Acura's 8-speed dual clutches have torque converters; why?

[PLF8593]

I don't understand, I thought the point of a dual clutch trans is to drop the slushbox? Does anyone have any idea why Acura is combining traditional autos w/ twin clutches? Also, what is with companies' obsessions with gears these days? Dodges have 9 speed transmissions now. I just don't understand why that's at all necessary. Realistically no car needs more than 6 gears am I right? 7 seems like the absolute max (for me)

 

[Tk_mkv1]

For the dual clutch and torque conventer combo, my guess is the to make shifting smoother at the same time crisp shifts.

Reason why companies adding 8-9 gears is because CAFE forces the automakers to target their mpg by a certain year, adding more gears = better fuel economy. It does not really mean to make the cars fast, for instance, chrysler 200 with 9 speed is still slow.

But i agree, i think 6 or 7 is enough.

 

[PLF8593]

Interesting. Yeah I guess the only thing I can think of for having a torque converter on a twin clutch is smoother transitions from ~5 mph to stopped. Because my mom's 2011 CC w/ DSG doesn't come to stops smoothly. The closer you get to 0, the more the car is trying to push back to ~4 mph, and the moment you come to a complete stop there's a jerking sensation, almost as if something "drops." It has been like this since we got the car in Sept 2010.

 

[Tk_mkv1]

Interesting. Yeah I guess the only thing I can think of for having a torque converter on a twin clutch is smoother transitions from ~5 mph to stopped. Because my mom's 2011 CC w/ DSG doesn't come to stops smoothly. The closer you get to 0, the more the car is trying to push back to ~4 mph, and the moment you come to a complete stop there's a jerking sensation, almost as if something "drops." It has been like this since we got the car in Sept 2010.

Its normal for dsg, because mine does the same since i rolled off the lot, i was expecting that anyway.