The Rankings
Page 40
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Al] of the test drivers were asked to list the gearchange system — not the complete vehicles, engines or even the gearboxes themselves, but the systems — in order of preference. They were asked to put themselves in the position of an owner/driver who would be driving the truck day in day out for perhaps the next two or three years. Questions of reliability, durability and ease of repair were not taken into account as we have no reliable data on these subjects.
Allan Winn SAMT first equal Twin Splitter CAG EPS ZF manual Tim Blakernore Twin Splitter SAMT CAG EPS ZF manual Bill Brock Twin Splitter SAMT
-GAG
EPS ZF manual Bryan Jarvis SAMT CAG Twin Splitter ZF manual EPS Brian Weatherley ZF manual CAG EPS SAMT Twin Splitter
SUMMARY
Our two days of testing in Derbyshire gave us an unprecedented opportunity to compare and contrast some of the latest gearchange technology. As the driver opinion rankings show we were, by and large, favourably impressed, but we can see room for improvement in all the systems. Despite the claims made by their manufacturers, all the advanced gearchange systems required rather more driver familiarisation than might be expected.