Dana Holding Corp. published a white paper for the commercial trucking industry that addresses the need for fleets and OE manufacturers to properly manage the higher driveline torques that are resulting from the increasing use of more fuel-efficient downsped engines.
Titled “The Right Solution for Downsped Engines,” the paper is free and can be downloaded here.
Authored by Andy Nieman, vice president of global engineering for Dana Commercial Vehicle Technologies, it describes the motivations behind downspeeding, what constitutes downspeeding, and fuel consumption and environmental benefits. The piece goes on to explain how the resulting higher torques place added stress on a vehicle’s axle, driveshaft and inter-axle.
Different strategies are then presented for managing the higher torques, including Dana’s recommendation for specifying proper driveline components. These components, the paper explains, need to be carefully engineered, thoroughly tested, and proven to be fully capable of delivering the necessary performance in a high-torque environment.