Automated Tranny Pros and Cons

One of the adjustments you end up making when you drive the current crop of AMT's is the human interface. I like the Freightliners the best, and it has become the standard in Europe.

The "cobra head" lever used on Paccar products with the Eaton Ultrashift Plus is ok, though I'd rather push the lever forward and backwards like a Tiptronic style lever vs using the buttons along the side which seem unnatural.

The iShift I drove still had the old seat side controls, I don't thin I'd like the dash push buttons very much as I tend to like to keep my seat pushed back...

 

Jensen Button got penalized for a radio transmission about his brakes. Nothing to do with his transmission gear box:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/125439

http://www.planetf1.com/news/button-baffled-by-radio-penalty/:

Jenson Button slammed Formula 1's radio communication restrictions after being penalised for McLaren assisting him with a problem during the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Briton slowed from eighth place early on when his brake pedal went to the floor due to a lack of hydraulic pressure.

McLaren diagnosed a sensor failure and informed Button of a switch change that would solve it.

Though Button then pitted, as the latest revision of the regulations demands drivers do when given technical advice, he was still given a drive-through penalty and believed this was because the message had come when he was still on track.

"It's a stupid regulation," he argued.

"I completely understand that drivers should not be fed information that helps us drive the car.

"I'm totally with that because I think it's wrong that we're told every corner where our team-mate is quicker or slower than us, and fuel saving should be down to us, and so many other things should be down to us.

"But when it's a safety concern with the brake pedal going to the floor, you shouldn't be penalised for stopping an accident, and that's what we did today.

"We're told that if you're told you have a problem you have to pit, and I'm guessing you have to pit earlier than we did.

"When you have a power unit that is so complex, a driver can't figure everything himself and when your brake pedal goes to the floor, I think of that as a safety concern.

"I think it's a joke really. Stopping an incident should be praised, not penalised.

"The sport's got a long way to go before it's good again."

An additional car problem left Button grappling with understeer, and he ultimately retired from a distant 19th with a late oil leak.

"It didn't make me want to be a Formula 1 driver," he said of the remainder of his race. "It wasn't very enjoyable at all."

Of course that is the press report given by the driver and his team. Jensen Button is the driver who lobbied for the rules restricting communication from the pits to the driver. Being a senior driver in F1 he felt too many engineers were back seat driving the car from the pits for the new entrants.

He had to be warned by his technical staff that his brakes were not building pressure because his brake peddle was trimmed to brake more with the KERS system (a Prius like Kenetic Energy Recovery System.) That communication over the radio is against the rules now.

Even though he has been driving these cars for years, he had to be instructed which dial on the steering wheel trimmed the brakes. Again, that is against the rules now. He should have done his pre-trip.

Then of course some choose words were broast over the radio for every fan with a scanner to hear. Again against the rules.

It had nothing to do with the gear box.

The solution to your problem of "truckers with a chip" in regards to your degree is simple; don't boast about your resume. Problem solved.

 

+1 TMB.

And if someone does put resume bullet points out there, they should expect to be asked questions ....certainly shouldn't get defensive about it. I have a modest engineering background myself but I don't put it out there because I'm not sure how much internet exposure I want to give my previous employer. I'm past the point of trying to be smart anyway. I realize know that KISS is better.........and calling folks a village idiot is a good way to get in trouble with the mods. Not that I ratted to them because I didn't.

 

I'll continue with my previous post in this thread, that I am not a fan.

 

Lol was that the tranny or DEF system? No doubt their is additional complexity, and for sure a good glider or rebuilt truck is still a solid option.

It's all about what you can live with, the newer AMT's are more reliable but yeah theirs another ECU and additional sensors that can fail...

 

OMG I feel your pain brother. Your picture is worth a thousand of my words. Holy crap.