Dang, my clutch leg's gonna' wear out...... LOL!

http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...RS=20050113206

 

That's a lot of reading...

 

Truck drivers handle that and then some...

 

My buddy drives a 15 speed!!

 

I have driven a 14 speed auto....

 

I think this is actually an automatic, EIGHT speed tranny...gonna' wear out your thumbs if this gets steering wheel shift buttons......LOL!

 

Ya... Planetary gear sets screams slushbox to me.

 

Yeah, I've actually seen an 18 speed on Werner's show truck. At least that's what they said it had. Just 10 gears is actually pretty annoying. lol

Edit: Here it is. With a V16 no less!

 

yeah 15 and 18's arent uncommon, although I think most trucks have 13s these days.

The V16 is alittle odd however or any V commercial diesel for that matter, most are inline 6's

 

Not always.

Obviously, at some point, the insanity has to stop. A seven-speed gearbox on a 125cc two-stroke motorcycle makes sense. Putting seven or eight ratios behind a V8 that has a wide powerband may still bring incremental improvement, but it's a game of diminishing returns. Should be interesting to see where the OEMs draw the line.

The Glideshift transmission in my Kubota has 12 forward ratios - and 8 in reverse! But that's an oddball - I believe it's basically a manually-shifted automatic transmission (hydraulically-applied planetaries) with a clutch in place of the torque converter.

Whoa - a Detroit Diesel 16V71 in a semi tractor That must have taken a slight amount of custom fabrication If I'm not mistaken, some GMC semi tractors were available with the 12V71, but obviously the 16V71 was limited to off-highway usage, generators, boats, etc.

 

Ill be damned. Thanks for the link.

 

But truckers dont use there clutch pedal after take off. they just match rpms
greg

 

Yeah, most road trucks of that size use an inline 6 but in offroad trucks and other equipment, V16's are pretty common and I have also seen V10's, V8's, and even a V6 diesel.

 

Why would a large truck like that use a 6-cylinder engine? a V16 is what I would expect in a truck that size...

 

inline 6's are the perfered configuration for commercial trucks. Over the years, V6, V8, V10 and a few others have been tried with varied results but the I6 is the most well rounded in terms of longevity, power, torque, and fuel economy.

when you can make close to 600hp and 2000+ ft lbs of torque with a I6 and get decent (for a truck) fuel mileage, why go for a bigger less efficient motor?