Chapter 1009 "Advanced" Transmission (there will be another chapter in the evening)
"Well... the matter you mentioned is indeed very important. This matter is more significant than the engine itself. I will go back and talk to the leaders of the ministry about it." At this time, the director of the Science and Technology Department of the 13th Ministry of Machine Building even felt a little regretful. None of the top leaders in the ministry came, and he couldn't discuss too much, as his words didn't count.

Look at the other ministries, the 11th and 17th, all of which have deputy-level people here, but I am the only one who has achieved the most significant results for my ministry, which seems a little inappropriate. For now, I can only discuss more, record more, and report back carefully.

The deputy leader of the 11th Ministry of Machinery thought about what Gao Zhendong said and frowned: "It's good, but there are three major parts of a car, engine, chassis, and gearbox, and here there is only the engine."

Regarding this matter, the comrades of the Thirteenth Machine Department had their own ideas: "The chassis is easy to deal with. We have copied the chassis quite well. Moreover, the Seventeenth Machine Department has given us a lot of new materials. If we put in a little more effort, it will not be a problem to copy a few good chassis. We still have this confidence, hahahaha."

The car chassis at that time did not have so many electronic systems, unlike the chassis of later generations. Just copying the chassis could only be considered half the work at best. At that time, being able to copy the mechanics well meant that one had roughly kept up with the advanced level.

Moreover, nowadays, no one has much experience in chassis tuning, so it is difficult to create a big gap. To a certain extent, horsepower is the boss now, and everything else lags behind.

This is also the reason why it seemed easy for us to imitate cars in the 60s, but after the 80s it cost a lot of money to make the car look half-real.

"Well, if you still lack any materials, please tell our Comrade Zhendong and he can help you find a solution." The chief engineer of the 17th Ministry of Machine Building laughed. We may not be able to do other things, but this one is not a big problem. Just don't ask for something too exaggerated.

The director of the Science and Technology Department nodded: "Then we just need a good gearbox... But this is not a big problem. It is not a luxury car, so we don't need an automatic gearbox. A manual gearbox for an ordinary car can reduce the cost and is more conducive to popularization."

Gao Zhendong laughed when he heard this. It's not that he had any good idea, but he had a way to steal a chicken. Although he couldn't do it the best, but it was no problem to get it in between.

Seeing his smile, his chief engineer knew that he had something in mind: "Zhendong, what do you think about the gearbox?"

When this question was asked, comrades from the other two ministries did not dare to look down on him. After all, the engine in front of them was still running, and they all looked at him with interest.

Gao Zhendong said: "Since we don't have an automatic transmission, we can make a semi-automatic transmission. It can be considered an automatic transmission after all. It's not as good, but it's better than a manual transmission when used in mid-to-high-end vehicles."

The comrade from the Thirteenth Machine Department immediately became interested: "There is such a thing? I would like to hear more about it, General Gao."

Gao Zhendong didn't even draw a picture, so there's no need to draw a picture for this thing.

"We make an electronic control unit box to perform a series of gas-clutch coordination operations in upshifting and downshifting. For the driver, all he needs to do is press the upshift or downshift switch when needed. This saves more fuel than an automatic transmission. Mechanical upshifting and downshifting can also reduce the discomfort caused by the lack of skills in gas-clutch coordination, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of upshift and downshift operations."

What Gao Zhendong is talking about is actually the AMT gearbox that appeared later. After the 90s, it can only be regarded as a supplement or youth version of the AT gearbox, but in this era, it is an absolute high-end product.

The coordination between the accelerator and the clutch of the cars at that time was not as good as those in later generations which had undergone years of training and refinement. Some cars were not able to shift into gear without good skills. There were no synchronizers, and downshifting and accelerating to maintain speed could make a novice C1 driver panic decades later.

There are experienced drivers who can change gears without even pressing the clutch, but there are not many such experienced drivers. This is to build a popular car, and pushing all the work and pressure to the users is undoubtedly making things difficult for themselves, especially if they want to export.

Gao Zhendong's words instantly made the director of the Thirteenth Ministry of Machine Building get angry.

"Yes! Great! That's right! Use an electronically controlled machine to coordinate the accelerator and clutch and shift up and down. The driver only needs to press a switch, and the car will be much easier to drive. Moreover, this method does not require changing the manual transmission itself, but only requires an external action mechanism, so the research and development difficulty is also low! Oh, Chief Engineer Gao, thank you so much, as the old saying goes, a true word can only convey a single word, but a false word can only convey a thousand books. Your few words have directly opened a new door for us!"

There is a reason why he was so excited. It is not that automatic transmission has not been imitated, but the progress and effect of imitation are not satisfactory. As a result, the self-produced luxury car "Songjiang" still has a manual transmission. There is nothing that can be done about it.

