Ultrashift VS 13 Speed

Discussion in 'Freightliner Forum' started by Richter, Jan 13, 2013.

  1. Richter

    Richter Road Train Member

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    Feb 13, 2012
    Philadelphia Pa
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    Hi Everyone,

    I'm considering Ultrashift when I buy a Columbia glider soon. I know "real truckers drive stick shift", but I'm sick of taking it off cruise control for a small hill on the highway. Also an auto is just easier. I'm not an old school trucker who wants to do it the hard way. If a computer can out shift me, why not let it try. So I'm asking from drivers that drive Ultrashift....What are the pros and cons. Please only respond if you drive ultrashift. I do not want this to be come an anti auto trans thread hijacked by a bunch of guys who never drove one. (or they guys who drove Old school autos that sucked).

    My main concern is MPG. How much does it negitively effect MPG compared to a 13 speed? (ultrashift is only 10)

    Also, what is the life expectancy? Will it fail sooner then a regular trans? I understand they need to be driven properly to avoid couch abuse.

    I've heard they shift smoother then a human and put less strain on the rest of the truck. When they are well maintained and working properly, is that true?
    Thanks,
    Cody
     
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  3. Chinatown

    Chinatown Road Train Member

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    I drove automatic for awhile and loved it. Drove all terrain/all weather 48 states, and it was nice letting it do the shifting, upshifting, downshifting, etc. It was a company truck pulling tanker/hazmat. If I purchased a truck, it would be automatic. Your other questions, other drivers will have to answer.
     
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  4. twig

    twig Light Load Member

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    Jan 5, 2013
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    I've driven 2. Neither one of them were right so I'm a bit biased. One that is maintained properly might be ok, I don't know. MPG on the 2 I drove was horrible and no, they don't shift as smoothly as a human. Like riding a bucking horse. And on a hill with a heavy load, upshift, downshift, upshift, downshift ... etc.
    Sorry, maybe this is not in the parameters of your question, but personally, I refuse to drive another one. When one goes unexpectedly from 6th to neutral in the middle of a snowy turn onto a ramp and puckers your butt seeing a guardrail fast approaching ... no thank you. I didn't crash the truck, but with a manual, you know it's gonna stay where you put it. Again, neither of the 2 were right, but because of them I'll stay with a manual. I don't like a computer telling me what to do with 40 tons.
     
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  5. Richter

    Richter Road Train Member

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    Philadelphia Pa
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    Were you driving an ultra shift or some other auto trans? the 10 speed or the 13?
     
  6. Richter

    Richter Road Train Member

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    Philadelphia Pa
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    Thanks for the info, how old was your trans? People either love um or hate um and im thinking they may age poorly?
     
  7. dloving8915

    dloving8915 Light Load Member

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    Sep 18, 2010
    Dallas, Texas
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    My last truck was a meritor autoshift. It was good for everyday use. The only problems I had were 1. When backing to a dock there was no way to "feather" the trailer as you hit the dock. 2. any small air leak will cause it to shift poorly, or require you to do it manually. 3. parts/repairs were ridiculous for them
     
  8. Redd Dog

    Redd Dog Bobtail Member

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    Jun 17, 2012
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    Cody, I'm currently driving a company truck which is a 2010 386 Pete w/ ISX Cummins and the Eaton Ultra Shift (10 speed) with no clutch pedal.
    My company owns about 10 of these and will not purchase any more of them in the future!
    1. The computer controlls the shifting and at what RPM it shifts at. NOT YOU!
    My experiences with my Ultra Shift is the throttle is not quite insink with the road speed and gear selection. Thus making an abrupt shift and sudden deceleration of the rig especially while rolling through an intersection and making a turn. This has been a pain on icy roads. Must use extreme caution is this situation while turning. I also experience a lot of "Dead Throttle" when recovering the throttle after slowing to under 10 mph.
    2. You'll find it very difficult to inch up to a dock or manuver in tight areas without the accuators just dumping the clutch on you. Slamming docks, crunching bumpers etc.
    3. If you incure a starting problem such as a starter failer, the trans will code out and even if get the truck started you will not be able to get the trans in gear until it resets. Usually by disconnecting the batteries and waiting 30 - 60 minutes for the reset.
    4. Half of these truck in our fleet have the X-Y gears replaced. (whatever they are)
    I know that these issues are adjustment related. However each they accure its a trip to the dealer and spending hard earned money to correct them! It seems the Eaton ECU and the Cummins ECM are not communicating properly. These trucks have had many "updates" from Eaton and Cummins which have not remedied the problem. All of these trucks have less than 400,000 miles on them. Many problems reaccuring!
    I've driven truck for 38 years and have operated many types of transmissions. One of my favorites was the Eaton 13 speed. You'll have more control over your rig and engine RPMs which will affect your MPG.
    The Ultra Shift is pretty much a regular 10 speed with accuators doing the work for you. More parts more problems!
    My MPG ranges from 5.7 - 7.5.
    Hope this helps! Ooops! not to mention YOU CAN'T PULL START THESE THINGS!
     
