Kenworth Debuts 18-Speed Transmission Lineup
Kenworth has developed a new 18-speed automated transmission, offering a version for heavy Class 8 trucking and some off-highway uses.
The Paccar TX-18 and Paccar TX-18 Pro leverage the company’s technology for its 12-speed automated transmissions, and will work better for hauling heavier loads, the company said.
“It is going to complement the portfolio that we have with our 12-speed and really give us the opportunity to go across a broader range of models,” Joe Adams, Kenworth’s chief engineer, said at a January briefing for trucking industry media.
Speaking at the Paccar Innovation Center in Sunnyvale, Calif., Kenworth executives said they expect to see a rapid uptake for the new transmission, depending on the application.
Paccar TX-18 automated transmission (TruckPR)
They said the adoption of 12-speed automated manual transmission has been rapid, as has the shift from the standard manual transmission. According to Kenworth, manuals accounted for about 80% of the market as recently as eight years ago but have been almost entirely supplanted by automated manual transmission.
The new transmissions took the key features that Paccar introduced with the TX-12 and then added additional functionality for higher gross weights and additional vocational applications.
The company will offer the transmissions with the Kenworth T680, T880 and W990 with Paccar MX-13 and Paccar MX-11 engines.
Introducing the new PACCAR TX-18 series transmissions. These automated transmissions have the reliability and toughness to conquer heavy duty vocational jobs: https://t.co/e6dLUaHWat #Kenworth #T880 #W990 #PACCARPowertrain pic.twitter.com/FdsIZQSmA2 — Kenworth Truck Co. (@KenworthTruckCo) February 15, 2022
Kenworth said they would allow the powertrains to reach maximums of 510 horsepower, 1,850 pound-feet of torque capacity and 140,000 pounds of gross combination vehicle weight. That allows for heavier uses.
For example, the Kenworth engineering team said that the new transmissions could better handle the 140,000-pound gross weight allowed on Canadian highways. It’s also designed for a variety of vocational applications such as logging or dump trucks.
The TX-18 has three reverse gears, and TX-18 Pro has six. Kenworth said multiple reverse gears allow for improved maneuverability around job sites.
“One of the difficult transitions in taking fleets from manuals to automated transmissions in that heavy-haul space comes because that is where you have your most experienced drivers, and they are looking for better performance in the lower gears of a transmission,” said Hank Johnson, the brand’s general sales manager for vocational and medium-duty trucks.
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“When you’re starting a vehicle that’s fully loaded with a manual, you are able to basically grab the gear you want and make the truck behave the way the driver wants,” he said.
But when a vehicle has an automated transmission, the computer controls the shifts. The new transmission operates more like drivers prefer at low speeds, “and there’s really a significant improvement in performance,” Johnson said.
That helps to enter and exit highways and to launch from a complete stop, he said.
Kenworth is equipping the new transmissions with an internal oil temperature sensor. The transmissions utilize a maintenance-free clutch.
The truck builder said the on-highway maintenance intervals are 500,000 miles or five years, and vocational intervals are 250,000 miles or three years for the TX-18 and TX-18 Pro.
