manual or auto

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You make a valid piont. I bet it could be done just look at how far everthing has came why couldnt a manual tranny? instead of putting a bulky slow shifting pos tranny why not make a heavier torque rated normal pickup manual?

I dont think nothing is POS about a tranny that goes down the road at 2000 ftlbs wieghing 80000 lbs

I guess I will just keep feeling "superior" driving my out dated slow shifting POS and when your computer or shift controller goes out on the allmighty automatic Ill just driveby and wave...

Lol, see that's exactly what I mean. I don't go around and tout about how "reliable or cool" my automatic is. But it seem the manual guys are just so superior that all others that don't shift their own gears must be either stupid or lazy.

I don't get it. The manuals had their place in a pickup. He'll I've owned ZF 5's and 6's. I still do. But I can go out and ruin a ZF by power shifting it with the short throw shifter I have in about three synchro breaking, lightning slow shifts under full power. I can also make it last forever by using it like it was intended ..... Behind a stock truck doing mediocre work. I've ruined them all even 4-5rs. The 5rs are by far tougher in stock form. And I couldn't kill the 6r .... Yet. But ZF 5-6 cannot handle ANY abuse without the syncro's taking a ****. Blown master/slave cyl, bent clutch forks, bad syncro's, broken shift forks .... etc. but I guess they must be so much more reliable since all you guys keep touting the reliability of them.

I have two zf's right now. One in my pulling truck and one in my old pulling truck. But I drive an auto. Does that make me less smart?

And I guess that the computer shift thingy that's gonna break so you can drive by and wave. It must be a problem i haven't head of yet? I've never had a TCM go bad.

Come on now. We all understand you love your manual. But there is a lot of reasons that they were less popular and are no longer offered. But please don't say that autos are dumb because you don't have to be skilled to drive them. And really, the whole reliability thing isn't gonna fly here either.
 

7.3 Cowboy

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Lol, see that's exactly what I mean. I don't go around and tout about how "reliable or cool" my automatic is. But it seem the manual guys are just so superior that all others that don't shift their own gears must be either stupid or lazy.

I don't get it. The manuals had their place in a pickup. He'll I've owned ZF 5's and 6's. I still do. But I can go out and ruin a ZF by power shifting it with the short throw shifter I have in about three synchro breaking, lightning slow shifts under full power. I can also make it last forever by using it like it was intended ..... Behind a stock truck doing mediocre work. I've ruined them all even 4-5rs. The 5rs are by far tougher in stock form. And I couldn't kill the 6r .... Yet. But ZF 5-6 cannot handle ANY abuse without the syncro's taking a ****. Blown master/slave cyl, bent clutch forks, bad syncro's, broken shift forks .... etc. but I guess they must be so much more reliable since all you guys keep touting the reliability of them.

I have two zf's right now. One in my pulling truck and one in my old pulling truck. But I drive an auto. Does that make me less smart?

And I guess that the computer shift thingy that's gonna break so you can drive by and wave. It must be a problem i haven't head of yet? I've never had a TCM go bad.

Come on now. We all understand you love your manual. But there is a lot of reasons that they were less popular and are no longer offered. But please don't say that autos are dumb because you don't have to be skilled to drive them. And really, the whole reliability thing isn't gonna fly here either.


I was mainly poking fun like you did about me thinking I was better lol.

I haven't said that autos are dumb and aren't they both have there place I just like the manual better.

I have never heard of a Tcn going bad but seems like everything goes bad sometime so that no different

I know why they aren't as popular and aren't offered anymore . They are reliable for what they were intended just like a auto
 
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I was mainly poking fun like you did about me thinking I was better lol.

I haven't said that autos are dumb and aren't they both have there place I just like the manual better.

I have never heard of a Tcn going bad but seems like everything goes bad sometime so that no different

I know why they aren't as popular and aren't offered anymore . They are reliable for what they were intended just like a auto

Sounds good bud. Everyone likes what they like. Ill admit its fun every once in a while to shift a manual. I just grew tired after having so many of them.
 

7.3 Cowboy

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Sounds good bud. Everyone likes what they like. Ill admit its fun every once in a while to shift a manual. I just grew tired after having so many of them.

That's for sure. I'm only 21 so I haven't grew tired of rowing gears yet, although I've had days after spending 12 hrs driving a semi around city and short trips I wish I could just put in d and go
 

m j

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Lol, see that's exactly what I mean. I don't go around and tout about how "reliable or cool" my automatic is. But it seem the manual guys are just so superior that all others that don't shift their own gears must be either stupid or lazy.

