The shift in passenger car vehicle population in the USA to light trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) has resulted in a growing performance issue for the lubricant. At one end of the spectrum is the need for increased fuel efficiency which is usually measured in lightly loaded conditions on a chassis dynamometer. At the other end of the performance spectrum is the manufacturer's requirement for the components to provide long-term durability under severe service conditions such as trailer towing which the vehicles are used for in many cases. Unfortunately, the lubricants optimized for efficiency often do not provide the best durability and conversely those designed for durability often do not meet desired targets for efficiency. This work looks at the development of lubricants designed to dose the gap between the two divergent needs. The approach to the development includes a study of some of the fundamental lubricant properties such as traction and friction under controlled laboratory conditions. The findings from the basic studies are then applied to full-scale axle evaluations which measure both peak temperature and efficiency under severe operating conditions. Additional testing was carried out on optimized candidates in the conventional chassis dynamometer fuel economy test to validate the overall performance of the candidate
Optimizing lubricants for axle durability and efficiency
2002
14 Seiten, 9 Bilder, 6 Tabellen, 5 Quellen
Conference paper
English
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