New International A26 12.4L Engine

The XDN2 is a good tire for the 6X2 Setup. Michelin, in a few months, is retiring it and releasing a new one called the XOne Line grip D. It looks exactly the same but has new technology increasing both traction and MPG.
I haven’t noticed accelerated wear. It was wearing the shoulder down and I dropped the pressure down to 100 and that has solved that. The dead axle tires are still in brand new condition. As long as you rotate them I don’t think I’ll notice much of a difference.
What will wear the tires super fast in a 6x2 Setup is the torque. I’m not using a lot of power so I’m not having an issue. If you have a motor that will put out 1550 plus torque down to 1000 rpm and you’re using all that power a lot of the time; I can guarantee your tires won’t last long at all. I only recommend the 6X2 if you’re willing to do like I’m doing or govern the motor down to a max of 1450 torque.
Otherwise I’d recommend going the 6X4 route with a really fast ratio. Something like a 2.15 and a direct drive or 2.47-2.5 with an overdrive would be great for most people and still get great fuel economy.

 

Well it depends what your operation is. Up here in Canada we run quite a few tridems, as well as quads and super-B's up to 140,000lbs. A "regular" truck (450/1550 w. a 10spd) could be called on to move 90-110,000 on a tridem - so 3.70-3.91 are popular ratios.

That's why I wonder what kind of power the a26 puts out.

 

How's the engine brake on the a26? I've read data that says that it's weaker than the Volvo d13/Mack mp8.

 

Here is a link, https://www.jacobsvehiclesystems.com/files/support/docs-pdfs/Navistar-Sell-Sheet-2017-A26.pdf.

Not sure how that compares to others. I know the new X15 dwarfs them all. The jake on new X15 is ridiculous.

 

Yes, Cummins always has had the strongest engine brake right back the the first NTC I had.
My DD Detroit is close but our ISX still has a slight edge.

I'd like to try an A26 some day.

 

Thanks. I used that info to look up the other manufacturers (with the exception of Volvo.) The a26 is in the ballpark with the other 13L's, but is a touch weaker. It's not a deal breaker for me.

 

I got my 50k mike oil sample back and, other than some elevated wear metals from break in, it was clean. International says you can go 70k with oil samples but this initial sample indicates 50k is good. I pay extra to have the TAN tested. When TAN exceeds TBN you should change it. In this sample, TAN exceeded TBN by two points. Not bad for 50k Miles; and TBN was about 65% of the original virgin oil. You could probably run it 70k but based on my results I feel more comfortable at 50k because TAN is already above TBN.

 

Extended intervals are only to make new truck purchases attractive for large fleets who want to save money on maintenance. They are designed to get the truck through warranty and give the fleets 4-5 years of reliable service and then they dump them. If you plan to keep the truck longer, I highly recommend against extended oil change intervals.

 

So Misesian (or anyone else), how has your a26 been doing lately? And the LT - how has it been holding together?