Freightliner Restyles Century S/T
EGR'd MBE Diesels, New AGS Tranny
By Tom Berg, Equipment Editor
You see Freightliner's Century Class tractors coming and going every day, and soon you'll notice a "bold new look" in the front-end styling of the Century 120 S/T version. The S/T (for safety/technology) is also available with a new "Signature" premium interior package that's also optional on the Century Columbia, whose exterior styling remains the same.
Freightliner also showed off its 2004 model Mercedes-Benz diesels with cooled exhaust-gas recirculation, needed to meet stricter exhaust emissions standards that go into effect in January. And Business Class mediums can soon be ordered with an M-B Automatic Gear Shift transmission with automated shifting and clutch operation.
Century S/T's new styling widens its "mouth" and gives the model a more truck-like appearance, Freightliner executives believe. Styling includes a wider grille with an additional intake area in the bumper. About 55% of the front end's surface area is now open for passage of air to the radiator and charge-air cooler so that hotter-running '04-model diesels can be better cooled. The grille bezel can be painted or chrome-trimmed.
New twin projector-beam headlamps provide more light on the road. Their lenses are tough polycarbonate to stand up to road debris, and bulbs are readily available when replacements are needed. Headlamps and adjoining running/turn signal lights are in sculpted bezels that are painted only. Freightliner's chief engineer, Michael Von Mayenburg, said he's already received comments from dealers who think they should be chromed.
Chrome plating is available for the bumper's steel center section, and lines up with and nicely complements a chromed grille. The two end sections remain "damage tolerant" plastic. Inside those sections are sculpted round enclosures for optional running lights and amber accent lights.
The enhanced Century S/T 120 also gets a curved, two-piece windshield for better aerodynamics and less costly glass replacement. A redesigned sun visor allows air to flow easily between it and the cab roof, also to reduce wind drag and increase fuel economy. The visor is in one piece to reduce replacement and repair time, and weighs several pounds less than the original three-piece design, which is still available as an option. The new sun visor is available for SleeperCab configurations only.
Fancy Signature
The upscale Signature interior for the Century S/T and Columbia includes new button-tufted and diamond-stitched trim panels. The Freightliner logo is embroidered on the back wall. The panels are backed with extra thick foam padding that provides a plush feel while further insulating the interior against road noise.
The panel design is carried into the seat covers, which also have a diamond-stitch pattern and the logo in the seatbacks. Extra padding and upholstery that's softer than standard adds to comfort. Cut-pile carpeting is color matched to the interior's available hues of Autumn Red, Horizon Blue, Opal Gray and Graphite Black. A leather-wrapped, black-spoked steering wheel and Curl Elm wood-grain facing on the instrument panel complete the Signature package.
NEWLY CONFIGURED MBES
EGR'd Mercedes diesels for '04 include the heavy duty MBE4000 inline Six that is standard in most of Freightliner's Class 8 models, and four- and six-cylinder versions of the MBE900 that power many walk-in vans from Freightliner Custom Chassis and Business Class M2 models. The 4000 is also used in heavy Sterlings and Western Stars, while the 900 is standard in the Sterling Acterra.
All MBEs use a simplified form of EGR with two reed valves instead of multiple flap-type valves, and a relatively inexpensive high-output turbocharger with no variable geometry vanes. The MBEs also have high-pressure fuel injection and sophisticated Electronic Engine Management System, and a water-to-gas heat exchanger to cool exhaust gas before it's piped to the intake manifold and then to the cylinders. Here the gas displaces air to cool combustion and reduce production of oxides of nitrogen, or NOx, an ingredient of smog.
As before, the MBE4000 displaces 12.8 liters or 781 cubic inches. It makes 350 to 450 hp and torque from 1,350 to 1,550 lbs-ft. Its standard compression brake and turbo brake produce up to 500 retarding horsepower. Freightliner says it weighs 2,117 pounds, or 83 to 330 pounds less than competitive 11-, 12- and 13-liter diesels.
