Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/978416
26 commercial carrier journal | may 2018 prestolite.com • sales@prestolite.com • (800) 354-0560 • © 2018 Prestolite Electric Inc. Every minute spent worrying about your trucks' electrical systems is a minute wasted. At Prestolite, we're helping fleet professionals focus on more important matters. You need trucks. Not drama. • Maximum starting torque • Superior electrical output • Increased battery charge • Unsurpassed reliability Chevy's new HD trucks take design cue from Camaro Z/28 I t may not be obvious, but the newest – and largest – additions to the Chevrolet product line share a design element with one of the Detroit automaker's most legacy-rich and fastest vehicles. When they hit the streets next model year, Chevy's new Silver- ado 4500HD/5500HD/6500HD trucks will feature the "flowtie," which was introduced on the front grille of the 2014 Camaro Z/28 and now is standard on the 2018 Camaro ZL1. e flowtie – the chrome outline of a traditional Chevrolet bowtie with the center removed – is engineered for increased airflow to the engine to help boost performance. "Our engineers designed it to help win races by using airflow to lower coolant and oil temperatures on the race track," said Kevin O'Donnell, design manager. During aerodynamic testing on the Z/28, engineers found the grille's bowtie was displacing air away from the radiator, which can impact engine cooling. With cutting wheel in-hand, propulsions engineer Richard Quinn removed the bowtie's gold fill, leaving only the silver outline intact. Quinn installed the prototype flowtie on the grille, and a retest revealed that it allowed more air into the engine, lowering engine fluid temperatures during extended track sessions. Conventional-cab Silverado heavy-duty-cycle trucks needed a similar solution that allowed for maximum airflow with the truck's pumped-up grille, so designers borrowed the flowtie design. "It's going to work on the Silverado exactly the way it does on the Camaro," O'Donnell said. – Jason Cannon Chevrolet's 2019 Silverado chassis cab trucks have adopted a racing-inspired flowtie for increased airflow to the engine to help boost performance.