New market general transmission fluid

The challenges and requirements for automatic transmission fluids are changing.

Heavy-duty vehicle and bus fleet operators are increasingly looking to reduce service costs and to keep their vehicles reliably on the road for longer.

Once satisfied with 30,000 or 60,000 km drains, end-users are now looking for fluids that can last up to three times longer.

Transmission manufacturers have responded by introducing longer oil drain specifications, resulting in improved sustainability.

Leading manufacturer, Voith, has recently introduced its new Extended Long Drain specification, with a recommended drain interval of 180,000 km. And, with Voith DIWA automatic transmissions already in more than 300,000 city buses around the world, gaining their approvals is vital.

After a three year field trial, Infineum T4579, a dedicated Heavy-Duty Long Drain transmission additive package, formulated using a cost optimised group III/IV base stock mix, has been granted this latest Voith approval.

This is a significant performance improvement compared to packages that meet the standard 60,000 and 120,000 km long drain Voith specifications.

To gain the new approval, Infineum worked in close cooperation with Voith, a regional bus company, and a specialist servicing centre to set up a field trial in high powered articulated buses. During the trial the transmission fluid was subjected to severe conditions – in terms of the vehicle acceleration and braking profile, load and driving terrain.

After 240,000 km the buses were jointly inspected with Voith engineers.

Dipl.-Ing Tobias Katzer, Voith Test Engineer

The final inspection demonstrated excellent wear protection, faultless friction properties and gear shifting behaviour. This was the reason we were able to run the field trial continuously without needing to replace the transmission fluid.

Specifically developed ATF long drain products offer end users two key benefits. First, they are able to lower service costs and second, they can significantly reduce the downtime of the vehicle.

Infineum T4579 is the only market general additive package to meet this new specification. The hard work put in by all the parties involved in this field trial has really paid off and Infineum is delighted with the successful outcome of this collaboration.