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Past Issues

February 2005

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If there’s anything that will accelerate the move into electronic engine management systems for all trucks, it’s the increasing acceptance of automated shift transmissions. Autoshift boxes are taking the stress out of driver training, maintenance, on-road clutch failures, power train management for good average fuel consumption, matching performance predictions to route and driver realities and the general fatigue imposed on drivelines and drivers. FleetWatch technical correspondent Dave Scott examines this major shift in trucking technology and concludes that the world is moving to autoshift and auto-shift will move the world of the future.

TRADITIONAL TRUCKER attitudes to heavy-duty haulage were based on a driving skill that was very focused on an ability to shift a multi-speed transmission with the so-called ‘green band’ as an over-riding issue. Skipchanging, optimising torque and retardation management were foreign languages. In fact, the simple procedure of pre-selecting high and low ranges in range-change splitter boxes would occur during a gear shift and damage the transmission.

Seamless shifting now a standard
The truckers from DaimlerChrysler took the lead as far back as 1999. As Peter Wraight, product manager Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles points out: "Since 1999 we have offered Telligent Automatic as an option on all Actros. The customer reaction due to a reduction in operating costs – mainly in fuel and repairs – plus the added driving comfort and improved safety led us to seriously consider introducing automatic gear-shifting and clutch actuation as standard. We researched this extensively with many local operators and the reaction was overwhelmingly positive.

"The net result," says Wraight, "is that Telligent Automatic is standard on all our Actros 2 Truck Tractors that were launched in South Africa in October 2003 and as from January this year, we have gone to Telligent Manual shifting on all Actros Freight Carriers and Tippers. In 2004, we sold 2000 Actros' and not one person asked us to revert to the old "stick shift ".

While the ‘Boys from Benz’ were offering auto-shift box options, Freightliner’s Johan Cloete plunged in headfirst and declared Eaton AutoShift transmission as a standard feature with manual boxes as an option in the last quarter of 2000.

When it comes to auto-shift boxes, MAN is in catch-up mode but also positive. MAN marketing manager Dave van Graan explains: "The MAN TGA range has been forecast to include TipMatic transmission as standard with the option of manual if customers want it. We estimate that only totally off-road operations still require manual shift transmissions and thus predict the preference for TipMatic to be 80% plus. Even on/off road operators, who were initially sceptical about the MAN TipMatic, are producing excellent results with high mileage test units as well as new  acquisitions to their fleets over the last 6 months."

Auto-shift boxes are fatigueless
Drivers now find themselves relieved of tensions normally associated with finding the correct gear in complex road situations. What the auto-shift does well is that it still shifts perfectly after 10 hours on the road – even a really professional driver cannot shift gears perfectly at the end of a long day.

South Africans are famous for ‘sweating the asset’ and that means double-shift work with driver rotation. Here auto-shift boxes come into their own, as auto-shift systems listen to the engine, road-speed and many other factors that exclude driving style. This eliminates the problem of one vehicle being subjected to different driving  styles from different drivers. It removes the stress of analysing how a truck is driven, enabling the team leaders to concentrate on the real safety issues such as braking and speed control – anything inbetween is managed in the ‘electronic handshake’ that the engine provides the gearbox.

When torque management no longer depends on driver skill, it removes confrontations over driving style so there’s a good chance that relationships between drivers and supervisory staff will improve.

Training remains essential
According to Brian Kerr, team leader of Driver Training at DaimlerChrysler South Africa, there are misconceptions about training on these new automated systems. "We come across drivers and customers who don’t believe training is necessary," he says. "This is a big mistake as even with the new automated systems of today, a driver still needs to understand drive train management, an engine economical or ‘sweet spot’ of the vehicle and defensive driving."

Kerr adds that the DCSA Driver Training Academy has proven on numerous occasions that with training from the onset, a driver has a much better appreciation and understanding of the vehicle which leads to a reduction in maintenance, fuel consumption and a much safer driving style.

Bob Jones, MD of International Trucks (South Africa) sees that there is still room for professional drivers: "There is no doubt about the advantages of auto-shift and the ease of driving but it must be remembered that driver anticipation is still critical for efficient fuel economy. The general feeling is that auto-shift cannot make a good driver better but can certainly assist in improving the driving habits of a poor driver."

