Even though sales for their DSG transmission are increasing year by year, Volkswagen is not abandoning the manual gearbox. Proof is that Volkswagen announced it will introduce a new manual gearbox: the MQ281, as it is known, works efficiently and saves up to five grams of CO2 per kilometre depending on the engine-gearbox combination. The new Passat is the first vehicle to be equipped with the MQ281, followed by almost all vehicle classes of the Volkswagen Group.
”With the MQ281, we have developed a highly efficient manual gearbox that reliably meets these demands – and is soon to be introduced into a number of vehicle classes in the volume segment,” explains Helmut Göbbels, Head of Manual Gearbox and Four-Wheel Drive Development at Volkswagen.
The MQ281 has a torque spectrum of 200 to 340 newton metres, which means it completely or partially supersedes the current Volkswagen gearbox designs with the internal designations MQ250 and MQ350 respectively.
It is based on a 2.5 shaft concept and boasts a high gear spread of maximum 7.89. On the one hand, this guarantees good driving off performance – even for heavy vehicles with large wheels – and facilitates, on the other hand, “downspeeding”, which is (fuel-saving) driving in high gears with low engine speed.
Development of the new gearbox focussed primarily on improving efficiency. “Here we employed virtual development methods,” says Helmut Göbbels. “This enabled us to design a completely new oil conduction system. Using a variety of oil conduction measures, we are able to achieve a uniform and optimum lubrication of gear wheels and bearings, reducing the amount of lifetime oil required to just 1.5 litres.” To further reduce friction, a bearing concept adapted to the gearbox was developed. The design used friction-minimised bearings with low-contact seals.
Material use and its distribution for the gearbox housing was also optimised. With the aid of a further virtual development tool, a strength- optimised housing structure could be designed. The new housing supports the noise requirements of today (avoidance of undesired secondary noises).
As is the case with many Volkswagen gearboxes, the MQ281 is produced in-house. Ramp-up is currently underway in the factories in Barcelona (Spain) and Córdoba (Argentina).
