Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/592284
13 engines and has a 1 million mile B10 life. On the highway, the MX-11 proved to be superbly quiet with plenty of low-end torque on hand. Lugging up steep mountain grades was no problem at all. My test truck, a sharp Kenworth T680 with an Eaton Fuller 13-speed manual transmission was loaded with about 34,000 pounds in the trailer — a load the MX-11 was easily able handle in that rugged ter- rain. New Predictive Cruise Control sys- tem now in production It was no coincidence that my MX- 13-powered T680 test tractor featured the Eaton Fuller Advantage AMT. That transmission is also the key control- ling component of Kenworth's new Predictive Cruise Control system, which I was also given the opportunity to evaluate during my drive. The new system is pretty slick: It uses real-time GPS data to not only control vehicle speeds to optimize fuel economy, but closely monitors GPS terrain model- ing to anticipate changing road condi- tions and set the truck up to deal with them as effi ciently as possible. One of the drawbacks of a con- ventional cruise control system is its inability to judge terrain conditions. Every driver is familiar with the sud- den burst of throttle as cruise control discovers too late that its truck is on a long, steep mountain grade, or scrambled to disengage the system as speed picks up sharply once a grade has been crested. Kenworth's new system can identify these terrain conditions before the truck is actually dealing with them, and adjust throttle settings or gear selections in advance to handle them. This holds true both up a grade, or going down, when the system automatically shifts the powertrain into neutral, or what Kenworth calls "Coast Mode," to deliver exceptional fuel economy. Should the grade steepen and vehicle speed start to pick up, the system automatically and seamlessly engages the MX-11's engine brake to hold the truck at its desired speed. It's a fi ne system that worked exactly as advertised during my run around the Cascades. Even in steep terrain, drivers can pretty much fl ip the system on and forget it, with full confi dence it will handle any terrain coming its way. Paccar says MX-11 engines will en- ter production early next year, which Kenworth's new Predictive Cruise Control System is available now as a factory-installed option. ◆ Tools Trucking 22 www.studentdriverplacement.com November '15 The Kenworth T680 features PACCAR's new Predictive Cruise Control system.