13 speed question, help with splitting and rpms with shifting?

Yep, been there done that in an old Louisville….

 

I’m
Starting to wonder if some here can even look at the back of a 9 & a 13 and tell which one is which….

 

If you want to shift like a 9 speed you can. I do it if I’m loaded light and not in a hard pull. Just get your rpm’s up so when you do shift you’re not lugging the engine in the higher gear.

Once you get in the big cog flip it up into 13 if you need the extra road speed.

It will come in time, don’t be afraid to ask the owner questions, I’d much rather a person ask than act like they know when they don’t….

 

You can just split the highest gear or two unless you are heavy. The heavier you are the more helpful it is to split more gears.

 

Our 13spd is roughly a 200rpm gap when splitting a gear and roughly a 400rpm gap on a full gear change. No two are the same when you consider differences in trans, rearends and tire height but you can easily check by noting rpms while shifting.

 

You're overthinking it, man. It ain't like a Spicer 6x4...........

 

HA! I drove a tri-axle Ford dump truck for a buddy for a spell, 238 Deeetroit, and Spicer air 4x4, I never shifted a truck more than that one. It CONSTANTLY required a gear change. Talk about a worthless POS.

 

Just drive it like a 9-speed.

 

Just drive it like a 9-speed, especially if you're light. I only split my gears when I hit hills and start to lug a little. If my speed/rpm are still dropping, I'll shift down again. I'm almost never in 13 because on my truck, 13 means I'm doing over 70 at 1400 rpm, and I like to stay below 70. If I'm on pretty flat land out in the open road, then I'll shift to 13 and keep it at 65-69 at around 1300 rpm. But if the terrain is variable, like Iowa let's say, I'll keep it around 1500 rpm. But I have a Series 60, and those suckers don't like to be below 1400, so I just split enough to keep it at that level consistently.