Volvo Trucks has increased the shifting speed of its I-Shift gearbox by up to 30%, providing an improved driveability and smoothness to the driving of both diesel and electric heavy-duty trucks.

According to Volvo Trucks, the driveability improvement, which has been added to drivelines at all emission levels, is achieved by the new way in which the I-Shift gearbox interacts with the engine. The update includes faster clutch activation that results in a shorter torque interruption. It also makes the gear shifting smoother, for a more harmonious driving experience.

“Faster gear shifting makes it possible to optimise the gear selection more efficiently. And the more shifting events that the road and terrain requires, the more the improvements will be appreciated by the driver,” said Pär Bergstrand, heavy duty transmission manager at Volvo Trucks.

“With up to 30% faster gear changing now possible using I-Shift, drivers will certainly experience a very positive difference.”

The high-speed shifting is achieved based on several key improvements including updated sensors that provide data with higher accuracy to the control unit, and an added disc in the gearbox brake that makes it react faster before a gear shift, so it can be done earlier.

The air volume has also been reduced in different actuation systems, for example the shift forks, the clutch and the gearbox brake, to further enable a faster gear shift.

When I-Shift was introduced in 2001, it was the first-ever automated transmission designed for heavy duty trucks. Since its introduction, more than one million trucks have been sold globally with Volvo’s unique I-Shift technology.