Test drove one of these today

I get 1 to 2 mpg better if I run with "manual Mode." In manual mode you still do not have the control you need to optimize fuel mileage and safety. They like to rev to 1540 rpm before shifting on flats. In rolling hills it is worse. They like to drop 2 gears at a time and rev in the 1750 to 2300 range. And that is an excellent recipe for POOR fuel mileage and VERY POOR proffits.... No mine does not get better fuel mileage in stop and go traffic. They love to rev hard, because that more efficient; NOT.
There up side is that drivers that would not normally drive a TT are comfortible with them. Oh oh the dance of the gears is such a beautiful dance. The autoshifts are clumbsy and not the least bit elegant...

 

Doesn't having to use the clutch when starting defeat the benefits of the auto? I mean from a traffic perspective at least.

 

The downside to full auto is clutch replacement cost, and a big minus to an auto-clutch is that the clutch is either engaged, or disengaged. When backing under a loader trailer that is dropped a little low, or trying to back a loaded trailer to a dock that is slightly uphill, there is a very good chance of giving yourself whiplash from the auto-clutch engaging fully when you just want to ease back a couple of inches.

 

The ones we have use the same clutch as the std manual.
You are however correct in that it is all but impossible to back up very slowly in a controlled manner. I'm told it is possible in some of the newer ones but I have not seen this first hand.

 

We have spent over 3K trying to figure out what is wrong with our ZF. There is a short somewhere and international and ZF just replace parts and did everything they know to fix it. Prior to this, any thing that went wrong was 1k down the tubes. So what ever money we saved in fuel was lost in repairs. Now we either have to spend more money and hope to find the problem, or try and sell a truck with a jack up transmission or convert to a 10 speed. No thanks on anything with more electronics.

 

We just spent 4K for the stainless replacement heat ex-changer on the ZF intarder.
It is the 3rd on to fail at around 400 000 miles.
The actual price is about 6K installed but they say there is a discount for a limited period because they know the aluminium one is flawed.

What happens when they fail you end up with engine coolant seeping in to the transmission.
On the first failure we did not pick it up and attempted to drive the truck back to base just adding a bit of water now and then.
The coolant in the transmission steamed up all the electronics.
This resulted in a 400 mile tow and a 10K repair bill as they had to replace the top cover that contains the electronics and solenoid shifters.

 

The new Allison IVT transmission will change a lot thinking about transmissions.

This transmission is far superior to any of the current automated auto stick transmissions.

It only has about three (3) moving parts. No shift points. Indestructible.

Twenty (20% percent better fuel economy.

Less wear and tear on the whole truck.

It will revolutionize big rig driving and handling.