You are correct. Volvo did offer it's synchronized 14 speed transmission in the late nineties. I think they stopped in 97 or 98 due to poor sales.
That is a real important point about the clutch break... I use to be so uncomfortable.. cause I had the seat pulled way forward so I could get the clutch all the way tpoo the floor.. then my last trainer.. had me move my seat back.. he explained that I dont need to puch the clutch to the floor very often so I didnt need to be set up that way.. wow with the seat moved back it was not only more comfortable but I drove better as well... As for double clutching vs floating.. what I have been told varies.. some say to float it saves wear on clutch.. but then there are those who say a clutch is far less expensive than a transmission... I do both.. I am getting better at floating the gears.. I am better at floating up througn the gears than down... and with some loads it is easier than with others...
I was just thinking those old Scania trucks that were sold here briefly were probably running synchro boxes too
I've heard that most heavy trucks in Europe have synchro trannys. I wonder why they never caught on here?
The early Volvo's where the early to mid '90's, there was a company that had Volvo's at that time and the drivers were telling me about them and could shift them like a car, but truthfully I think those were Volvo trannies instead of the Eaton and Fuller trannies....
Yep, they were an all Volvo powertrain. If memory serves it was a 4 speed main box with a range change and splitter button. The main box had Low, 1, 2, 3 and reverse, with the 2 speed range change and 2 speed splitter. To get the 14 forward you split low and rowed through 1 through 3 twice with the range change splitting each gear. Reverse had 4 possible ratios. Aside from the synchronized shifting, it was basically like an Eaton 18 speed minus one gear in the main box. Volvo is having better luck this time around with its D13 and I shift combo.
@pakrat, yes they were synchro, 5 or 10 speed mostly @8thnote, all manual trannys in Europe are synchro, they switched to synchro in the late 60's, I don't think there's many European drivers that could even use an Eaton nowdays, A local Volvo garage has and old Volvo with a synchro tranny so they def were sold in NA , one reason for synchros not catching on could be the extra weight, synchros are quiete big by comparison volvos syncro box is 14 speed, 12 road gears and 2 crawlers, they are 3 over 3 configuration with a splitter
