New Axle Lubricant Claimed to Reduce Operating Temperatures, Boost Economy

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (AAM) has announced that it has developed a new synthetic lubricant for its driveline systems.
The PowerFilm lubricant, when combined with low friction bearings and an optimized sliding geometry of the hypoid gear set,claims the company, will provide significantly reduced axle operating temperatures, along with improved axle efficiency.
According to AAM, combining these technologies with the utilization of AAM’s PowerLite and PowerDense materials in the design of driveline systems has the potential of reducing the axle operating temperature by as much as 28 percent and improving axle efficiency by as much as 3 percent over the conventional axle. This improved efficiency can translate into a 0.3-mpg gain or a 1.9 percent improvement in fuel economy on full size trucks with a V8 engine.
“This is another example of the AAM Advantage that we provide to our customers,” says Daniel V. Sagady, P.E., vice president, Engineering & Product Technology. “The PowerFilm lubricant and driveline systems utilizing it,were originally developed for the harsher light truck market and are currently under evaluation by a major OEM. However, the combination of these exclusive AAM technologies can also be translated to AAM’s new line of Power Transfer Units (PTU) and independent rear drive axles (IRDA). As a result, we can now provide similar operating temperature and mpg improvements over conventional PTUs and axles for crossover and rear-wheel-drive passenger vehicles.”
AAM is an OEM manufacturer involved in the design, engineering, and validation of driveline systems and related components and modules, chassis systems and forged products for trucks, sport utility vehicles and passenger cars.