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Old 09-16-2011, 09:18 AM
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NFSLancerRA NFSLancerRA is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Durham/Orlando
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Detailed overview of research to date:

Although Getrag is a very talented transmission manufacturer, you will find that they often don't make controllers for their own products. In many cases, JECS and others produce the actual TCU. I know that VW and Subaru both use JECS controllers for their products. Additionally, Mitsubishi has their own, in-house line-up of electrical controllers. You will find that almost every automatic transmission utilized by Mitsubishi vehicles has an "INVECS" controller, which is a Mitsubishi patented and proprietary system. The confusing bit is that Mitsubishi ended the INVECS program with the CVT transmission (dubbed the "INVECS-III"). You have to figure that the average R and D cycle for the production of a new model is about 3-5 years. That means that the transmission controller for the TC-SST might be as old as 2003 or 2004. During that time, it is clear that Mitsubishi, in at least one division, was working on the INVECS-III system. I found the patent filing yesterday. That means that it is possible that the construction of the TCU for the TC-SST was sub-contracted out to a firm with experience building high-quality controllers for already existing dual-clutch transmissions. For VW, who has been using the DSG gearbox for quite some time, JECS was that manufacturer. In 2004, about the time-frame for development of the TCU for the TC-SST, JECS applied for a series of patents (10 in this country alone) regarding a new, comprehensive transmission controller. After reviewing the patent, the stated parameters and goals of the project do fall in line with the specifications of the current RA and MR spec TC-SST transmission(s). If this were to be the case, that is great news for the Ralliart community. It is theoretically possible that JECS will have developed a part number for the completed MR TCU (hopefully, as the DSG controllers for VW and auto controllers for Subaru are available and listed as "new"). That is the hope, anyways. JECS has produced parts for Mitsubishi before, so this isn't unprecedented. However, this research that I have done is very incomplete. I am sure that there are some on this board who know vastly more about the nature of this beast than I do. That is merely speculation on the possible origins of our TCU. If anyone has information that furthers this knowledge-base, please let me know. This isn't about me being proved right or wrong. Again, that is merely speculation.
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