10 speed transmission, worth waiting for?

[Protect1989]

In the latest press release, GMC stated that the 10 speed transmission will be coming in the 2018 GMC Denali.

Is it worth waiting for? What sort of realistic benefits will come from the 10 speed compared to the current 8 speed? Any fear of being the first to adopt or should it be relatively bullet-proof?

http://media.gmc.com/media/us/en/gm...es/news/us/en/2017/may/0524-yukon-denali.html

 

[hunter991]

to me i am not sure i would want a first year thing. I know its been around for a little bit in the partnership with Ford. What i have heard is the 10speed seems to hunt for gears on steep grades from a friend of mine who has it in the F150. With a transmission i want to have at least a 3 year "in production" track record. But thats just me. They aren't cheap to replace the ones in the old days.

 

[PivotalRex]

I have to agree with hunter on holding off, you might luck out with no issues but it might be worth waiting it out if you really want the 10 speed. Also, looks like less than 1 MPG increase so it's not worth it if you were expecting better MPG.

http://www.caranddriver.com/flipboo...he-new-fordgm-10-speed-automatic-transmission

 

[adventurenali92]

I still can't seem to figure out why ford and gm think that an SUV based on a half ton truck frame and chassis, needs a 10 speed transmission. For what? It's not going to pull anything that requires that big of a transmission weight wise. It seems to me, that transmission will spend a lot of time hunting for the right gear, which is not desired for a lot of reasons. I would think the 8 speed is probably the better option.

 

[tonywush]

No transmission is perfect.

I learned fron exisiting Ford review that the 10spd will skip the gear when necessary: i.e 1-3-5-7-8.

IMO, if I can get a really decent deal on the 17" Denali/Escalade, I will go with 17".

 

[DenaliEd]

From what I hear, it's incredible in the new ZL1. Hopefully they don't screw it up like they did the 8 speed...

 

[Protect1989]

Thank you for all the input. Its sounding like the 10 speed might be more of a hinderance than a help. Im going to shop around and see the lowest pricing I can get on a '17. Cant wait for the old "let me talk to my manager" routine.

 

[chicagofan00]

I think I would personally want to wait until it's been a year in production on the Chevy/GMC/Escalade line of trucks before jumping into it. I'm sure overall it will be just fine but I think there may be some initial growing pains of the trucks not going into the correct gear for the current situation. Besides, waiting a year will give the various tuners (Diablo, Blackbear, etc.) time to get used to it as well.

 

[inmypassatlife]

Man, the 6spd DSG in my Passat was a dream. Best trans I ever had in any vehicle, absolutely friggin amazing

 

[carterchapman]

I would never buy the first year of ANYTHING from GM.

 

[Kirth Gersen]

Seems to me it will require internal components that are smaller, lighter, and flimsier. Not good for durability & reliability. I prefer to keep my vehicles for a very long time. Whatever miniscule fuel savings I get will likely get wiped out by expensive repair bills down the road.

 

[about20ninj45]

I still can't seem to figure out why ford and gm think that an SUV based on a half ton truck frame and chassis, needs a 10 speed transmission. For what? It's not going to pull anything that requires that big of a transmission weight wise. It seems to me, that transmission will spend a lot of time hunting for the right gear, which is not desired for a lot of reasons. I would think the 8 speed is probably the better option.

For fuel economy

 

[adventurenali92]

For fuel economy

If it does end up always hunting for the right gear, wouldn't that burn more fuel as it shifts around alot?

 

[about20ninj45]

Not if the shifts are all under a certain rpm

 

[Protect1989]

The GMC Dealerships are useless when asking them about the 10 speed. They know 0 information and if they do they certainly are not sharing it. Simply stating "Yea well you might get 1 mpg difference at most but we really dont know any info".

I wish GMC would list out the benefits of the 10 speed already. I dont really want to get a 2017 if the car is going to be a year old in the next 3 months but if the 10 speed is going to be garbage than it is worth it.

 

[Protect1989]

I sent out an email to Jalopnik (automotive website for those who dont know) asking about the 10 speed and what information they had. This is the response I received:

"Going from a six-speed to a ten-speed is not likely to yield a massive fuel economy benefit. Look no further than the F-150 for proof of that (Ford and GM co-developed the 10-speed). The '17 model F-150 3.5L EcoBoost does manage about 1 MPG better than the '16, but that's also a product of engine tweaks, not just the added gears.


I drove a 10-speed Raptor recently, and I thought the transmission was decent, but a bit quirky to shift at times. "

Not a ton of new information but confirmation that the 10 speed isnt likely to increase MPG by a whole lot, maybe 1 mpg.

So now it comes down to preference and price. See what sort of offers GMC announces to try and move remaining 2017 BUT have a vehicle that is technically 1 year old already OR wait and get the 2018 but roll the dice with the reliability of the 10 speed transmission.