[Aika car shopping guide original]
In 2022, China's performance car market ushered in a collective explosion, igniting the enthusiasm of "petrolhead". Today, when the coffee law is pressing forward step by step, the beauty has come so suddenly. In the past, it was hard to imagine playlike models coming into the country in groups — especially the manual toys that were pushed onto the altar.
In recent months, the Toyota GR 86 and Subaru BRZ have jointly appeared, the Civic TYPE R introduction plan has been exposed, and the Hyundai N has been repeatedly reported. Parallel importers are not idle, introducing BMW M3/BMW M4 manual transmissions. There are also rumors that the Cadillac V series is evaluating the feasibility of imports. Interestingly, many of the newly introduced manual performance cars are equipped with automatic refueling. In an environment where emissions regulations are becoming increasingly stringent, this foot oil is a bit interesting.
Since entering the 21st century, people's intuitive feeling is that manual transmission (MT) has been squeezed by "progressive forces" such as hydraulic automatic transmission (AT) and dual-clutch transmission (DCT), and the visibility is getting lower and lower. In the field of passenger cars, the efficiency advantage of manual transmission is no longer obvious, only cheap, reliable and a few people care about the driving pleasure, and the decline in market share is inevitable.
Today, manually operated passenger cars are either concentrated in the low-end market or take the pleasure of driving as their own. Needless to say, cheap cars prefer manual transmissions, focusing on low cost and reliability. In the playful camp, the manual transmission is synonymous with high-end driving fun, focusing on creating a sense of communication between people and vehicles. In order to cater to the market, the manual gear is equipped with an additional function - automatic oil replenishment. From corolla to BMW M, the popularity of automatic oil replenishment has increased rapidly.
Wait, why oil replenishment?
This has to start with how the gearbox works.
The higher the gear, the smaller the gearbox gear ratio (reduction ratio), and the less obvious the deceleration and torque increase. As an example, at a speed of 60mph (about 97km/h), the 1st gear speed exceeds 6000rpm, the 2nd gear speed is about 4300rpm, and the 3rd gear speed is about 3200rpm. With 6 gears, the engine speed will only be 1800 rpm. Whenever the gears are shifted, the engine speed is bound to change. Specifically, upshifting leads to a decrease in speed, and downshifting leads to an increase in speed.
When upshifting, rev match is mainly equal. During the upshift process, when the friction is "overcome" inertia, the engine speed will fall back. The upshift can "guard the plant and wait for the rabbit", and the downshift can only take the initiative to replenish the oil. If the oil is not replenished or the oil is not replenished sufficiently, the speed difference between the input and output of the gearbox will occur, resulting in a fierce torque match. This not only brings setbacks, but also means mechanical wear, which is not conducive to the driving experience and the cost of use.
For driving enthusiasts, heels are a lot of fun, and you can find a sense of accomplishment in repeated trials. However, the pedal design of many cars is not conducive to the heel toe, and not all of them can complete the heel toe movement smoothly. To make driving easier, engineers developed an active rev match (ARM) function. On top of this "smart manual transmission", the manual shift lever and clutch pedal are intact, and all that is added is automatic/active speed matching. Laterally, the manual transmission with automatic oil replenishment is a compromise between traditional MT and AMT.
Let's reproduce the scene. On traditional manual transmissions, downshifting requires one hand, two feet, and even heel-toe operation. For manual transmissions with ARM, the entire downshift process requires only one hand and one foot. From the left/right foot to the left foot alone, the difficulty of operation sinks exponentially, significantly reducing the driving difficulty. Even novices can drive the manual smoothly. However, automatic refueling also poses a potential problem: what about driving pleasure?
Shift gears, why do you need to replenish oil?
In terms of daily driving alone, automatic refueling brings a lot of convenience and significantly reduces the driving intensity of manual models. For novices who have just stepped out of driving school, as well as people who simply use cars as a means of transportation, the value of automatic refueling is beyond doubt. Unfortunately, the novice was saved, but the veteran complained. For experienced manual drivers, automatic refueling (ARM) takes away control and makes driving much less enjoyable. In addition, the speed matching efficiency of the ARM system of some models is insufficient, and it is impossible to complete the refueling quickly and accurately during intense driving.
Since the 2010s, AT and DCT have become popular, leaving less and less room for manual transmission. Even people who are obsessed with driving have to consider the convenience of transportation. Between fun and convenience, the automatic oil replenishment function strikes a balance between the two needs. In recent years, many new manual cars have begun to be equipped with automatic refueling, including performance cars, sports cars, and approachable "grocery shopping cars".
Editor's note: Humans are complex animals that are both primitive fun and easy and convenient. In today's increasingly easy to use automatic transmissions, manual transmissions have to take up new weapons, so that more consumers are willing to accept three pedals. Everyone is inert and tired of complex operations. A friend was a hardcore fan of manual transmission and had an incomparable love for primitive machinery. However, after using the automatic oil replenishment, he actually fell in love with this "lazy artifact". Sometimes, chicken ribs are cooked well enough that they are no longer chicken ribs.
Convenience/fun go hand in hand