  9. flyingmusician

    flyingmusician Road Train Member

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    Jamestown, NC
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    ^^^^^^^ what he said lol

    company took my perfectly good 10 and gave me a new freightliner with the eaton 10 speed auto.....i hate the thing.....won't be able to get out of it soon enough

    fuel milage is not nearly as good as the stick.

    the kick into neutral thing happens.....not as often at speed or in the situation described above but does happen and it's a little unnerving when it does......especially if you're trying to roll the red lights and not stop.....with speed coming down at 13mph it kicks to neutral and stays there until you either stop or apply fuel and then it's VERY easy to overrev if you aren't on top of things until it finally decides what gear it wants to be in and it's never the right one. watch the revs go through the roof and it hunts and jerks until it finds the gear it should have been in to start with.

    downshifts don't come until 50mph uphill and that's way too low.....you're already losing too much momentum and the thing just won't get out of it's own way. manual downshifts can't be forced until 54mph and that's still on the low side. if 55 is the speed it will hold uphill that's also the shift point going up from 9 to 10....leave it in auto mode and it drives itself insane trying to decide which gear it wants to be in..... the freightliner guy told me it's designed that way and that the torque curve comes up as the rpms go down. i can't feel it. it's supposed to 'relearn' the shift points for each new load based on weight/speed parameters but has to go through 4 or 5 shift cycles before it does and it will hunt and jerk and just drive you nuts until it does.....i just leave mine in manual mode and do my own shifting as much as possible......no surprise there my fuel milage is consistently .5-.6mpg better when i don't let that #### computer tell me what to do.....inasmuch as i can override it.....if it doesn't want to do what you want it to, it just isn't going to.....the bell starts dinging at you and it stays right in whatever gear it #### well wants to no matter what you NEED it to do.

    there are no small adjustments when sliding tandems or god forbid you have to slide your fifth wheel.....it's not like having a clutch and creeping one or two holes....stuck tandems? no snatching them loose like with a stick. trans feels full of mud and you have to be at a complete stop with your foot on the brake before it will allow a change into gear or from forward to reverse. the whole thing is just #### annoying.

    backing is a pain and especially if there's a grade involved no matter how slight. you have to learn to do a pedal dance between the fuel and brake to keep from rolling up when you let off the fuel or slamming into the dock (or the truck on your blindside) as you're hgetting in the hole.

    i could go on and on about my disdain for it but you get the idea

    you either love it or you hate it. i absolutely detest it. you shouldn't have to learn to work with the thing, it should just work.

    on the other side of that we do have a few 2013 volvos with the i-shift and most of our guys love them. they say they even got the backing figured out with that trans and it's smooth as silk. i wouldn't know. i didn't get one of them.

    you results may vary. you'll find 10 other guys that love the thing lol
     
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  10. lonewolf21

    lonewolf21 Bobtail Member

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    Apr 14, 2012
    Kenora, Ontario
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    I have driven a couple of ultra shifts, and loved them. They sure are nice when you are in rush hour in Chicago or Las Angeles, or any major city for that matter!
     
  11. Voltrucker

    Voltrucker Medium Load Member

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    West TN
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    I've driven neither of them but I'm just going by others. My good friend of mine hauls steel in a brand new 2013 Volvo. It has a auto tranny and he loves it. He also said he's driven some that weren't set up right and they were awful. So the trick is to get the tranny programmed right. Now to the 13 speed. The 13 speed is popular but here's what my dad has to say about them (he has 19 yrs exp). He said every 13 he drove always whined in 13th gear, then it wouldn't be long until the tranny went out. The 10 speed is a great tranny. You see more 9 and 10 speeds in Freightliners than anything else.
     
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