Overdrive

January 2017

Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info

Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/769491

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 34 of 59

January 2017 | Overdrive | 33 DRIVE TEST P accar has launched a proprietary drive axle optimized for line-haul applications. The product moves the company's 2017 Peterbilt and Kenworth trucks closer toward an inte- grated powertrain. Half of the orders in 2016 included a Paccar MX engine. The new axle can provide more than 1 percent added fuel economy thanks to reduced weight and friction and a pinion through-shaft design that helps optimize power flow for improved efficiency, says Jorge Medina, Peterbilt on-highway market- ing manager. Laser welding of internal components helps reduce weight, as does a lower oil volume requirement. Those improvements together cut around 150 pounds. The axle's ratios range from 2.47 to 3.7, with engine torque compatibility of up to 1,650 lb.-ft. and a multi- torque rating of up to 1,750 lb.-ft. Kevin Baney, Kenworth chief engineer, said the design makes the axle "the most efficient out there" for line-haul operations. I recently tested the new 40,000-lb. rear axle in a Peterbilt 579 Epiq and a Kenworth T680. While it's not easy to isolate axle performance for drive test purposes, it was relatively easy to evaluate the new 2017 MX engines as I drove the Kenworth around Washington state and the Pete around Denton, Texas. The MX-11, which was spec'd in a Kenworth T680 Advantage day cab, featured an extra 100 lb.-ft. of torque and was rated at 430 hp with 1,650 lb.-ft. The 11-liter pow- erplant was able to nimbly climb steep, long grades near Kenworth's Kirkland facility. The MX-13 gets an extra 10 horsepower for 2017 – up to 510. My Peterbilt Epiq featured 455 hp, which Anthony Gansle, the compa- ny's on-highway marketing manager, said is its most common line-haul fuel-effi- ciency spec. While Central Texas doesn't offer much in the way of hills, the 13-liter MX powered the 70,000- pound gross weight like a champ through gusty winds and dense traffic. Paccar's 2017 engines also feature tuned and refined injectors and pistons, vari- able-speed oil and coolant pumps and a single-cylinder air compressor. Paccar is offering two turbochargers on its engines – for horsepower ratings above and below 485. Also new for the 2017 model year is a single-can- ister aftertreatment system that trims about 100 pounds while improving serviceability, thanks to the single-location integration of the diesel par- ticulate filter, selective catalyt- ic reduction system and diesel exhaust fluid pipe. New axle furthers powertrain integration BY JASON CANNON Jason Cannon is equipment editor for Overdrive. Paccar said its new 40,000- pound rear axle can provide more than 1 percent added fuel economy. It is available in axle ratios from 2.47 to 3.7. The Paccar 2017 MX-13 gets a horsepower boost to 510, up from 500.

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Overdrive - January 2017