Te c h n olo g y
ESCOT-V: the best of both worlds Text: Jonathan Koch
Combining ride comfort and excellent fuel economy, the Easy & Safety COntrolled Transmission (ESCOT) is a manual gearbox with an automatic gear changing system. It’s nothing less than a revolution in the trucking industry.
Compact conception The transmission is a compact, lightweight unit. It is divided into a base unit and a range-change unit. The base unit, range section and clutch housing are made of aluminum, which contributes to the low weight.
ESCOT-V saves
you fuel
First of all, the internal energy losses are low – actually lower than on manual gearboxes. However it’s the electronics that really make the difference. When driving in Economy mode, every gear change is timed precisely, to let the engine work at its most efficient rpm range.
Save fuel with Soft Cruise control Engage the Economy ED mode when driving the ESCOT-V in auto cruise and you can enjoy both enhanced driver comfort and improved fuel-efficiency. Shift timing and acceleration in hill climbing are optimized for economy driving.
Save more with Acceleration Limiter
No more depressing
The ESCOT-V is optimized to combine easy driving with superior fuel economy. The new Acceleration Limiter in the Economy ED mode is a perfect example of how it’s achieved. It automatically softens acceleration to a certain level to improve fuel efficiency.
clutch
Save fuel down hill and while coasting (ESCOT Roll)
Driving ESCOT-V is a real pleasure. Without the clutch pedal, you can safely sit back and concentrate on the other two. ESCOT-V uses its builtin intelligence to quickly and automatically choose the right gear at all times. And the software provides shifting skills that are impossible for even the best of drivers to match. Still, if you want to get more involved, you can take control and shift gear manually.
The ESCOT-V is equipped with the ESCOT Roll fuel-saving feature. When driving downhill and coasting in auto cruise/Economy ED mode, ESCOT Roll automatically disengages the engine to make use of the truck’s momentum instead of burning fuel.
ESCOT-V is a fast-responding gearchanging system with minimum interruption in torque delivery during changes and a wide ratio span, a combination that offers impressive resources for high average speeds.
Optimum gear – every time
Starting ratio is selected automatically in response to road gradient and gross vehicle weight. ESCOT-V is available with a choice of program packages and various functions. Among them is a facility for choosing between fully automatic gear changes and manual selection, and a performance mode with a kick down function that utilizes the engine’s capacity to the maximum.
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How does it work? Built for
high mileage All the shafts, bearings and gears are sturdily dimensioned for high operating reliability and long service life. All the gears are made of special steel that has been casehardened to provide considerable strength. The gears in the base unit are helical; so more teeth are in mesh with each other at any one time. This results in quiet operation and high operating reliability.
The system consists of a non-synchromesh manual gearbox with an electronically regulated pneumatic gear changing system and an automatic clutch. The secret of the seamless gear changes lies in the intelligent electronic control unit, in charge of controlling the pneumatic system that handles the clutch and shifts. By constantly receiving information about vehicle speed, acceleration, weight, road grade, torque demand and more, it can carry out every shift with extreme precision. It also communicates closely with the engine, which in turn adjusts revs and engine brake effect for fast and comfortable shifting.
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