LOUISVILLE, Ky., — ArvinMeritor has released its DX 225 air disc brake.

The new brake, rolled out at the Mid-America Trucking Show, offers significant performance and maintenance advantages for a variety of vehicle applications.

The brake is part of the Meritor Disc Plus product family launched in 1997. It will be released to OEMs starting mid-year and is compatible with various wheel envelopes in the truck, tractor, trailer and bus applications, including fire trucks and emergency vehicles.

“The DX 225 provides the most packaging flexibility in the market today,” says Rakesh Sachdev, vice-president and general manager, Worldwide Braking Systems.

The DX 225 brake fits within 22.5-inch wheels and is available on axles with up to 24,000 lbs. gross axle weight rating. Another model in the Disc Plus family, the DX195, was introduced in 1997 and fits into both 19.5-inch low profile and 22.5-inch wheel applications.

The DX 225 is compatible with both ABS and Electronic Braking Systems and incorporates the latest braking technology and state-of-the-art components to provide improved operation over previous air disc brake products.

The brake consists of a lightweight, single piece cast caliper, supported on twin slide pins, fixed to a mounting saddle. Brake torque is fed through the saddle directly into the axle, leaving the caliper free to float on precision-machined slide pins, ensuring equal force is applied to both inner and outer pads clamping the rotor.

“Along with improved braking performance, fleets and vehicle operators will benefit from the brake’s longer operating life and lower life-cycle maintenance costs,” says Sachdev.

According to Bob Zirlin, director of Worldwide Marketing for Suspension Systems and Trailer Products, DX 225 brakes will be available for trailers as part of the new high performance, low maintenance TL and TA trailer axles with packaged bearing.