LOUSIVILLE, Ky. — Smartbrake has unveiled an intelligent alternative to noisy Jake brakes, with the launch of its new air-set endurance brake.

The air-set Smartbrake offers a number of advantages over traditional engine brakes, not the least of which is its lack of noise.

“The key thing about this product is it is a quiet product,” says vice-president of worldwide operations, David Phillips. “Your engine revving is louder than our brake.”

He notes there has never been a Smartbrake-equipped truck charged with violating municipal noise bylaws against engine brakes. However, Phillips is quick to add there are more advantages to using the Smartbrake system.

“It acts as a multi-functioning product,” says Phillips. In addition to providing adjustable braking horsepower levels, the product can also rapidly warm up the engine in cold climates, provide consistent cab temperatures and shut down the engine in volatile atmospheres. All that at a cost of up to 40 per cent less than traditional engine retarders.

“The return on investment is about a year, but we’ve seen it less than that,” says Phillips. He explains the advantages of the system mostly stem from the fact it acts off the engine’s exhaust rather than compression.

The system ranges in price from about US$1,350 for a spring set, three-inch exhaust to about US$1,795 for an air set Smartbrake accomodating four-inch exhausts, and it is available through most truck dealers.