NASHVILLE — Meritor, Meritor WABCO won the Truck Writer’s of North America (TWNA) 2012 Technical Achievement Award, announced last week during the Technology & Maintenance Council’s (TMC) Annual Meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition.

The Meritor FUELite 6×2 tandem axle and Meritor WABCO Electronically Controlled Air Suspension (ECAS) were jointly selected for the honor by members of the Truck Writers of North America group.

TWNA says it recognized these products for weight savings, increased fuel efficiency, and improved traction control.

Meritor’s FUELite is the first product in its SoloDrive Axle Series that features 6×2 tandem rear axles. Based on the Meritor 160 series drive axle, it’s best suited for line-haul applications to maximize weight savings and increase fuel efficiency. It’s said to deliver nearly 400 lb in weight savings and approximately a 2 percent increase in fuel efficiency when compared to a traditional 6×4 configuration.

Meritor WABCO’s ECAS is designed to improve a vehicle’s air suspension control system by electronically maintaining a set ride height between the axle and chassis when road and vehicle characteristics change. The pressure control of the air springs is adjusted only when there’s a change in the load, so normal axle vibration during driving does not cause height adjustment or consume air. Reduced air consumption decreases the compressor duty cycle, resulting in improved fuel economy.

ECAS offers automatic load transfer, significantly reducing drive axle wheel spin and traction control events during periods of aggressive acceleration. This feature addresses lower tractive effort of 6×2 vehicles versus 6×4, providing considerable improvement in traction on low friction surfaces to improve performance.

The Technical Achievement Award recognizes a product or service that exhibits technical innovation, has a wide applicability in the trucking industry, offers significant benefits and is widely available.