Mercedes-Benz 5G-Tronic transmission


5G-Tronic is the unofficial name given by car enthusiasts to Mercedes-Benz's 5-speed automatic transmission type 722.6. It was produced from 1996 to 2020 in different variants as converter-5-gear-automatic transmission. The core models W5A 330 and W5A 580 are for engines up to or maximum input torque. The W5A 280 and W5A 300 were built for vans and SUVs, the W5A 400 for off-road applications, and the W5A 900 for V12-applications.
This fourth-generation transmission by Mercedes-Benz replaced the older 4-speed 4G-Tronic transmission|4G-Tronic] transmission-family and its 5-speed derivative, and was replaced by the much more complex and costly 7-speed Mercedes-Benz 7G-Tronic transmission introduced in 2003. Due to its high torque capacity and lower cost, it was retained for turbocharged V8 and V12 engines, 4-cylinder applications and commercial vehicles for almost a decade. Production ended in 2020 with niche applications like Sprinter with petrol/CNG M111 engine and Jeep Wrangler.

Key Data


Specifications

Operating Modes

Winter/Summer (Standard) Mode

Activated by a toggle switch, Winter mode sets the gearbox to start off in 2nd gear, both in Drive and Reverse. This is designed to reduce wheelspin on icy surfaces. Also in "W" mode the transmission will shift at lower speeds. "S" mode is not sport but Sommer or Standard.
With Jaguar XJR applications the switch is labeled "Sport." In regular driving mode the gearbox starts off in 2nd gear, both in Drive and Reverse, and will only engage 1st gear when triggered via the kickdown switch. While "Sport" mode is enabled the gearbox will always start off in 1st gear.

Speedshift (2001–)

Speedshift is a performance feature set for the Mercedes-Benz transmissions which includes manual mode and active downshifting. When cornering at high speed, the transmission maintains the same gear above a certain lateral acceleration level. It can also automatically downshift before overtaking.
It was first used in 2001 Mercedes-Benz C 32 AMG and 2001 Mercedes-Benz SLK 32 AMG.

AMG Speedshift (2002–)

A version with mechanical lock-up of the torque converter from first gear and steering-wheel-mounted shifter. AMG Speedshift is also used in 7G-Tronic transmission.
It was first used in 2002 Mercedes-Benz E 55 AMG, S 55 AMG, C55, CL 55 AMG.

AMG Speedshift R

A version used in Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. It includes three manual modes.

Combined Parallel and Serial Coupled Gearset Concept For More Gears And Improved Cost-Effectiveness

With planetary transmissions, the number of gears can be increased conventionally by adding additional gearsets as well as brakes and clutches, or conceptually by switching from serial to combined parallel and serial power flow. The conceptual way requires a computer-aided design. The resulting progress is reflected in a better ratio of the number of gears to the number of components used compared to existing layouts.
The W5A 330 and 580 are the first transmission family with combined parallel and serial power flow to prevent these transmissions from becoming larger, heavier, and more expensive. That is why Mercedes-Benz refers to them as '''NAG 1. With 9 main components, it saves 2 components compared to the W5A 030.

Gearset Concept: Quality

The 5G-Tronic is an electronically shifted 5-speed overdrive automatic transmission with torque converter lock-up, typically in gears 3, 4 and 5.
The most obvious flaw of the gearset concept is the second gear, which is clearly too short, but this affected all Mercedes-Benz transmissions, especially automatic transmissions. The 7G-Tronic in 2003 was the first to remedy this situation. As shown in the assessment table below, another drawback of the gearset concept is the significant reduction in speed increase in 5th gear.

Applications

Mercedes models

Mercedes S-Class

Jeep