variable transmission (CVT)? This type of transmission has a virtually infinite number of gear ratios that aren’t predefined and doesn’t shift gears, since it doesn’t technically have any. The CVT is the ultimate solution for saving fuel and boosting performance by way of the vehicle’s transmission, though they’re not suitable for use in a pickup truck. Still, having a transmission with lots of gears (say, 10) gets closer to the efficient flexibility offered by the CVT. It’s all about enhancing performance and saving fuel without compromise.
JOINT EFFORT
The 10-speed automatic used by the Ford F-150 and GMC Sierra/ Chevrolet Silverado twins is born of a joint venture. Both automakers teamed up to design this new 10-speed gearbox. Some minor differences exist between the two automakers, but widely this transmission was created using the expertise of two of the world’s largest automakers.
GEAR HUNTING GALORE
There’s some perception that having 10 gears to pick from may confuse the transmission, see it hunting to find the “right” gear, or see it shifting frequently and constantly. But here’s the thing, the 10 gears are each tools and the truck doesn’t necessarily use each of them in order all of the time. Depending on (literally) hundreds of variables, the transmission can skip multiple gears in each direction; take off from a traffic light and it may choose to launch in second gear and then move directly to fourth, then seventh, then 10th. The gist? There are 10 gears, but the transmission isn’t using every single one of them, every single time. Further, advanced programming means the transmission is constantly learning how to best manage gearshifts against driving conditions and driver habits. Finally, I’ve noted that in both F-150 and Silverado, the 10-speed automatic shifts so cleanly and smoothly you virtually never feel a gearshift. Even if it was hunting or shifting too frequently, you’d probably never notice.
THAT’S TOO COMPLICATED
Modern vehicles are complicated in a whole lot of ways and the 10speed automatic is far from the most complicated feature to be fitted to a mainstream, modern car or truck. In fact, the new 10-speed automatic used by Ford and GM is only one inch longer than the older six-speed transmission, despite having four more gear ratios. Is it too complex? More likely to break? Does adding more gears make a transmission less durable? Not likely. Skilled engineers design these things and test them under far harsher conditions than a chequesigning shopper will expose their vehicle to. Of course, it’s a mechanical component that could wear out and break, though about 99 per cent of owners will never have an issue. Plus, you’re covered by a warranty and the transmission uses a special hydraulic system and electronics to self-adjust the operation of its internal componentry to compensate for wear that occurs naturally over time. If you maintain the transmission as outlined in the owner’s manual, it should perform, function and shift like new for the entire life of the vehicle.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I’ll leave you with this: As it’s been for decades, vehicles advance, features advance and the technologies behind engineering, developing and testing these newfangled systems and features and functions also advance. Once upon a time, crowds of people probably figured that fuel injection and power door locks would be a complicated reliability disaster waiting to happen. And God help you if you buy a car or truck with a complicated digital display or power tailgate. I’d bet a princely sum that 97 per cent of drivers who use any of those features never have trouble with them. Hopefully the same holds true for 10-speed transmissions and whatever comes next. I suspect that it will.