Accuride Corporation announced two new sizes of its Gunite Optimum Lightweight Drums (GOLD) that the company said will support the revised stopping distance regulations for standard three-axle tractors which go into effect Aug. 1, 2011.
“The new 16.5 x 8 inch (9020X) and 16.5 x 8-5/8 inch (9019X) GOLD drum sizes complement Gunite’s existing 16.5 x 5 inch steer axle GOLD brake drum (9002X),” said Tony Pape, Accuride’s vice president of marketing. “Adding the new GOLD drums for the larger high performance drum brake systems that will be coming out in August 2011 can save fleets an additional 76 pounds over full-cast drums, offsetting weight penalties of the larger front and rear brakes.”
GOLD brake drums are designed to be an optimum balance between durability and thermal capability, providing the performance of Gunite’s standard full-cast drums, yet saving as much as 170 pounds versus standard full-cast drums on a typical tractor/trailer combination, according to the company.
“During two years of GOLD drum field testing on standard 15 x 4 inch steer axle brakes and 16.5 x 7 inch drive and trailer axle brakes, fleets reported longer drum life without increased lining wear,” added Pape. “Collectively, drum life expectancy was reported to increase in front (steer) axle applications by 50-75 percent, rear (drive) axle applications by 20-50 percent, and trailer axle applications by 20-40 percent. Gunite field-testing is also showing that GOLD brake drums are effective in reducing brake drum ‘squeal’ versus lightweight steel shell composite brake drums.”
