I’m now on a permanent contract driving a MAN TGL12.250 4 over 4 manual each day, but had a day in a DAF 330 CF Auto the other week while still on agency - ■■■■■■■ ■■■■■ !
Jump in the MAN each morning and typically I’ll bang it into 2nd spin it round to about 2 o’clock, then whizz it round to 2 an half in 4th, flick the switch, straight into 6th, boot it again and now you’re already motoring (thanks to a slick fast changing gearbox, a usually lightly loaded 12 tonner and a 6.9 litre engine 
) . Plenty of grunt to surge past dawdling motorists and confidently merge from a sliproad with motorway traffic.
And the DAF?
Well, ok t’was a 26 tonner, but with only about a 5 tonne load and a 330 engine I was expecting something equating to performance, but instead what I got was upchanges at circa 1500rpm no matter what I did with the throttle and foot to the floor acceleration that felt like half of the horses had escaped or been shot.
First Mway slip road I came to and there was just no chance of safely pulling in front of an approaching lorry, so had to slam on and pull in behind 
Drove a CF auto before (older shape, probably about 61 plate) and it wasn’t like this - what’s going on, is this the so called march of progress?
I should mention that this (64 plate) CF was a hire truck - could the hire company have had the engine and transmission ECUs set like this to limit driver abuse??
KTMrider:
I should mention that this (64 plate) CF was a hire truck - could the hire company have had the engine and transmission ECUs set like this to limit driver abuse??
Could be. It’s probably to mitigate the kind of driver who thinks that spinning the engine round to 2,500rpm before changing up is a good idea.
Olog Hai:
KTMrider:
I should mention that this (64 plate) CF was a hire truck - could the hire company have had the engine and transmission ECUs set like this to limit driver abuse??
Could be. It’s probably to mitigate the kind of driver who thinks that spinning the engine round to 2,500rpm before changing up is a good idea.
Yep 
how one hasn’t blown box engine clutch or combo of the 3 amazes me
It needs a rite good match !!!
`65 plate XF 460 out of the box are unmitigated rubbish. The earlier ones have quicker/smoother seeming gear-changes on autos. The early 16 speed manuals are great. The newer (dunno about very latest) autos are horrible: clunky noisy changes carefully calculated to be in exactly the wrong gear for ANY situation shows real dedication to making the truck as bad as possible!
Before the rodent gets in.
It’s pricks like this, that give us all a bad name.
Reading the original post, one can’t help but wonder why auto boxes have become the norm…
I mean, what’s the ■■■■■■■ rush?!
Chunkzilla:
Reading the original post, one can’t help but wonder why auto boxes have become the norm…
I mean, what’s the [zb] rush?!
Yep , I’m hourly paid so no rush unless in London
blue estate:
Chunkzilla:
Reading the original post, one can’t help but wonder why auto boxes have become the norm…
I mean, what’s the [zb] rush?!
Yep , I’m hourly paid so no rush unless in London
There’s just no point in trying to race round, redlining the thing like this fellow seems to relish doing
I may be wrong but isn’t 2.5k revs in a TGS near red line area ?
blue estate:
I may be wrong but isn’t 2.5k revs in a TGS near red line area ?
I don’t know, but he says it’s got a 6.9-litre motor in it so I would assume that it is…
Olog Hai:
blue estate:
I may be wrong but isn’t 2.5k revs in a TGS near red line area ?
I don’t know, but he says it’s got a 6.9-litre motor in it so I would assume that it is…
My bad he drives a TGL hyped up 7.5t to12t truck 
No comparison to a fully load TGS 26t 330 fully loaded as that can take 2 1/2 tons more than his roller skate weighs fully loaded
blue estate:
Olog Hai:
blue estate:
I may be wrong but isn’t 2.5k revs in a TGS near red line area ?
I don’t know, but he says it’s got a 6.9-litre motor in it so I would assume that it is…
My bad he drives a TGL hyped up 7.5t to12t truck No comparison to a fully load TGS 26t 330 fully loaded as that can take 2 1/2 tons more than his roller skate weighs fully loaded
It’s probably best he sticks to roller skates! I wouldn’t trust him near anything bigger!
I mean, would you stick him in an artic?!
Chunkzilla:
blue estate:
I may be wrong but isn’t 2.5k revs in a TGS near red line area ?
I don’t know, but he says it’s got a 6.9-litre motor in it so I would assume that it is…
My bad he drives a TGL hyped up 7.5t to12t truck No comparison to a fully load TGS 26t 330 fully loaded as that can take 2 1/2 tons more than his roller skate weighs fully loaded
[/quote]
It’s probably best he sticks to roller skates! I wouldn’t trust him near anything bigger!
I mean, would you stick him in an artic?!
[/quote]
I know what you mean I got a colleague like that went straight from 7.5t Iveco to a MAN 26t TGS and tries to drive it like the 7.5t , it will end in tears one day
Ok perhaps i should have done a little bit more research before posting, as I happened to take a pic which included the reg number I’ve just discovered the DAF had a 10.8 litre engine (based on the DVLA website) so obviously it will be a lower revving beast than the 6.9 litre MAN. Doesn’t change the fact that it really seemed to lack acceleration compared to all of the other lorries I’ve driven (which is about a dozen, most of which were 18 tonners and also Autos but also drove a 58 plate 26 tonne MAN Auto that was WAAAAY better). In fact it lacked acceleration to the point that it was potentially dangerous IMHO for merging onto motorways.
blue estate:
Olog Hai:
KTMrider:
I should mention that this (64 plate) CF was a hire truck - could the hire company have had the engine and transmission ECUs set like this to limit driver abuse??
Could be. It’s probably to mitigate the kind of driver who thinks that spinning the engine round to 2,500rpm before changing up is a good idea.
Yep how one hasn’t blown box engine clutch or combo of the 3 amazes me
.
in truth I probably regularly rev it up to 2400rpm which is only just past the power peak of 2300rpm of that engine and so surely should be perfectly within the safe working limits of the engine, or am I not supposed to ever use all of the available power when accelerating■■?
the nodding donkey:
Before the rodent gets in.
It’s pricks like this, that give us all a bad name.
If you feel able to judge me on the basis of this one post then you are the prick. You don’t know me, nor have you seen me drive.
Chunkzilla:
I mean, would you stick him in an artic?!
I don’t hold a licence for an artic… 
KTMrider:
Chunkzilla:
I mean, would you stick him in an artic?!
I don’t hold a licence for an artic…
I’m sorry, but from this post, I can’t help but be thankful for that.
Olog Hai:
blue estate:
I may be wrong but isn’t 2.5k revs in a TGS near red line area ?
I don’t know, but he says it’s got a 6.9-litre motor in it so I would assume that it is…
I drive a TGM 26tonner with the same engine at 290 bhp and it’s not quite redlining. You don’t need those sort of revs unless climbing a steep hill, the optimum is around 1500rpm.