Dana Rolls Out New Axles, Driveshaft
Steve Slesinski, a Dana director for commercial vehicle driveline planning, said here Feb. 28 that for every 100 rpm engine speed decreases, fuel efficiency increases by 1%.
As engine and transmission makers emphasize downspeeding, or running a truck’s engine at lower revolutions per minute to boost fuel economy, that creates a need for faster axles with lower ratios.
The Dana event was part of the annual meeting of American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council. Slesinski said the Dana axles have a ratio of about 2.5-to-1 and are designed for use with the Cummins Inc.-Eaton Corp. SmartAdvantage engine-transmission combination.
A 2.5-to-1 ratio means it takes 2.5 turns of the driveshaft to get one revolution out of a truck’s drive wheels.
Slesinski said faster axles produce more stress on driveshafts. Therefore, Dana also rolled out a new driveshaft that weighs 30 pounds less than comparable models and can better withstand the forces generated by faster axle ratios.
