Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Vaught
Biggest change in F.E. occurred with lower numerical axle ratios and more gears in the transmissions. Example: GM/Ford's efforts to produce a viable transmission with strength, and 7, 8, or 10 speeds.
Corvettes: 10 Speeds, F-150 Trucks: 10 speeds, a few still have 7 speeds or 6 speeds.
Turn the engine slower, you get fewer Combustion events (less Power Pulses), use less fuel, and have less wear on the engines.
So many, many years ago when there were Transmissions with Over Drive, the fuel consumed was less in over-drive mode.
History ALWAYS has Lessons IF you are Willing to Listen.
Tom V.
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That helped towing capacities quiet a bit too, who woukd have ever thought we’d see 8 -10 speed transmissions in a passenger vehicle . That was a huge improvement and they’ve been durable too. Now the VNT transmissions are another story. Good idea badly implemented. For those who don’t know that type trans is kind of like a snowmobile no gears really.
I’d add EFI as a huge fuel saver as well, that’s an interesting one because it appears to have increased longevity but it’s hard to tell because the odometer change came i. About the same time where car could total more than 100k miles and the interstate systems got expanded around that time too so lots of variables.
Turbos could have Been used much more effectively on gas cars too but The big 3 always sized them too small because of power to weight and warranty concerns , sadly they made so much heat they ended up with a ton of warranty issues anyway. Poor turbos never get a break, first had draw through to deal with especially in boats (bad implementation) then the poor sizing issues, now ford gets it right and electric comes in to blow it out of the water . Too little too late for turbos .