[tomgauger]

I've had three coaches in my life...the last two (including the current Monaco Exec) have the wonderful Allison tranny. Smooth, dependable and everyone seems to like it. The Monaco has the AH-4000. Love it.
In my search for a good used Newell I'm finding that most, if not most on the market have the ZF-AS 12-speed. One broker told me that Newell owners don't like the ZF transmission and were trading in.
I'm now looking at two Newells, both with ZF's.
Would love to hear some opinions.
In looking through this site there seems to be very little talk about transmissions which leads me to believe that both the Allison and ZF are performing well in Newells
Some thoughts?

[Richard]

In my opinion, only you can answer the question. You can feel it shift a little, and it lurches just a wee bit going into first.

Newell went to that tranny when Detroit stopped selling Series 60 to the moho market, at that time Allison wouldn't rate their tranny for the higher torque Cats and Cummins engines. This what I recall, and I could be all wrong. Someone will set me straight.

[Fulltiming]

Tom, Newell introduced the ZF transmissions (10 speed) during the 2005 model year although most 2005 models were fitted with the Allison 6 speed. The 10 and 12 speed ZF's, along with the Allison were available by the 2006 model year. By 2008, more than 50% of the Newells had the ZF transmissions. By 2012, more than 50% of Newells had the Allison again. When Newell began using the high horsepower, high torque engines, the Allison transmission was not rated to handle the full torque (over 2000 lb-ft) of the Cat C-15 engines so if you wanted an Allison transmission, an engine with de-rated torque (typically 1900 lb-ft or less) had to be installed. When Caterpillar was replaced by the Cummins ISX, the Newell specified engine generated 1950 lb-ft of torque and the Allison was rated to handle up to 650 HP and up to 1950 lb-ft torque. Now most Newells have a 600 HP Cummins ISX with 1950 lb-ft torque and use the Allison transmission.

Both the Allison and the ZF's are dependable transmissions. The ZF's have pro's and con's. If you travel extensively in the mountains, the ZF's give you more gears to work with and allow the use of the higher torque engines; however, the Allison's are faster accelerating from a standing start and are smoother shifting than the ZF transmissions.