Meritor WABCO announces its Electronically Controlled Air Suspension (ECAS) is available for both OEM installation and aftermarket retro-fit.
ECAS addresses two key customer groups. For those fleets that are already using 6×2 vehicle configurations for weight and fuel savings, MeritorWABCO says ECAS provides “intelligent load transfer” to help improve traction and reduce tire wear, offering advantages over many current mechanical and simple electronic systems available today. For those fleets that are not yet using, but are considering 6×2 configurations, the company says ECAS provides the assurance that the fleet will have optimal traction and ride performance to support conversion to 6×2. This enables fleets to now take advantage of the important fuel and weight savings that a 6×2 configuration delivers.
“The positive feedback from fleet and OEM customers on Meritor WABCO ECAS also prompted us to create a retrofit package, enabling existing 6×2 vehicles to benefit from the immediate improvements ECAS offers,” says Pat Kealy, director, aftermarket, Meritor WABCO. “This product could greatly accelerate the adoption of 6×2 tractors in North America, giving OEMs and fleets an achievable benefit in fuel savings.”
Meritor WABCO says ECAS addresses long-standing fleet concerns regarding 6×2 tractor applications by providing enhanced traction capability, improved drive axle tire wear, reduced parasitic loss, and further weight savings. It also potentially increases vehicle re-sale value.
MeritorWABCO says key features and benefits of the ECAS include:
- Accurate, electronic maintenance and control of ride height between axles and chassis
- Reduced air consumption for better fuel economy through decreased compressor duty cycle with air spring pressure adjustment only occurring when there is a change in load
- Quick and automatic load transfer from tag to drive axle to reduce drive axle wheel spin during low traction events
- A faster coupling/uncoupling process with ECAS due to faster inflating/deflating of air bellows when compared to mechanical leveling valves
- Speed-activated driveline protection realized by an automatic increase in driving level
- Manual lift axle control to reduce roll resistance when the vehicle is unladen
