2018款本田奧德賽（Odyssey）可乘坐8名乘客，且支持10個(gè)前向檔位。據(jù)了解，這款新型變速箱歷經(jīng)3年本田內(nèi)部研發(fā)而成，是市面上唯一一款用于前驅(qū)車型的10速變速器。目前，這款變速器正在本田公司位于美國佐治亞州塔拉普薩市的變速器工廠進(jìn)行生產(chǎn)。
在位于俄亥俄州雷蒙德市的本田研發(fā)中心內(nèi)，《汽車工程》有幸就2018款?yuàn)W德賽搭配的新型10速變速箱的相關(guān)問題采訪到本田研發(fā)首席工程師Tom Sladek。據(jù)他介紹，這款變速器的輸入扭矩為370 N·m，且“還留有一定余地。”盡管本田尚未宣布奧德賽3.5L V6發(fā)動機(jī)的SAE評定扭矩，但預(yù)計(jì)將不會低于2017款發(fā)動機(jī)的338 N·m。2018款發(fā)動機(jī)的峰值馬力達(dá)到280hp，較2017款水平提升了32 hp。
本田將為新款?yuàn)W德賽休旅車提供兩款可選自動變速器，分別為采埃孚生產(chǎn)的9速變速器或本田自產(chǎn)的10速變速器。具體來說，本田的10速變速器將配備標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的啟停系統(tǒng)，為奧德賽等前驅(qū)車型設(shè)計(jì)，最初階段將搭載高配車型上市，但未來這款變速器的應(yīng)用預(yù)計(jì)將在本田與謳歌產(chǎn)品線中不斷擴(kuò)大，取代本田3.5L V6發(fā)動機(jī)常用的6速自動變速器。
對比來看，這款10速變速器的傳動比高達(dá)10.1，而目前本田Pilot與謳歌MDX / TLX 所采用的采埃孚9速變速器為9.81、本田原產(chǎn)的6速變速箱為6.03。這款10速變速器將在7到10檔超速轉(zhuǎn)動。Sladek承諾，由于這款變速器采用了非連續(xù)型跳躍換擋設(shè)計(jì)，在快速加速時(shí)可以提供“非常順滑”換擋體驗(yàn)，可瞬間從10檔換到6檔或從7檔換到3檔。
Sladek表示，公司優(yōu)化了奧德賽的內(nèi)比，且一直專注于“持續(xù)減少車輛的內(nèi)部摩擦”，因此這款休旅車的燃料經(jīng)濟(jì)性至少比目前的6速版本提升了6%。由于新款變速器的傳動比范圍更寬，發(fā)動機(jī)可以在需要時(shí)降至每分鐘1500轉(zhuǎn)(100km/h)，而6速版本最低只能降至每分鐘1,920轉(zhuǎn)。另外，由于檔位設(shè)計(jì)(Sladek并未在電子展上具體說明各檔位的信息)帶來的提升，新款?yuàn)W德賽的高速通過加速取得了14%的優(yōu)化，而轉(zhuǎn)速較低的1檔也給車輛的啟動帶來了一定優(yōu)化。Sladek表示，車輛的電液控制和螺線管設(shè)計(jì)也經(jīng)過重新設(shè)計(jì)，可減少30%的換擋響應(yīng)時(shí)間。
自2015年10月，這款10速變速器首次在本田的日本技術(shù)演示活動中亮相以來，本田公司也同時(shí)在積極為11速變速器申請專利。與奧德賽采用的10速變速器相同，本田的11速變速器也采用了三個(gè)離合器的設(shè)計(jì)。在本田車展上，Sladek帶領(lǐng)我們參觀了這款變速器的一些技術(shù)細(xì)節(jié)。事實(shí)上《汽車工程》記者還并不是動作最快的，一位采埃孚的工程師已經(jīng)趕在我前面，進(jìn)入了剖面展示現(xiàn)場，正在拍攝照片。
“優(yōu)化整體封裝是我們的主要設(shè)計(jì)目標(biāo)之一。”Sladek說，“新款變速器的總長度為375 mm，比目前的6速變速器縮短了1.7 mm。”具體來說，這款變速器有4個(gè)行星齒輪組匹配曲軸，以及三個(gè)離合器和三個(gè)制動。Sladek指出，這種超小型封裝設(shè)計(jì)的關(guān)鍵在于：利用一款全新的雙向離合變速器替代現(xiàn)有的前進(jìn)/后退單向離合與多碟式制動設(shè)計(jì)；縮小扭矩轉(zhuǎn)換器的尺寸；以及采用一款環(huán)形齒輪將扭矩輸送至車輛差速器等。
Sladek表示，這種高衰減/低慣性的扭矩轉(zhuǎn)換器，采用了一款為V6車型氣缸鈍化與啟停系統(tǒng)設(shè)計(jì)的3級減振器。車輛配備了計(jì)算裝置，可根據(jù)駕駛員的操作動作，快速或緩慢地激活1檔離合，從而優(yōu)化發(fā)動機(jī)的啟停動作。據(jù)了解，友商與媒體記者有望在今年晚些時(shí)候體驗(yàn)這款順滑換擋的10速變速器。
Honda’s 2018 Odyssey offers room for eight passengers and its transaxle is packed with 10 forward gears. Developed in-house over a three-year period, the new automatic is the industry’s first production 10-speed for front-drive vehicles. It is being produced at the company’s Tallapoosa, GA, transmission plant.
