Mack and Volvo – whose engines are supplied by Volvo Powertrain – have announced they will use both EGR and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) to meet 2010 NOx emissions standards. Diesel particulate filters will remain to curb particulate emissions.
Michelin North America and its TCI Tire Centers subsidiary unveiled a new disaster-response, mobile tire-service unit to be used in areas hit by natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina.
Eaton has received a $65 million contract from IdleAire Technologies to provide the Power Truss, a key component of IdleAire’s Advanced Travel Center Electrification system. As of June, IdleAire had equipped 1,830 spaces in 30 locations with its driver-comfort systems, and expects to begin opening five new sites a week on a regular basis.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber announced that its Wingfoot Commercial Tire Systems subsidiary has signed an exclusive agreement to develop and operate truck service centers at Pilot Travel Centers.
Global Ride Solutions is a brochure highlighting Hendrickson’s full range of products for the worldwide commercial transportation industry. Download a copy at www.hendrickson-intl.com.
Mobileye recently launched its Advance Warning System, which includes lane-departure warning, headway monitoring and forward collision warning.
EPA awarded a 2006 Climate Protection Award to Denso for developing Ejector Cycle technology, which reduces energy use and greenhouse gas emissions of vehicle air conditioning, refrigeration units and residential heat pumps.
Schneider National and Goodyear marked 20 years of Goodyear supplying tires to the carrier.
Toyota celebrated the production of its 250,000th lift truck.
SKF recently launched the 2006 season of its Heavy-Duty Pit Crew Program, an incentive-based training program designed to provide heavy-duty technicians with the latest technical tips, failure analysis data and product information.
Hendrickson Aero Bright, nonmetal bumper ends are available on the Freightliner Columbia.
ConocoPhillips is celebrating the 125th anniversary of its Kendall Motor Oil brand.
Arrow Truck Sales announced that it has broadened its Arrow Certified pre-owned truck program to include medium-duty vehicles.
Fontaine PartSource – a new, aftermarket parts unit of Fontaine Trailer – has moved into a new, 15,000-square-foot facility in Jasper, Ala.
Bridgestone Firestone announced that company founder Harvey Firestone has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Eaton and Dana Corps. – collectively known, for marketing purposes, as Roadranger – recently hosted the press for a peek at new and soon-to-be-released products. Here’s the skinny:
* The Eaton Fuller UltraShift LEP (Linehaul Efficient Performance) transmission is a 13-speed, two-pedal, automated gearbox with narrow steps in cruising gears to keep engines in their most fuel-efficient rpm range. Eaton claims that, compared to a standard 10-speed automated transmission, the new unit likely will provide a 2 percent fuel economy improvement.
* Also introduced was the Dana S170 single drive axle with a 2.53:1 axle ratio, and Dana DST40 tandem with new 2.64 and 2.93 ratios. Both are designed to keep rpm low for fuel efficiency, and both incorporate wide-face driven gears, cut and heat-treated with the latest techniques, for maximum durability.
* Eaton’s Fleet Resource Manager is a subscription-based fleet optimization tool that can be tailored to fit unique needs. It allows fleets to generate Web-based productivity reports on demand, including stop and activity reports, electronic driver logs and fuel tax reports. It can diagnose a vehicle problem before it gets to the repair shop, and can be integrated with a Vorad unit to manage fleet safety.
* New Dana Spicer LMS hubs allow the use of wide-base tires and offset wheels without bearing damage, thus eliminating the need for wide-track axle housings.
* The Dana Lube Director will be introduced in ’07, and is a simple insert that’s installed in a drive axle. It shunts lube away from the gearing to reduce churning losses by 20 percent, improving fuel economy and reducing lube temperature.
* Well before 2010, says Eaton, the company will have its Heavy-Duty Hybrid Power System on the road. It’s a combination of an UltraShift Transmission and 44kW electric motor/generator, which will work in conjunction with a diesel engine. It’s estimated that the system will save 5 to 7 percent of on-road fuel by capturing energy, via regenerative braking, and feeding it back into the drivetrain when accelerating and climbing hills. The system also will be able to handle loads like heating and air conditioning with just a few minutes of idling each hour.
* Finally, Eaton has entered the emissions-control fray with a proposed aftertreatment system that will enable a diesel engine to meet 2010 emissions standards without using a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system that requires an external tank of urea. It combines a fuel doser, fuel reformer, lean NOx trap, diesel particulate filter and an SCR unit that will generate its own ammonia – the key component of urea – in the fuel reformer during brief periods of lean NOx trap regeneration. This, says Eaton, will eliminate current SCR concerns, such as urea infrastructure expenses and “failure-to-fill” scenarios.
– John Baxter and Paul Richards
Shell Rotella meets CJ-4 specs
Shell Lubricants has reformulated its Rotella T motor oil to meet the specification criteria for the new API CJ-4 service category for use in ’07 diesel engines. The new oil initially is available now in bulk and drums, and can be purchased in quart, gallon and pail packages beginning Oct. 15. Shell plans to continue availability of its API CI-4 Plus Rotella T motor oils in bulk and drums beyond the introduction of the new API CJ-4 oil.
EquipmentPuzzler
In June, we posed the following: In an air brake system, suppose 60 psi were applied to a chamber with a 16-square-inch diaphragm, and the pushrod were acting on a 4-inch slack adjuster. How much torque would be applied to the S-camshaft?
Jeff Johnson, truck sales driver for Rihm Kenworth in Stillwater, Minn., was the first to draw his calculator and come up with 3840 lb.-in., or 320 lb.-ft. He’ll get an elegant CCJ pen and Air Brake Book. You can, too, if you’re the first to e-mail the correct answer to this month’s Puzzler to [email protected], or if you send in a Puzzler of your own and we use it.
This month’s Puzzler: Without dismantling an engine, how can you check for a distorted cylinder or liner?