The midrange MBE900s include advanced features, light weight and high performance, Freightliner says. A new front-engine PTO option is meant for use with snow-plowing trucks and other vocational use. Optional engine and exhaust brakes allow the six-cylinder versions to produce up to 215 retarding horsepower, according to product literature. The 900s have four displacements:
• Six-cylinder model 906, with 6.4 liters (387 cubic inches) and four ratings from 170 hp/420 lbs-ft to 260 hp/700 lbs-ft;
• Six-cylinder 926, with 7.2 liters (439 cubic inches) and three ratings of 250 hp/800 lbs-ft, 300 hp/860 lbs-ft and 330 hp/1,000 lbs-ft (the 330 needs an oxygen catalyst in its exhaust);
• Four-cylinder model 904, with 4.3 liters (262 cubic inches) and 170 hp/420 lbs-ft; and
• Four-cylinder 924, with 4.8 liters (293 cubic inches) and 190 hp/520 lbs-ft.
In addition to the MBE4000, most Class 8 Freightliners are also available with Detroit's 12.7-liter Series 60, also with EGR, and Caterpillar ACERT C9, C13 and C15 engines and the non-EGR Cummins ISL (see accompanying story). The Class 5 Business Class M2 is available only with the MBE900s, which is the standard engine on other midrange M2s. Cat's C7 and Cummins ISC are optional on M2 Class 6 and 7 models.
AGS PAMPERS DRIVERS
Available early next year is the Mercedes-Benz Automated Gear Shift, or AGS, a "two-pedal" transmission with an automatic clutch and electro-hydraulic shifting mechanisms. Used for several years in Europe, the German-built AGS uses a standard six-speed gearbox with synchromesh collars, so the clutch is used for each shift, though the driver is unaware of it.
An AGS can be driven like a full automatic or the driver can manually control gear changes. Electronic controls in the transmission manage the operation to choose the correct gear for the situation or, if the driver demands an up- or downshift, quickly decides if it can be done within the engine's rev range. Freightliner's paddle-type selector, mounted on the steering column, is the only selector offered.
Two torque capacities, 520 and 660 lbs-ft, allow use of the AGS with 170- to 250-hp engines. Initially, AGS will be available only with MBE900 diesels, but it could also work with Caterpillar's C7, which is optional in the Business Class M2, engineers said. The AGS will be "aggressively priced" against competitors, including Eaton's medium-duty UltraShift automated mechanical and Allison's full automatics.
Driving The MBEs And AGS
Freightliner announced its latest new products at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, where it had on hand the MBE-EGR diesels and the AGS self-shifting transmissions for reporters' evaluations. Two of us had commercial driver's licenses, so were asked to pilot a pair of MBE-powered tractor-trailers out of the hotel complex. Behind us came several Freightliner Business Class M2s with MBE900s and the AGS autoshifters, driveable by reporters without CDLs.
This convoy proceeded out off The Strip and onto Interstate 15, and then north about 60 miles where we turned around. Along the way we stopped three times to play musical driver seats. On the I-road I drove both heavy rigs and one M2 with an MBE900 and six-speed manual transmission, and later drove an AGS-equipped M2. The Century S/T tractors had the current nose style, so you'll be spared a styling critique. But they were powered by the latest EGR'd engines, so I can offer some brief impressions.
MBE4000 REMAINS STRONG
The newly configured MBE4000s behaved much like their non-EGR predecessors, which is to say, smoothly and quietly. Low noise levels are apparent, and appreciated, if you drive a heavy or midrange MBE immediately before or after another engine. This day the rigs each weighed in the high 70,000s, so the 4000s got a good workout. Both pulled strongly whether accelerating from a traffic light or climbing a long grade.