Automotive Engineering was fortunate to speak with Tom Sladek, principal engineer at Honda R&D in Raymond, OH, about the new gearbox during the Odyssey’s media unveiling at the Detroit auto show. He said the transaxle’s input torque rating is 370 N·m (275 lb·ft) “with some degree of headroom designed in.” While Honda has yet to announce the SAE-rated torque of the Odyssey’s 3.5-L V6, it is expected to be greater than the 2017 engine’s 250 lb·ft (338 N·m). SAE peak horsepower of the 2018 engine is 280 hp—a 32-hp increase over this year’s output.
Interestingly, Honda is launching the new minivan with two available automatic transaxles—the ZF-sourced 9-speed and the new corporate 10-speed. The latter, equipped with standard stop-start, will initially go into the premium trim-level models. It is slated to proliferate steadily throughout the Honda and Acura ranges, replacing Honda’s 6-speed automatic for 3.5-L V6s. The new Odyssey is front-drive only.
The overall ratio spread of 10.1 compares with 9.81 for the ZF 9-speed used on the Honda Pilot/Acura MDX and TLX and a 6.03 spread on the factory 6-speed, a 66% increase. The 10-speed is overdriven in gears 7 through 10. Sladek promised “beautifully smooth” kick-downs for rapid acceleration because the transmission is designed for non-sequential skip-shifting—it is capable of downshifting from 10th to 6th gear or from 7th to 3rd instantaneously.
Optimized internal ratios in combination with “a continuing focus on reducing internal friction” help boost the Odyssey’s fuel economy by at least 6% over the 6-speed, he said. The wide ratio spread allows engine rpm to be reduced to 1,500 rpm at 62 mph (100 km/h), compared with 1,920 rpm on 6-speed vehicles. The spread of ratios (Sladek did not have gear-by-gear specifics at the show) enables a 14% improvement in highway passing acceleration and a lower first-gear ratio boosts off-the-line grunt. Redesigned electro-hydraulic controls and a revised solenoid design provide a 30% faster gear-change response time, he claimed.
After the 10-speed first appeared in October 2015 at a Honda technology demonstration event in Japan, the company’s patent filings for an 11-speed transmission surfaced online for a brief period. The 11-speeder incorporates three clutches, same as the new 10-speed which was Sladek’s focus in Detroit. He walked us through some details aided by a cutaway property in Honda’s auto show display. AE was actually second on the scene when the cutaway was wheeled in—a ZF engineer was already snapping photos when we arrived.
“Optimizing the overall package was one of our primary design goals,” Sladek noted. “Overall length is just under 15 in (375 mm)—about 1.7-in (45-mm) shorter than our existing 6-speed.” There are four planetary gearsets aligned with the crankshaft axis, along with the three clutches and three brakes. Sladek pointed to key design elements that contribute to the ultra-compact package: a new two-way clutch that replaces the forward/reverse mechanism’s one-way clutch and multi-disc brake; a smaller diameter and slimline torque converter; and a clever ring gear incorporating a row of teeth on its inner diameter that transfers torque to the differential.
The high-attenuation/low-inertia torque converter incorporates a three-stage vibration damper that was engineered and calibrated for the V6’s cylinder deactivation and stop-start systems, Sladek noted. An accumulator activates the 1st-gear clutch either rapidly or slowly, depending on operational inputs, to optimize the engine stop/restart sequence. Competitors and your reporter look forward to experiencing the slick-shifting 10-speed later this year.
Author: Lindsay Brooke
Source: SAE Automotive Engineering Magazine
本田為前驅(qū)車型設(shè)計(jì)的最新10速變速器，整體封裝非常緊湊。
這款10速變速器的變矩器采用了一種全新設(shè)計(jì)，旨在優(yōu)化發(fā)動機(jī)的氣缸鈍化和啟停系統(tǒng)。
