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The clutch is a hydraulic coupling, meaning that it acts pretty much like a torque converter. They claim that it stays "locked" most of the time (at constant sp
by bluetomcat 8y ago
The clutch is a hydraulic coupling, meaning that it acts pretty much like a torque converter. They claim that it stays "locked" most of the time (at constant speed), but the amount of slippage during heavy acceleration must be considerable. Looks like far from an ideal setup in terms of drivetrain efficiency.
- arghwhat 8y agoLocked means a regular, slip-free friction clutch housed inside the torque converter. Unless that clutch slips (which would be a mechanical failure), then there will be no slippage during heavy acceleration. The torque converter is most likely to handle a bit of slippage at low speeds, or just to provide a smoother activation than slamming a clutch. It's also supposedly a low-slip converter, unlike the normal "comfort" type.
- taneq 8y agoI think it's literally just there to allow the engine to idle when the car's stationary. Otherwise it'd stall since it's direct drive gearing. With a redline at 8250rpm at 249mph, that gives you ~600rpm (which many V8s can idle comfortably at) at 20mph and ~1500rpm at 45mph. I'd expect it to lock somewhere around 45mph and be effectively a rigid connection above that. Edit: From TFA the hydraulic coupling starts to engage around 30mph, so not a bad guess. :)
- upofadown 8y agoA torque converter a type of liquid transmission. At low speeds it converts most of the slippage to torque to allow the IC engine to deliver power without stalling. A hydraulic coupling just slips and the extra power ends up as heat.