Equipment World

January 2016

Equipment World Digital Magazine

Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/620628

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 61 of 75

C alling it a "significant milestone," Liebherr says it will use a pow- er-split transmission as standard throughout its entire new XPower large wheel loader lineup; a decision it says will help give the machines up to a 30 percent fuel efficiency boost com- pared to conventional drive loaders. The loaders will debut at the bauma trade show in Germany next April, and appear in the United States by mid 2016. The power-split drivetrain on the L 550 through L 586 models com- bines a hydrostatic drive and a mechani- cal drive, and uses a continuously variable transmission gear- box to automatically adjust between the two drives, matching the drive to the job at hand. The hydrostatic transmission, for ex- ample, excels at short loading cycles going into a pile, while the mechanical transmission shines during long hauls and uphill drives. "We believe the power-split transmission is the future, because it has the advantages of both types," says Martin Gschwend, sales direc- tor, Liebherr-Werk Bischofshofen. Another plus of this transmission: there's less internal stress, which increases component life. Leibherr emphasizes that the power-split is standard, at no addi- tional cost. In fact, Gschwend says the XPower loaders will only have a 1 percent inflation-related price in- crease when they start production. Each XPower model will now use the axle previously used in the next largest machine (for example, the new L 556 XPower will feature the January 2016 | EquipmentWorld.com 62 product report | by Marcia Gruver Doyle | MGruver@randallreilly.com Liebherr's new XPower wheel loaders offer standard power-split transmissions Quick Specs Model Horsepower Bucket capacity (cu. yds.) Operating weight (lbs.) L 550 191 3.82 39,021 L 556 224 4.30 40,565 L 566 272 5.02 52,690 L 576 292 5.62 56,658 L 580 313 6.21 60,957 L 586 354 7.17 71,870 All large Liebherr XPower wheel loaders will feature a power-split transmission as standard.

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Equipment World - January 2016