There’s a lot in it – the torque converter

The high demand for fuel-saving solutions for vehicle engines will lead to increased use of automatic transmissions in future. This is made possible by increasingly more powerful transmissions and innovative torque converters.

With modern converters, it is now possible to combine excellent driving comfort with minimal fuel consumption. This was not always the case. Vehicles with automatic transmissions have long had the reputation of not being exactly economical with fuel.

But what has changed in recent years in the field of torque converter technology?

How has the torque converter become more efficient?

This is explained with a brief look back.

The function of the torque converter is based on the principle of hydrodynamic power transmission. One of the advantages of this indirect transmission is the excellent damping of torsional vibration. The disadvantage is that slippage causes part of the drive power to be lost in the torque converter through slippage. Earlier automatic vehicles may have been comfortable, but it was a fact of life that they would consume more fuel.