Air brake simulation

[vasouv]

OK well there are a couple of things with the new update that I don't understand (gameplay-wise).

In the Options, there's that Air brake simulation that I've enable and don't know what it does. But, after some playing time today, I got a message saying I need to stay with the engine running until there's enough pressure. What? How did the pressure drop?

Also, I guess with this option enabled, when I'm going uphills, the truck kind of auto-brakes and makes a weird sound, like a train horn (maybe that's the air brake?).

Care to enlighten?

[Malaman]

The air brake pressure is you service brakes. Every truck now has a gauge that shows air pressure, when you use too much of the service brakes it runs out of pressure and you need to wait until it builds up again.

To avoid this you should rely more on the engine brakes and/or the retarder to reduce your speed.

I barely use my service brakes unless I need to stop suddenly or completely on crossings or when parking.

If you can't adjust your driving to this, I suggest you leave this option off.

[BobDoleReigns]

Airbrakes are serious things (you have to have a special license to drive with them irl)... essentially they are way more touchy than regular (car) brakes. They came about as a built in failsafe with the system being built reuqiring air pressure to take the brake off witht the brake being naturally on. If you vent too much air in braking then you won't have enough pressure to take the brake off. Its designed this way so if you have a breakdown in your brake lines then the brakes come on and you're stuck until it is fixed; as compared to in a car where if you have a problem then you're going down the highway with no real way of stopping.

TL;DR - It is a realism thing, you need air pressure to move.

[Foxeye]

As stated by BlazePhoenix, the engine breaks or redarder are the way to go. I prefer the retarder, especially on the Scania trucks (5 degrees of retardation), so I defiantely reccomend upgrading your gearbox and getting in to using it.

[vasouv]

Guys I really appreciate the answers, actually I went on Wikipedia to read about the air brakes but didn't understand much, I do get how it's used now :)

I do use the regular brakes a lot, I play with a gamepad so the other braking systems weren't really fit for my controller so I've turned them off. I like realism so I'll drop the GPS functions on my controller and try the retarder, the retarder is quite handy in some steep roads near Aberdeen and East Europe.

[shoopy]

It's a good idea to use the retarder and engine brake anyway because diesel engines are different from gasoline engines. In a gasoline engine you need air fuel mixture, compression and spark, so the throttle controls the air mixure and when you let off the gas to brake, you get some engine braking due to the vacuum and lack of air, which slows down the engine and causes some resistance.

With a diesel engine it only requires fuel, compression, and heat, so when you let off the gas the engine is not slowed significantly when the drive is connected as the interia is actually running the engine, which will cause it to even run faster when going downhill.

So it's realistic to make use of the retarder and engine brake (jake brake)

[PseudoThief]

As mentioned above, your truck requires air pressure to operate your normal (service) brakes. It gets this air pressure from a cylinder of compressed air, which naturally, has a limited volume. The more you use your brakes the more you drain this cylinder until there is no pressure left to take your brakes off, at which point you need to wait with the engine running until the compressor recharges the cylinder. The pressure gauge on your dashboard should have a brake symbol next to it, looks a little something like (O) - every time you lift off the brakes or touch the accelerator with the brakes held down (possibly a bug?) you will see the needle dip.

Incidentally, your car operates in reverse to this, using a vacuum cylinder to operate a servo which then operates your brakes. You can experience something similar if you were to turn off your engine and operate the brakes - You will be able to depress the brake pedal normally and brake normally for the first 1 or 2 presses, but after that you deplete the vacuum reservoir and the pedal will become much stiffer and harder to both press and brake with. This means you can safely bring the car to a stop if for whatever reason your engine fails, provided you only apply the brakes once or twice! Try it for yourself (with the car sitting stationary) and try pumping the brakes with the engine on and then turned off.

[vasouv]

Ah so that's why that indicator rose quicker when I accelerated like hell... It gets more air a lot quicker... I like this information, quite interesting :)

When it comes to the game now, I like it A LOT better with the retarder! I switched my gamepad buttons around and I'm using the retarder and I'm loving it! It's a delight hearing that awesome sound when the retarder engages and it generally feels smoother.

