LOUISVILLE, Ky. (March 22, 2007) — Accuride Corp. has launched a line of lighter weight steel truck wheels, dubbed Accu-Lite, that can save a trucker up to 144 pounds for a tractor/trailer combination, the company said.
Accuride engineered the lighter-weight wheels using high-strength, low-alloy steel coupled with state-of-the-art welding and metal-forming technology, according to Phil Newsome, vice president/wheel technology, who said the wheel's performance has been validated according to SAE and Accuride standards.
The Accu-Lite wheels debuted at the Mid American Trucking Show in Louisville.
“As new emission standards are resulting in weight being added to vehicles, we knew our customers needed an easy solution for counterbalancing the added weight,” said Larry Taylor, senior vice president of sales and marketing. “We designed Accu-Lite wheels as a weight reduction solution for our customers so that they could maximize payload and fuel savings without reducing load ratings.”
Two- and five-hand-hole 22.5- x 8.25-inch Accu-Lite steel wheels weigh eight pounds less than comparable current-generation Accuride steel wheels, the company said, up to 11 pounds less than leading domestic competitors' wheels and up to 23 pounds less than wheels from overseas. The two-hand-hole Accu-Lite weighs 70 pounds, while the five-hand-hole design weighs 68 pounds.
Accuride Wheels, a business unit of Accuride Corp., is a manufacturer and supplier of wheels for heavy- and medium-duty trucks and commercial trailers. Accuride supplies both steel and forged aluminum heavy/medium wheels.