For the ride and drive, several Class 8 brands and models were equipped with the TC10 to show off its versatility. The 2011 Navistar Prostar daycab (foreground) powered by a MaxxForce 13 engine providing 430 hp and 1,550 ft-lbs of torque allowed the TC10 to show its stuff against a Freightliner M2-112 powered by a DD13 cranking out 370 hp engine equipped with Allison's 3000 HS automatic gearbox.
Sean Kilcarr, Fleet Owner's senior editor, drove these trucks on Allison's test track, to compare shifting, power, and performance characteristics.
A Peterbilt Model 384 featuring a mini-sleeper and a Paccar MX engine generating 455 hp and 1,650 ft-lbs of torque gave the attending reporters the feel of how a TC10 would perform in a true on-highway Class 8 configuration. However, it could only pull a 48-ft. trailer due to the narrow confines of the test track.
Test drivers took attending media out on public roads to show off the TC10's capabilities in true stop-and-go traffic conditions common to heavily populated urban areas, as well as out on the highway to demonstrate its performance at higher and more consistent speeds.
For test purposes, the TC10 gear selector box for the Peterbilt tractor got mounted on a column where a manual shift lever would be. In the future, Allison said the TC10 gear selector pad would most likely be mounted on the dashboard.
Here’s what a dash-mounted TC10 gear selector pad would look like.
Allison used a special “display trailer” hauled out to its test track so reporters could sit down and interview engineers plus review technical details concerning the new TC10 transmission.
Here’s an interior view of Allison’s “display trailer.”
