Daf as-tronic help please....LUCY?

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Hello Guys new to this site and im looking a little help please.
Just starting into a new job and my new home will be an astronic daf cf85. very well turned out and really looking forward to it BUT i need help with the astronic setup.
Im used to manual sifts and deffo more at home with it but i have been doing a load of reading on the astronic setup and have noticed a trend in that a boat load of folks hate it with a passion but i also have seen plenty of people that love it.
That says to me that its something that needs to be worked with and learned to get the best out of it.
This is where my plea to LUCY comes in LOL HELP ME

havent had to hook into a trailer yet only fired up 200 miles on her so far and they were solo to have work carried out. tomorrow im heading down to collect it and the trailer to come home and ill be ripping into the new work on monday morning with the boss for a week. He is as fresh to the as-tronic as i am and has much the same opinion. he is time served with daf and rekons the technology is bang on but does need to be mastered.
Main issues so far

  • Starting off on a hill makes me nervous without the clutch creep you get in normal autos. the book says apply handbrake, press accelerator fully and release handbrake… havent tried that but im kinda expecting it to try and wheelie. :open_mouth: I havent noticed the bite point on it just yet, im getting close but still rather jerky sometimes. Will she hold herself for the second i need to get off nice and sweet on the bite or still want to roll back with out the HB on■■?

  • rolling up to a roundabout and sliding into a gap nicely. I got hung out to dry once and havent attempted it since. I KNOW this is my fault so whats the procedure for getting it to pick the right gear and continuing on just right.

  • Bumps in the road making my right foot go flat out while its already choosing a gear for me seems to mess its head up good and proper.

probably a few other things that will pop up during the discussion but for now tips to help with the above from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

as for a first impression on the box. nice to use and such a relaxed drive i have very high hopes that ill love it if i get used to working properly. I hate driving my fathers auto jeep so the fact that i was enjoying the (albeit too short ) first drive in the daf really suprised me.

Cheers for any help and sorry for the long winded post but hopefully the right peeps will read and help me out a little

Jeff

2

Good luck. IME, the DAF is the worst of all the automatics. The best way to deal with it is to return it to the dealer and ask them to replace it with a proper gearbox :wink:

3

first of all, you say it is the ASTronic, does it still have the stumpy little gear stick? some models have had that removed, so it would be fully automatic, with the gearstick, you can change the “mode” to semi auto, so that you can tell the box when to change

if it has the gear stick, there is a “hidden” reverse, ask Jessicas Dad, i told him where it was :laughing: :laughing:

as for the roundabouts, you have to plan ahead a little bit more than you would with a manual, do not leave the throttle pedal right to the last second, press it slightly earlier and it will get the gear and be ready to go, this will come with experience of the auto box.

try not to rush the box too much on the acceleration, the one i have seems to be a right little 4 letter ■■■ word :laughing: :laughing: the more i rush it, the longer it takes to change :angry:

hill starts, well, that depends on the severity of the hill, a slight grafient, you should be able to get from brake pedal to gthrottle pedal without a noticeable roll back, but as the manual says, handbrake, then throttle, then release handbrake, you will get the hang of it whichever way you choose, you will actually do both methods

if you are on a road where cruise control can be used, use it, it will avoid the uncontrollable gear changes caused by bumpy roads

i have been driving DAFs for quite while now with the ASTronic box, i like them, but others hate them, it is all personal choice really

hope this helps

4

Naa i dont agree to that. or at least not yet. i have been used to the manuals and its all new to me but i cant see any decent truck company lashing out a gearbox thats simply put, crap.
My issues are just that, MINE, not the trucks. for now its getting the benifit of the doubt till i can say honestly i have TRIED and gave the box a chance.
hey if nothing else it will keep my head occupied with trying out new things. Im especially looking forward to trying out the hill start as described by the book, even the boss giggled when i told him what it said, his exact words where " that sounds like it would be fun to watch, i rekon it will try to wheelie" id agree but ill give it a go, on a very empty road tho!!

5

word of advice, don’t press the accelerator fully before releasing the handbrake :open_mouth: :open_mouth:

it won’t wheelie, but it will make for an uncomfortable start off, also, it can overload the clutch if you keep the handbrake on for too long

6

shuttlespanker:
word of advice, don’t press the accelerator fully before releasing the handbrake :open_mouth: :open_mouth:

it won’t wheelie, but it will make for an uncomfortable start off, also, it can overload the clutch if you keep the handbrake on for too long

Thats along my lines of thinking but surley the book wouldnt be saying something that would cause harm■■? my htoughts on it are there is something in the truck thats going to know that under those conditions that your looking to do a hill start and the truck is now going to do its best to help you with it■■? time will tell i just want to give it a good shot and enjoy driving her knowing that i understand how the box behaves and that im using it to the fullest.

