Fiat 9 speed automatic loves 7/8 gear (1 Viewer)

[Pukka]

We have a new 9 speed automatic, while driving on the motorway doing 61mph. The gearbox stays between gears 7 and 8. Very rarely changing into 9th. If I move to manual mode it says to change to 9th straight away.

The other thing I have noticed if cruise control is on and we overtake a lorry about halfway in the overtake it will drop a gear which cause a moment loss of power.

 

[funflair]

What sort of RPM is typical on the motorway?

 

[Guigsy]

The other thing I have noticed if cruise control is on and we overtake a lorry about halfway in the overtake it will drop a gear which cause a moment loss of power.

The extra drag from the turbulence can cause a downshift. I presume you're on a multi-lane motorway, not a single carriageway, so is it an issue?

 

[Howard B]

Mine just displays “Auto” all the time, dont have a clue which gear it is in.

 

[Phill D]

What speed are you overtaking lorries on the motorway if it’s 61 mph I would not be surprised it changes down.
At a guess the revs required for that speed is likely to be at the point where the gearbox is on the balance point of changing down and as stated above the additional drag from the lorry causes the change.

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[Pausim]

I know nothing about this particular gearbox but with 9 gears it doesn’t surprise me that it rarely uses the top one. A motorhome is permanently heavily laden and 61mph probably isn’t its top design speed. An unladen Ducato delivery van on the way back home might well make more use of the top gear. The more gears you have the more often it will change.

Again I have no idea how this gearbox behaves in manual mode but the gear suggested may be based on revs not load. My manual VW often suggests higher gears but it takes no account of hills and loading, it is a very simple rev counting device.

 

[Guigsy]

Again I have no idea how this gearbox behaves in manual mode but the gear suggested may be based on revs not load. My manual VW often suggests higher gears but it takes no account of hills and loading, it is a very simple rev counting device.

The Ducato gear change nag indicator is based on load. If you're trying to hold a certain speed going up a hill, it'll suggest a downshift as you pile on more throttle even though you're keeping the revs the same.

 

[Orion]

With cruise control on and the gearbox in ‘ECO’ mode I’ve found that running at 65(ish) will engage 9th and the revs will be about the same as 8th at lower speed. On a boring motorway run recently it was showing 36mpg average.

 

[danielf]

Mine (a 140 van conversion ) gets into 9th quickl but changes down a gear or two quickly in any incline or overtake even on cruise control and even more so now it has 20k on it

You sometimes get a pause but it feels worse than it is and now I have done down miles I can predict when it will happen mostly.

ButItnis the best auto I have had , better than my BMW

Daniel

 

[SpeedyDux]

I did read somewhere that 7, 8, and 9 are overdrive ratios.

My comfortmatic has to make do with only 6 ratios.

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[Old Gibber]

Given that the Ducato has a top speed of 90mph, it is not surprising that with 9 gears it stays in 7th or 8th gear.

 

[Millcourt]

Pukka ….. Do you make use of the Eco/Normal/Power button just above the gear stick? In Eco, gear changes occur at lower revs, in Power it changes up at higher revs. It always defaults to Normal on restarting.

 

[Andy MacD]

I tend to run mine in eco mode most of the time now. The higher gears kick in when I want them and it’s a more relaxing drive and shifts into 9th at 60. At times I’ll pop it back to normal if hilly or power if I’m about to do an overtake.

 

[Orion]

Pukka ….. Do you make use of the Eco/Normal/Power button just above the gear stick? In Eco, gear changes occur at lower revs, in Power it changes up at higher revs. It always defaults to Normal on restarting.

I’m very impressed with this 9 speed ZF auto box and the mode selection - previously had an 8 speed ZF in my VW Amarok which had Tiptronic manual and a single ‘Special’ mode, and I thought that was good but this is even better!

The altered throttle response in ECO is fine for trundling along motorways and decent A type roads with the cruise control on or off, and PWR really sharpens it up for quick pull aways or hills. We went over the Col du Lauteret into Italy recently and the auto box, plus the PWR mode, made the drive up the ‘staircase’ from Briançon a breeze. I’ve done it before in a manual car and on a motorcycle and this was the easiest even with a considerably larger vehicle.

 

[Pukka]

Thanks for the replies, I will try eco mode tomorrow and see how it goes.

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[Pukka]

We did not get on a motorway today, stuck to N roads in France and ate way to much baguette.

 

[Lyrick]

We travel in eco mode and cruise control on when practical. Usually in 9th on the flat at 60mph. Surprisingly low revs at that speed in 9th - 1500 rpm, which is just inside the maximum torque band for the 140 bhp engine.