I don't get it. The manuals had their place in a pickup. He'll I've owned ZF 5's and 6's. I still do. But I can go out and ruin a ZF by power shifting it with the short throw shifter I have in about three synchro breaking, lightning slow shifts under full power. I can also make it last forever by using it like it was intended ..... Behind a stock truck doing mediocre work. I've ruined them all even 4-5rs. The 5rs are by far tougher in stock form. And I couldn't kill the 6r .... Yet. But ZF 5-6 cannot handle ANY abuse without the syncro's taking a ****. Blown master/slave cyl, bent clutch forks, bad syncro's, broken shift forks .... etc. but I guess they must be so much more reliable since all you guys keep touting the reliability of them.

I have two zf's right now. One in my pulling truck and one in my old pulling truck. But I drive an auto. Does that make me less smart?

And I guess that the computer shift thingy that's gonna break so you can drive by and wave. It must be a problem i haven't head of yet? I've never had a TCM go bad.

Come on now. We all understand you love your manual. But there is a lot of reasons that they were less popular and are no longer offered. But please don't say that autos are dumb because you don't have to be skilled to drive them. And really, the whole reliability thing isn't gonna fly here either.


remove the synchros.
ever ride a motorcycle?
they do not use synchros
face tooth

everything you mention is why racing transmissions do not use synchros
 

Charles

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To clarify from a preferential standpoint, IF.... a manual trans existed for a superduty that would not go into thermonuclear meltdown when towing, would shift cleanly and smoothly without self-destructing its own syncros if you wanted to shift faster than an old man in a walker takes a step, and the clutch disengagement mechanism wasn't plastic junk, or simply worked, then I would still be running ONE!

But, here on planet earth, that's all fantasy, and doesn't actually happen. So I threw the pos in the trash and moved on.

I have absolutely NO problem shifting gears every second I'm driving. That bothers me zero. If the pos would work, I would HAPPILY make every single shift, every single minute, every single day with a smile.

I don't get tired of shifting or anything like that. I get tired of a pos trans giving up syncros, not fully disengaging the clutch because the pos plastic junk hydros are crapped, the throwout bearing has eaten into the diaphragm fingers, the fork is warped, the plastic fork pivot is trashed, the pos plastic line has swelled from the master, the bushing at the pedal is worn... blah, blah, blah...

Neverminding the fact that I drove this truck for about a decade with one, or the 95 we had before that with the ZF5, every single truck I've had before that that were all manuals, I actually learned to drive period, in a manual transmission equipped jeep Cherokee when I was 4 or 5. I have no problem with a manual transmission. I only have problems with things that don't work. The manual transmission in a superduty doesn't work over 2xxhp continuously, and ~550hp for street duty because of the clutch needed to hold that power no longer shifting worth a damn. And the pos plastic junk clutch hydros won't consistently work well at ANY power level!


I don't drive a 4R100 every day because I got tired of shifting. I still manually shift my 4R100!!! I drive a 4R100 every day because I don't ever fight it into gear, I don't feel syncros getting worse and worse month after month, I don't have to wash my clutch off every time I get the slightest diesel or oil leak in the valley, I don't have to refuse to let service techs pull my truck into a shop because they will (yes, it happened) ram it into something trying to ride a ceramic clutch that won't have it, so on and so forth.

With the ZF, everything is a fight, and at the end of the day you drive a slower truck, that can't tow as much, and will never blow the tires off from a roll while shifting through gears under power....

You could "powershift" that ZF.... once..... maybe.... lol.

I just wanted a couple of you to understand my perspective. I have ALWAYS driven manuals. I have ZERO problem shifting my own gears, and even with the auto I STILL DO. In fact, I REFUSE to allow it to run full auto if I'm doing anything other than driving down flat, straight road. I hate a full auto even worse than a pos ZF6!
 
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Charles

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remove the synchros.
ever ride a motorcycle?
they do not use synchros
face tooth

everything you mention is why racing transmissions do not use synchros


Maybe you should apply for a job at ZF or New venture... show those boys how it's done. I'm sure a nice, heavy rotating assembly needed for 800 or so lb/ft of torque will work just fine if you treat it like a cute little motorcycle trans you can hold in one hand, lol.

