Does anybody know what mechanical bits hide behind the automatic doodads? Are range changers and splitters still part of the drive chain?
paberriman:
Does anybody know what mechanical bits hide behind the automatic doodads? Are range changers and splitters still part of the drive chain?
Whatever the mechanicals are these autos seem to change slower than manual boxes , if car autos are so smooth and seemless why are the autos in hgv not as smooth?
Gillberry:
paberriman:
Does anybody know what mechanical bits hide behind the automatic doodads? Are range changers and splitters still part of the drive chain?Whatever the mechanicals are these autos seem to change slower than manual boxes , if car autos are so smooth and seemless why are the autos in hgv not as smooth?
Don’t know what auto box you’re using but the one in my Renault is silky smooth.
Gillberry:
paberriman:
Does anybody know what mechanical bits hide behind the automatic doodads? Are range changers and splitters still part of the drive chain?Whatever the mechanicals are these autos seem to change slower than manual boxes , if car autos are so smooth and seemless why are the autos in hgv not as smooth?
The typical lorry boxes we are talking about are not actually automatic boxes as such, not fitted with a torque converter enabling constant drive through a hydraulic box, they are a standard lorry box fitted with a normal clutch, and everything is controlled via solenoids and electronics, automated manual.
There are some comparable, and equally dreadful, automated manual gearboxes found in cars, PSA group (Peug/Cit) have one, started life as Sensodrive then renamed it EGS or some such piffle to make it sound better, it’s crap, Vauxhall had their version found in Corsa mainly, crap, Fiat too, crap, even Toyota had one too called MMT, crap, and if Toyota can’t make it work properly and reliably (they couldn’t) no one can and it’s been quietly dropped in everything except the Aygo the car it shares with PSA… 
Apparently twin clutch systems, like VW’s DSG box and there are others with various names from the other makers, is on the way for lorries, hope it’s more durable than VW’s car jobbie but time will tell…certainly a much faster change as the next gear is already in place, but in car application at least it’s achilees heel is still junctions and manoeuvers.
Be intersting to see if the twin clutch boxes, when they arrive, mated to the current strangled and gutless lorry engines, are any better in the real world.
On that note, arn’t most new euro lorries disappointing sad shadows of the ones they replace, plastic and bling and fairy lights and gutless to boot.
Think Volvo already make a DSG style gearbox. Its called the I shift Dual Clutch.
Transport News Scotland done a road test with a dual clutch recently:
transportnews.co.uk/2015/01/ … n-the-sun/
Juddian:
Gillberry:
paberriman:
Does anybody know what mechanical bits hide behind the automatic doodads? Are range changers and splitters still part of the drive chain?Whatever the mechanicals are these autos seem to change slower than manual boxes , if car autos are so smooth and seemless why are the autos in hgv not as smooth?
The typical lorry boxes we are talking about are not actually automatic boxes as such, not fitted with a torque converter enabling constant drive through a hydraulic box, they are a standard lorry box fitted with a normal clutch, and everything is controlled via solenoids and electronics, automated manual.
There are some comparable, and equally dreadful, automated manual gearboxes found in cars, PSA group (Peug/Cit) have one, started life as Sensodrive then renamed it EGS or some such piffle to make it sound better, it’s crap, Vauxhall had their version found in Corsa mainly, crap, Fiat too, crap, even Toyota had one too called MMT, crap, and if Toyota can’t make it work properly and reliably (they couldn’t) no one can and it’s been quietly dropped in everything except the Aygo the car it shares with PSA…
Apparently twin clutch systems, like VW’s DSG box and there are others with various names from the other makers, is on the way for lorries, hope it’s more durable than VW’s car jobbie but time will tell…certainly a much faster change as the next gear is already in place, but in car application at least it’s achilees heel is still junctions and manoeuvers.
Be intersting to see if the twin clutch boxes, when they arrive, mated to the current strangled and gutless lorry engines, are any better in the real world.
On that note, arn’t most new euro lorries disappointing sad shadows of the ones they replace, plastic and bling and fairy lights and gutless to boot.
Totally agree.The cab on mine is full of cheapo plastic and great if you are a fan of cup/bottle/can holders.
No real practical storage space for the likes of maps(i dont have a sat nav) 
Bar the odd shot of a puddle jumper I’ve not driven a manual lorry since 2009, I’m sure I could get the knack again after a shift in it, but weather I could pass an initial assessment is another question 
merc0447:
Bar the odd shot of a puddle jumper I’ve not driven a manual lorry since 2009, I’m sure I could get the knack again after a shift in it, but weather I could pass an initial assessment is another question
I had a manual axor a couple of months back, and I was surprised at how I quick I got used to it again. It was like I’d never been away from a manual box.
damoq:
Think Volvo already make a DSG style gearbox. Its called the I shift Dual Clutch.Transport News Scotland done a road test with a dual clutch recently:
transportnews.co.uk/2015/01/ … n-the-sun/
Thanks Damoq, interesting read that.
Would like to see how the box copes with heavy awkward manoeuvers, junctions and heavy traffic, but sounds a big improvement on Volvo’s already class leading current transmission.
I’ve never driven my new one in auto mode yet. 30000 km on the clock and every time I fire it up I engage “M”. Our driver trainer knows this and as he’s obsessed with fuel figures he’s constantly comparing the one I drive to the rest of the fleet. Up to now my style has never been bested by the others. I’m not a driving God, but I will always maintain that I can see the road ahead, whereas the computer can’t.
Juddian:
On that note, arn’t most new euro lorries disappointing sad shadows of the ones they replace, plastic and bling and fairy lights and gutless to boot.
No. I go up Windy Hill loaded at speeds I’d never have been able to do 10 years ago. Given you seem to like using yours in manual it suggests you probably don’t actually use it properly so for a given speed you’re in the wrong gear so aren’t getting the maximum torque which is why you think its gutless.
Let me guess, climbing hills you prefer to see it above the top of the green? Turning diesel into smoke, that’s all you’re doing. Maximum torque and thus the best ability to climb hills is a lot lower down the rev range.
Biggest advantage of an auto over manual truck is the dreaded trips into London, with the constant stop start in traffic, you always knew you had been in with a manual box, unlike the hassle free trip in an auto, any and other stop start scenario in this traffic choked society we no live in.
I have the repetitive strain injuries which I believe are caused by constant manual gear changing, knackered left knee and knackered left shoulder, so after 26 years driving, I will now only take a job that involves driving an auto.
I was first offered a new Auto box MAN about 10/11 years ago, I told the guvnor unless he got me another manual I was off…so he did.
Since then I have changed my mind and wouldn’t want to go back to a manual now, maybe I’ve just got lazy. 
I remember having a Scania 81 demo in about 1980 with a, I suppose , prototype auto box. It was a hideous bloody thing. the control lever looked like the undercarriage control of a Lancaster Bomber or something 
do any of the older lads remember them or was it all a dream?