Company’s ride performance and elastomer solutions help improve comfort and reduce fleet operating costs
Tenneco unveiled its latest developments in advanced suspension technologies at the 2014 IAA Commercial Vehicle Show. The company is leveraging its expertise in innovative ride performance solutions and systems integration for passenger cars to create advanced solutions for the world’s commercial vehicle manufacturers.
“Tenneco’s complete portfolio of axle, cabin and seat suspension applications and elastomers for heavy duty and light commercial vehicles are designed to provide enhanced ride performance, comfort and optimized vehicle life while helping reduce fleet operating costs,” said Sandro Paparelli, vice president and general manager, Ride Performance Europe. “Our global manufacturing footprint combined with our experience in design, engineering and systems integration, enables us to deliver cost-effective solutions globally that improve vehicle performance, comfort and durability.”
Tenneco’s advanced design and application engineering capabilities leverage technology expertise to meet the requirements of commercial vehicle customers in terms of product configuration, road conditions, industrialization and cost.
Intelligent Suspension Helps Improve Ride Comfort
Tenneco applies its CVSA (continuously variable semi-active suspension) technology to light commercial vehicles for passenger transport. The shock absorbers continuously adjust to deal with rapidly changing road conditions and driving situations such as cornering, accelerating and braking. They provide enhanced stability and ride performance for a higher level of comfort as well as a more secure feeling.
To increase driver comfort in commercial vehicles, Tenneco has developed Velocity Progressive Damping (VPD). Low damping forces are generated at low velocity for comfort, whereas at higher velocities the damping will progressively increase to avoid bigger movements. This leads to improved comfort for the driver without the need to manually adjust the damping force.
Lighter Weight Products Help Reduce Operating Costs
The development of innovative advanced solutions to reduce vehicle weight can help fleet owners reduce operating costs. Tenneco works with customers to develop lightweight and easy to package products and solutions that help reduce fuel consumption without compromising performance. Light weight products include aluminum, plastic and high strength steel seat dampers, applied in several new light commercial vehicle models today and showcased at IAA 2014.
Tenneco’s Integrated Front Suspension (IFS) is a cost-effective way of integrating air springs with 45mm axle dampers. This provides significant weight reduction on the front suspension and improves overall ride comfort. Lightweight Seat Dampers are another example of how Tenneco leverages lightweight materials combined with innovative designs to reduce component weight.
Integrated Height Valve (IHV) is a newly developed air spring damper module which continuously levels truck cabins. The unit’s regulator valve is integrated into the module for a more compact solution to simplify installation and reduce assembly time and cost during manufacturing and servicing. This modular solution can be adapted for any on- or off-road application.
NVH Solutions
Tenneco’s Clevite® Elastomer products for commercial vehicles help customers meet performance targets while minimizing vehicle mass with innovative rod designs:
- Controlled Torque Technology allows customers to specify elastomer suspension bushings that provide good noise vibration harshness (NVH) isolation combined with a low or no torsional parasite rate. A free-spinning inner component allows springs and dampers to perform more efficiently.
- Lightweight Torque Rods deliver high performance and longer product life while minimizing vehicle mass.
- New innovative Spring Eye Bushing solutions reduce mass and improve bushing function and life.
- Hydroelastic Mounts and Bushings provide extremely high levels of targeted damping to eliminate vibrations in the vehicle and deliver excellent durability and increased driver comfort.