A lot of options disappear for a manual when the torque input climbs. The necessary girth of the components dictates how you can, and cannot speed and slow them and how quickly you can do so with any practical amount of force.
 

mandkole

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The only remaining advantage in a manual today is the acquisition cost of a new unit. There is absolutely NOTHING advantageous about a manual transmission today from a performance perspective. In class 2-7, the manual has gone the way of the dodo bird... In class 8 trucks in 2013, 30+% of north american production is going to be automated transmissions. By 2017, my guys at Daimler trucks say it will be 65%.

The fleets are quickly realizing that the fuel economy improvements of the 'smarter' autos offsets the upfront cost increase. Most drivers can skillfully drive a manual, but, they cannot manage the engine like the automated trans. A fleet can put a caveman into the seat and get top fuel economy...
 

Buffalo444

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The only remaining advantage in a manual today is the acquisition cost of a new unit. There is absolutely NOTHING advantageous about a manual transmission today from a performance perspective. In class 2-7, the manual has gone the way of the dodo bird... In class 8 trucks in 2013, 30+% of north american production is going to be automated transmissions. By 2017, my guys at Daimler trucks say it will be 65%.

The fleets are quickly realizing that the fuel economy improvements of the 'smarter' autos offsets the upfront cost increase. Most drivers can skillfully drive a manual, but, they cannot manage the engine like the automated trans. A fleet can put a caveman into the seat and get top fuel economy...

The only thing unfortunate about this is it gives companies an excuse to underpay their drivers even more.
 

Binder man

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If you want to get into real transmissions. Lets stick a fully automated manual in a truck such as a ZF Automat..As much as people want to complain about automatic semis, most are not "truly" automatics. Most are genius machines that can shift that manual box perfectly and effortlessly everytime, never grind a gear and always RPM match the shafts perfectly before completing a shift, and do it faster than most truck drivers can row their own gears.

I know this might piss off some semi drivers but its the truth, I've been around a lot of drivers and everyone of them occasionally doesn't get a shift just right. Now put speed sensors on those shafts and voila the computer can make perfect shifts. Strength of a non-synchronized box with the speed of a automatic.
 

Charles

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If you want to get into real transmissions. Lets stick a fully automated manual in a truck such as a ZF Automat..As much as people want to complain about automatic semis, most are not "truly" automatics. Most are genius machines that can shift that manual box perfectly and effortlessly everytime, never grind a gear and always RPM match the shafts perfectly before completing a shift, and do it faster than most truck drivers can row their own gears.

I know this might piss off some semi drivers but its the truth, I've been around a lot of drivers and everyone of them occasionally doesn't get a shift just right. Now put speed sensors on those shafts and voila the computer can make perfect shifts. Strength of a non-synchronized box with the speed of a automatic.


They are good for hauling, but you still cannot make a powered shift. And I think most common transmissions can be automated without having to run the ZF unit.
 

Binder man

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I realize they can't do powered shifts, but for these auto nazi's maybe they can live with the fact that they are starting to use "automated" manuals.

I think your right that many are. I've not messed with many but am impressed with what I have seen. I know metric 10's can be either way by changing your tower. I don't know about all so I don't want to make a blanket assumption.
 

m j

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Maybe you should apply for a job at ZF or New venture... show those boys how it's done. I'm sure a nice, heavy rotating assembly needed for 800 or so lb/ft of torque will work just fine if you treat it like a cute little motorcycle trans you can hold in one hand, lol.

A lot of options disappear for a manual when the torque input climbs. The necessary girth of the components dictates how you can, and cannot speed and slow them and how quickly you can do so with any practical amount of force.

kind of a pointless discussion....

so far you have stated you burn the transmission down
you have not mentioned any breakage of the transmission components that should see torque. no mention of shredding teeth off of the counter or speed gears, or snapping shafts.

800ftlb is not a large number 18speeds handle 2000ftlb +. driven a lot of miles at 140000#.

the motor rotating assembly is the biggest mass that has to change speed when shifting
not much mass in a transmission that changes speed.
input shaft, countershaft, speed gears.
less mass to alter then an auto. less parasitic loss then an auto.


class 2 - 7 trucks have always had absolute junk for transmissions. people that spec those trucks buy the cheapest crap available. you get no power and the fewest number of transmission gears. it has been the only market allison has been able to survive in for decades. they have been trying to get in to class 8 the whole time but previous to now no one would waste their time with an auto.
I have driven a brand new Western Star dump truck with an allison, what a POS. the amount of throttle input takes to maneouver around a job site is pathetic. the fat slob that destroys every clutch brake in the fleet loves it though.
 

