GILLIG to Offer Fuel-Saving Technology from Allison Transmission for its Buses Beginning in April

GILLIG LLC has announced it will offer FuelSense 2.0 featuring DynActive Shifting beginning in April. The innovative new method of shift scheduling from Allison Transmission delivers up to 6 percent additional fuel savings beyond original FuelSense software.

"GILLIG is proud to be able to bring additional value to our customers by partnering with industry leaders like Allison and offering its FuelSense technology," said Chris Turner, vice president of manufacturing and supply chain for GILLIG. "Working with innovative companies like Allison allows GILLIG to continue to offer its customers a transit bus that has the lowest operational cost in North America."

FuelSense 2.0 technology features enhanced technology to provide an infinitely variable combination of shift points. The software upgrade will offer more precise balancing of fuel economy and performance by maximizing efficiency through a set of proprietary electronic controls.

"This latest technology further reduces fuel consumption in all segments of a vehicle's duty-cycle," said Otto Szalavari, managing director of global marketing for Allison. "FuelSense 2.0 offers increased specification flexibility and delivers the best economic value to our customers."

FuelSense 2.0 is ideally suited for GILLIG's transit customers with value provided in heavy stop-start duty cycles. With more than 3 million test miles in customer fleets representing a variety of duty-cycles, the fleets have experienced fuel economy gains up to 4 percent in transit buses and up to 6 percent in other vocations. This fuel economy improvement in transit buses resulted in an estimated annual per vehicle savings of up to $800 based on duty cycle, annual mileage and fuel price.

FuelSense is available in three packages:

FuelSense 2.0 – Includes DynActive Shifting FuelSense 2.0 Plus – Includes (1) DynActive Shifting and (2) Improved 'Neutral at Stop' with optional Coast Mode, a feature that reduces the load on the engine during low-speed coasting and when the vehicle is stopped for additional fuel savings. Choice of two levels:

Standard – Provides partial (first-level) 'Neutral at Stop'

Premium – Provides full 'Neutral at Stop' and a new, low-speed coasting capability FuelSense 2.0 Max – Includes (1) DynActive Shifting, (2) 'Neutral at Stop' and (3) Enhanced 'Acceleration Rate Management,' a feature that mitigates aggressive driving by automatically controlling engine torque. It also now features a custom rate for more precise control.

GILLIG and Allison share a commitment to provide customers with the most advanced and innovative fuel savings products and features.

All of these features can be customized through Allison DOC Fleets (FuelSense), available first quarter 2018. Currently, California, Pennsylvania, Maine, and New Jersey have adopted tailpipe emissions rules that forbid calibration changes in the aftermarket. Therefore, FuelSense 2.0 cannot be installed or changed in the aftermarket in these states.