{"id":2397,"date":"2020-06-21T16:03:41","date_gmt":"2020-06-21T16:03:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quicktransportsolutions.com\/blog\/?p=2397"},"modified":"2020-06-21T16:03:44","modified_gmt":"2020-06-21T16:03:44","slug":"how-transmissions-are-becoming-more-advanced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quicktransportsolutions.com\/blog\/how-transmissions-are-becoming-more-advanced\/","title":{"rendered":"How Transmissions Are Becoming More Advanced"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In many cases, trucking companies operating medium-duty commercial motor vehicles are focused on low cost and reliability over fuel economy. After all, these aren\u2019t the long-haul operators guzzling through fuel to get goods from one part of the country to another. These operators might have more to gain from short-term considerations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There has been a big shift in the commercial automotive\nsector since regulatory changes mandated them. One example is the GHG Phase 2\nrules, which are precipitating a major change in transmission architecture.\nSophisticated transmission units are now the norm and trucking companies are\nscrambling to make fuel savings a priority. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gone are the days when old-timers had to learn how to\noperate a manual transmission on a commercial motor vehicle. Automatics and\nsemi-automatics now lead the way. While truck driers in Europe may be more\naccustomed to manual transmissions, the skill is in short supply back\nStateside. OEMs are even in on the secret. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As one example, just have a look through the vehicle spec\nsheets for lower weight class vehicles on OEM websites, from GMC to Isuzu, and\nyou will find transmission options described as being a six-speed automatic.\nFor the vast majority of trucking companies investing in medium duty, this is\njust fine. Rarely does procurement even think about a transmission. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who Buys Them?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, what truck drivers are looking for is a reliable\nvehicle that operates like a truck but drives like a car. When it comes down to\nit, buyers look for value attributes and the latest technology combined when\nmaking a buying decision. Does a truck get good fuel economy? Great? But might\nit be a dealbreaker in making a purchase? Probably not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who is the customer buying medium duty trucks? Consider\noperators like landscapers, courier services, or building contractors. These\nworkers may haul large amounts of packages or require an array of tools at\ntheir immediate disposal. Medium duty trucks provide this capability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the flipside, you have leasing and rental fleets who\npurchase tens of thousands of vehicles per year. While these purchasers may not\nhave fuel economy at the top of their mind, they know their customers do.\nObviously, the lease-rental company doesn\u2019t care much about fuel from their\nperspective because they aren\u2019t paying for it! They are concerned about\nlifecycle costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They want vehicles that are not only reliable but have good\nfuel economy and low lifecycle costs. This makes a happy company and a happy\ncustomer. But it also creates an interesting paradigm when procurement managers\nare deciding what trucks to buy. How does one thread the needle between value\nattributes, lifecycle, and fuel economy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commercial fleets are also big buyers of these types of\nvehicles, especially if they are not in the long-haul sector. The problem is\nthat transmission specs have become ever-more complicated. This adds some\nheadache to the fleet\ntechnicians<\/a> in the shop but is better for the fleet\u2019s bottom line in the\nlong-term. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Transmission Examples<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transmission OEM Allison was one of the first top hop on the\nfuel efficiency bandwagon when they released their FuelSense fuel-efficiency\npackage way back in 2014. The system automatically adapts shift schedules and\ntorque for maximum fuel efficiency. It does active, real-time calculations\nbased on load, grade, and duty cycle to determine the best gearing ratios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, in 2017, Allison upgraded the system, calling it\nFuelSense 2.0. The company claims that the new version delivers up to 6% more\nfuel efficiency savings over the original software. As computing power has\ngrown and evolved, so has the capabilities now built into commercial motor\nvehicles. The vehicles themselves can now regulate their own fuel efficiency\nnumbers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Truck ORM Fuso has also been working with double-clutch\ntransmission varieties. In 2010, they came out with the Fuso Duonic, which was\n\u2013 at the time \u2013 dubbed the world\u2019s first dual-clutch transmission for CMVs.\nWhile it is technically an automated manual transmission (AMT), it still\ndelivers an impressive fuel efficiency boost over traditional models. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eaton is another transmission OEM who has been making big\nchanges to transmission architecture in the name of greater fuel efficiency.