15 years to Famous Dual-Clutch Gearbox from VW
Fifteen years ago, the German carmaker VW presented the 1-st dual clutch gearbox (DSG) for high-volume manufacturing, a sophisticated gearbox solution for present-day cars. More fuel-saving and efficient than any automatic transmission before, the DSG changed the perception of the gear shifting process, especially in the compact cars.
Currently, more than twenty-six million drivers
of VW cars prefer DSGs. The idea of a dual-clutch is based on the technology
implemented in racing. The company Volkswagen adopted this technology in the
80-s of the last century and since then has continued its development. In 2003,
Volkswagen Golf Mk4 R32 became the first car equipped with the DSG gearbox
which was launched into mass production.
The DSG abbreviation stands for “Direct Shift Gearbox”. In fact, it is a manual transmission in which gears are shifted with the help of the electro-hydraulic control system. It can be said that there are two manual gearboxes implemented in one housing. When shifting gears, the electro-hydraulic control system transmits the engine torque from one gearbox to another with the help of the dual clutch, thus preventing pulling force breaks. The DSG system consists of the following elements: the mechanical part which is similar to the manual transmission mechanism (same shafts, gears, synchromesh, bearings, differentials assembled in one housing), electro-hydraulic control unit (Mechatronic), and dual-clutch.
Learn more about DSG
transmissions
Currently, there are 6- and 7-speed DSG options.
They differ not only in number of gears: the 6-speed DSG gearbox (also known as
DQ250) is intended for higher torque and is equipped with a “wet” clutch, while
the 7-speed variant (also known as
DQ200) has a “dry” clutch.
In 2018, VW has the following application rates of the DSG in its car models: VW Golf – up to 40%, VW Polo – 30% , Golf Sportsvan – 50 %, Tiguan Allspace – up to 90%, VW Passat – 65%, VW Arteon – 80%. In addition, the 6-speed hybrid DSG also found application in some hybrid VW models (such as Golf GTE1 and Passat GTE2). DSG’s gained popularity mainly thanks to good shifting characteristics and significant fuel economy. Cars equipped with DSG’s consume 8,7 % less fuel than cars with manual transmissions. Compared to automatic transmissions, DSG fuel saving parameter reaches up to 22%.
In terms of reliability, the mechanical part of the DSG is comparable with manual transmissions. Just like in manual transmissions, the clutch unit of DSG is subjected to wear (depending on usage conditions). The electro-hydraulic system ( Mechatronic) has the same level of durability as similar systems implemented in automatic transmissions. However, some drivers complain about high prices for DSG’s as well as expensive maintenance and repair of these units.
