Planetary Gear Sets

The 8 forward gears and the reverse gear are produced by a combination of 4 simple planetary gear sets, 3 clutches and 2 brakes. The front 2 gear sets share a common sun gear. Power is output always through the planetary carrier of the 4th gearset.

The 5 shift elements comprising 3 clutches and 2 brakes, are responsible for all 8 forward and reverse gears. High efficiency is achieved by the use of only 2 shift elements disengaged in each gear which reduces drag and so increases the efficiency.