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MOTORINDIA
l
April 2012
105
Firestone Industrial Products
introduces new and
advanced air spring
Firestone Industrial Products has launched a new
air spring with integrated air-damping system,
which the company says is lighter weight and long-
er lasting than the traditional air springs while
also providing a smoother ride and eliminating the
need to dispose of hydraulic fluid.
The Firestone Airide Integrative Air-Damping System was show-
cased at the Mid-America Trucking Show, after being tested in
Freightliner and Paccar vehicles, Graham Brookes, Division Manager,
Technology, with Firestone Industrial Products said in an interview to
Trucknews.com.
He said the new air spring was designed with the driver in mind and
built with new materials that better dampen road inputs into the cab.
“We changed a lot of the materials and lowered the stress on some of
the elements within the construction”.
By improving the materials, Brookes said the new air spring now
lasts twice as long as traditional designs. It was tested to 50 million
cycles, while the industry norm is one million, and it was still going
strong when testing was halted. “We thought 50 million was a good
achievement and it still wasn’t completely worn out,” he added.
The weight savings translate to about 2.5-3.5 lb per module, since
the integrated design does away with the mounting hardware required
for separate hydraulic dampers. Initially available on Freightliner and
Paccar trucks, the new system will come at a small cost premium,
Brookes admitted. But with its long life and weight savings, he said
the cost will be negated.
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MATS 2012: Technology Watch
The materials used to create the Firestone Airide Inte-
grative Air-Damping System are highly resistant to heat.
This is important since today’s aerodynamic cabs deflect
air flow away from components while emissions reduc-
ing technologies create a hotter environment for compo-
nents.