Ford V10- 6 speed transmission

[MW22r]

Forgive me for this question but I seriously dont know the answer.... If my 2019 Ford 6.8L V10 has a 6 speed transmission why are there only 4 manual options ie D, 4, 2, and 1 ?

[Mark Kovalsky]

Because they didn't want to spend the money to create the additional positions.

[MW22r]

Mark. Therefore to take advantage of the 6 speeds the best way would be to use the tow/haul mode and let the transmission choose the best gear for the rpms and speed? Something about tapping the accelerator or brake to change gears on a 7% downhill grade seems less intuitive than manually changing gears even if only 4 speeds? Appreciate your input....bob

[tap4154]

I just use the tow haul mode, it works great. No need to be fussing with the gear shift. Just keep your eyes on the road and tap the brake if you want to downshift.

[Mark Kovalsky]

I can only speak about the previous 5 speed, but I really don't think the culture changed. It cost money to add the extra positions, and manglement didn't feel that the gain from being able to manually select each gear was worth the expense. Those of us who towed in the mountains argued otherwise, but they controlled the money

[High Road Travelers]

I keep mine in tow/haul mode 100% of the time. Didn't use to, but I listened to some other seasoned RV drivers, and when you think about it you are always hauling if your wheels are turning.
Also, the tapping or "stabbing" the brake to downshift does work. At the top of a steep incline you should be going slower than you want to go down the hill and tap the brake to downshift to a lower gear if needed. You can also manually put it in first or second gear to start a descent, but I think with practice the brake stabbing process works better. The owner's manual explains pretty well, something about the engine and transmission working together (and they are smarter than me).
Both the manual and experienced drivers say that the V10 engine will not over-rev; and will shift up a gear if necessary if you keep it in "D" and stab the brakes.
Thanks,

[twinboat]

If you crest a hill, get to about 5 MPH below the speed you want, and set the cruise control.

Now it will do it all for you. You just steer.

[jharrell]

If you get the new F53 with the V8, it still has the same 6 speed transmission but they updated the instrument cluster and gear shift which now has a +/- gear selector and a M position instead of 4. This was brought over from the Superduty which has had it for years:

Here is the page from the manual:
https://www.fordservicecontent.com/F...gEnabled=False

And a post from someone who has one:
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f23/my-n...v8-492044.html

[tap4154]

Originally Posted by jharrell

If you get the new F53 with the V8, it still has the same 6 speed transmission but they updated the instrument cluster and gear shift which now has a +/- gear selector and a M position instead of 4. This was brought over from the Superduty which has had it for years:

Here is the page from the manual:
https://www.fordservicecontent.com/F...gEnabled=False

And a post from someone who has one:
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f23/my-n...v8-492044.html

I have a plus/minus gear selector on my Ram pickup steering wheel, and I hardly ever use it. When I'm in the mountains I just run it on tow/haul. Drive it the same way as I drive my motorhome and it works very well.

[Gidyupgo]

As a side note, someone told me NOT to use tow/haul when the streets are wet/slick, since the automatic downshift could put the rear wheels into a skid. The anti-lock brakes would release, whereas the transmission downshift would not know the wheels were skidding. I haven't experienced it and prefer not to, so I just de-select tow/haul in the rain. Also, no cruise control in the rain.

[jharrell]

Originally Posted by Gidyupgo

As a side note, someone told me NOT to use tow/haul when the streets are wet/slick, since the automatic downshift could put the rear wheels into a skid. The anti-lock brakes would release, whereas the transmission downshift would not know the wheels were skidding. I haven't experienced it and prefer not to, so I just de-select tow/haul in the rain. Also, no cruise control in the rain.

I have ran tow/haul in rain and freezing weather, never close to a skid that I could tell and thats towing a Jeep. The wheels will not lockup from a downshift unlike a braking action would without antilock, the downshift is antilock by nature.

The downshifts don't seem aggressive enough to cause a skid at least not on such a heavy vehicle, I suppose it would on ice, but at that point braking would be pretty bad too.

[Mike8253]

Originally Posted by MW22r

Mark. Therefore to take advantage of the 6 speeds the best way would be to use the tow/haul mode and let the transmission choose the best gear for the rpms and speed? Something about tapping the accelerator or brake to change gears on a 7% downhill grade seems less intuitive than manually changing gears even if only 4 speeds? Appreciate your input....bob

From my own experience when I had my 2004 F53 chassis Class A w/ 4-speed and no Tow/Haul, it's much easier now to tap the brake to get that lower gear than to have to take eyes off the road to find the gear indicator and then manually downshift. In fact, it's now 2nd nature to tap the brake to initiate a downshift, and a much more sure, accurate and repeatable action than tugging on that gear selector.

[nodine]

Originally Posted by twinboat

If you crest a hill, get to about 5 MPH below the speed you want, and set the cruise control.

Now it will do it all for you. You just steer.

If you have the new 7.3 V8 with the 6 speed do as Twinboat says. The Ford 6 speed continues to impress me. Last Saturday we were booking it West to get away from the storm. Coming out of Connecticut near Newburg, NY is a long downhill grade. I had the cruise set to 65 MPH and when we started down that hill expected the vehicle to gain some speed before downshifting but to my surprise the speed stayed locked to 65 MPH all the way down the hill and I never touched the brake or the accelerator. All other vehicles we have owned, including the 2020 Chevy Sonic we tow would have gained several MPH in speed before the transmission downshifted. Ford must be doing something with the torque converter to maintain that tight of control. It is hard for me to believe gearing alone could do that.

Bob

[High Road Travelers]

Originally Posted by twinboat

If you crest a hill, get to about 5 MPH below the speed you want, and set the cruise control.

Now it will do it all for you. You just steer.

I knew about cruise control holding your speed descending, while going highway speed in hills and such.
On my next down hill in the mountains I will try the cruise at slow speed. My manual states it will work at anything over 20 mph. If I need slowing down further for switchback, etc. I'll just use the brakes, then press "resume" to continue down.
Sounds good, thanks. (I just never thought about using speed control going that slow - guess that shows how much I think).