Eaton, Cummins Expand Powertrain Partnership
The SmartAdvantage fuel-economy package, currently offered with the Cummins ISX-15 diesel and Eaton’s Fuller Advantage automated manual transmission, is now available on Cummins’ ISX-12 diesel, the companies said. The package boosts fuel economy while also delivering torque levels drivers need by sharing critical data between the engine and transmission, according to the companies.
Company officials gave an overview of their joint efforts during American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council annual meeting, where they showcased the SmartAdvantage powertrain.
Ryan Trzybinski, development and project planning manager for Cleveland-based Eaton, said SmartAdvantage has nearly 200 customers and that “sales have exceeded our expectations.” Neither Trzybinski nor Mike Taylor, director of Columbus, Indiana-based Cummins’ global powertrain division, would give specific sales figures, saying only that the number of trucks with the package was “in the thousands.”
One of those customers, Kriska Transportation, of Prescott, Ontario, has seen fuel economy improve to 9.5 mpg from 6.5 mpg, “just by handing [drivers] the keys to a new truck. At 1,000 miles a day, that’s a lot of money,” Trzybinski said. That company is using SmartAdvantage-equipped trucks with the latest advancements to the ISX-15 setup.
“We spent a lot of time with our customers last year to make it better,” Trzybinski said.
The companies also announced that Cummins’ ISX12 G natural gas-powered engine is now available with the Eaton Fuller Advantage automated transmission.
“We’re very excited about continued collaboration with more choices in fuel and more choices in AMTs,” Taylor said.
Trzybinski added that Eaton’s Procision medium-duty transmission, first announced last fall, is on track for a July release.
The new 7-speed transmission features a dual-clutch design and electronic shifting that uses grade, vehicle weight and throttle input to provide optimal fuel efficiency and smooth, continuous delivery of torque to a vehicle’s wheels under all shift conditions, Eaton said in September when it unveiled the transmission.
It is designed to deliver 8% to 10% better fuel economy than a similarly equipped vehicle with a torque converter automatic, according to Eaton.
Eaton also said the dual-clutch technology will allow for more efficient acceleration from a stopped position and will optimize shift points that will efficiently reach the highest gear. Gear changes are made by swapping the engine torque between clutches with the next gear preselected.
