Automated Tranny Pros and Cons

He's responding to something he disagrees with, what's wrong with that? I agree with him, I get jerked around in my automated Freightliner like no tomorrow where as with a manual I was oh so smooth all the time, floating...

Sounds like @Winnyf1 may have been referring to automatics in general as opposed to just in trucks in which case there is nothing to argue and he's right about better performance out of automatics.

 

I drive an Ultrashift Plus and it's definitely not as smooth as an I-Shift, but there are pluses and minuses right? I fully agree that my manual could be smoother and quicker through the gears, but low and slow saves fuel and Hey if I wanted speed it certainly would not come from the truck.

If I were specifying a glider then of course it would have a nice 18 speed manual and probably more torque and horsepower that it needed, but with a new truck I'm sold on the AMT. Now if I could just get an I-Shift in a nice Pete 567 Heritage then I'd be a happy driver

 

I find the SmartShift thing in my Freightliner to be quite unenjoyable. I'm waiting to get rid of the truck for a manual (company owned trucks).

I don't even want to go into what I don't like about it. I'll just say I like NOTHING about it.

 

Curious.... How does the manual mode compare to manual shifting when you want or need to use it? Thanks.

 

An extremely jerky shift (the sort that makes the whole cab shake side to side from the engine torquing against the frame) can make the tires lose traction no matter what your speed is.

And the lack of clutch control can make it extremely difficult to get started on ice in situations that shouldn't be so difficult.

 

Perhaps in light duty town trucks an auto would be beneficial. However in 8 axle mountain trucks the auto don't cut it. They lack performance in downshifting on hard pulls. I would put my $ on a top hand out pulling a auto. IMO.

 

Yup, there wasn't enough controversy in this thread yet.....

Not that I disagree with you.

 

It's pretty quick. On some occasions it just won't shift if you are turning hard and it thinks it might not be able to catch the next gear in time. I can make it skip shift two or three gears.
With a manual I would just engage the lower jake brake setting to get the engine to slow down quicker when I needed to shift really fast in soft ground or tight turns.

 

Everyone is entitled to an opinion about a subject... (i.e. I like manuals) Where I disagree is when a certain faction of folks within the industry then start to belittle those that prefer something different. (i.e. Dumb it down for simple steering wheel holders)

Like your comment about you being smoother in a manual than the autos.... That is a simple statement of why you prefer manuals... I can totally support why you prefer what you prefer. Now should you then say that all drivers who drive something different than what you prefer are some how less a driver simple because of the tools they prefer, or more likely assigned to them, then I would have to disagree with that statement.

That's where I try to draw the distinction.


Stay Safe no matter what you prefer to drive.