Learning shifting in 13 speed KW

When down shifting, treat it like a 10 speed.

 

It’s all about matching the speed and RPMs with which gear you select. Speed is pretty easy. RPMs will become easy but can take some time to get right.

Tip: it’s the same speed/RPM up shifting as it is downshifting. When it’s time to upshift note what RPM you’re at. You need to practice, while sitting in neutral, hitting and momentarily holding the rpm’s at that specific RPM . Once you can hit and momentarily hold the correct RPMs without needing to look, then you only need to match the speed.

It will all become second nature in time.

 

Shifting in low rang shift at 1,000 RPMs or less because you don’t need 500HP to get rolling at stop light. Plus you don’t have worry about matching the gears because is will slide into next gear. It the same when downshifting in low range. You will be slowing down for stop lights so you don’t need any power and you really want smooth easy shifts. The lower RPMs you shift the more easy and less matching the gears you have to do.

When shifting up thru the gears you shift at 1,000 RMPs in low range. When you go to High range bring your RPMs up to 1,600 RPMs and shift. Then let RPMs drop to 1,200 and it will slide into the next gear. Step on the pedal and bring RPMs back up to 1,600. You can shift full gears in high range and don’t really need to split each gear.

People don’t always mention this but it good to know that most transmissions have 400RPMs steps between gears for each full gear. When you bring engine up to 1600 rpms -400 rpms is 1200 rpms is when it will go in gear. So if you shift to fast you grind gears and to slow you miss the gear, but it you take another 400 rpms from1200 rpms that 800 rpms it will also go into gear if you missed 1200 rpms, as truck slows.

When downshifting let truck slow till 1200 rpms push clutch in put it in neutral let clutch out and bring engine to 1600 rpms it will go into gear.

Today newer engine can pull down to 900 rpm or 1000 rpm’s. So you can shift at 1000 rpm’s (+400rpm step) and 1400 rpm’s

the 1200 rpm’s and 1600 rpm’s come from the older pre emissions engines like S60 by Detroit Diesel and N14 Cummins.

I was trained at 1200 rpm’s and 1600 rpm’s just seemed to work good. But you could change the shift points for the newer emission engines if you want 1000 and 1400 rpms

 

If you want to split gears you can but it not really needed unless pulling a hill. The splitter is like shifting 1/2 gears. I did it when pulling a mountain and shifting a full gear was to much for engine to keep pulling. It’s basically shifting with 200 rpms step between gears. So if you want for fun shifting gears you can go thru each gear and split the high rang gear. You can keep it more simple a shift full gears 400 rpms then it more like regular 10 speed.

 

I "floated" with 9-speeds, 10-speeds and 13-speeds for years. RARELY did I ever "float down", and never really saw any need to. Certainly, only a boneheaded idiot would attempt "floating down" on a mountain descent with a loaded trailer. I guess I just learned how to do it in case I ever lost my clutch pedal and had to make it to someplace safer.

I've been out of the business for a while now, but I have the feeling that 13-speeds are quickly disappearing. When I started driving, the Eaton-Fuller 13-speed had just about replaced the old Fuller twin-stick 6x4, but there were still a few of them around.