Meritor set to debut new air disc brake, new friction

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Updated Oct 30, 2019

Meritor's air disc brakeMeritor on Tuesday unveiled its lightweight, single-piston EX+LS air disc brake specifically for line haul and trailer applications.

By taking a purpose-built design approach, Meritor Vice President of Front Drivetrain and Electrification T.J. Reed said designers were able to cut weight. The brake weighs in at just 71 pounds – the lightest Meritor has ever produced, Reed said.

Reed added the EX+LS air disc brake has undergone more than 300 lab tests and seen 1 million-plus miles of validation on the road. The new air disc brake is designed and validated to the same taper wear criteria as a twin-piston brake. Its large-diameter, integrated piston and pusher plate reduce taper wear by increasing stability to deliver evenly distributed braking forces across the brake surface, Reed said. The adjuster mechanism is based on the EX+ air disc brake architecture to offer reliable and consistent brake performance and shares parts commonality within Meritor’s existing EX+L air disc brake design.

The EX+LS air disc brake comes standard with Meritor’s new MA9300 N-level friction, which was also unveiled Tuesday.

Meritor’s new friction was designed to meet reduced copper content regulations more than 5 years before they take place. New laws taking effect in California and Washington require lower copper content in brake pads by 2025. Brakes sold in both states cannot contain more than 5 percent copper by weight beginning in 2021 and no more than 0.5 percent copper in 2025.

“Our new MA9300 friction offers OEMs a solution today that [already] complies with the 2025 laws,” Reed said.

Reed added, even with the reduction in copper, MA9300 friction has shown superior pad wear and similar rotor life compared to Meritor’s current offering during two years of comprehensive lab validation, and more than 2.4 million miles of field testing.

Jason Cannon has written about trucking and transportation for more than a decade and serves as Chief Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. A Class A CDL holder, Jason is a graduate of the Porsche Sport Driving School, an honorary Duckmaster at The Peabody in Memphis, Tennessee, and a purple belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu. Reach him at [email protected].Â