DTNA Unveils DD8 Engine for Medium-Duty Lineup
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Daimler Trucks North America announced the addition of the Detroit DD8 diesel engine to its medium-duty lineup.
The 7.7-liter engine, which has been available in Europe for five years but is just now arriving in North America, features technology designed to reduce diesel particulate filter maintenance. It will initially be available in Freightliner M2 106, 108 SD and 114 SD models, DTNA product manager Brian Daniels told reporters here Feb. 6.
DD8 Engine (DTNA)
The North American introduction of the engine comes after a $375 million investment DTNA made specifically to expand its manufacturing capabilities for medium-duty engines in the NAFTA region, including the DD8 and smaller DD5, said Kelly Gedert, director of product marketing for Freightliner Trucks and Detroit Components.
“We have a really strong commitment to ensuring this product will be a success here, and meet our customer’s needs,” she said. “Dealers and customers have been asking for a medium-duty solution for years.” She noted, however, that Freightliner will continue to offer Cummins’ medium-duty B67 and L9 engines.
A key feature of the DD8 is the engine’s variable exhaust cam phasing, which increases exhaust temperatures to reduce manual DPF regenerations, the company said. The DD8 also will offer power takeoff capability. In addition, every DD8 for North America will come equipped standard with Daimler’s Virtual Technician remote diagnostics system; every new engine will get the service included for three years or 250,000 miles, which matches the engine’s standard warranty period.
Daimler also will offer Wabco collision mitigation and Bendix lane-departure warning systems on DD8-equipped trucks.
To provide flexibility for upfits, two exhaust aftertreatment systems will be offered in DD8-equipped trucks: a horizontal n-line system, or an understep setup.
The five years that the DD8 has been available in Europe has given Daimler time to identify and address maintenance issues, Gedert noted. “This is a proven product for us,” she said.
For the NAFTA market, the engine has undergone 31,000 hours of bench testing and has logged 1.9 million miles in 15 test vehicles, the company said.
Power ratings will range from 260 horsepower and 660 pound-feet of torque with a single-stage turbo to 375 hp/1,050 lb-ft with a dual-stage turbo.
All North American DD8 engines will be manufactured at Detroit’s Redford, Mich.-based manufacturing facility, the same plant that produces the medium-duty DD5 engine and Detroit’s 13-liter DD13, 15-liter DD15 and 16-liter DD16 engines, as well as the DT12 automated manual transmission and Detroit-brand axles. The DD8 has been in production there since fall, and installations in trucks began on Feb. 4, Gedert said.
She said in the fourth quarter of this year Daimler will relaunch the DD5 to broaden its applications, including the addition of power takeoff capability, and will also add scope to the DD8.
