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ZF’s New PowerLine 8-Speed Automatic Could Make It To Cummins Diesel Rams:

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They say the 2023 ZF NA manufacturing plant comes online in 2023 to support the North American Market. That is far too long with the competition having 10 speeds out in late 2019. This transmission does have a name though and has been tested in Ram HD with Cummins. Also, Stellantis uses ZF for many of their cars already.

That being said, the new Allison 9 speed automatic for medium duty trucks has been mentioned as far back as 2.5 y ago. No model name or specifications for it yet, but sounds like it may be closer to being ready for Ram?
 

H3LZSN1P3R

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They say the 2023 ZF NA manufacturing plant comes online in 2023 to support the North American Market. That is far too long with the competition having 10 speeds out in late 2019. This transmission does have a name though and has been tested in Ram HD with Cummins. Also, Stellantis uses ZF for many of their cars already.

That being said, the new Allison 9 speed automatic for medium duty trucks has been mentioned as far back as 2.5 y ago. No model name or specifications for it yet, but sounds like it may be closer to being ready for Ram?
I am more than happy with a 6 speed the cummins out tows and gets better millage with the 6 speed than any other diesel with their higher gear count this is coming from all the guys i know who have the fords and d maxes from what they tell me they get for millage..... anything more than an auto with 6 gears behind a diesel belongs in a transport in my opinion....
 
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I hate to admit it, but the new Ford's get better MPG in every test I have seen or read, empty and at Max GCWR. The Duramax has pretty much caught up to our loaded MPG when pulling, and better empty.

I like the ruggedness of the Aisin, but after riding in two of my friends L5P GMs, a 6 speed and a ten speed, their shift quality and smooth operation, without being the least bit slushy, absolutely put my Aisin to shame. No clunking, no getting confused around town, no double-tap lurching at TC lockup. They also get no shudder when pulling heavy, where mine will sometimes shake you out of the seat mostly on the 2-3 upshift. Sorry to say Ram definitely needs to step it up.
 
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Rockcrawlindude

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You guys should be excited about getting a ZF behind a Cummins. ZF 8 speed transmissions are the best transmissions in the world, ever, period.

Maybe You guys that are worried about lifetime fluid haven’t bothered to research exactly how advanced synthetic fluid technology has become.
 

H3LZSN1P3R

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You guys should be excited about getting a ZF behind a Cummins. ZF 8 speed transmissions are the best transmissions in the world, ever, period.

Maybe You guys that are worried about lifetime fluid haven’t bothered to research exactly how advanced synthetic fluid technology has become.
Why would i be excited im not buying another new truck for many many years as i keep my trucks a long time lol
 

MEGA HO

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X2, my previous truck lasted me 10 years. Would still dive it now if my needs didn't change but I needed a heavier truck than a 5.7 Tundra.
 

garyh

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yeah and on my BMW X5 4.4l that I had a trans (ZF) go out on at 120k, the dealer tech told me that they consider 100K as a transmission lifetime. He recommended draining, measuring oil removed, and replacing that amount of fluid every 50k. He said you would only be replacing about 1/3 of the total volume because of the oil volume in the torque convertor, but it would improve the longevity.
 

brv10

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BringMoreWrenches! It wont be the same trans though,Ram has had good luck with ZF so far
 

H3LZSN1P3R

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10 Speed transmissions behind a Diesel is just marketing bling,more is not always better
Exactly, if you look at the final drives from all 3 company's they are almost the same so its only the in between gears which dont really get used often…. I remember when the NV4500 and NV5600 were always compared by people without brains saying how much better the nv5600 was for fuel milage when the only difference was one gear that split the 3-4 shift from the nv4500 other than that all the other gears were identical ratios… its a marketing game and unless the 3500s start pulling 45-50k lbs then a 6speed is more than enough gears, more gears means more failure points and a larger heavier trans
 

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