[torriem]

I drove an ultrashift a while back and at first I thought it was pretty slow as it shifted up through the gears pulling a load. But actually it was just as fast at accelerating as anyone could do with a manual. I think when you're the one running the stick you feel more in control and thus it feels like you're moving faster, but that's just an illusion on both counts. And of course you can program the transmissions to shift and accelerate differently for your needs. I was super impressed with the ultra shift (was a 2017 model), especially after reading people here and in other forums panning it. Had one issue when I got stuck on ice on flat ground. It was hard to rock it. But I don't think the manual would have got out of that without sand under the wheels in that particular situation.

I'm not sure how the recent autoshifts (do they still make them?) compare to the recent ultrashifts. But if they are good, I am half interested in swapping my 18-speed for an 18-speed autoshift. I don't drive enough to get really good at shifting. I'd rather focus on the task of driving safely. Would love to try a 10-speed allison pulling a B train some day to see what it could do.

Oat King, what do you mean by telling them to "not lock it up?"

 

[torriem]

Don't see your message, Oat King. When you say locked it up does that mean getting it stuck between gears?

As for shifting, on the Ultrashift you could "nudge" the transmission up or down a gear with lever on the steering column while still in full automatic mode if you don't feel it got it quite right, or if you wanted to get ahead of the transmission coming up to a hill or something. After conditions allow, it resumes shifting to whatever gear it thinks works best. I thought that worked pretty well the one time I felt to do do that. After driving that transmission and talking to the dealer, I definitely think that having them tune the transmission to one's needs and driving style is a great idea. The truck I drove shifted a bit too early for my taste--I think it was set to favor economy. That can be tuned. Not sure what tuning is available in the older Autoshifts, but some I'm sure.

Could a recent generation autoshift be installed for $10k? Tranny, control modules, new clutch, engine reprogram? If I did anything I'd lean towards autoshift since the truck already has 3 pedals.

 

[torriem]

But doesn't the torque converter lock up after the first gear usually? If it was allowed to slip for every gear that would be a lot of heat to dissipate.

This wouldn't be applicable to large hp trucks, but there are cars (and this was more common a long time ago) that had manuals and a torque converter. Kind of like my old four wheeler. Drive, let of the gas, manually shift, then hit the pedal again.

 

[torriem]

Sad. Reliability issues? Or were they sunk by their silly exclusive deal with Navistar? Allison's website still talks about the TC10 as if it were in current production.

 

[torriem]

Because he said it was. What else do you need?

 

[torriem]

Perception and opinion are everything! If you like the stick, nothing wrong with that! But just stop with the "real truckers" nonsense. Every near-retiring career trucker I've talked to in the last 10 years has nothing against the autos, and many would buy them if they weren't retiring.

Also if your Eaton auto isn't shifting the way you want it to (skipping 4 gears as was mentioned earlier), get it tuned at a shop. You can get them tuned to be more or less agressive, and to emphasize performance over economy. Obviously it can't read your mind yet, although it's pretty good at predicting what it needs to do to keep up with you.

After the recent talk on the forum about pulling Super Bs with Allison automatics I'm thinking a 500 hp allison might be in our future. A truck with an Allison would also be ideal for the seed tender.