The ZF Ecomat automotive transmission was specifically designed by

ZF Friedrichshafen ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, originally ''Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen'', and commonly abbreviated to ZF (ZF = "Zahnradfabrik" = "Cogwheel Factory"), is a German car parts maker headquartered in Friedrichshafen, in the south- ...

AG primarily for city-

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

es and motorcoaches. It has several generations – all of the

automatic transmission An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving ...

type, and many variants. The latest variants use a lock-up

torque converter A torque converter is a type of fluid coupling that transfers rotating power from a prime mover, like an internal combustion engine, to a rotating driven load. In a vehicle with an automatic transmission, the torque converter connects the power ...

along with a retarder. Some variants are listed below.

Gear ratios Ecomat I (1980–1985)

Gear ratios Ecomat I/II/IV (1985–2016)

1st generation — Ecomat (1980–2002)

All generations of the Ecomat series are no longer in production. *4HP500 / 5HP500 / 6HP500 — four-, five- or six-speed; maximum input

torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...

of 1100 Nm *4HP590 / 5HP590 / 6HP590 — four-, five- or six-speed; maximum input torque of 1250 Nm *4HP600 / 5HP600 / 6HP600 — four-, five- or six-speed; maximum input torque of 1400 Nm

2nd generation — Ecomat 2 (1997–2007)

All generations of the Ecomat series are no longer in production. *4HP502/C / 5HP502/C / 6HP502/C — four-, five- or six-speed; maximum input

of *4HP592/C / 5HP592/C / 6HP592/C — four-, five- or six-speed; maximum input torque of *4HP602/C / 5HP602/C / 6HP602/C — four-, five- or six-speed; maximum input torque of

3rd generation — Ecomat 4 (2006–2016)

All generations of the Ecomat series are no longer in production. *5HP504/C – five speed for lighter buses up to 13

ton Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean * the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds ...

; maximum input

of *5HP504/C / 6HP504/C — five- or six-speed; maximum input

of *5HP594/C / 6HP594/C — five- or six-speed; maximum input torque of *5HP604/C / 6HP604/C — five- or six-speed; maximum input torque of

Use in rail vehicles

In addition to its use in road vehicles, the Ecomat transmission is also employed in the Class 172 lightweight diesel multiple unit (DMU) trains in service with various

operators Operator may refer to: Mathematics * A symbol indicating a mathematical operation * Logical operator or logical connective in mathematical logic * Operator (mathematics), mapping that acts on elements of a space to produce elements of another sp ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

, in major refurbishments of ČD Class 842 in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, CAF built C4K in Northern Ireland and the ABB Scandia built IC3 (DSB Class MF) DMUs in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

References

* * {{inc-transport, date=October 2021 Ecomat