The ZF 8 speed that Chrysler is using in a lot of their vehicles gets fantastic reviews, and I have it on good authority that the 10 speed in the new Raptor is fantastic.
Certainly there will be a limit to the amount of gears that can be packaged as well as a point of diminishing returns. I find it interesting that the transmissions with high numbers of gears are in rear wheel drive platforms and the CVTs go into front drivers... that would be the packaging impact I suppose.
racerfink wrote: The ZL1 that just set the time at the 'Ring had a 10spd auto.ZL1 Nurburgring lap
Note that he's not using the flappy paddles, he's driving it in an auto mode.
I've only driven the 8sp ZF in Audi form, but I had no complaints. It seemed very well programmed and by the end of the drive, I kinda forgot it was there. It was just always doing exactly what I would have wanted it to.
All the fuss and we still haven't got back to the DAF Variomatic - the infinite speed automatic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variomatic
That ZF 8 speed is pretty much the pinnacle of current torque converter automatics, as far as I can tell. Different companies tune them differently, but the trans itself is apparently a good piece of work.
wspohn wrote: All the fuss and we still haven't got back to the DAF Variomatic - the infinite speed automatic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variomatic
I don't think that design is durable enough for a modern economy car. It works great for snowmobiles because there is a distinct lack of traction.
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