First buses with Allison’s fuel-saving xFE transmission; up to 7% improvement in fuel economy
07 August 2015
Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. and the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (TheRide) have dedicated the first of 60 new buses equipped with Allison’s new fuel-saving xFE automatic transmission. (Earlier post.) advances in fuel economy technology. The new fully automatic bus transmission has demonstrated improvements up to 7%.
The new buses are part of TheRide’s Five-Year Transit Improvement Program to implement new and expanded services, while also replacing older buses in the agency’s fleet. So far, TheRide has taken delivery of eight buses with seven more due in November. Another 45 buses will be delivered over the next five years. In addition to the xFE transmission, the buses feature a new exterior design.
Transmissions with xFE have the same space claim and ratings as current models, but incorporate optimized gear ratios coupled with Allison’s FuelSense Max electronic controls package. They enable torque converter lock up in 1st gear and operate at lower engine speeds in higher ranges to further improve fuel economy.
Allison transmissions are utilized by 21 of the 25 largest cities in the world and are specified by more than 100 bus OEMs worldwide. On any given day, more than 200,000 Allison-equipped buses are in operation, transporting 20 million passengers daily.
Is it amazing that after 1,000+ years of gear making somebody can make a better one?
Posted by: HarveyD | 07 August 2015 at 01:19 PM
It seems to me, the fuel efficiency is achieved not because of "optimized gear ratio" but because the new transmission imitates the manual one preventing unnecessary slippage of automatic (torque converter).
Posted by: CarCrazy | 10 August 2015 at 03:36 PM