Navistar challenges other truckmakers to Class 8 shootout

International Truck earlier this week challenged its Class 8 competitors to participate in open performance testing to compare fuel economy and drivability of their new trucks.

International’s Lonestar

During the week of Aug. 31, International Truck’s Class 8 competitors will have the opportunity to bring their two best performing vehicles — based on fuel economy and drivability — to the Navistar Proving Grounds in New Carlisle, Ind. of the challenge.

“The heavy-duty products we are building today are the highest quality, most fuel efficient trucks we have built in decades,” said Jeff Sass, senior vice president, North America Trucks Sales & Marketing. “We have worked hard to ensure our heavy-duty products lead the way in fuel economy, driver appeal and uptime performance, and we want to prove it.”

The vehicle specifications for the test include:

  • Class 8, on-highway sleeper
  • Model year 2016, calendar year 2015 builds
  • Include only factory installed options (hardware, software, and fluids), and currently meet compliance and are capable of delivery to all customer applications
  • Must fall within total mileage range of 2,500 – 15,000 miles to maintain consistent break-in levels.

Fuel economy testing will occur on a closed-track and will follow the protocols called out by the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Recommended Practice “Joint TMC/SAE Fuel Consumption In-Service Test Procedure Type III (SAE J1526).”

Aero Coastdown testing will follow the recommended practices SAE 1263, “Road Load Measurement and Dynamometer Simulation Using Coastdown Techniques” and SAE 2263, “Road Load Measurement Using Onboard Anemometry and Coastdown Techniques.”

Additional areas being tested will include ride vibration and harshness, curb-to-curb cornering ability, forward visibility and interior noise.

“We’re all proud of our trucks, and I believe that running our vehicles in an open and transparent forum, side-by-side, will not only raise the water mark but will also benefit each of our customers in this industry,” Sass added.

Other OEMs have not made public their responses to