The Cummins X15 Efficiency Series diesel has won the Truck Writers of North America’s 2016 Technical Achievement Award. The presentation was made on Wednesday, March 1, during an awards luncheon at the ATA Technology & Maintenance Council’s annual meeting in Nashville.
“The engine won for its advanced combustion design that includes a little-used Atkinson Cycle, and other features,” said Jim Park, chairman of the TWNA awards committee. “It beat out four other finalists who had previously topped a pool of 15 candidates for the award. A panel of industry journalists from Canada and the U.S. debated and voted over a period of several weeks.”
The 14.9-liter diesel gains 3 percent in fuel efficiency over the preceding model, the ISX15, through improvements to air-handling, combustion efficiency, reduced parasitic losses and advanced electronics, according to Tim Proctor, Cummins X15 engine system technical leader.
The other four finalists were Accuride’s EverSteel wheel with a special anti-corrosion treatment; Mack and Volvo “wave” piston, part of engine upgrades to comply with new greenhouse gas and fuel economy regulations; SAF-Holland’s P89 disc brake, a high-performance, lightweight and moderate-cost braking product; and Volvo iSee and Mack Predictive cruise control, which “learns” routes and operates a truck’s powertrain to gain maximum efficiency.
A full recap of the award ceremony can be seen on Overdrive sister site CCJ here, while full coverage from TMC can be seen here.