Development of New Sports Shift Control System for Toyota's Automatic Transmission

Toyota has developed a new sports shift control system introduced in the world's first eight-speed automatic transmission (AA80E), which is implemented in the “LS 460” and has been adopted in the “IS F” (upcoming 2008 model). This enables the IS F to be a vehicle that also permits the enjoyment of driving on circuits as well as achieving that “fun-to-drive” image.

In sports driving, as achieved by the conventional torque converter-type automatic transmissions, shift response performance for shift operation and linearity performance for accelerator operations were challenges to tackle. On the contrary, the newly developed sports shift control system has resolved these challenges and enables the IS F to be capable of responding to a driver's intention quickly and accurately, letting the driver truly experience satisfaction.

This paper describes a general outline of the new sports shift control system that has significantly contributed to improvements in the IS F product appeal and introduces the effects of the overall technical system.