Xtrac launches its first ever lubricants

Xtrac, the leading supplier of gearboxes to motorsport teams the world over, will launch its first ever oil and grease lubricants at the inaugural Professional Motorsport World Expo in Cologne, where the company is exhibiting on stand 4023. Xtrac has also been nominated at the show for the ‘Testing Technology of the Year’ award for its new Quasi Transient Differential Test Rig.

Working closely with the Neo Synthetic Oil Company, Xtrac has further improved Neo’s range of oil and grease lubricants for Xtrac’s high performance transmission systems, limited slip differentials, driveshaft assemblies and hypoid axles. The new lubricants will be branded and sold as Xtrac products.

“We tightly control the specification of everything we design and manufacture so it made sense to offer our customers lubricants tailored specifically to the requirements of our gearboxes and other components,” said Xtrac managing director Peter Digby.

The new Xtrac XL1 synthetic oil is rated SAE 75W-90 and includes a recently developed additive system 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 Xtrac 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.

Xtrac has been nominated for the ‘Testing Technology of the Year’ award for its new Quasi Transient Differential Test Rig. The inaugural Professional MotorSport Expo Awards will take place at a gala dinner following the opening of the show on Wednesday 8 November 2006.

“We’re delighted to have been short-listed for this new award,” said Xtrac development director Cliff Hawkins. “We believe our new differential test rig is the first ever to be able to characterise passive mechanical type limited-slip differentials. This has obvious benefits in motorsport but also broader safety implications for car handling generally.”

Xtrac’s new test rig is an all-new facility designed specifically to provide automotive clients with accurate test data on passive limited-slip differentials, which despite being simpler than active differentials have until now proved almost impossible to measure because of their transient behaviour. The new rig can characterise both speed and torque sensing differentials and complements Xtrac’s longstanding ability to characterise electronically-controlled active differentials, thereby providing the company with the ability to evaluate any type of differential system.

“This can even include open differentials,” said Xtrac technical director Adrian Moore. “In fact there is no such thing as a truly open differential in as much as gear friction alone generates some locking torque, which we can now measure together with temperature and oil flows.

“We designed and commissioned the test rig to support our differential design and predictive modelling capabilities,” he added. “It represents a significant investment and will help increase our understanding and calibration of mechanical plate and viscous coupling differentials. The new rig is already being used for research into new materials and for confidential client projects.”

At the show, Xtrac will also be displaying its ultra high specification 6-speed transverse synchromesh transaxle transmission developed specifically for high performance supercars. The new gearbox represents an important commercial development for the company; building on its expertise in specialist race car transmissions, the road-going variant extends Xtrac’s business into low volume driveline projects for the car industry.

Designed to meet the needs of vehicle manufacturers producing high performance vehicles, the transmission can handle an impressive 1,100 Nm of torque. The key benefit to makers of exclusive supercars requiring such transmissions is access to an affordable ‘off-the-shelf’ system, thereby avoiding the need for expensive upfront engineering development of a bespoke design.

Other products on display at the show underscore the breadth and depth of Xtrac’s experience in designing transmissions for the motorsport industry. The line-up includes the new ‘516’ front wheel drive touring car gearbox. This transmission system is a high performance gearbox developed for the World Touring Car Championship. In addition, the company recently received its third three-year contract to supply the British Touring Car Championship series, which means Xtrac will have supplied the transmission from 2001 through to 2009.

Other products on display include the ‘247’ heavy duty differential. This independent unit is designed for either front and/or rear drive applications, typically for cross country Rally Raid vehicles and sports cars. Universal mountings allow the unit to be mounted for all shaft rotations and front and rear positions. The oil system has been designed to operate in all possible orientations. These features combined with the unit’s high quality, low cost attributes make this product ideal for a wide variety of endurance type events, and it is well proven in the Dakar Rally and Le Mans 24 Hour race.

Professional MotorSport World Expo 2006 is a brand new international trade show designed specifically for motor sport professionals, teams, drivers, support crews, sponsors and managers as well as motor sport licence holders, engineers and team principals, equipment suppliers and race car support companies. The show runs from Wednesday 8 November to Friday 10 November 2006 at the K?lnmesse exhibition centre in Cologne, Germany. Xtrac is exhibiting on stand 4023.