\nThe fact is, as technologies mature, OEMs are discovering more ways to balance\nreliability, life cycle and fuel efficiency without making sacrifices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heavy-Duty Transmissions Evolve<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we talk about the heavy-duty sector, transmissions have\nmade even greater strides. They are now both the heart and <\/em>the brain of\na big rig\u2019s drive train. Now, engines often take their throttling cues from the\ntransmission, rather than the other way around. And with down speeding becoming\never more common, the transmission now regulates that as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transmissions now must work with other safety systems, such\nas adaptive cruise control, predictive cruise control, and other collision\nmitigation systems. While you don\u2019t see a lot of this yet in the medium duty\nsector, it has been creeping into Class 6 and 7 vehicles. And as GHG Phase 2\nfuel efficiency regulations continue to rise through the next decade, these\nchanges will accelerate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The specific GHG rules that apply to medium duty vehicles\nand heavy-duty pickups and vans call for specific reductions in CO2 emissions\nand fuel consumption of 16% beyond Phase 1. The end date for this transition is\n2027. One fully phased-in, the Phase 2 standards for medium duty vocational\nvehicles from Class 4 through Class 6 call for reductions in CO2 emissions and\nfuel consumption of up to 24% relative to Phase 1. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider how large those numbers are. In less than 10 years,\nOEMs will need to make huge changes to how vehicles and their underlying\ncomponents are constructed to meet these new requirements. And unless\naerodynamics changes dramatically in the next half-decade, a lot of this will\nneed to come from under the hood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certainly, on-highway sector truck drivers will benefit from\nadvances in aerodynamics. And in the medium duty and vocational areas,\ncompanies will try to make their trucks as light as possible, use\nlow-rolling-resistance tires, and other technologies to increase fuel\nefficiency. Improvements in engine and powertrain efficiency will also lead the\nway, a lot of which will come from the evolution of the transmission. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Advances on the Horizon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transmission OEM ZF is also ready to hit the scene with some\nnew technologies. Their new Powerline 8 is an eight-speed torque-converter\nautomatic. While it is likely not to arrive until 2021, ZF has been very open\nthat the reason they are pursuing these technologies is that so their clients\ncan meet the new stringent GHG rules when the time comes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The transmission will do it by offering an integrated\nstop\/start assist feature. This feature will shut off and start the engine when\nthe vehicle is idle at traffic lights. It will also offer skip-shifting and a\ncoasting feature where it will enter a neutral setting when the vehicle is on a\nslight downgrade. Even more, the transmission will be able to sense the\nconditions it needs to shift operation. ZF says that trucking companies should\nsee an additional 10% fuel efficiency improvement when compared with\ntraditional six-speed transmissions of today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other advances include a transmission that has shift\nschedules suited to the mixed duty cycles for fleets that work in urban\nenvironments but also haul regional. Being able to change between shift\nschedules allows the transmission to select the schedule best suited for better\nfuel economy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some transmission OEMs are already beginning to look at nine-speed transmissions. With GHG standards getting stricter as the years go by, OEMs need to find innovative ways to ensure their clients meet the new regulatory requirements without going broke in the meantime. A lot of this innovation will come in the transmission and other powertrain components. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The fact is this, whether you are a landscaping company or a\ncourier, you have a job to get done and you may need a medium duty truck to do\nit. While the transmission may not be a huge factor when you spec your\npurchases, at the end of the day, everything counts when it comes to better\nfuel efficiency and a healthier bottom line. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In many cases, trucking companies operating medium-duty commercial motor vehicles are focused on low cost and reliability over fuel economy. After all, these aren\u2019t the long-haul operators guzzling through fuel to get goods from one part of the country to another. These operators might have more to gain from short-term considerations. [wp_ad_camp_2] There has been … Read moreHow Transmissions Are Becoming More Advanced<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trucking"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Transmissions Are Becoming More Advanced - Quick Transport Solutions Trucking Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/quicktransportsolutions.com\/blog\/how-transmissions-are-becoming-more-advanced\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Transmissions Are Becoming More Advanced - Quick Transport Solutions Trucking Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In many cases, trucking companies operating medium-duty commercial motor vehicles are focused on low cost and reliability over fuel economy. 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