Having been a Volvo driver up until now, I’ve been moved into a Scania unit. So in the Volvo it had the exhaust brake on the stork which was fine, I usually had it on notch two
Now from what I can tell this Scania has a button on the dash, on rhs next to steering wheel and a button on the floor. So I’m guessing engine brake and exhaust brake,
Basically I’d just like to ask how to get the best performance from the two, and that driver score crap etc! Do you use both together or favour one over the other depending on the load. So far I’ve had them both going and its a bit jolty to say the least, especially the floor brake approaching roundabouts, like a newbie riding the clutch pedal!
Other than that it seems like a lovely motor, the axle air suspension is more powerful, it lifts the trailer legs completely off the floor at 43.5 t, making it easier to wind them up, whereas the Volvo couldn’t manage it!
Btw there’s no truck manual in the cab otherwise I would of had a flick through that
When I drove a Scania, I didn’t bother with the exhaust brake. Whoever came up with the idea of having a button on the floor needs a slap. You can’t use both the service brakes and the exhaust at the same time using this method.
Blip the floor switch a early on a hill, it will drop a cog and put the revs hopefully somewhere near the blue band to be effective.
The driver score is made up of an average of 3 scores; rpms, braking, and hill acceleration. If you haven’t got 100% for rpms you are an idiot, go back to school.
Braking; it doesn’t matter how long you coast up to a junction, if you haven’t blipped the button on the floor a couple of seconds before you press the brake pedal, you aren’t getting 100% but if you do this 100% is easily achievable.
Hill acceleration; supposedly you are meant to lift off before the brow of a hill, and the lorry knows where you are, and as such you get rewarded for this fuel efficient way of driving. ■■■■■■■■! It’s not great at detecting hills, or indeed if you are accelerating or not! BUT no score registered means this doesn’t count towards your average, and it cannot generate a score if you use the cruise control. This means you can try and drive like a saint, and according to the software get 0% or use the cruise control early and often and aim for -% meaning your average is taken from 2 easy scores rather than 3.
We have 2 trucks fitted with this system, and we get our scores fed back each week. I regularly get in excess of 85% the other truck only 60%, the difference in fuel consumption is normally only 0.1mpg in my favour, showing just what a load ■■■■ the whole thing is. But getting a high score can’t hurt with the boss can it?
Radar19:
When I drove a Scania, I didn’t bother with the exhaust brake. Whoever came up with the idea of having a button on the floor needs a slap. You can’t use both the service brakes and the exhaust at the same time using this method.
Right foot on service brake, left foot on exhauster, surely?
If the button on the right is on, the first bit of travel on the brake pedal will activate the exhaust brake then press further and it will bring the normal brakes in along side the exhaust brake.
The button on the floor will also work the exhaust brake and if this is kept pressed down as the truck is slowing down it will keep dropping down gears as the revs will allow it.
Scania exhaust breaks are not a patch on the Volvo engine brake, a lot of noise for not a lot of anything else unless well down the gears.
Radar19:
When I drove a Scania, I didn’t bother with the exhaust brake. Whoever came up with the idea of having a button on the floor needs a slap. You can’t use both the service brakes and the exhaust at the same time using this method.
Right foot on service brake, left foot on exhauster, surely?
Left foot is fine for short legged people as the button is directly in front of the steering column with not much leg room, well it is on the 14 plate topline I am driving with 2 peddle opticruise, my first topline with this cab was in 1997 and that had far more leg room and had the 3 pedal opticruise with the exhaust brake button near the cluch pedal.
It seems that everything from the dash down has been moved back a few inches over the years taking up cab space including taking away the full size lower bunk.
Radar19:
When I drove a Scania, I didn’t bother with the exhaust brake. Whoever came up with the idea of having a button on the floor needs a slap. You can’t use both the service brakes and the exhaust at the same time using this method.
Do you not have two feet? Once upon a time nearly all trucks had a button on the floor for the exhaust brake
Can’t say I’ve ever used the button thing on the floor. If I’m going down hill and want a lower gear just knock it down on the stalk and it’ll hold in that gear unless you accelerate. On really steep long hills like around Bath I put it in manual and use the stalk shift.
Tris:
Can’t say I’ve ever used the button thing on the floor. If I’m going down hill and want a lower gear just knock it down on the stalk and it’ll hold in that gear unless you accelerate. On really steep long hills like around Bath I put it in manual and use the stalk shift.
I just use the brakes, no need to mess with the gearbox to slow down these days.