I'll switch to retarder transmission on all of my trucks, I use the casual brakes only on emergencies and when I'm stopping still now.

The motor brake I cannot use since I'm on auto transmission with my gamepad but the retarder is brilliant!

[Big Ram]

Originally posted by heavymetalwiseone:

The motor brake I cannot use since I'm on auto transmission with my gamepad but the retarder is brilliant!

Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but this shouldn't affect you being able to use the motor brake. The motor brake is just mapped to a button or key, and then in-game you press that button instead of your normal brake button.

I believe in real-life, motor braking is turned on via a switch and remains active, but in ETS, it's just a simple button-press.

[BobDoleReigns]

according to my understanding the issue is not so much with the engine brake as the transmission and whether or not autos are up to the task. I know this is debated in circles among mechanics so here is my take on it. The purpose of engine braking is to save wear on your brakes (not to slow you down without using air) and without a clutch most mechanics believe that auto ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ are harmed by the engine braking, the debate comes in at how much? My take is that it doesn't matter how much it shorttens its life simply because brakes are so much cheaper to replace. I could afford to burn out a hundred sets of brakes for what a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ will cost.

[vasouv]

Originally posted by bastins:

Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but this shouldn't affect you being able to use the motor brake. The motor brake is just mapped to a button or key, and then in-game you press that button instead of your normal brake button.

I believe in real-life, motor braking is turned on via a switch and remains active, but in ETS, it's just a simple button-press.

Yeah sorry, I didn't say that correctly. I CAN use the motor brake but it doesn't have a significant effect, since the auto-transmission doesn't rev much when it downshifts.

When I tried the motor brake with a manual transmission (again with my gamepad), the motor brake worked like a charm since I could downshift without decreasing speed thus causing the motor brake to operate correctly.

With an auto-transmission, the retarder has a far better effect than the motor brake - at least from what I've experienced so far.

[margalus]

Originally posted by heavymetalwiseone:

Also, I guess with this option enabled, when I'm going uphills, the truck kind of auto-brakes and makes a weird sound, like a train horn (maybe that's the air brake?).

Care to enlighten?

the noise you are hearing is because you are drifting off the side of the road and your tires are hitting the rumble strip which is there to wake up drowsy drivers.

[shoopy]

Originally posted by BobDoleReigns:

according to my understanding the issue is not so much with the engine brake as the transmission and whether or not autos are up to the task. I know this is debated in circles among mechanics so here is my take on it. The purpose of engine braking is to save wear on your brakes (not to slow you down without using air) and without a clutch most mechanics believe that auto ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ are harmed by the engine braking, the debate comes in at how much? My take is that it doesn't matter how much it shorttens its life simply because brakes are so much cheaper to replace. I could afford to burn out a hundred sets of brakes for what a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ will cost.

The transmission is likely not automatic. There are automatic transmissions for trucks (the Allison transmission) but usually an 'automatic' in a truck like these is actually a manual that is shifted by computer instead of by hand.

Also going down a steep hill using service brakes to check the engine speed can result in the brakes heating up and eventually failing all together. In city driving and on flat land, yeah the engine brake is mostly about saving brake life because the service brakes will be sufficient, but this is different where you're going down a mountain for miles and miles.

[Gavin McStine]

Originally posted by BobDoleReigns:

according to my understanding the issue is not so much with the engine brake as the transmission and whether or not autos are up to the task. I know this is debated in circles among mechanics so here is my take on it. The purpose of engine braking is to save wear on your brakes (not to slow you down without using air) and without a clutch most mechanics believe that auto ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ are harmed by the engine braking, the debate comes in at how much? My take is that it doesn't matter how much it shorttens its life simply because brakes are so much cheaper to replace. I could afford to burn out a hundred sets of brakes for what a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ will cost.

There is no diffrence between an 'Automated' transmission vs a manual transmission in gears or clutch, the diffrence is the clutch is operated by a computer and air vs a physical connection which is hydraulic (or vacumme)