Binder man

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Most people in a 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck should not be trying to shift a un synchronized tranny in the first place. ZF can obviously make damn good trannies that hold up to the power but they are overkill for these motors. You have to realize the whole argument stems from the fact that these motors were suppose to be 225 HP not 500 HP. Therefore the tranny itself was spec'd well within the ability of the motor UNTIL we get ahold of them.
 

7.3 Whitey

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Actually they're OK, and they are actually put in 6.4s, which can actually shred them with 650ftlbs and 350 HP stock. I hear a lot of talk about big rigs, but these are Toyota Tacomas compared to an international 4900 with a 466, or whatever you compare them too. Apples to oranges. We know we can't fit a bigger trans without making the cabin smaller or extending the subframe below.
It would cost a lot of $ and a lot of time. A custom job. For DD, you have two options, a ZF6 that is picky, or a 4r100 that doesn't give a ****.
Cost of a ZF6 over 200k equals at least two clutches, and a very hard time to get up to speed towing because it heats up quicker, lose boost during shifts, trying to turn a steering wheel with an old power steering pump on its last leg, a heavy clutch pedal. And a lot of plastic inside.

4r100, change fluid and watch temps.
Both need a new trans cooler, no question on that.
That's called practical math, for the everyday driver. Only so many people are so unhappy with a stock setup and have better things (to them, and its their right) to spend their money on.
 

Charles

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kind of a pointless discussion....

so far you have stated you burn the transmission down
you have not mentioned any breakage of the transmission components that should see torque. no mention of shredding teeth off of the counter or speed gears, or snapping shafts.

See what happens to a motorcycle trans behind a 7.3 if you want to see that side of the spectrum. Then you can see all the broken hard parts you want.


800ftlb is not a large number 18speeds handle 2000ftlb +. driven a lot of miles at 140000#.

And there's the opposite end of the spectrum from the motorcycle trans. The only problem for you, is understanding that wanting either end is fine, it's only when you want one to hold gobs of torque AND still run syncro'd shifts that happen acceptably fast for a little pickup that you run into trouble. I've only stated this over and over. And people ask me why I say the same thing over and over, it's because it doesn't take hold.


the motor rotating assembly is the biggest mass that has to change speed when shifting
not much mass in a transmission that changes speed.
input shaft, countershaft, speed gears.
less mass to alter then an auto. less parasitic loss then an auto.

You don't know as much as you think you do it would seem. First off, the engine rotating assembly mass has nothing to do with a shift on a traditional manual like we're talking about here, a ZF6 for example. When you push the clutch pedal in you are no longer connected to the engine. It is the mass of the input shaft and the clutch disc that must be accelerated/decelerated until the speed matches that of the output shaft across the ratio you are trying to engage. And the weight of these components is SO important that a few hundred GRAMS change to the clutch disc can be felt on a shift! Go ahead and stack a couple full-faced iron discs on that input shaft if you think this weight is immaterial! You're clueless!

The auto has no such restraint. It does not align anything, or match any speeds in order to change ratios. It simply applies the next ratio in succession. INSTANTLY. The instant you want the next shift it begins. The shift is completed as quickly as you can stand to have your driveline shocked. If you want, you can have it toss a driveshaft out from under the truck on a shift if you have a hard on for testing things. With the auto, shift speed is determined by how fast you WANT the shift to occur. The trans itself can physically complete the shift many times faster than you would ever want.

As for parasitic loss, I'm not entirely sure the ZF6 is really that much better, if at all. I don't see massive swings in rear wheel power output between the two. I swapped from one to the other and noted nothing.

Reason being, the ZF6 is pumping oil, so it has loss there, albeit not as much as the pump in the auto, but the really bad thing is that the ZF6 is spinning 6 constant mesh ratios ALL THE TIME you're in gear with the clutch out. That's 12 gears constantly spinning on bearings and chewing on the oil. If it shocks you that they overheat, it shouldn't. At any given time there are 10 gears in constant mesh, burning on their bearings and shafts that are not being used for anything. That's a lot of bs swinging around doing NOTHING. Conversely, the auto uses the same basic planetary sets to produce all the ratios. How many gearsets are there in the 4R100 for gears 1 - 4? Are there 2?

