Longer Life, Better Performance Of Bendix’s Most Advanced Air Disc Brake Pad Now Available For More Applications

April 2018

ELYRIA, OH… Bendix’s highest-performing air disc brake friction is now available for use in all new and aftermarket tractor and trailer applications. The Bendix® BX276 air disc brake (ADB) pad – engineered in conjunction with the Bendix® ADB22X-LT trailer-specific air disc brake – can be utilized as replacement friction for ADB22X and ADB22X-LT air disc brake systems on both tractors and trailers. The BX276 pad is available now through authorized Bendix® dealerships and aftermarket distributors.

The new pad is part of the company’s commitment to wheel-end solutions that improve highway safety while helping fleets lower their total cost of ownership (TCO).

Also, as part of its expanding ADB pad offerings, Bendix has introduced the North American commercial vehicle industry’s only air disc brake replacement pad approved by original equipment manufacturers for use in severe-duty applications. Engineered with a formula that makes it the most flexible friction in the marketplace, the Bendix® BX283 offers extended service life and provides stopping power that exceeds required standards.

BX276: Up to 40 Percent More Wear Life

In improving upon its previous air disc brake pad (the BX275), the Bendix team added two millimeters of thickness to the BX276 pad, which makes for an 8 percent increase in wearable volume, and reformulated the friction to achieve an improved wear rate. The result is a pad with up to 40 percent more wear life than its predecessor.

The Bendix® BX276 pad already meets the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2021 Copper-Free Brake Initiative requirements for reduced copper in brake friction. The Copper-Free Brake Initiative is intended to be a cooperative effort among auto manufacturers, brake manufacturers, aftermarket industries, the EPA, and states to phase out copper and other constituents found in brake pads nationwide. Not all aftermarket choices comply with the initiative, but Bendix is doing its part to protect the environment.

“With the continued growth of interest in and adoption of air disc brake solutions on tractors and trailers nationwide, Bendix is always working to improve the technology so that fleets and drivers can make the most of all its advantages,” said Nicole Oreskovic, product line director for air disc brakes at Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake LLC. “The expanded availability of the BX276 not only brings its performance to more wheel-ends, but can also help streamline things in the shop, since the ADB22X and the ADB22X-LT fully share replacement parts – not just friction, but components like tappets and boots, as well. Shared training and maintenance practices also help increase uptime.”

Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake (BSFB) introduced air disc brakes to the North American commercial vehicle market in 2005 with the Bendix® ADB22X. In subsequent years, Bendix’s annual production levels for air disc brakes have risen significantly, and increasing market adoption by fleets and owner-operators means the brake accounts for more than 2 million wheel-ends on the road today. More than 20 percent of North American Class 6-8 air-braked wheel-ends are now equipped with ADBs – a 50 percent increase in overall market share since 2013 – and the ADB22X accounts for approximately 85 percent of that share.

In 2016, Bendix expanded its ADB product portfolio by introducing the ADB22X-LT, an air disc brake designed for trailers. The ADB22X-LT trailer air disc brake is the lightest-weight trailer ADB system in North America. Though created specifically for trailers, the ADB22X-LT is based on the same proven, successful platform as the ADB22X tractor brake.

The design of air disc brakes virtually eliminates brake fade; includes an internal self-adjustment mechanism that can help lower the risk of brakes being found out of adjustment during inspection; avoids the possibility of rust jacking; and offers straight, stable stops with a car-like feel. In the shop, pad replacement time is approximately one-quarter that of foundation drum brakes once the wheel is removed.

BX283: Extended Service Life in Severe-Duty Applications

The newly introduced Bendix® BX283 ADB pad is designed to extend service life in a range of applications across the severe-duty braking spectrum – mainly applications with increased pad wear due to frequent braking and/or high braking operating temperatures. Vehicle examples include refuse, bus, pickup and delivery, and others. The formula of the pad’s flexible but strong friction material is less prone to cracking and shedding chunks, providing reliable performance and more uptime without increased risk of rotor heat cracks. For vehicles equipped with brakes designed to meet the federal Reduced Stopping Distance (RSD) requirements mandated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Bendix BX283 offers performance that not only maintains compliance, but also exceeds the stopping distance requirements. The pads also meet FMVSS-121 testing standards.

“Fleets and owner-operators who choose air disc brakes for their severe-duty vehicles regularly cite the advantages of reliable performance and stopping power,” Oreskovic said. “Using the BX283 is the best way to maintain these benefits and protect their investment in air disc braking technology. There are real risks when you replace OE pads with lower-quality aftermarket products. Lower-quality replacement pads can significantly reduce ADB effectiveness and lengthen stopping distances, and they may damage expensive components – such as the rotor. The BX283 is one of the only OEM-approved severe-duty air disc brake pads available today, and for good reason.”

Approval by North America’s major truck manufacturers puts the BX283 pad in the company of other leading-edge Bendix air disc braking technology: The Bendix® ADB22X air disc brake is available through all major North American truck manufacturers, including Kenworth, Peterbilt, Mack®, Volvo, International®, and Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA).

BSFB’s complete lineup of Bendix wheel-end solutions delivers on safety, reliability, and stopping power, plus other areas critical to fleets’ success. By helping fleets and owner-operators improve their vehicle performance and efficiency, and backing up its products with unparalleled post-sales support, BSFB strengthens the trucking industry’s return on investment in braking and safety systems that lead to safer roads for everybody behind the wheel.

For more information about Bendix air disc brake pads, call 1-800-AIR-BRAKE or visit http://www.foundationbrakes.com/.