GKN spreads premium propshaft tech to quiet pickup cabins

It may seem a long way in engineering and NVH terms from premium European cars such as Audi's A5 and A7 to light duty trucks, but GKN Automotive has bridged that gap with its latest lightweight all-wheel drive (AWD) modular propshaft. Many pickups suffer a significant amount of unwanted NVH emanating from the front propshaft, with its two universal or CV joints and an interconnecting shaft positioned below and close to the passenger cabin. But now GKN Automotive has “re-characterized” its premium car driveline system to an entirely different vehicle category.

“With a traditional truck front propshaft, the level of noise entering the cabin is perceived as a drone,” explained Michael Miller, GKN's propshaft product technology manager. “We've worked on applications of our new technology where the cabin NVH levels have been dramatically reduced. Positive results stem from the combination of joints used in our lightweight modular front propshaft.”