Aston Martin Double Clutch System

[nodz17]

Just wondered if Aston Martin are developing a double clutch system, now that other luxury car manufacturers have gone down that road eg Porsche, Ferrari etc.

I guess single clutch automated manuals will eventually become a thing of the past and, having owned a Vantage Sportshift, I'd love to see a better system in the that car.

So has anyone heard anything on this?

Cheers.

[JohnG1]

Not heard anything - but the gearboxes are Graziano or ZF at the moment, so what are they up to?

[Zod]

ZF do dual clutch boxes for Porsche, so I'm sure they could do them for Aston Martin.

[Murph7355]

Pretty sure Graziano do Ferrari boxes too.

One would imagine Aston may therefore follow suit. Though if their normal form is anything to go by, expect it in a few years' time!

[Ocean53]

Please someone,explain a 'double clutch'

[rick-derby-]

Basically the clutch is operated once to disengage the gear then again to allow engagement of the new gear, providing a cleaner operation less wear on the box specifically the synchros, and less power loss due to slippage of the clutch, the idea is to more cleanly match the speed of the engine to the output of the gearbox, there will also be less wear on clutch due to the change in load on the clutch as this is improved by this technique, it is not a new idea as it was used many years ago for the old crash type gearboxes only difference is now it will be electronically controlled rather than the drivers left foot,

[Zod]

Please excuse me for correcting an expert (presumably in a hurry), but that is double declutching. A dual clutch gearbox has two clutches that allow it to have the next gear preselected, allowing a very fast, smooth gearchange.

[rick-derby-]

ooops guess I should have read the post properly, ,

[XXXAngelXXX]

i am shocked ! my hero failed

[rick-derby-]

Angel not failed just have to show I am only human as well, deliberate mistake honest,

[XXXAngelXXX]

ok ok then

[Murph7355]

rick-derby- said:

ooops guess I should have read the post properly, ,

That's it. The 4th's off!

[ridds]

The tricky thing with the Astons is having the transmission in the rear.

You would either have to move the trans forward (upset the balance of the car and reduce cabin space) or move the clutch rearwards (prop spinning at engine speed by your bum).

It's not really practical with the current set-up I'd say.

[Valentin]

ridds said:

The tricky thing with the Astons is having the transmission in the rear.

You would either have to move the trans forward (upset the balance of the car and reduce cabin space) or move the clutch rearwards (prop spinning at engine speed by your bum).

It's not really practical with the current set-up I'd say.

And why would it be less practical than with a proper manual?? Or the sportshift unit?? Besides the California is transaxle aswell and got a 7-speed ZF double clutch system.

[ridds]

I'd be interested in seeing the prop shaft set up then as you need 2 shafts one inside the other. It's a long way to have a thin walled tube waggling around.

I'm not saying it's not acheiveable just not an easy thing to do and would require a lot of development.

[Valentin]

ridds said:

I'd be interested in seeing the prop shaft set up then as you need 2 shafts one inside the other. It's a long way to have a thin walled tube waggling around.

I'm not saying it's not acheiveable just not an easy thing to do and would require a lot of development.

You do? I think it needs a differential at the gearbox exit, but I'm quite sure you don't need two propshafts (you mean propshaft, like in cardan shaft, don't you?(my technical english is not allways 100%...).

I stand corrected of course. But I haven't heard Ferrari had any problems developing their system for the California, wich uses this exact configuration.

[DB9VolanteDriver]

ridds said:

I'd be interested in seeing the prop shaft set up then as you need 2 shafts one inside the other. It's a long way to have a thin walled tube waggling around.

You have a transaxle in the back with two clutches inside. There's only a single driveshaft from the engine to the transaxle. And the shaft is already running at engine speed with the current transaxle setup, so I don't understand what issue you think there is regarding the speed of the shaft.

[ridds]

Valentin said:

ridds said:

I'd be interested in seeing the prop shaft set up then as you need 2 shafts one inside the other. It's a long way to have a thin walled tube waggling around.

I'm not saying it's not achievable just not an easy thing to do and would require a lot of development.

You do? I think it needs a differential at the gearbox exit, but I'm quite sure you don't need two propshafts (you mean propshaft, like in cardan shaft, don't you?(my technical english is not allways 100%...).

I stand corrected of course. But I haven't heard Ferrari had any problems developing their system for the California, wich uses this exact configuration.

Sorry yes, prop as in between the engine and transmission. What would a differential at the gearbox exit achieve? All Double clutch systems I've seen have operated on a twin input shaft system driving 2 sets of gears (odd and even). You could use an integral wet clutch system at the rear of the car but that would require the moving of the clutch to the transaxle as previously said. As it's up front at the moment it's not an easy thing to do with the current car line ups.

DB9VolanteDriver said:

ridds said:

I'd be interested in seeing the prop shaft set up then as you need 2 shafts one inside the other. It's a long way to have a thin walled tube waggling around.

You have a transaxle in the back with two clutches inside. There's only a single driveshaft from the engine to the transaxle. And the shaft is already running at engine speed with the current transaxle setup, so I don't understand what issue you think there is regarding the speed of the shaft.

If you were to use a dry clutch system like VW's system is, to keep the clutch pack up front and reduce a lot of drivetrain re-design. This uses 2 clutches with a shaft mounted inside another to transfer the drive to the 2 gear packs. Having a shaft running within a shaft over that length would be a challenge to engineer.