Types of Gears and Transmissions-Which one to Buy in 2023?

Types of Gears and Transmissions

Gears or transmission gives mechanical advantage in any car. There are six types of transmissions used in our cars: Manual, iMT, AMT, DCT, CVT, and Automatic transmissions. A gearbox is required in a car when you are driving a car, you need gears to manage speed and rpm. Also, it is used for better engine performance and longer life. Gear is also responsible for the fuel efficiency of your car.

Basically, it manages the RPM of your car. There is a certain RPM that is defined for better performance. If you run a car at its maximum RPM in low gear, it will consume more fuel, and the engine will fail early and require high maintenance costs to repair.

2000 rpm for 10–20 kmph; for 3000 rpm, you need to shift gears, and so on. The maximum speed on the vehicle we mostly drive is 7000 rpm.

Types of Gear Box and Transmission.

Manual Gear Box

It comes with an accelerator, brake, clutch, and gear shifter. Everything is under your control while driving the car. It is more reliable than others on the list. The vehicle’s manufacturing and maintenance costs are low, and it gets excellent mileage. But all depends upon your driving skills.

IMT (Semi-Automatic)

IMT was earlier used as a semi-automatic, but it was introduced by Hyundai Motor with some tweaks and changes. It is a manual transmission without a clutch, there is a coded chip sensor to engage or disengage the clutch. When you pull gear, the IMT disengages the clutch. The mileage is same as the manual. But all depends on sensor life. For how long it works and when it requires maintenance. There is no problem with maintenance, reliability, or affordability.

AMT (Automatic Manual Transmission)

This is a manual transmission comes with automatic coding by AI, which has been installed inside the transmission. No parking option is available, and it only comes with two paddles. There are two intelligent gear shift actuators, one to shift gears and the other to press or depress the clutch. It is cheap and affordable to buy. It costs half as much as Automatic. The weight is light, so it is more fuel-efficient than the regular manual box. It has only one downside, which is slow shifting, but there is some humor while driving. Overall, the cost of maintenance is very low, with excellent overall service. There is no parking option. But reverse, neutral, manual, and automatic. Manual is triphonic with pluses and minuses.

Automatic Transmission (Torque Converter)

It comes with Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive, and the Sports Option.
The speed of shifting gears is low but reliable. Because it is expensive, people prefer not to purchase it. It is mostly sold in expensive cars. Because the cost is very high for an affordable automatic car. 1-2 times more expensive than the regular manual gear box. No doubt, it is one of the most reliable transmissions. You should change the oil after 4 to 5 years, or 60 to 70 thousand kilometers. The mileage is the same as the AMT. Paddle shifters are also available on the fully automatic transmission.

DCT (Dual-clutch Transmission)

It is the same as an automatic transmission, but the inside mechanism is different, with two clutches running side by side. One for 2, 4, 6, and reverse, and another for 1, 3, 5, and 7 like the even-odd number. The clutch grooves work in such a way that when the first clutch releases, it gets hooked by the second one. This is the process of engaging and disengaging the clutch to decrease the time. More fast than the manual. It did not affect your mileage as much. Made for expansive cars. However, it is mostly used by KIA in Sonet, Hyundai in Venue, and the newly launched Tata Altroz DCT. Basically, it is meant for heavy and power train vehicles.

CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission)

Mostly used in Honda cars The response of the CVT gear shift is very smooth. Hyundai also used it in another form known as IVT. The Pickup response is to quick with a slow uplift from the beginning. It gets better mileage than a manual car in city driving, but it loses mileage on the highway at high speeds. The maintenance cost is higher than the manual and AMT. The gears are the same as the automatic [Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive]. Also, Honda amaze is the first car with diesel CVT in India and all over the world.