There's a lot of inefficiency in the manual box. Don't assume that it's a shaft in, shaft out. There's sh*t going in 12 different directions doing nothing but burning up fluid, making heat and wasting power.


class 2 - 7 trucks have always had absolute junk for transmissions. people that spec those trucks buy the cheapest crap available. you get no power and the fewest number of transmission gears. it has been the only market allison has been able to survive in for decades. they have been trying to get in to class 8 the whole time but previous to now no one would waste their time with an auto.

The trucks go down less often, go more places, burn less fuel, all while getting there faster with the auto.

Sounds like the people picking the auto might have a more rational approach to trans selection than you.


I have driven a brand new Western Star dump truck with an allison, what a POS. the amount of throttle input takes to maneouver around a job site is pathetic. the fat slob that destroys every clutch brake in the fleet loves it though.

You can *** anything up. Most of the older allison trucks I've driven have too high a stall, and with mech pumps with a tight governor they have abrupt power rise and fall on and before shifts. In those cases, they just didn't have it right yet. Let me spec you a manual truck with too tall a rear R&P and let you melt through a few clutches trying to move around a jobsite, then you can bitch about a manual instead. Point being, you can get anything wrong. That doesn't mean that's how they all are.

If you've ever watched a 6x6 oshcosh concrete truck buried halfway to the axles ease right on up a hill with 10 yrds on board you'd have to immediately get a grip on reality. A manual trans without miles of low gearing would do nothing but smoke the clutch and/or drop a shaft in so many situations like that. I literally see it DAILY. A guy can talk about how weak and girly the allison is all he wants WHILE being stuck in the driveway and getting pulled out by an allison tandem up the hill from him I've noticed.

Idiots don't let things like that influence their life choices...

LOL
 

Charles

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I was looking for a way to demonstrate the power of a properly setup auto in a heavy application and I think this will help.

Don't try this with your roadranger...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaVoOsPvSlk


So we're clear, that is a 700hp Cat, in front of an allison auto, in an 8 x 8 tractor, pulling a trailer with a 120,000+ lb TANK through the worst terrain possible. Anybody even want to guess the GCVW on that?!?!

Fwiw.... the 120+ thousand pound tank with the 1500hp engine also runs an auto.




On Edit:

Out of curiosity, I looked them up. Tractor is 41,000lbs, trailer is 50,000lbs and the Abrams is 122,000lbs. GCVW of 213,000lbs! Driving through creeks and all over hell. That takes a class 8 truck and pisses on it's cute little head. It's actually rated up to a payload of 140,000lbs.

No wonder moving concrete is so easy for those guys, lol.
 
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m j

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Charles,
I was incorrect when i said it was a pointless discussion, as I did learn that no one here has done anything to a zf5 or zf6 to try and improve it.
stuffing a big clutch in front of it and trying to force the synchros to do something they are absolutely not designed to do doesnt count as an improvement.
is there anything in a zf5/6 that wasnt available in 1950s truck transmissions?

I am not really all that interested in your comparison of a stock zf6 with synchros vs a $4000+ auto with a $900 controller and who knows how much the multidisc convertor runs.
I am more interested in a modified manual trans vs your huge dollar auto. in a fair comparitive budget there looks to be about $4000 to throw at a ZF but so far I cannot find anyone that has done it.
first thing that has to go in a performance manual transmission is the synchros as they do nothing but hamper shifting (you have learned that yourself apparently), so facetooth the sliders to fix that the same way every racing manual transmission is set up (and every motorcycle I have ever seen)..
once the synchros are out of the way you will probably not use the clutch to shift.

friction and heat buildup in a manual on the gears that are not transmitting any power is going to be pretty low. they only have to deal with the drag of the bearings they are riding on. you have torque traveling through the head set and the speed gear of the engaged ratio, except in direct where the input and output are coupled and no load travels through the headset (which is why they recommend that gear for pulling rather then OD, OD being the worst scenario for heat)

your 4r100 planetaries have up to 6 planets spinning between a sun and ring gear on each of its planetary sets. is there three planetaries in it or 2? either way its a lot more mass that has to be accelerated on each shift then in any manual, as well as a ton more gear contact area (one of the reasons planetaries are so strong)

bring your allison to this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCo5uX8a1hs
 

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