Fuel Mileage - Automatic vs. Manual

Yes maybe I'm bone lazy, but as I was getting my licence in a 18 spd RR. 6 gears to make it through the intersection, heavy clutch, then all the rest of the stuff going with a semi. I thought no not for me, not every day. Sure it can all become second nature, but its also a lot of work.

12+ speed autos in trucks are not the same as car......yet, but they take very little management. Even if you pull up in manual mode because you are having "I'm in auto mode moment" the auto will compensate and move it to what ever gear it thinks will do to get it rolling again, or neutral if going nowhere. 9 out of 10 it has it right but its driver error if wrong not the autos. Or I can start off in say manual 2, then come to a stop, get rolling again then pop it into 4 all at the flick of a lever on the wheel. No foot work or jumping cab. Once happy I can put the show into auto with the press of a button. Alternatively just leave it in auto and do nothing but work the right foot.

In auto if I turn on the exhaust brake it drops a gear and will continue to do so if left on and speed dictates another gear. If I apply brakes it works with the lowering of speed to keep lowering gears. If in manual mode it will hold whatever gear until I tell it to change. In both modes it won't change if perimeters are not in spec. So it will never drop a gear into the red, rather change at near maximum engine braking performance and keep doing so if the auto feels it is not slowing fast enough. Always smooth, never crunches.

As someone said I can tell it what speed I want to descend a hill and it does the rest. All I have to do is keep it between the lines. In my line of work I have cars, bikes, motor homes, cars towing boats on the wrong side of the road on blind corners. Its steep, windy, narrow and often wet. Got pot holes, wash outs, fallen rocks or tress, even tourist doing 3 point turns on blind corners; an auto saves me a lot of metal energy while I'm trying to keep the show on the road lol.

 

You lost me man.

Sounds like trucking aint for you.
Its so #### easy to shift, you are making it out to be difficult.

 

I think that I should have opened a Hooters or Twin peaks restaurant 25 years ago, so i had quit before the BS began.

 

you are right, thats why I employ. I find the repetitive nature of driving plus the responsibility of "its always the truckers fault" with all the dick heads on the road not for me really. But I fill in now and then and driving an auto from the mountains to the suburbs is far easier than a manual. Staff and I are happy to be the lesser man that drives the auto. The real men amongst us can have all the 18 sps they need.

I think harping back to the OP, overall because autos are so precise with their changes and tuned for maximum economy, optimum torque at lowest revs; overall they have to be more efficient. By how much only an exact comparison would tell. Its those small %s that add up over kilometres however.

Same reason we are going to turn the 6x4 into a 6x2, again just a few more %.

 

Even if it's easy, fighting through stop and go traffic for three hours on I 5 through Seattle at 90K will make you wonder if there's not a better mouse trap than an 13/18 speed......

I've drank the KoolAid, next truck will be auto. We shall see..