ZF CLAIMS CONSIDERABLE SAVINGS POTENTIAL FOR ECOMAT TOPODYN COMBINATION
ZF claims that a conventional driveline with her Ecomat transmission and the ZF TopoDyn shift program is more efficient in terms of fuel consumption than one hybrid system which is sold in the market today.
As shown a short while ago in a fuel consumption test at a transport authority in Chicago, buses featuring Ecomat transmissions and the TopoDyn shift program saved up to 18 percent fuel in comparison with standard powershift transmissions. And even compared with buses equipped with a currently available hybrid transmission, the ZF combination of Ecomat and TopoDyn used seven percent less fuel. For the comparison test, five buses were randomly selected from the fleet equipped with Ecomat transmissions or Ecomat transmissions and TopoDyn, respectively, seven vehicles with hybrid drives.
One important step in transmission optimization was the development of the new intelligent shift program TopoDyn: it dynamically selects the different transmission programs during travel, depending on the topographical requirements of the route. This means that the transmission always allows the engine to operate in the most efficient mode, leading to average fuel savings of five percent.