S13® INTEGRATED CHIEF ENGINEER: “WE RAISED THE BAR”

Efficiency and simplicity. We designed this new powertrain to deliver exceptional fuel economy and vehicle uptime while simplifying it by designing out traditional problem areas like the EGR [Exhaust Gas Recirculation] cooler and VGT [Variable Geometry Turbo].

They might not know that while the design of this powertrain is largely shared with our TRATON brand partners, there is more specifically designed and developed for the North American market needs than many would expect. This includes hardware, software, and features tailored for our customers’ needs.

The design philosophy is a great story and the reason why the S13 Integrated delivers so well on fuel efficiency. The whole design concept is enabled by a highly effective exhaust aftertreatment with dual DEF dosing. Because this aftertreatment is so good at reducing tailpipe NOx emissions, the engine can simply be an engine, and not be tasked with a second job of emissions reduction. When you have this, you no longer need cooled EGR, and that means you no longer have the pumping losses and hardware compromises that come with it. This diesel engine was designed to maximize the efficiency of combustion made possible as a full system.

The transmission and transmission control integration are a big piece of the efficiency story. The T14 is not just a performance OR efficiency transmission—it does both. The gearing spread between the crawler gears and overdrive means lower rear axle ratios without performance compromise. It allows for great startability AND low cruising RPM. The low cruising RPM is perfectly matched to the S13’s torque curve and has been finely tuned for where our customers operate their vehicles. The integration with the S13 Engine also enables smoother and faster gearshifts than its competition by matching the engine deceleration in shifts to the transmissions needs. When you drive them, you can tell they’ve been developed and refined together.

There are a few key areas where the S13 Integrated has truly raised the bar: First, the base engine’s efficiency potential is higher since it’s not cleaning up after its own mess and optimizes its combustion efficiency further. Second, the transmission integration allows for powertrain combinations that previously were less favorable due to performance tradeoffs to get efficiency. Third, the features and control of this integrated powertrain enables many of the gains our customers will realize. The predictive cruise control, for instance, is one of its best strengths and shines on so many of the roads in North America.

Bottom line: We expect fleet managers will see reductions in running costs right away. We also believe it will become the powertrain of choice with drivers for its performance and features, and for noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH). Over long-term ownership, the S13 Integrated will be a TCO leader and retain its residual value well because of its attributes.

We feel we introduced the S13 Integrated at the perfect time. The TRATON group is steadfast in its commitment to sustainable mobility, and this is a key enabler to that for both our customers and our business. The S13 Integrated is the last new heavy duty diesel investment we expect to see, and we went all in. We put our sweat, tears, and many years of our lives into making this a truly benchmark-setting product. Your success as a customer is our success, and S13 Integrated has been fine-tuned with that in mind. Lessons from the past were incorporated, and we seized the opportunities to make something great.

I am particularly proud of the S13 Integrated because it represents a very large “Why buy?” for International Truck with the results it delivers on efficiency, productivity, and driver-centric features. This is an important foundation to build on for many years to come. I am proud of what the global team that developed it accomplished over many years of hard work. We not only matched our goals of fuel efficiency and TCO for the product, we exceeded them with significant margin. I am proud at how we persevered and stayed committed to the plan amid a global pandemic and subsequent supply chain disruptions to start full production of the S13 Integrated® in the LT and RH Series products in 2023.