Jörg Gindele, Senior Director, Magna Powertrain & Francesco Strati, 8DCL Project Manager, Ferrari
The 8DCL900 transmission presented in Berlin by Jörg Gindele is a twin-shaft DCT for ‘highly emotional’ applications like the Ferrari SF90 Stradale. So naturally, it needs to meet the highest expectations in every respect. Gindele said developers focussed on performance and fun-to-drive, but also fuel consumption, which was now a key criterion for supercars too. He said the 8DCL900 was designed for input torques of up to 900 Nm, while torque density was best-in-class at 6.4 Nm/kg.
Compared to the previous 7DCL750 transmission, Ferrari claims to have reduced loss by 31%. The active oil management system, for example, uses a very small dry sump with targeted, active lubrication for the gearset. This practically eliminates splash losses, and safeguards lubrication even under extreme centrifugal forces. The hydraulic modules for clutch and shift actuation sit above the transmission. Gindele said Porsche used a single low-viscosity oil for all functions. The transmission has a common oil space with the double clutch, which consists of two mirror-image clutches in parallel.
For even higher efficiency, Gindele said Magna use a friction-optimized gearset with no axial offset right up to the bevel gear output – another reason why a single gear oil can be used. According to Ferrari, the new TCU also plays an important role in improved transmission performance. By computing ten times faster, it enables hydraulic control valves to be controlled at up to 2000 Hz, faster clutch filling times (40 ms) and 20 percent faster gearshift response times.
Jörg Gindele said these and other improvements (e.g., the lightweight honeycomb structure housing) would not just benefit high-end Ferrari applications: some aspects would also feature in the supplier’s large-volume transmissions.
Dr Jörg Gindele,
Sr. Director Engineering, Transmission Systems,
Magna Powertrain, Germany
Francesco Strati,
8DCL Project Manager,
Ferrari SpA, Italy
18th International Congress and Expo | Automotive Drivetrains – Intelligent – Electrified | 9 – 12 December 2019, Berlin
