Volvo VNL 300 transmissions...?

[cswiger]

Hi, all--

I see that they've added some new trucks since I last played ATS (2018ish). Started a new profile and have worked my way up to level 20 so far. I like the upgraded visuals, but I wish the AI had gotten some polish.

No American driver is gonna jam on the brakes because a light turned yellow, especially when making a right turn. And drivers speed up to merge onto a highway; they don't stop and wait on an onramp. Except in Pittsburgh, maybe.

Anyways:

I built a Volvo VNL 300 with the Short 6x4/200 gal chassis, a midrange D13 475hp engine, and I tried using the I-Shift ATO3112D R rather than the trusty Eaton FO22 18-speed transmission.

This ATO seems to be a slushbox, not an automated manual transmission? It shifts a lot more like a car, anyway, especially without a trailer, and does pretty well at lower speeds through traffic lights. Probably deal well with Bakersfield. (For what that's worth....)

With a medium load of 40k lbs, it seems to dog out trying to go uphill at anything over 30 mph. For example: taking the onramp from Primm to I-15 starting at 30 mpg, it actually lost speed. And getting from ~30 mph up to 65 on level roads is an exercise in patience.

Tried hauling some lighter loads of 30k lbs, and it was a lot more responsive and willing to accelerate up moderate hills. So I don't think I want to take heavy cargo with this particular setup.

What would work better for hauling a 90k lb transformer?
Switch back to the Eaton or to the Allison RDS 4700 R?

I want to like the Allisons since they shift so much faster and thus don't lag between gears. But the Eaton seems to have a gear for every situation, which is hard to give up.

[pontfogel]

Originally posted by cswiger:

What would work better for hauling a 90k lb transformer?
Switch back to the Eaton or to the Allison RDS 4700 R?

A more powerful engine will of course be much more important for performance than any gearbox. But if you want to use a less powerful engine (something I totally understand) the 18 speed gearbox would be best for a heavy haul.

Edit: Before someone starts to tell me how they can haul anything with a 150 hp engine and a good gearbox please note that I'm talking about how things work in the game.

[cswiger]

Thanks for the reply. Of course, adding a 600+ HP engine will do better than adding the midrange ~450 HP engine. Some of the transmissions with torque converters have a max input torque limit...which means they can't be paired with the strongest engines IRL.

Anyway, for any given choice of engine, I was curious about how the various transmission options compare.

-----

I drive one truck at a time until I get a new one, say every 5K miles or so. My initial trucks started off with a 400 HP engine and were lucky to get a 13-gear Eaton without a retarder. The AI drivers will make do, since half the time they seem happy to drag wood pallets and sawdust panels around.

[ OK, I'll be fair. After checking, I saw one doing a rush delivery of cars for a pretty good rate, and another with a Wind Turbine Nacelle. The others were doing cereal/dry box runs. ]

I'm now looking to get truck #8, as I just found a Western Star dealer with the 49X. This time, I will go for the top-tier engine. :-)

[pontfogel]

I've been playing ETS2 lately so I forgot about the... is it 10 speed automatics that ATS has? Those could probably rival the 18 speeds but I'm just guessing now. The difference is that it's easier to keep the engine rpm within the optimal torque range with an 18 speed transmission.

[cswiger]

The ATO 3112D is a 12-speed. There's also the Allison TC10, but that's available on other trucks and not on the Volvo.

[pontfogel]

Right, I forgot it's not an option for the Volvo. 18 speed it is, then.