8 speed complaint

[star_deceiver]

You’re gonna need to bang down those gears yourself or spend your $$$ on some decent tuning. Also, you can buy 4.44 gears that will fit in the front and rear diffs.

 

[Lucy Girl]

To be frank, the tow haul mode is not aggressive enough. I really wish it would hold gears longer and down shift more aggressively when braking on the downhill bits. Things like driving around in town and slowing down at a red light, I find myself waiting on it to downshift to give some engine braking. It doesn't, and I end up going deeper into the brake pedal than expected.


I kinda thought it was all in my head but I think the TFL Ike video supports it.

My 2012 f150 had a much more aggressive shift strategy.

Otherwise I really love the truck, motor, and transmission. 2019 Bighorn 6.4 3.73.


Thoughts? Is there a chance ram adjusts the shift strategy for tow/haul? Any idea about tunners?

I don’t like it either. Sucks.

 

[JS4024]

No problem on mine, I can put 11,000 behind mine and it hammers it down the road. Not a diesel but it scoots. It downshifts just fine and if I need more engine breaking push the little button marked -..... These things are not designed to drive themselves....

 

[Truckin19]

I also agree regarding the TH mode, but otherwise I am very satisfied with the performance of the 8 SPD. Of all the trucks I have had in the past this has been the best shifting truck ever so I am very thankful for that.
Truckin

 

[pacofortacos]

Maybe a HD thing, my 1500 holds the gears too long for my liking in T/H. Downshifting, I just apply light brake and it seems to downshift just fine.

 

[crash68]

Maybe a HD thing, my 1500 holds the gears too long for my liking in T/H.

Part of when a transmission shifts is the actual torque demand. Unless the engine is going way over the torque peak there isn't a problem with holding gears too long. Contrary to what some people think, it's not horsepower that tows a load, it's torque so with a gasser the engine is going to rev into the torque band.

 

[Sandevino]

Mine seems to be in the right gear regardless if I’m running empty or towing. The key is to anticipate the stop and not rely on the vehicle to do it for you.

One technique taught to new commercial drivers is to allow the load to slow itself which requires letting off the accelerator and allowing gravity to go to work to slow momentum.

 

[pacofortacos]

Part of when a transmission shifts is the actual torque demand. Unless the engine is going way over the torque peak there isn't a problem with holding gears too long. Contrary to what some people think, it's not horsepower that tows a load, it's torque so with a gasser the engine is going to rev into the torque band.

True, I just drop it out of T/H until it shifts back into 8 and then turn it on again and cruise in 8.
Probably right on the bubble between 7 & 8th gears for the speed/load.
T/H seems to like to keep the rpms close to or above 2000 rpms no matter the gear on my truck.
Which is why I generally don't run T/H when empty.

I actually wish my truck would lug the engine a bit more - heck I mean even a bit, it downshifts at the sight of any grade.
It esp. annoys me on the level (like in Florida) going over the overpasses. If it would lug just for a second or two, I would be over the overpass and actually on the downhill side of it.

At 70 mph I am at 1900 rpms in 8th, so while the extra few hundred rpms dropping in to 7th doesn't appear to bother mpg (good or bad) vs. 8th, it is more of just a noise, used to lower rpm deal for me.
My old 5.9 Dakota pulled harder than the 5.7 in the lower rpms.

Decel and braking are fine with a load and using T/H, the slightest brake pressure and it downshifts another couple of brake pushes and it downshifts again.