An MBE4000 produces 90% of its peak torque at 1,000 rpm and full torque at 1,100, according to the specs, so there's plenty of low-end "grunt" to hold the line while you wait for horsepower to build, or as revs drop while ascending a lengthy hill. Near-maximum power comes as low as 1,400 rpm on the 350- through 410-hp ratings, and around 1,600 on higher ratings. Without a variable-geometry turbocharger, an MBE lacks the pleasing low-end surge that characterizes Detroit and Cummins diesels with VG turbos. But a non-VG unit costs less to replace.
Mercedes-Benz was not involved in the Environmental Protection Agency's pull-ahead of emissions standards, so did not need EGR in October '02, as did most domestic builders. MBE4000s thus carried a lower price and quickly gained considerable popularity, according to Freightliner. It came into the market only last year, and about 20,000 will have been sold by the end of '03. An EGR'd 4000 will cost about $3,000 more, but that upcharge is about 40 to 60% less than most competitors, so the popularity may hold if durability continues to be good.
MBE900 WITH AGS
Business Class M2s with MBE900s are fun to drive, even with bare-bones interiors that most fleet drivers will see. Again, a driver will perceive little if any difference between a 900 with EGR and one without. The manual-transmission truck that I drove to our end-point, at Las Vegas Freightliner, was easy to shift, though at first I got 1st, 3rd and 5th mixed up as I felt my way through the narrow shift gate. The truck rode well and maneuvered smartly, and outward vision through the deep side windows and over the steeply sloped hood was almost as good as on a cabover.
I spent more time running around streets of North Las Vegas in an M2 with an AGS. To a driver, it operates just like Eaton's recently introduced six-speed UltraShift: You start the engine, release the parking brake, select Drive, get on the accelerator and go. If you have to make a sudden stop - one of the first things I did, on purpose - the tranny's electronics monitor the situation and quickly grab the right gear, and off you go again.
There's no clutch pedal to punch because the clutch, like the gear shifting, is automatic. However, if stopped at a red light on an upgrade, a careless driver can beat the clutch if he uses it as a hill holder while waiting for the light to change. He or she should use the brake until it's time to go.
Freightliner's paddle-type SmartShift has little switches to choose Forward, Neutral and Reverse, and Automatic or Manual. If you choose M, you bump or pull on the column-mounted paddle to effect a down- or upshift; if the electronic controls deem it possible, it'll comply. Factory reps told me that I'd probably play around with the Manual mode at first, but like they, I'd quickly switch to Automatic and let the tranny do the work. That's exactly what I did, because the AGS's brains always went for the right gear.
Well, almost always. One minor exception was during a level run on a well-trafficked street at about 45 mph. Traffic sped up and I pushed on the gas; the AGS quickly made a double downshift, from 6th to 4th, and we accelerated amid some high engine revs. I'd have been happy with 5th, but most drivers prefer performance to reluctant downshifting, even if they can override it.
-Tom Berg
Freightliner Offers Non-EGR'd Cummins ISC, ISL
Freightliner LLC is returning two Cummins diesels - the ISC and ISL - to its options list after suspending almost all of the manufacturer's engines upon changeover to October '02 models. Unlike most Cummins engines, the ISC and ISL do not have exhaust-gas recirculation, so carry relatively low prices; and that, executives said, is a "marketing opportunity" that the truck builder doesn't want to miss.
Cummins builds the two models without EGR because of "credits" awarded by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. EPA recognizes that the high-volume Cummins ISB and Dodge-Cummins Turbodiesel have been cleaner than required sooner than required. The ISC and ISL don't quite meet January '04 limits, but the ISB-earned credits make up for it.
However, EPA will not allow Cummins to advertise the non-EGR advantage. Cummins did announce that the 8.9-liter heavy duty ISL for '04 has a variable geometry turbocharger, a high-pressure common-rail injection system and other enhancements to increase its performance.
Without EGR, the ISL and ISC cost less to produce and sell to truck builders, and is reflected in the builders' prices to truck buyers. For example, Sterling, part of the Freightliner family, says it will sell an ISL-powered vocational truck for about $3,500 less than one with Caterpillar's new 8.8-liter ACERT C9.
