Photo: Jim Park

Photo: Jim Park

Volvo Trucks has put a new spin on an old powertrain management strategy. By locking out top gear on its I-Shift overdrive transmission, drivers can pull loads efficiently in 11th gear (direct drive) and still get the performance they want.

When running empty, sensors in the transmission and the suspension sense the lower weight and unlock 12th gear, which is overdrive. The truck can cruise home at a very low engine speed and a higher road speed.

Check out this "Focus On" video report, which explains how Adaptive Gearing works and features excerpts from an interview with Gene Brice, co-owner of Idaho Milk Transport.

About the author
Jim Park

Jim Park

Equipment Editor

A truck driver and owner-operator for 20 years before becoming a trucking journalist, Jim Park maintains his commercial driver’s license and brings a real-world perspective to Test Drives, as well as to features about equipment spec’ing and trends, maintenance and drivers. His On the Spot videos bring a new dimension to his trucking reporting. And he's the primary host of the HDT Talks Trucking videocast/podcast.

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