Dear Smart Shift/Ultra Shift Automatic...
 

Hey there sweet thing, i just want to say i had fun with you tonight. I think i'm getting a little crush on you or have one for that matter. I can't believe how smooth you was, how sweet you sounded and how well you shift. Hell i didn't know i could manually shift you with the paddle next to the steering wheel. I have to admit, i was down on you everysince i first heard about you. Hell because of you i said no to U.S. Xpress. Come on, i've been in love with the 10 speed since day 1. I didn't know anything else but my 10 speed. So again smart shift i'm so sorry, i hope you forgive and maybe we can further our relationship, but i still love my 10 speed and it's going to be hard to give it up. Maybe you can also reach the hearts of other Smart shift doubters (like myself), such as Mackman, Mack 2, and others.. I think if they gave you a chance you could probably. change their heart's also!!!

P.S. the cousin shifter you have on the dash in other trucks... LOOKS LIKE IT SUCKS!!! lol... Ju

Sounds like you need to get some quality hometime...you know what I mean .

Automatic = POS.

.

Hey Kranky. Have you ever driven a truck with automatic? I would take a automatic over manual any day

POS? Seriously? Start naming the problems, then. Me, for instance, can name the exact opposite:

1 - Better fuel mileage. My 2002 Volvo 770 450hp ISX autoshift gets better mileage than any truck in our fleet. Our fleet consists of Volvo 670's and Freightliner Columbia's ranging from 2001 to 2005 models.

2 - DECREASED maintenance. The clutch in my truck is only used for starting/stopping.

3 - EXACT same weight (ok, so it's MAYBE 5 pounds heavier). An autoshift Eaton is the same as an Eaton straight-10, with the addition of a shift plate (has 2 electric motors) and a computer.

4 - In the past 8 years of my driving, I have driven an autoshift for all of that except for about 1 year. In that time, I have had ONE problem relating to the autoshift. The shifter went bad. Other than that, I've had ONE clutch go out, and that was the springs in the pressure plate.

5 - Faster downshifting. I GUARANTEE that you can't downshift as fast as my truck can. And, yes, the truck will hit every gear even in an emergency stop.

6 - Less fatigue. Every driver that has driven both an autoshift and a manual knows how much less tired they are at the end of the day.

Want more? Just ask.

I love people that say auto's are a POS but have absolutely NO experience in them.

Nicely said MaL.........

Yes, as a matter of fact I have, and I disliked it intensely.

I prefer to call the shots when it comes to shifting gears, I don't need a computer to do it for me.

If you guys like the automatics, that's great, more power to ya.

Ok, so since YOU don't like to let a computer shift the gears, that makes them a POS?

5 Pounds heaver then the Double-clutch BS??? I would go on a diet to even that out just to get an autoshift truck!!!

Double clutch ...what experienced driver/hand uses a clutch for much more than starting/stopping ?...Now I would an Auto would be great for really bad stop/go traffic .

Oh... like Chicago!!!! :bigthumbsup:

Couldn't have said it better myself!!!!!!!!!!!:clap:

No kidding, my clutch is only used when the truck is leaving a stop light :)

I have heard from some guys that the new autshifts are a hell of an improvement over what they initially came out with years ago and they are a work of art.

I have no experience with them but I don't think I would hate them.

I heard the automatics were made so more women could be truck drivers......

:roll:

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

You heard that from someone whom hates women truck drivers...or Women in general.:hellno::hellno::hellno::hellno:

Automatics have been around for 45 years, in trucks. Until the mid 90's they were mostly "Vocational" trucks. Mining and Oilfield trucks mostly. Once they reduced the transmissions design and weight, they started mass producing them for OTR equipment...to reduce driver abuse on the equipment.:thumbsup:

Just a joke!

I agree with you --- the autoshift is a joke

Yes I have driven both and I will stick to my 18 speed or a 13 speed any day ---- but then what the hell do I know, I'm just a rookie, after all I've only been driving 30 years.

Gunfighter

13 speeds only

So why is it a joke?

Frankly, im tired of shifting gears. i drive a 13 now and i would trade it for an auto anyday.

You can get auto's with 10, 13, 15 & 18spd tranny's. A Volvo 880 with the 650hp Volvo engine and an 18spd would be a sweet combo.

My autoshift is a 12 speed

Because there are many times that because of load/road conditions you may need to shift early or late. My 18 speed gives me that option an auto does not.

