Thomas Built Buses has teamed up with Allison Transmission to offer FuelSense fuel-saving technology as standard equipment on its Saf-T-Liner C2, Saf-T-Liner EFX and Saf-T-Liner HDX school buses produced on or after Oct. 1, 2014.
The standard FuelSense package will include Allison 5th Generation Electronic Controls; EcoCal, which is a defined set of low and “super” low speed shift schedules designed to keep the engine speed at its optimum point; and Dynamic Shift Sensing, which automatically selects between EcoCal or a higher-speed shift schedule, based on the vehicle load and the operating grade, to provide the best fuel economy and performance for the given operating conditions.
There are two optional packages available: FuelSense Plus and FuelSense Max. FuelSense Plus adds the neutral at stop feature to reduce non-productive fuel consumption when the bus is stopped. The top of the line package, FuelSense Max, includes the features in FuelSense Plus, buts also adds Acceleration Rate Management, which, based on vehicle load and operating grade, controls the torque of the engine to mitigate aggressive driving and further maximize fuel savings.
Buses with the FuelSense Max technology can achieve maximum fuel economy and realize fuel savings up to 10 percent, compared to school buses with the baseline Allison transmission.
