GeorgiaHybrid Posted May 13, 2017 Report Share Posted May 13, 2017 MHC Kenworth Chattanooga asked us to bring our truck to their open house today. While there, I started talking to the guys from Allison transmission and they offered to let me drive a new day cab T680 with a Paccar 13L and the TC10 true auto tranny. It didn't me long to say "OK" and hop into the seat. We had a 40 foot trailer scaling 57K behind us and I will admit that it shifted quickly once it was moving. First look from the drivers seat was to the shift console that was in the same place as the regular cobra head shifter for the automated manuals. One thing I did like about the display was the integrated menus you could access by hitting the up/down arrows at the same time. It will give you computer faults, oil life remaining, oil level and a few other items. The console looked basically the same as the Allison 4000 that I am familiar with so I hit the D button and away we went. First impressions? Not a fan at all. Once you are moving, it was fine but the transmission will shift into neutral at every stop so you need to let off of the brake, wait a second and then get on the throttle or you will start with a bang as it slams into gear. Same way with reverse, it takes too long to shift and the entire truck shook every time it was selected. In reverse, it didn't make any difference whether I selected R1 or R2, the shifting was not ANYTHING like the good old Allison 4000 series. Was there anything good? Yes, it did accelerate faster and the Jake worked very well all the way down to an idle. I also need to admit that Kenworth will not start producing them until July so maybe by then the shift programing will be further along. I was surprised at how rough this one felt going into and out of gear but will give them the benefit of the doubt and see what the production units are like later this year. As it stand right now however, my good old Eaton Ultra Shift Plus is here to stay. 2017 Kenworth T6802015 DRV 38RSSA Elite Suites2016 Smart Prime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrap Posted May 13, 2017 Report Share Posted May 13, 2017 Welcome to FuelSense Max........They all have it now. You have to option to delete it or pick one of the basic settings to tone it down a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sclord2002 Posted May 13, 2017 Report Share Posted May 13, 2017 Dave,I have wondered why there were not more Allisons in Hdt's. After driving your beautiful KW with the Ultrashift Plus, I wonder why anyone would want an Allison. The Ultrashift PLus is light years ahead of my regular Ultrashift and you KW is one sweet truck. Thank you for letting me drive it at the ECR. I hope I didn't cause too much significant wear on your door hinges with my obsession for the beautiful sound and feel when the door closes....... Be safe, Charlie. Don't ever tell a soldier that he doesn't understand the cost of war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgiaHybrid Posted May 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2017 Scrap, The problem seemed to be the torque converter locking up at 800 to 1000 rpm or less. I hope the option will be available in the ecu to shift the torque converter lockup to the 1000 to 1200 rpm range as well as defeating the FuelSense program altogether. That will make the shifts similar to the Allison 4000 and eliminate the "banging" into gear that you have now by shift the lockup further into the power band. When you get one of those programed and ready for sale, how about letting us know where it is located. Would love to try one out and see how it does. Charlie, you would be surprised at how many people have commented on the doors. They lock up nice and tight and shut just like a car door. That is usually the first thing noticed when someone climbs into the truck for the first time. 2017 Kenworth T6802015 DRV 38RSSA Elite Suites2016 Smart Prime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAutom8r Posted May 14, 2017 Report Share Posted May 14, 2017 So other than the tryout of the day cab, how was your sweet looking truck at the open house. You probably got a lot of good comments, i am assuming! Steven Steven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgiaHybrid Posted May 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2017 Steven, We had more people taking pictures of our truck than the others combined. I did like the huge be rotator that Miller Industries had on site though. They make a sweet wrecker. All in all, we had a great time despite the rain that moved in and cut the day short. 2017 Kenworth T6802015 DRV 38RSSA Elite Suites2016 Smart Prime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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