Gao Zhendong's suggestion allows them to obtain almost 70% of the functions of an automatic transmission under current technical conditions, and it is also more fuel-efficient than an automatic transmission.

Although it may not be good enough for the most advanced models, it is at least good enough for the mid-to-high-end models. This gives them a weapon that can barely compete with automatic transmissions, and they have enough time and generate enough profits to support the development of automatic transmissions.

Gao Zhendong had no choice. It was not easy to find automatic transmission parts, and the details were too important, so he had to do this in a roundabout way. I believe that with enough experience and sales, our comrades are not fools and can make an AT transmission.

The deputy leader of the 11th Machinery Department smiled and said, "Don't worry, we will make this semi-automatic gearbox. We will make several specifications to match different torques. We guarantee that you can use a good box!"

Compared with the 11th Machinery Department, which specializes in machinery, the 13th Machinery Department, which is responsible for the whole machine, is obviously inferior in this aspect. The statement of the 11th Machinery Department means that everyone will join in the great cause. "Okay, okay, we will specialize in the improvement of chassis and engines." Thinking of this, the director of the 13th Machinery Department suddenly felt that the world seemed to become wider, as if there was a wide road in front of him.

Thinking of this, he felt that the model he had seemed a little unworthy of such a huge plan.

"It's a pity that we still don't have many models."

Gao Zhendong smiled and said, "This is my next suggestion, the issue of vehicle model planning."

"You say, I remember!" The Thirteenth Ministry of Machinery was extremely interested in all of Gao Zhendong's words. A man who could come up with such an advanced engine and also come up with the idea of ​​a semi-automatic transmission, how could his understanding of cars be bad? His ideas must be of reference value.

"First, we need a small car about four meters long, which can be a hatchback with two rows of five seats, without the butt of a sedan, with a slightly higher chassis to maximize the interior space, durable, comfortable seats, equipped with a 1.2-1.5-liter engine and a manual transmission. This is a car for popularization."

A two-box hot hatchback doesn't necessarily have to have a lot of power. As long as the car is small and cheap enough, it can still compete in economic aid countries. After all, the choices in economic aid countries are limited, and it is definitely a good market.

Another advantage is that Chinese people do not have a fetish for three-box cars yet, and two-box cars are widely accepted in the country. Although individuals are unlikely to buy this, at least government agencies will not have any resistance to using it.

"Well, I know. Just like the old Ford Model T and Volkswagen Beetle, a car that can be sold in large quantities and affordable to the people must have this model. But where does the 1.2-liter engine come from?"

In this era, a displacement of 1.5 is already too large for ordinary people.

"Reduce the cylinder size of the three-cylinder engine by 1.5 liters and adjust the air intake volume. Everything else remains unchanged." Gao Zhendong was simply being lazy.

"Ah... that's a good idea." The director of the Science and Technology Department probably never expected Gao Zhendong to come up with such a lazy idea, and the expression on his face was a little interesting. But if you think about it carefully, it's true. For the 1.5 and 1.2, it's obviously not worth it to make a big fuss about the difference. The real difference between the two is mainly in the fuel consumption cost during use.

But the chief engineer of the 17th Ministry of Machine Building was not surprised, as he had long known that Gao Zhendong was like this.

What they didn't know was that Gao Zhendong's laziness created a business opportunity for those who later modified this 1.2-liter engine - by milling off part of the piston crown and replacing piston connecting rods of different lengths, it would become a 1.5-liter engine!

"Also, this car must be front-wheel drive!" Gao Zhendong added.

"The load-bearing performance of the front-wheel drive has some defects, right?" The comrades from the Science and Technology Department of the 13th Ministry of Machine Building are familiar with this.

"This car doesn't carry any loads. It's just a family car. The front-wheel drive is simple, easy to repair and cheap." Gao Zhendong said with a smile.

"Yeah, that makes sense. It can only hold a few people, and not much cargo. The front-wheel drive is indeed more suitable."

He understood the positioning of this car clearly: simple, sturdy, durable, cheap, fuel-efficient, and with a certain degree of comfort. His ministry could still find a copy of this chassis, and at most it could just make some modifications.

"It would be great if our people could use this small car as soon as possible..." a comrade from the 11th Ministry of Machine Building sighed.

Gao Zhendong shook his head: "I think our people might be better off with another one, they might like it more."

“Have you conceived a car specifically for the domestic masses?” It cannot be called a design, it can only be called a conception because it does not go into the details.

"Yes, mainly because we have a large rural population, the urbanization process is not yet sufficient, and the road conditions are complicated. So I think that hatchback sedan can be sold to foreigners, but it is not practical for our own people."

(End of this chapter)