This story appears in the Oct. 3 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today. Volvo Trucks North America said it was introducing a new powertrain package for its VN series tractors aimed at reducing fuel consumption by up to 3%.
“The new XE13 — exceptional efficiency — powertrain package lowers engine rpm at a given vehicle speed, a concept Volvo calls ‘downspeeding,’” the company said Sept. 21.
“Possible through the combination of Volvo’s I-Shift automated manual transmission and a Volvo engine with modified software, XE13 allows the engine to cruise at just 1150 rpm at 65 mph, about 200 rpm less than the average truck sold today,” Volvo said.
Ed Saxman, Volvo Trucks powertrain product manager, said in the statement that “historically, we’ve seen a slow progression toward a lower ‘sweet spot,’ with the 1,300 to 1,500 rpm range as the current industry standard.”
“The engine with the XE13 package has a ‘sweet spot’ of 1,050 to 1,500 rpm,” Saxman added. “Customers gain about a 1.5% fuel efficiency improvement for every 100 rpm of ‘downspeeding,’ so fleets that ‘spec’ XE13 can expect up to a 3% improvement when compared to another overdrive transmission in a similar operation.”
The XE13 package is rated up to 80,000 pounds, and comes with the Volvo D13 engine, with 425 horsepower and 1,750 foot-pounds of torque.
