Transmission Question

Road ranger with a A at the end is a single overdrive.

 

well we got 2 trucks one with a super 10 which is an od tranny and 3:55 rears and one with a direct 10 with 3.08 rears. same mpgs...now i had to have work done on the direct and dropped a double od 13 and my fuel went to crap and my tranny ran hotter. now on the super 10 it runs same tranny temp as the direct does with same grease. but like your truck that ran hotter temps you had higher speed gears and less power gearing so things are working harder which does mean more heat. i tell everyone you need to match everything tranny rears and motor. as for a single vrs double od. the old 13 had a smaller od gear verus a new style od gearing. if you want to run anything below a 3.55 i would say single od for sure if you get you to 3.70s double

 

It would be great if eaton offer anything with direct or single overdrive in 18 speed these days and with torque rating high enough.

 

Not true. I use an 18 double over with 2.64 rears. Backing is never an issue. Low ratio is almost identical to low ratio in Eaton's direct 10 transmission. I have no problems with startability or backing. Would this work in every application? Of course not. But for pulling dry boxes up to 80K gross, I have not had a single issue. Even when running gross on hilly, steep grade, two lanes. I even pull heavy down some gravel road stretches. I have plowed thru some heavy snow with it. Even had to put in the full lockers on both drive axles a few time this winter. Only those that have never used this type of setup seem to poo poo it. Tranny runs nice and cool in direct 16th where I have it most of the time on normal running. It does take a little getting used to if you haven't had a setup like this, but it does do a great job. Bruce at PP and others are not candidates for the funny farm.

 

that thing has loooong legs under it. how fast will it go, and why is it specd that way?

 

I spec'd it that way to primarily run in direct drive (16th) which is more efficient. Not just to Bruce either. The senior engineer at Eaton is on record as saying that. 3-4% more efficient and transmission runs cooler by staying out of the overdrives. The engineer even stated to one driver at the 2011 MATS, that the transmission cooler would barely be needed. I agree based on how cool this transmission stays. Now, sure, I could have gone with a 10 speed direct, but with the 18, I have a lot more gear choices for any particular application. I guess the one thing that really people can't get their arms around in my doing this, is we have all become so conditioned over the years that we have those top gears and just have to use them all the time. We have no problem not using lower gears and even skip shift around them, but the top gears? God forbid! They are there and have to be used! So, I do use lower gears more frequently, but that is not an issue. Now if it would have been an option, I would have opted for a single over 18 spd instead of double. And with an 18, no one, except in extreme situations, is going to use each and every gear all the time anyway.

Yeah, if I was to go all the way to the top, at 1600 rpm she would be touching 100 mph. But I don't have any desire to run that fast. At least not until I can get fuel for less than $1 a gallon and virgin tires for $200. And then there is the CSA thing also.

 

So, are you driving 54 mph over flat Midwest? Dial it up a notch and come to the West every week or so, we'll see how you are doing. You transmission temps might be a bit higher as well as fuel usage, not everyone is driving like Bruce (he pulls fifth wheel) or Kevin (his expertise come from pulling...fifth wheel) - some people run freight. Strange, I know

 

Nope. Not driving 54 mph. Not sure how you came up with that figure. I don't usually kick it in the rear, so I normally run near 65 mph. Occasionally to pass I will go up to 70 to get around quicker. You need to get a road speed calculator and run the numbers instead of popping off. At 54 mph, I would have to drop out of direct and into 15th. And how Kevin Rutherford got mentioned and has anything to do with this is beyond me. And you and Kevin are free to follow me when I get a run that uses Hwy 20 from Dubuque, IA to Rockford, IL and describe how "flat" that midwest road is. And that is just one of many interesting two lanes this thing goes down frequently. I know, most will say that Illinois is all flat. But they haven't pulled a gross load on Hwy 20 in NW Illinois before. And you obviously have never had to pull around anything heavy on the backroads of SE Ohio Amish country two lanes. And what of I-540/Hwy 71 in NW Arkansas running gross? Then of course, there is pulling a gross load down several miles of gravel roads with pretty steep grades in backcountry on snow and ice that might have been plowed only a blade wide that would make all but the most experienced driver's rear end pucker up. Some guys seem to think if the road doesn't have a runaway ramp, then it just aint a hill. Everyone seem to think that hard pulls are only in the west or Appalacian hills. So "dial it up a notch" and run some of the back roads in the Midwest like I do and then we'll discuss techniques and who moves freight. I realize most folks primarily run the 4 lanes and that is their only perspective. It is so easy for some to shoot off comments when they have such a myopic perspective. Ya' think that maybe where I run is also why I also spec'd full lockers in both drive axles? And, yes, I have had to use them several times this winter. As for the road speed. Just have never had the desire to run like my hair is on fire. I am quite comfortable with staying below 70 mph. Unlike you, I prefer to not send any more money out the stacks than necessary and buy tires all the time.

 

You sound just like famous Kevin Rutherford - the funny guy who thinks everyone should buy Volvo truck with Detroit 60, cut one drive axle, put super singles all around, pump them to 120 PSI lease this junk to FedEx and hire homeless people who got nothing better to do then drive 57 mph (he recommends that speed to everyone everywhere) and get paid by mile. Also, you gotta get you that awesome oil bypass filtration system so you never pay for oil change - because with the kinda money he makes, oil changes at 15k miles would account for 60% of his net profit after taxes. Then you throw that washable air filter in - that will save you another 4% of the income and you are set. Ah, forgot all the gears nonsense - you gotta put 2.18 gears and lug whole thing all the time so your dash computer will please you with fuel mileage numbers in high 7's all the time so you could call his radio show and brag about it telling everyone you love him for bringing so much light into your life.

Then after 6 months your engine blows and you order new truck blaming factory. But I might be wrong, I'm still learning new things every day - this morning I learned a lot about some incredible mountain ranges in Illinois, I would never never knew otherwise - tell me about them, do you have chain control over there in Dubuque?