Xtrac reveals new gearboxes at PRI show

Immediate: Thursday, 14 December 2006
Xtrac reveals new gearboxes at PRI show ... and addresses global motorsport market seminar
Transmission specialist Xtrac will present its brand new 529 gearbox for sportscar racing and 516 gearbox for touring car championships at one of the world's largest motor racing trade exhibitions - the Performance Racing Industry show.  This three day event runs from Thursday 14 December to Saturday 16 December 2006 at the Orange County Convention Center at Orlando in Florida, where Xtrac is exhibiting on booth 1000.  
During the show, between 10:00 and 11:30 am on Friday 15 December, Xtrac's development director, Cliff Hawkins, will address a Global Motorsport Market Seminar on the importance of the international racing industry.  Organised by PRI and the UK's Motorsport Industry Association, the seminar will be held in meeting room S 230 F located on the second level of the main lobby. 
"One of the key issues for motorsport to debate is its environmental role," said Hawkins.  "The motorsport industry certainly has the potential to help find technical solutions that are relevant to everyday motoring issues such as vehicle handling and active safety, crashworthiness and passive safety, and the energy efficiency issues that clearly influence carbon emissions.
"The motorsport industry attracts some of the best engineers and has a strong technological capability, which can be transferred to the mainstream automotive sector.  Motorsport also offers an ideal high profile marketing platform for demonstrating, for example, alternative powertrains and to show that a fuel efficient vehicle doesn't mean a loss of performance, as is often perceived."
For the exhibition, Xtrac will showcase its latest gearbox for endurance sports car racing based on its successful Le Mans winning 229 transverse design.  The new 529 gearbox, which is suitable for LMP1, LMP2 and GT1 class vehicles, is already being manufactured for clients at its UK facility at Thatcham in Berkshire, in readiness for the 2007 race season.
 
"The 229 family of gearboxes has undoubtedly been one of the most reliable and successful gearboxes to be produced by Xtrac," said Hawkins.  "This winning design has encouraged the development of the 529 gearbox, which uses a significant number of well proven carryover parts combined with technical improvements in a number of key areas."
The 529 gearbox is 3.4kg (7.5lb) lighter than its predecessor and its development has led to a narrower lightweight cluster, a revised gear-change rack & pneumatic actuator, improved oil feed galleries and, for ease of maintenance, a side mounted alternator and rear mounted starter.  The new gearbox can fit inside the minimum diffuser size permitted by the latest Le Mans Prototype regulations without any modifications, and the narrow viscous-coupling plate differential permits longer driveshafts.  Options include a low loss bevel bearing for increased mechanical efficiency.
Another state-of-the-art racecar transmission, being seen for the first time on American soil, is Xtrac's '516' front-wheel drive gearbox developed for the World Touring Car Championship and other touring car championships.  The new gearbox makes use of reduced centre distance F1 derived gear ratios to minimise its mass, size and inertia. The gear-change system incorporates the latest polynomial barrel track design and a low inertia rack to improve gear-change response and driver feel.  The low positioning of the gear cluster lowers the centre of gravity and enables easy removal from the car under the chassis rail.  The gear cluster is fully exposed when removed from the gearbox allowing quick inspection and ease of access for ratio changes.
Xtrac will also display its new 6-speed synchromesh gearbox developed specifically for high performance supercars that demand high levels of refinement and shift quality.  This 'off-the-shelf' transverse transaxle system helps to reduce cost by avoiding the need for the expensive engineering development of a bespoke design.  Like other Xtrac projects coming to the fore - the company has announced this week a brand new gearbox fully integrated into the world's first commercially viable diesel-electric hybrid family car - the supercar transmission builds on the company's race track expertise to extend its business into the mainstream automotive market.  
The new transmission was developed in partnership with North American vehicle design and niche vehicle manufacturer Brammo, which is located in the southern Oregon town of Ashland and has been appointed North American distributor.  The first application will be the Brammo Rogue GT; the first 1,000 Nm V12 supercar designed and built in the USA.  Brammo will make the gearbox available to other specialist supercar manufacturers in North America with customer support complemented by Xtrac's existing service facility located in Indianapolis.  
Xtrac is also introducing a new range of specially developed lubricants at the PRI show. Working closely with the Neo Synthetic Oil Company, Xtrac has helped develop oils and greases from this American supplier tailored specifically to the requirements of Xtrac's high performance transmissions, limited slip differentials, driveshaft assemblies and hypoid axles.  
The new XL1 synthetic oil is rated SAE 75W-90 and includes a newly developed additive to extend gear life and improve gearbox efficiency by reducing sliding friction, oil temperature and the impact of shock loads.  The oil's characteristics include excellent low temperature viscosity and high temperature stability.  
The new XG1 synthetic grease similarly minimises the impact of high shock loads typified by the high torque reversals and large speed variations generated by constant velocity and tripod joints in motorsport applications.  The grease also has bearing applications and is specified for uses involving high rolling contact.
Ends
Note to editors about Xtrac (www.xtrac.com): Transmission technology specialist Xtrac supplies axles, differentials, gearboxes and driveline components for high performance applications in the aerospace, automotive, defence, marine and motorsport sectors.  Within a total workforce of 260 employees, the company's engineering department employs more than 55 professional engineers working on gear design, finite element and stress analysis, production and quality engineering, as well as fundamental research & development.  Headquartered at Thatcham in Berkshire, and forming part of the UK Motorsport Valley, the company invests in advanced tools for engineering design and state-of-the-art production processes.  The company's US subsidiary Xtrac Inc is based at Indianapolis. 
Neo Synthetic Oil Company (www.neosyntheticoil.com).  A specialist company, founded by Paul Baker, created to pursue the development of synthetic lubricants for racing and automotive applications.
Further information:  press releases and high resolution images available at www.newspress.com; additional information on Xtrac available from the company website www.xtrac.com.
Media contact: 
Rob Palmer on +44 1582 763255 or +44 7768 242761 or rpalmer@palmerpr.com

Xtrac 516 gearbox for touring car championships