When I first started driving in the 90s it seemed like the 4 and 5 speed transmission was the best, modern transmission you could get. They were relatively reliable, and had enough gears to make acceleration, and fuel economy good in my Honda CRX.
Today, I can buy a Honda Odyssey with a 9-speed automatic transmission standard, and 10-speed on the high end model.
**What has changed in transmission engineering, materials science, and technology to allow more gears in the gearbox?**
What are the potential downsides? E.g. is the typical 10-speed as reliable as the old standard 5-speed gearbox?
Edit: To be more clear, this is an ENGINEERING, MATERIALS SCIENCE, and TECHNOLOGY question. I understand the benefits of having more gears for ride quality, and fuel efficiency.
In: Engineering
A lot of the 8 or higher speed transmissions now have two intermediate shafts. So they can put 1-3-5-7 on one, and 2-4-6-8 on the other, then the valve body moves synchronizers like a manual trans but much, much faster than any human ever could.
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