Why choose 18 transmission over 13?

[Catratio]

Or 10 even for that matter? I don't really understand how this works, but I am trying out the International and put the 18 gear transmission on it. It's kind of a hassle with all the stop lights in the game. I need to get to 12th gear before I even hit 30 MPH after a stop so the majority of the gears are just bypassed and wasted. With a full dual trailer I can start in like 7th gear no problem. Should I just downgrade back to a 13 or 10 transmission? With the 18 I have to keep skipping like 2-3 gears at a time just to get up to speed so I don't really see the advantage of having it when I don't even need most of the lower ones at all.

[Sandhill]

The advantage of more gears is that you are more likely to have one available which allows a near ideal RPM for any given situation. It would be expected to skip gears a lot, whenever you can actually. Starting out in 3rd, 4th, 5th and even higher would be normal.

[Odium]

I Drive mostly 18 wheelers for the fact that it makes uphill stops so much easier to manage. That said youll be skipping gears. generally ill go from first to sixth. switch to 7. then to 9, 11. then jump right to 13 and ususally hit each gear from there

[Catratio]

Okay, so it sounds like it would be a lot easier with an actual shifter to play with. I use the buttons on my mouse to click through gears so I have to go through them in order. Also to go from 18 to 6 I just revert to neutral and click up 6 times to get there, hence why it's kind of a pain. There is no way to skip directly from 1 to 6 is there? Like a setting somewhere where a button can skip 3 gears at once instead of 1?

[kraul59]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=615507424&searchtext=gear

[Odium]

Oh yeah. I use a G29 wheel, peddals and shifter. Then i got a modded switch box and fitted it to the shifter. it has two switches on it to flip through the gear sets, then i use the throttle side of the x56 flight stick for some of the switches and a seperate Black-Hog B01 explorer switch/button box for stuff like engine start/electric, lights etc. total sim setup FTW

[Sandhill]

Originally posted by Catratio:

Okay, so it sounds like it would be a lot easier with an actual shifter to play with. I use the buttons on my mouse to click through gears so I have to go through them in order. Also to go from 18 to 6 I just revert to neutral and click up 6 times to get there, hence why it's kind of a pain. There is no way to skip directly from 1 to 6 is there? Like a setting somewhere where a button can skip 3 gears at once instead of 1?

Your easy solution is to stay with the Eaton Fuller 18, but put the game in Real Automatic mode. Most trucks sold today use that mode. You're probably using Sequential, which no trucks use. Real Automatic will do a good job of picking appropriate gears, skipping when possible etc. and you can just drive, like IRL.

[Deebz__]

Originally posted by Sandhill:

Originally posted by Catratio:

Okay, so it sounds like it would be a lot easier with an actual shifter to play with. I use the buttons on my mouse to click through gears so I have to go through them in order. Also to go from 18 to 6 I just revert to neutral and click up 6 times to get there, hence why it's kind of a pain. There is no way to skip directly from 1 to 6 is there? Like a setting somewhere where a button can skip 3 gears at once instead of 1?

Your easy solution is to stay with the Eaton Fuller 18, but put the game in Real Automatic mode. Most trucks sold today use that mode. You're probably using Sequential, which no trucks use. Real Automatic will do a good job of picking appropriate gears, skipping when possible etc. and you can just drive, like IRL.

Technically, real auto trucks will allow you to shift sequentially by changing to manual mode.

[luZk]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbXXWrJtSbA

[Sandhill]

Originally posted by Deebz__:

Technically, real auto trucks will allow you to shift sequentially by changing to manual mode.

True, the EF Ultrashift allows you to pop into sequential mode just like my car does if I select Sport mode and use the paddle shifters. I don't know that there is a simple one key bind in ATS to switch back and forth and avoid pausing going into Options, maybe there is. I just leave it in Real Auto and forget it

[kubanskiloewe]

got a min 500hp engine and a 6 speed whith highest gear doing 55mph at 15oorpm is doing well for me and i have it easier with counting in which gear i am and also less work :-)

[SecretOne]

Most of the trucks that the company I work for, are automatic, very rare to see a manual now, and the auto is either a little lever with forward/neutral/ reverse or buttons that do the same thing, not seen a sequential shifter on any of the trucks we work on. We use the CANbus on the truck and hold it in first gear and then use a hydrostatic gearbox to control the low speed required. Most of the trucks are of the European variety, but we also build on Freightliner, Kamaz, Hino for example.

I am not saying there are not sequential shifters on trucks, just that I never see them.

[Catratio]

Wait, real life trucks don't use sequential shifting? Then why is it in the game, lol. I picked it because I thought it was the most authentic option. I used to use real automatic when I first got the game but thought there was no way a giant semi would be using automatic. So they really have moved to that these days? Well, I did another haul switching it back to real automatic setting to see the difference. It was much easier, and I paid attention to how the game controlled the gears. 132,000 lbs load, it started me in 2, then jumped to 4, 7, 9, 11, 12, so it was much more efficient jumping gears than I am with my mouse. I guess I'll try this out for awhile. I steered away from automatic because it felt like cheating and not "real" but I guess it is.

[DVIJUHA_PEPSI]

I only use a 13-speed gearbox. I start empty from the 5th gear and then to 7-8 / 9. With a load of up to 25 thousand pounds, I get under way from 4th gear. With a load of 40-60 thousand pounds, I get under way from the 3rd. I don't like to carry heavier loads.

It seems to me that a 10-speed gearbox is not enough to carry loads of 50-80 thousand pounds.

by feeling

[glenhaig]

Having the option to split the low gears allows you more flexibility when it comes to block changes. If you're pulling lots of weight and heading uphill, you might go from 2L to 3H, which is a 1.5 ratio change, where going from 2nd to 4th might drop the revs a little too far down and cause the engine torque to bog down.

[Hiro Protagonist]

Originally posted by Sandhill:

Originally posted by Deebz__:

Technically, real auto trucks will allow you to shift sequentially by changing to manual mode.

True, the EF Ultrashift allows you to pop into sequential mode just like my car does if I select Sport mode and use the paddle shifters. I don't know that there is a simple one key bind in ATS to switch back and forth and avoid pausing going into Options, maybe there is. I just leave it in Real Auto and forget it :lunar2019smilingpig:

Yes, there already is a keybind to switch between auto and sequential, and then another two for Shift Up and Shift Down (there are also Shift Up Hint and Shift Down Hint keybinds for when you're still in auto but think it could be in the wrong gear, be prepared for the computer to just change straight back if it thinks you're wrong)