Bulletproofing Transmissions

GM’s evolving ‘Woodward Test’ improving manual transmissions since 1967

Woodward Avenue became the first concrete highway in the world in 1909. Three years later, the first electric traffic light was installed on the road that runs from downtown Detroit to downtown Pontiac.

A lesser known historical fact is that Woodward Avenue driving styles have helped improve transmission durability by inspiring a test procedure based on the rigors of strip driving.

GM sent engineers to Woodward Avenue as early as 1967 to simulate some of the tortures placed on manual transmissions and “street” testing has become the norm. The test procedure combines elements of the worst-case shifting style of some manual transmission customers, including repeated high-torque launches and high-rev shifts.

“We’ve been evolving the Woodward test to make sure our transmissions live through repeated performance-style shifting,” said Brad Bur, GM assistant chief engineer for manual transmissions. “Of course we encourage safe driving, but we know burnouts and quick shifting are the reality. We have to design and engineer our transmissions to succeed in every possible scenario, including the street.”

Transmission components like clutches and gears have been dramatically improved over the years through tests like the Woodward test, which is responsible for a nearly 600-percent increase in flawless transmission shift cycles.

“This is one of the ways we are able to offer one of the best powertrain warranties in the business,” said Bur. “We use this test on all our performance manual transmissions like those found in the Chevrolet Corvette and Camaro.”

Woodward Avenue is home of the Dream Cruise, a vintage car cruise that dates to the cruising heydays of the 1950s and 1960s. It takes place along Woodward Avenue in Detroit and its northern suburbs. The Dream Cruise routinely gathers more than 1.5 million participants and spectators to celebrate the automotive heritage of the Motor City.