7

When you use the footbrake, the gearbox isn’t driving so it will roll back. Always try and use the park brake from stationary. Also, I always found that on roundabouts it would try to change gear just as you got underway, usually as some-one hurtled at your offside. I got round that by switching to manual shift on roundabouts and holding it in one gear a bit longer. You don’t have to thrash it, but at least you keep moving instead of the interminable pause as it selects a gear. I haven’t driven one on a heavy unit for a while, but I seem to remember manually changing right up to 7th on a roundabout, then dropping back into auto. Weston Super Mare M5 offramp northbound was (is) always a bugger.

I’ve recently been driving a Daf 18 tonner with an auto box. Makes me laugh - there is a dirty great sticker telling you to always pull away in 1st, but the auto box ALWAYS starts off in 2nd :unamused:

8

dont floor it with the handbrake on. I done than in a new stralis and smoked the clutch

9

smoker:
Always try and use the park brake from stationary.

.

If you mean the auxiliary brake I would agree.

smoker:
I’ve recently been driving a Daf 18 tonner with an auto box. Makes me laugh - there is a dirty great sticker telling you to always pull away in 1st, but the auto box ALWAYS starts off in 2nd

Most of the autos I’ve driven start off in a lot higher gear than that, 4th or more.

I still say autos are pointless and unnecessary things, only any good for poor, lazy or maybe novice drivers.

10

You have my sympathies Jeff. We have a mix of DAF CF’s and Volvo globetrotters both with auto boxes and the DAF is by far the worse of the 2.

  • Starting off on a hill makes me nervous without the clutch creep you get in normal autos. the book says apply handbrake, press accelerator fully and release handbrake… havent tried that but im kinda expecting it to try and wheelie. I havent noticed the bite point on it just yet, im getting close but still rather jerky sometimes. Will she hold herself for the second i need to get off nice and sweet on the bite or still want to roll back with out the HB on■■?

Not really a problem with roll back but takes forever to get going due to, IMHO, an excessive delay in the hand brake releasing. If I am at a complete stop I’ll always put the hand brake on to bring the revs up to the lower end of the green band, release the handbreak, put the kettle on and make a brew (this is a joke to emphasise the time taken) then pull off.

  • rolling up to a roundabout and sliding into a gap nicely. I got hung out to dry once and havent attempted it since. I KNOW this is my fault so whats the procedure for getting it to pick the right gear and continuing on just right.

Again it’s the interminable delay in selecting a gear. My solution is to use the exhaust break as you approach the roundabout as this “persuades” the gearbox to step down. Take the EB off before you reach the roundabout, 10 -15m, and you should be in the appropriate gear to slip in and and not embarrass yourself. Remember that the gear box cannot see what is going on round the truck and relies on what you, the driver, tells/asks it to do.

  • Bumps in the road making my right foot go flat out while its already choosing a gear for me seems to mess its head up good and proper.

Yep they do that and apart from using the cruise control you just have to learn to live with because the change point, from 11 to 12, seems to be at just about 38-41 mph. If it is happening above that speed then it sounds as though you are hitting the “kick down”. In this case I would respectfully suggest that you are being a little heavy with the right boot as I don’t get this unless I choose to at the start of a climb.

When the DAFs were new to the depot we were given a laminated ASTronic guide sheet. If you think it would help, and I can find it, I’ll scan it and e-mail it to you. It’s a single sheet, double sided A4. PM me an e-mail address if you need this and I’ll have a look later today.

11

This box has had a little bit of a discussion on here Clicky clicky and I have come to the conclusion that they aren’t the best boxes in the world.

One thing I did find though is that if you are approaching a roundabout and in too high a gear then accelerate to make the gap it virtually leaves you in no mans land with a twitchy bum hole, but if you use the retarder all the way down (you don’t need to take your foot off it anyway) and then give the throttle a tiny ‘blip’ when you get close to the line it will select the right gear for you and away you go. Its still not like a manual but it does get easier. Also like someone has said earlier in the thread, as soon as you get off the roundabout whack the cruise control on and let the wagon do the work, no jerky acceleration or anything, just a lot of chopping and changing on hills!

