Dana has published a new white paper that presents optimized tire pressure as a solution to prevent blowouts and other tire events, improve fuel economy, and reduce operating costs.
Authored by Jason Sidders, engineering manager for advanced chassis control systems at Dana, “Optimized Tire-Pressure Management” describes the benefits of an optimized tire-pressure management system that not only monitors pressure for all tires on a linehaul tractor, but has the capability to automatically adjust that pressure, inflating or deflating as needed for optimal driving conditions.
In addition to details on Dana’s technology, charts in the white paper help illustrate the data presented, including the impact of underinflated tires on fuel economy and a comparison of benefits between monitor-only systems and Dana’s optimized tire-pressure management technology.
Dana says its tire-pressure optimization system overcomes the significant challenges that other systems for linehaul trucks do not currently address.
Dana’s system eliminates dependence on the malfunction indicator lamp to alert the driver to potential problems, freeing the driver from making judgment calls that could affect safety and efficiency. Additionally, Dana says customers can spend more time on the road and less time stopping to check the pressure of each tire. The system will adjust tire pressure as needed and record each occurrence, alerting maintenance personnel to examine seemingly minor issues and address larger problems before a major failure occurs.
Dana says the paper also describes the advantages and disadvantages of currently available tire-pressure monitoring systems. Recently proposed Phase 2 standards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) support the need for more technological options to help manufacturers further reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase fuel efficiency, including systems such as Dana’s optimized tire-pressure technology.
Dana says these agencies specifically identify the need for optimized tire pressure in order to maximize the efficiency of low-rolling-resistance tires and also recognize the benefits of automatic tire inflation versus monitor-only systems.