Gunfighter

Simple solution to that problem:

Step 1 - Push "M" (for manual)
Step 2 - Push "Up" or "Down"

or, if you need the truck to downshift faster (for emergency stops):
Step 1 - Push "L" (for Low)

Wow - that was hard...

Look I have driven auto's and you do NOT have the same positive control that you have with a stick. I will admit that the slush boxes are getting better but they still have a long way to go. Try pulling 100,000 + in a set of double tanks through the mountains in the middle of a winter storm and then get back to me.

Gunfighter

Slush boxes ? ...pretty sure the auto is just like the standard but with a bunch of electronics doing the job of deciding when to clutch ...plus i'm pretty sure the system is pneaumatic not hydraulicy actuated...so no slush to be had ...you drove an auto b4 ?

The only part of the transmission that is shifted by air is the range selecter, same as in a standard transmission. The only difference to that is that it has an electronic module to activate the air on it. The shifting itself is done by 2 electric motors.

I can GUARANTEE that if there were 2 tranmissions sitting on the ground, one autoshift (with the electronics removed) and one manual, there's no way you could tell the difference. Why? Because they're the SAME transmission.

That's what I figured ,but never had one ...Well werner had 8spds with auto 8-9 ,but never had a full auto , but you would figure a person who really drove an auto would know that it's not a hdraulic trans like a car .

My right shoulder is getting worse with arthritis. Actually, I'm considering shoulder replacement surgery for this winter...maybe. Going in for an MRI in 3 weeks, and then discuss further with my Doctor. Downtime is going to be a couple months, and I'm not too happy about that, but what can you do?

I guess I wouldn't mind finishing out the next 10 years of driving with a automatic.
But I'll miss my old love...13 speed Eatme Fuller. Ahh..baby, you were so sweet to me. You kept me interested all these years, and I loved the way you submitted yourself, when I needed you so badly! Yet you resisted and made me work for your love, and kept me on top of my game. Sorry for the times I felt I had to manhandle you...and you could have reported me for abuse.
I'll never forget all those moments we shared...you right by my side...I'd caress you tickling your g-spot until you gave me the hole, then I'd slip us into gear, and take control of the moment, yet you did all the work, and I just watched. When I was a young driver, I'd be so impatient with you, and you made me learn to take it easy.

................you know what. No...I'm gonna get that operation. I'll still feel like a man, even though a part of me will be missing. Wait for me baby. :o

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...uck_Driver.jpg

Good God --- I have called automatics "slush boxes" since I learned to drive back in the damn 50's.

Yes I have driven an auto --- one trip of about 1500 miles return while my unit was in the shop and I was happy to get back in a real truck with an 18 speed.

You can call them what ever you wish and you can drive what ever you wish, that is why there is more than one kind of truck, engine, transmission and rear end.

I will stick to my 18 speed thank you.

Gunfighter

Amen!!!!!!:thumbsup:

While we're on this subject, here's a shift pattern diagram for the transmissions we had back when I started out:

http://www.macktrucks.com/dealers/as...ages//8_66.jpg
Once you got used to shifting one of these it was possible to shift it just as smoothly as any automatic.

2 hand shifts were required to keep the engines of that time in the proper RPM range of 1500 to 2100 RPM (yes, you put your left arm through the steering wheel and shifted the compound with your left hand while shifting the main with your right hand, without using the clutch of course).

Sounds very well thought out by the engineers ,as I can't see anything wrong with needing both hands off the wheel to shift ...

I just bought an '01 Freightliner Condo and had my doubts about the auto...but this one has the clutch and I drove it from Greensboro to Roanoke for the company inspection and man I'll tell you....I flat love it.

Opinion is subject to change in the future, but that tranny is slicker than blowing your nose between 2 cubes of ice :)

really have gotten to love my auto, only time i miss it is offroad jobsites and in the winter. but if you use your brake to control wheel spin when the trans engages you can keep your drives from digging in.

Something that cracks me up about people who don't like autoshifts because "they don't have control over the transmission" arguement - when was the last diesel engine built that was purely mechanical? Everything on today's engine is controlled by a computer. The driver can work the throttle all they want, but if the computer decides to set the max rpm to 700, the driver has no choice. If the engine changes the torque curve, the driver has no choice. If the engine changes when/if the turbo wastegate opens, the driver has no choice.