Dana Announces Products Designed to Manage Change
ATLANTA — Dana Inc. unveiled a range of products intended to manage changes in commercial vehicles as trucks tackle emissions reductions.
The company made the announcements at American Trucking Associations’ 2019 Technology & Maintenance Council annual meeting here.
Dana now is a preferred supplier to The Lion Electric Co. for traditional and electrified componentry on its all-electric urban Class 8 vehicle, the Lion8.
At TMC? Stop by Booth 3347 for a chance to win your own Amazon Echo or Google Home device.
The Lion8 will include the TM4 SUMO HD direct-drive motor, BCI20 charger and inverter, and the Neuro vehicle controller. Also supplied by Dana will be Spicer DS404 drive axles and SPL 250 driveshafts.
The truck is available for ordering.
Steve Slesinski, Dana’s director of global product marketing, told Transport Topics that Lion “is an agile company” that could supply truck customers in Northeast urban settings and California as that state leads the way toward stiffer emissions regulations.
He added that Dana has more than 300 electrification engineers working in its propulsion systems product line.
Dana is tracking the amount of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, reduced by customers using its Spicer e-axles, now at more than 95,000 metric tons, and is updating the total live at the 2019 TMC.
At the same time, Dana executives said its Spicer Dura-Tune center bearing is immediately available on standard Spicer SPL driveshafts and heavy-duty Spicer 10 Series driveshafts. It is tuned for “powertrain vibration isolation and dampening.”
Listeners look at Dana's presentation. (John Sommers II for Transport Topics)
The Dura-Tune center bearing addresses noise, vibration, and harshness levels associated with the significantly higher drivetrain torque stresses and unique vibration frequencies created by engine down-speeding and chassis light-weighting, according to the Maumee, Ohio-based company.
It can be retrofitted or installed as a replacement part through Dana’s aftermarket business.
The bearing’s patented design helps to ensure proper installation and alignment throughout the life of the vehicle for a more consistent ride while promoting drivetrain longevity. The new design also provides a more user-friendly installation, further reducing the possibility of future alignment-based issues, according to the company.
Meanwhile, Dana said its updated cloud-based Rhombus Tire Analytics 3.0 program offers analytics for tire performance based on the vehicle’s specific job. It also addresses cost-per-mile reporting, and offers added installation and rotation patterns for unique situations that may require replacements and further instruction.
Proper tire management is key to reducing costs and ensuring the optimal fuel efficiency, experts said.
Dana is tracking the amount of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, reduced by customers using its Spicer e-axles, now at more than 95,000 metric tons, and is updating the total live at the TMC annual meeting. #TMC2019 pic.twitter.com/HoRJsDlcwY — Roger Gilroy (@roger_gilroy) March 17, 2019
Lastly, its Spicer Trac-Lok limited-slip differential for Spicer S140 single drive axles will be available in June for medium-duty work truck applications. The differential provides improved traction during unexpected wheel-slip events and utilizes a reliable five-pinion design to serve Class 6 applications.
The Spicer Trac-Lok provides improved traction capability without requiring switches, wires, sensors, air hoses or manual input from the driver. During a slip event, it automatically sends approximately three times more torque to the high-traction wheel-end. The Spicer Trac-Lok then returns to normal wheel-end differentiation as conditions change in order to deliver maximum vehicle handling, according to the company.
