Firestone Industrial Products has launched a new air spring with integrated air-damping system, which the company says is lighter weight and longer 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 showcased 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”.
The materials used to create the Firestone Airide Integrative Air-Damping System are highly resistant to heat. This is important since today’s aerodynamic cabs deflect air flow away from components while emissions reducing technologies create a hotter environment for components.
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.