As for hill starts, don’t worry too much about them, I was loaded with 22 pallets of tatty’s and it held ok on the hills. Release the park brake and you have about a second to press the pedal and then it sort of releases, slower than normal for some reason. No roll back or anything but the first few times I had a few kangaroo moments, it just takes practice.

Good luck mate but in all reality, you will never beat a manual for driver control.

12

should be heading down to collect it in a few hours and finally getting to pull a trailer with it so ill have a bit of play time later today and all over the weekend to get used to it. ic ant say im bothered whether i drive manual or auto in the truck, always been used to manual and the way i see it this is just something new to master. cars are a different story tho. manual all the way in them.
cheers for the tips guys and ill let you know how it goes later on

Jeff

13

the as tronic is the second best gearbox after the i shift. ive got an o4 reg one and it is fine, i just feather the accelerator and it clicks away quite happily in the green band. roundabouts just take a bit of thinking about and hill starts use the handbrake as stated.

14

Like most thing (videos, mobile phones etc) try and read the manual first and then go and have a play! I’m sure our autos have a “hill hold” switch on the dash, so you press the footbrake and it will hold it, until you press the accelerator to go again, will check it out this afternoon. :confused:

15

I’ve driven about 15 XF 410 in the last two years, they all have slight differences. Fitter once said they had a new software package but they didn’t tell anyone! Any way…I like the AStronic, or more to the point, I don’t dislike it.

Hills are easy. From standstill HOLD the HB half on to remain stationery, revs up to lower green band and as the cab twists, the clutch bites, release the last bit of the handbrake, away you go, 44 tonnes, smooth as silk. Don’t floor it, two thirds will do.

Down long hills, select manual, press and hold the exhaust brake, drop a gear or two with the paddle to get the revs in the blue band and hold at 60 ish by dabbing the footbrake.

I got hung out to dry once on roundabout… we all have, planning!

My solution is to use the exhaust break as you approach the roundabout as this “persuades” the gearbox to step down.

You can also make it step down another two or three manually.

Bumps in the road making my right foot go flat out …

Sit with your right heel on the floor and use your ankle, not your leg. This should stop you hitting the kick down.

…and apart from using the cruise control

Never use cruise myself, always the speed limiter. YOU hold the pedal down, the wagon just trundles on at 30 -40- 50

Note. These are not instructions, just my observations over two years use. Each to his/her own.

16

Going forwards they ain’t too bad. Up hill starts are OK but as you said, you need to use the handbrake. You can tell when the box has it’s bite by the engine tone. As for reversing, it’s a pig. You have no accurate control the way you do in a manual and will more than likely be banging into every loading bay you reverse onto.
Don’t try any racing starts at the traffic lights 'cos you’ll get nowhere, any manual truck will leave you standing. It’s just a slow and easy pull away what ever you try. If you leave it in fully auto it will slowly work it’s way through all the gears. Best put it in semi and jump gears two at a time. It’s got a kick down the same as a car but I always found it best to keep it in semi and change manually.

17

MrFlibble:
Good luck. IME, the DAF is the worst of all the automatics. The best way to deal with it is to return it to the dealer and ask them to replace it with a proper gearbox :wink:

seconded, i hate auto CFs

18

I leave it fully auto and go brilliant fun as for hill starts has it not got the hill start switch :confused: I sometimes drive a xf 105 and that has. Only downside my right foot gets cramp nothing to do :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

19

ive posted replies on her b4 about this box 1st off all 4 get the word automatic ,its not point n shoot as in grandad in his cortina its a constant mesh geerbobox(crash)with an automatied clutch (computer driven)this box is top notch better than i [zb] in the volvo u just need to no how to drive it,

( language edit, rule 3 ) jd

20

Got her up the road today and all the nice bits are almost all on so it will be home and into my care for good from tomorrow afternoon, looking forward to it. And as for the drive home… I really can see why people would fall in love with the as-tronic system, have the roundabouts ■■■■ near sorted and hill starts are fine now so im all chuffed , still making plenty of gaffs with the timing of some changes but all in all im extremely suprised. i bloody well hate auto cars and am sooo glad this isnt the same. on the way home i even took a detour that had a few more hills and a good few more roundabouts just to play with it some more and thats something i havent felt like doing in a long time with a truck. Simply put it strikes me as a system that if you put a little effort into learning how to work it right it will reward you well.
The only drive i ever had in an i-shift was with a mate who described his as just a big fat auto car and boring to drive, since i was only a passenger i cant comment on which would be better but i would guess that id not be as keen on i shift as as-tronic.