Low fuel, low noise lowdown
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• Fuel economy was by no means the only item on the agenda at this year's trials.
ArvinMeritor was there in strength to begin to test the market for a lightweight trailer leaf spring made of glass-fibre composite material. Field trials of trailers fitted with the spring are just starting; It is expected to go on sale in the UK within about six months.
The composite spring's key selling point is low weight—about 30kg less than a comparable steel spring—but low noise, especially from empty trailers, is likely also to prove attrac tive in envi ronmentally sensitive operations.
Selling price is expected to be somewhere between steel and air.
The natural frequency of the composite spring means that it does not qualify as "road-friendly" under current European legislation, but ArvinMeritor believes that this could change.
The Achilles heel of many earlier truck and trailer springs made from glassfibre composites has been weakness around the spring eye. But ArvinMeritor is confident it has solved this problem by making the spring eye part of a single moulding.