Lighter weight wheel

Alcoa Commercial Vehicle Wheels rolled out its new “LvL One” product – tagged to eventually replace its existing line of 22.5 by 8.25 truck wheels, without a price increase
March 18, 2009

LOUISVILLE. Combining new materials, a new design and manufacturing process, Alcoa Commercial Vehicle Wheels rolled out its new “LvL One” product – tagged to eventually replace its existing line of 22.5 by 8.25 truck wheels, without a price increase.

“Our intent from the beginning was to bring this new product offering into the core part of the wheel market we serve – not bring it in as a premium product,” said Tim Myers, vp & gm of Alcoa Commercial Vehicle Wheels, here at the Mid-America Trucking Show. “We plan on offering this as our ‘base family’ or truck wheels.”

The new “LvL One” aluminum wheel is 2 lbs. lighter than Alcoa’s current product offering, translating into a 36 lb. savings for an entire tractor-trailer, which grows to 650 lbs. when compared to steel wheels. Myers noted that Alcoa is currently field testing its new LvL One wheel with three high-mileage, high-payload fleets – accumulating 150,000 mi. of on-road testing to date.

“Two pounds less per wheel may not seem like much, but [they] can add up to millions for a fleet and translate into more payload, fuel savings, less stress on engines and drivetrains, and lower emissions, too,” Myers said.

Sign up for our free eNewsletters

Voice Your Opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of FleetOwner, create an account today!