50 |
Overdrive
| July 2014
Drivetrain offerings
•
Go online to
www.iowa80.com
and request your
FREE CATALOG of
the finest selection in
Chrome and
Professional Trucking
Accessories!
•
Or Call Toll Free –
866-4-IOWA80
(866-446-9280)
•
Shop online today!
www.iowa80.com
Like us on
Facebook.
Truck Accessories For The Professional Driver
GET YOUR
FREE
CATALOG!
OD 2014
IA80com OD 060514_Layout 1 6/5/14 11:31 AM Page 1
Untitled-5 1 6/9/14 1:23 PM
Text
INFO
to
205-289-3555
or
visit
www.ovdinfo.com
our component supplier partners."
In addition to the Cummins-Eaton
drivetrain, I also would be evaluating
Allison's new TC10, a fully automat-
ic transmission featuring a torque
converter instead of an electronically
actuated clutch. Gilligan said Allison
designed the TC10 to compete with
the new wave of AMTs.
First up was the SmartAdvantage-
equipped ProStar. Unfortunately,
Chicago traffic gave me little oppor-
tunity to reach and maintain
typical long-haul cruise
speeds. But it was clear, even
in stop-and-go traffic, that
the Cummins ISX15 and
the Eaton AMT were deliv-
ering smooth, precise shifts
and were more than capable
of getting a heavily loaded
tractor-trailer up to speed
in a timely manner. Drivers
will enjoy the confidence of
knowing the engine performs
exactly the way it would with
a manual transmission – and
hitting perfect shifts every
time, to boot.
Likewise, my ProStar day-
cab with the Allison TC10
and MaxxForce 13 power
proved equally capable. I
was expecting the Allison to
shift smoother than an AMT
since that is a prime benefit
of a torque converter, and
the Allison delivered on that
front. But – and this is a
credit to today's AMT design
– I doubt most drivers would
see a noticeable difference.
The Allison certainly shined
in heavy stop-and-go traffic.
It delivered plenty of low-end
torque in such a way that made
me forget I'd driven the same
route with a 15-liter under the
hood just a little earlier.
It will be interesting to see
if Allison adopts an "integrat-
ed drivetrain" version of the
TC10. For now, it's clear that
International is taking the
new heavy-duty transmission
push seriously.
For videos of
test drives by
Equipment Editor
Jack Roberts,
see the Drive
Tests playlist at
youtube.com/
OverdriveMag.
TestDrive_0714.indd 50 6/26/14 9:30 PM