Detroit Diesel unveils DD13
22 Commercial Carrier Journal September 2008 Detroit Diesel unveils DD13 Engine targets LTL, regional, vocational markets D etroit Diesel last month intro-duced the DD13, a smaller version of the DD15 engine. The company says the new engine which features 12.8-liter displace-ment and a 6-cylinder in-line con-figuration is designed for the less-than-truckload, regional distribution and vocational markets. The DD13 is designed to provide a remarkable B50 life of 1 million miles, says Admir Kreso, director of HDEP engineer-ing for Detroit Diesel. Sterling Trucks and Freightliner will offer the engine in 2009, followed by Western Star in 2010. It will be manufactured at the Detroit Diesel plant in Redford, Mich. The DD13 will be offered in output and torque variants from 350 to 450 hp and from 1,350 to 1,650 lb-ft. The DD13 is the second of three heavy-duty engines to share the new design that will become Daimler's global heavy-duty diesel platform. A 16-liter DD16 is planned for introduction at a later date. Weighing 400 pounds less than the DD15, the DD13 will provide up to 5 percent better fuel economy than the MBE 4000 that it will be replacing, Detroit Diesel says. Improved fuel economy results from more time in top gear and an enhanced cooling system that reduces fan-on time. Another key feature is the engine's electronically-controlled Amplified Common Rail Fuel System a fuel delivery system designed to work in unison with Detroit Diesel's DDEC VI engine management system to control combustion precisely. Detroit Diesel says the DD13 can go 50,000 miles between routine service intervals. Other service-friendly features include cartridge-style filters (oil, cool-ant and fuel) positioned above the frame rail, and a maintenance-free crankcase breather. Many of the design features we included enable customers to easily perform routine maintenance on their own, says David Siler, Detroit Diesel's director of marketing. Sixty-five percent of the DD13's components are common with the DD15, promoting parts availability and reducing training requirements. Detroit Diesel says the DD13's torque curve provides a wide peak torque range up to 500 rpm wide allowing drivers to easily find the engine's sweet spot for optimum performance. Detroit Diesel says the DD13's advanced design also allows for the seamless integration of urea-based BlueTec selective catalytic reduc-tion technology for reducing emissions to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2010 standards. Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire and Bridgestone Firestone Canada Inc. announced price increases of up to 10 percent effective Sept. 1 on the companies' Bridgestone and Firestone brand tire lines, as well as all associate brand tires. The company cited a shortage of and subsequent price increases for raw materials, as well as high fuel prices. Paccar Chairman and CEO Mark Pigott has been selected to receive this year's Six Sigma & Business Improvement CEO of the Year Award. The parent of Kenworth and Peterbilt has trained 12,000 employees, deal-ers and suppliers to use Six Sigma to evaluate engineering design, assembly procedures, sales ordering and financial transactions. The company has imple-mented more than 7,600 Six Sigma projects that have saved more than $1.5 billion since 1997. Eaton Corp. announced that its UltraShift Highway Value transmis-sion will be available as an option on 2009 Freightliner M2-106 and Sterling Acterra medium-duty trucks. The vehicles are available with Cummins engines and GVWRs up to 33,000 pounds. Freightliner Trucks announced the availability of high-visibility seat belts as a factory-installed option on the Cascadia, Columbia, Century Class S/T and M2. Manufactured by LifeGuard Technologies, the bright-orange high-visibility seat belts now are available to order. in brief equipment Part of the Detroit Diesel engine family, the DD13 which will replace the MBE 4000 shares a common base engine design that will be leveraged on a global scale by Daimler Trucks. (Continued on page 24)