Axellent PROGRESS

AAM's new Quantum drive axle technology is a leap forward in lightweight, efficient driveline systems aimed at 2020 and beyond.

Traditional beam-type drive axles as used in most pickups and full-size SUVs are simple, robust, relatively inexpensive-and a hefty chunk of cast-iron and steel. Benchmark axles for a typical ½-ton pickup weigh 180 lb (82 kg) each. They've evolved slowly in the nearly 120 years since Louis Renault first employed a shaft-driven “live” axle on his car. Significant mass reduction has eluded them until three years ago, when a brainstorming session at a Detroit-based supplier kicked off a thorough investigation of what's possible in terms of axle mass, internal efficiency, NVH reduction, durability and package volume.

American Axle & Manufacturing CTO Phil Guys and his advanced engineering team were looking at refinements for their company's incumbent axles. “New bearings, lighter weight lubes, superfinished hypoid gears…a very iterative exercise and a good business case to provide those technologies,” Guys (pronounced geez) told Automotive Engineering. But it wasn't enough. The team concluded that further finessing to eke out tenths-of-a-percent more efficiency and reduce mass by mere ounces would not be enough of a stretch. Nor would it be unique to AAM.