Tris:
Can’t say I’ve ever used the button thing on the floor. If I’m going down hill and want a lower gear just knock it down on the stalk and it’ll hold in that gear unless you accelerate. On really steep long hills like around Bath I put it in manual and use the stalk shift.
I just use the brakes, no need to mess with the gearbox to slow down these days.
I assume that isn’t a wind up?
you are not alone in that outlook sadly, some people masquerading as lorry driver instructors/trainers wrongly teach brakes to slow gears to go as a mantra, car and van drivers use the brakes alone, up to a point they would know no better but also those vehicles are not fitted with auxilliary braking anyway, lorry makers spend a fortune fitting such equipment, they don’t do so for fun, they expect it to be used.
Tris:
Can’t say I’ve ever used the button thing on the floor. If I’m going down hill and want a lower gear just knock it down on the stalk and it’ll hold in that gear unless you accelerate. On really steep long hills like around Bath I put it in manual and use the stalk shift.
I just use the brakes, no need to mess with the gearbox to slow down these days.
Probably true, but it feels more in control when the engine is taking a bit of the strain and you’re preserving some air.
Tris:
Can’t say I’ve ever used the button thing on the floor. If I’m going down hill and want a lower gear just knock it down on the stalk and it’ll hold in that gear unless you accelerate. On really steep long hills like around Bath I put it in manual and use the stalk shift.
I just use the brakes, no need to mess with the gearbox to slow down these days.
I assume that isn’t a wind up?
you are not alone in that outlook sadly, some people masquerading as lorry driver instructors/trainers wrongly teach brakes to slow gears to go as a mantra, car and van drivers use the brakes alone, up to a point they would know no better but also those vehicles are not fitted with auxilliary braking anyway, lorry makers spend a fortune fitting such equipment, they don’t do so for fun, they expect it to be used.
This is in an auto, I just leave it to do what it wants, not had many instances where I have felt the need to override the system by going into manual mode, currently driving a 450 scania and it copes quite well with out any input from me, the first auto I had was a 1997 V8 topline scania and that also could cope with what was slung at it.
I’ve had 2 incidents in 28 years involving brakes, 1st was maladjusted slack adjusters on the trailer and 2nd was tap was not switched on on service line both times trying to stop coming down a hill and that’s it and by that you will know how long ago that was, nearly all have auto adjusters and no taps to forget to turn on.
Tris:
Can’t say I’ve ever used the button thing on the floor. If I’m going down hill and want a lower gear just knock it down on the stalk and it’ll hold in that gear unless you accelerate. On really steep long hills like around Bath I put it in manual and use the stalk shift.
I just use the brakes, no need to mess with the gearbox to slow down these days.
I assume that isn’t a wind up?
you are not alone in that outlook sadly, some people masquerading as lorry driver instructors/trainers wrongly teach brakes to slow gears to go as a mantra, car and van drivers use the brakes alone, up to a point they would know no better but also those vehicles are not fitted with auxilliary braking anyway, lorry makers spend a fortune fitting such equipment, they don’t do so for fun, they expect it to be used.
Well Juddian, having read the two posts following your`s, yes it MUST be a wind up!
Franglais mate i don’t know even know where to begin is it me?, so everyone will be pleased to know i’ll give up and have a glass of cool cider instead.
Juddian:
Franglais mate i don’t know even know where to begin is it me?, so everyone will be pleased to know i’ll give up and have a glass of cool cider instead.
Next you will be saying that you are 1 or 2 of a handful of drivers left that will come down the hill in the same gear you went up in, unlike the ones that just let it go down windy hill regardless.
Although I didn’t ask the question, helpful thread here.
Usually drive a 2009 daf cf with a manual box. Easy enough slowing down, just engine brake on and change down the gears.
Unfortunately I kinda broke it, handles on the barn doors started seizing up and when we tried to open it the grease it all up the handle kinda snapped off. So for the next few days I’m in a hire truck, a 65 plate optibooze Scania.
It’ll make a nice change anyway, had a look at it today and a quick flick through the book to get the jist of how cruise control and auxiliary brakes work.
Nice to have a truck with a proper horn though, sick of the Austin metro esq angry wasp sounding horn on our DAF’s!
For the record it’s a 65’ Scania R490 auto box, and I definatley have the button on the dash always on. Think maybe I was over using the button on the floor too much, esp on the approach to roundabouts. If I wasn’t belted up it’d be throwing me against the windscreen
I’ll stick to using the button on the downhill where I thought it was the most useful, but yeah as mentioned it’s not a patch on the Volvo!
