Lightweighting is a vital effort underway by leading wheel makers to help the industry lower total vehicle weight to meet approaching emissions and fuel-efficiency requirements for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, says Craig Kessler, vice president/engineering at Accuride Corp. “We are working to achieve this by lowering the weight of steel and aluminum OEM first-fit and aftermarket wheels for tractors and trailers.”
Product development engineers at Accuride’s North American Engineering and R&D Center are at the heart of that effort, Kessler notes. “They are pursuing alternate engineering and metallurgical approaches that achieve reductions in total wheel weight while maintaining physical integrity, durability and performance,” he states. “Our engineering team continues to assess new steel and aluminum alloys that will help us open the door to the next generation of lighter weight steel and aluminum wheels.
“As lighter, high-performance steel and aluminum wheels come into the marketplace in the coming months,” Kessler adds, “their tighter design specifications will require even tighter manufacturing tolerances to ensure consistent performance and durability.”
Brian Thomas, marketing communications manager, Alcoa Wheel & Transportation Products, points out that wheels are one of the few components where weight can be reduced. “Spec’ing lighter weight forged aluminum wheels is a simple solution to increasing overall fuel efficiency, and oftentimes improving the freight-carrying capacity of a vehicle,” he says.
“Heavy-duty vehicles demand a tough wheel,” Thomas continues. “Not only are they lighter in weight than steel, forged aluminum wheels are stronger and more durable and can improve maintenance savings and ultimately lower lifetime operating costs. For example, our Ultra One wheel with MagnaForce alloy, which can save nearly 100 lbs. per tractor-trailer, offers a 17% increase in strength over existing alloys.”
Alcoa Wheels also recently launched Dura-Bright Evo, which the company says is its most easy-to-maintain commercial truck wheel. The wheel incorporates the benefits of its predecessor, the Dura-Bright wheel with XBR technology.
“The Dura-Bright Evo wheel,” Thomas says, “is 10 times more resistant to corrosion caused by road salts and weather elements and more resistant to chemicals found in truck cleaning agents. This durability enables the use of a wider variety of cleaning solutions to simplify maintenance, while preserving the integrity and brightness of the wheel.”
The Dura-Bright Evo wheel is now commercially available in North America on Alcoa’s LvL One 22.5- x 8.25-in. and 24.5- x 8.25-in. wheels. All remaining Alcoa North American wheel fitments will shift to Dura-Bright Evo in January 2016, extending the application to include Class 3-8 vehicles.
Last year, Accuride re-engineered and launched two 22.5-in. Accu-Lite Duplex aluminum wheels that were up to 4 lbs. lighter than the models they replaced. “Accuride’s wheel
initiatives are not only related to lightweighting,” states Rafael Gonzalez, director of product management, Wheels. “After investing in two advanced coating systems, we then launched the Steel Armor [coating], which is now standard on our steel wheels to offer an advantage to fleets operating in corrosive environments.
Maxion Wheels is addressing corrosion and durability as well, notes Mark Fonte, marketing & sales manager-OE Truck & Military. “Looking at current improvements in finish and performance, we have implemented a 100% wire brushing operation to better remove weld spatter from the surface of the wheel prior to our e-coat paint process. This eliminates the silicates that can remain after welding of the disc and rim, which can become a corrosion initiator over time.
“At Maxion Wheels, we have also implemented a 100% leak test on our production line to ensure that within each wheel we maintain the integrity of the rim from air leakage,” Fonte adds.
Looking to the future, Maxion Wheels is working on further mass reduction across its entire wheel portfolio. According to Fonte, the company also continues to develop improvements in corrosion-resistant coatings. New product features such as externally mounted air valves that reduce the risk of valve damage in applications with air disc brakes are also in the works.