FleetWatch disagrees that auto-shift cannot make a good driver better as there is evidence to prove it can – and does. The emphasis is on letting the ’box’ do the work while the driver gives increased attention to his constantly changing environment. This makes for safer driving and that has to make for a  better driver. It will not, however, suddenly turn someone into a professional driver. There is a lot more to driving than changing gears.

Freightliner’s Johan Cloete has the following view on drivers: "What we appreciate most is that SmartShift has taken off the enormous pressure we experienced for high-quality, extensive driver training that now allows a driver to focus on road-craft and not the complexity of vehicle manipulative skills."

Retrofits are not possible
An automated shift transmission is integrally designed into new trucks such as a Freightliner Argosy – wiring loom, rear axle ratio and engine power management systems must all balance to the demands of the operation. It is thus not possible to retrofit an automated shift transmission into previous Freightliner models or, for that matter, any other truck. It’s much more than a transplant of a new gearbox. This emphasises that a major ‘shift’ in trucking technology has occurred and the theme is ‘total power train management.’

This will also cause a breakpoint in used truck assessments and values – those without auto-shift boxes and those with. The absence of shock loads extends the economic life of all driveline components and translates into reduced downtime and higher resale values. But the key to future used truck values will rest with the manufacturer’s branded electronic reputation, namely, how robust and reliable are the vehicle electronics and are the ‘black boxes’ reasonably priced and available. The focus on used truck values will switch from the engine and driveline components to electronics and software. Truck manufacturers must take note of this in their vaunted ‘cost of ownership’ claims.

Maintenance remains easy
This technological revolution employs the best of past while taking power train management into the future. Technicians are not faced with a transmission they do not understand. Servicing procedures and training requirements normally associated with mechanical transmissions go unchanged – an automated shift gearbox employs around 98% of parts used in a manual mechanical shift transmission.

"Transmission repair downtime has been reduced to negligible results and clutch wear minimised," says Cloete. "In fact, clutch replacements are few and far between and when the rare failure does occur, it really is a warranty case as clutches just cannot get abused with Smartshift. This also means that the driveline is not being punished at every gearshift and the power train will last even further."

Battle of the boxes
There was no alternative to torque converter automatic transmissions – such as the famous Allison automatic – until the arrival of automated shift. Does this herald the end of a torque converter box?

No, there’s still application for torque converter autos which are championed in new trucks such as the International 7000 series. Bob Jones has the following comment: "We are very excited about the use of fully automatic Allison transmissions in our 7400 range. They are successfully used all over the world in severe service and off-road operations. Due to the current Rand-dollar exchange rate, we can offer the perfect solution in the garbage compactor, mixer and tipper markets and still offer a very competitive price."

An alternative view from Peter Wraight threatens torque converter autos. "We have a large number of Telligent shifts units operating in municipal waste collection where the vehicles are required to stop and pull off as often as every 25m. A large number of units are also operating in the distribution industry which also involves much stop-start operations with numerous gear-changes and variations in speeds. In addition, we have Telligent units that have proven to be extremely reliable in the mining industry where GCM’s of between 100 and 150t operate on private roads and under special permit."

An automated shift future
The world is moving to auto-shift and auto-shift will move the world of the future. In South Africa this is even more critical as we are forced to employ ever younger and more inexperienced drivers of both sexes to deliver the goods. Ask any fleet owner and he will confirm that there are not enough qualified drivers - and AIDS is rapidly depleting the pool.

What we need is for this technology to jump out of the extra-heavy category into medium and heavy trucks between 3,5 and 16,5t GVM – the sector which makes up 73% of the trucks on our roads. It’s the market that will have the greatest impact and these drivers really need auto-shift in heavy traffic conditions.

We urge Japanese product planners to take note, as they have 73% of the 8,5t to 16,5t GVM market and are more than 50% dominant in the medium truck market!

As a final comment, we urge manufacturers to please test auto-shift technology thoroughly in local conditions before launching it into South Africa! Just because it works in Australia and elsewhere in so-called severe operating conditions does not mean it will work in southern Africa. We have unique operating conditions - as some manufacturers have discovered through their customers. As for parts and spares - please don’t offer platinum-plated prices for electronic replacement parts – you will kill the reputation of the technology and the vehicle. I look forward to this technology being adopted in bakkies and cars as well.