Dana introduced a new axle lubricant Sunday at TMC in Nashville that Steve Slesinski, director of global planning, commerical vehicle driveline technologies for Dana, says is specially formulated for fuel economy improvements with lower rpm engines.
The XFE 75W-90 axle lubricant is a synthetic gear oil with a 500,000 mile change interval.
Slesinski says Dana engineers have validated a number of benefits associated with using the new lube, including reduced friction and spin loss, lower stabilization temperature and more viscosity during operation. Slesinski said these benefits can add up dramatically with fuel savings of up to $730 over a 5 year period for each truck using the new axle lubricant.
Slesinski said the company believes that because the efficiency and fuel economy gains achieved using engine downspeeding are so attractive, the trucking industry will continue to gravitate toward lower engine speeds in the future.
“Overall, the think the trend will be downward heading toward a new target of 900 rpm at highway speeds,” Slesinski said.
