Increased fuel efficiency. Lighter weight. Fewer parts. Lower costs. These factors led Dayco to win a 2017 Automotive News PACE (Premier Automotive Suppliers’ Contribution to Excellence) Award for its ACTIVAC vacuum generation system on the 2017 Ford F-150. The award was presented April 3 at the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center in Detroit.
With a focus on increasing fuel economy and reducing vehicle weight, Dayco’s innovative ACTIVAC braking technology replaces costly, heavy, fuel-consuming mechanical and electrical vacuum pumps found on many of today’s engines. Automakers benefit from reduced weight and decreased system cost, and automakers and consumers enjoy increased fuel economy.
“Today’s high efficiency and high performance engines generate less vacuum, requiring heavy and expensive mechanical or electrical vacuum pumps to supply vacuum for power brakes,” said Jim Miller, director, Valve & Actuator Technologies, Dayco. “Our engineers have created an elegant, less expensive vacuum generation system requiring no added pumps and consuming no added power, using basic principles of physics and optimized with modern technical tools.”
The Dayco ACTIVAC system includes an array of stand-alone components, such as aspirators, ejectors, flow control valves, check valves and noise attenuators, all built to amplify or create a vacuum, while reducing vehicle weight and/or parasitic engine loss.
When compared to a mechanical vacuum pump, the Dayco ACTIVAC system reduces weight between 500 grams and 2.8 kilograms depending on whether the pump is cam-driven or belt-driven. The system also improves fuel economy by an estimated .3 percent over the mechanical vacuum pump. When compared to an electrical vacuum pump, Dayco’s ACTIVAC reduces weight by approximately 2.3 kilograms and results in a significant cost savings per vehicle depending on the type and size of vacuum pump currently being used.
“The Dayco ACTIVAC is a no-compromise system solution for vacuum generation,” said Paul DiLisio, senior vice president, Automotive and Industrial OE Sales, Dayco. “It gives automakers the performance they need and expect, while improving fuel economy at a very competitive system cost which provides a value solution that is extremely compelling. We thank the Automotive News PACE Award judges for recognizing our innovation and congratulate the other finalists and winners.”
For 23 years, the Automotive News PACE Awards have honored superior innovation, technological advancement and business performance among automotive suppliers. This prestigious award – considered the “Oscars” of the automotive components industry – is recognized around the world as the industry benchmark for innovation. A panel of independent judges selected the PACE Award winners.
The awards are sponsored by EY, Automotive News and the Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA). SAE International provides further support.
