Manual Vs. Autoshift Transmission

The automatic trucks like to downshift atleast 2 gears as soon as u let up on the throotle an the jake kicks in an has put me sideways...... It was just a triaxle dump truck.....C-15 6spd auto......really fast.......

I'll stick with my 18spd manual if I have a choice

 

Since I'm 49 years old now with a bad back and knees that creak when I bend them, I wouldn't trade my automatic for anything. But, you're right about winter driving, you definitely have more control with the manual. You gotta take the bad with the good though and when I'm crawling in LA, Chicago, New York or any other you name it city traffic my knee and my back thank me for not having to push that clutch.

 

I hate the hard shifts you get with an auto out of a stop.

 

The auto 10 w/clutch is nothing but a regular 10 spd with electronic solenoids controlled by the computer that will shift the gear selector and adjust the engine rpm for shifts. If you want to convert from auto to manual you just have to remove the solenoids,cut the shifter hole in the floor and install it then reprogram the ECU for a manual shift.When they work right,they are great.When they don't,it's a nightmare. Used to run in an 05 International 435 Cummins Eaton Autoshift and it was the best thing since sliced bread.Plenty of power,shift points were great and I knew little ways to make things run better.Like during acceleration pop your foot off the throttle around 1600-1800rpm it will upshift then while slowing down if you tap the throttle around 1100-1200rpm it will downshift.Made it easier to nor rap out the motor and get better fuel economy without having to reach down and mash the buttons all the time. Had the tranny start goin to crap around 435K miles. Got it replaced and worked like a charm.

 

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH MPG AN ULTRA SHIFT GETS(3:73 REARS)? VS. 10 SPEED TRANNY? WEIGHT 40,000 LBS., HILLY TERRAIN.

truckinwva

 

I hate to say I hate the auto shifter. With a passion.

I can name a million reasons but here are the top three. Backing up a hill, this thing forces you to hit the gas hard which shakes the #### out of the truck because it won't get into gear when backing up a hill.

Getting argued with when I want to up or downshift.

Extremely pissy little thing too, refuses to do what its told, breaks if you look at it funny.

 

Depends where you drive. Hills or flat. Also how well you shift, not over or under revving which has lots to do with brand and year of you engine.

 

Watching the sales video, the Ultra/Autoshift looks harder to drive than the regular old stick transmission. If you are going to spend time teaching yourself all of Auto/Ultrashift's idiosyncrasies, then why not just learn how to shift a manual and be done with it.


And why doesn't Allison make an OTR torque converter transmission? They make them for 45 foot long tour busses. Is it because of the jake brake issue???

 

I think you lose mpg in hilly terrain unless you use manual mode. I know from Grand Island ,NE to Bismarck, ND if I wait for it to shift I am going all the way to 8th on a lot of long grades. Never drove an Ultra just Auto shift. No problems. Keep hearing about jerking and problems backing up. Haven't had any of that. Shifting to reverse is just like any other. you have to push clutch hard to clutch brake. After that it's just like any other 10 spd. I don't know what all the fuss is about. If you are a truck driver you should be able to get into about any truck{9,10,13,15,18} and withing an hour know all the shift points and that trucks little quirks. They're all different and they're all the same.

 

They do make a transmission that will work in class 8 trucks. Their automatics are true automatics. The jake brakes work fine with the allision transmission. When you have a truck with an allision transmission in it you tend to run slightly higher rpm's at highway speed which in turn gives you worse fuel mileage. I have done two cross country trips with trucks the the allision in them and I still prefer a manual trans.