Meritor added two innovations to its line of remanufactured aftermarket brake products to improve brake shoe life and to standardize fleet lining options with new reduced stopping distance rules.


Beginning immediately, Meritor will offer PlatinumShield II, a second-generation, advanced formula brake shoe coating used to prevent rust-jacking. Meritor says the coating, distinguishable by its lighter platinum gray color, is especially well suited to aftermarket customers.

The original PlatinumShield coating was introduced at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week in February 2009. Since then, Meritor says it has shipped more than 15 million remanufactured shoes to authorized parts outlets.

"At the product's introduction three years ago, we began developing a second-generation of platinum coating, fully mindful of the harsh liquid chemicals used in winter road solvents to melt snow and ice," said Tim Bauer, Meritor's senior director of Undercarriage Products. "Our PlatinumShield II is a new formula designed for today's demanding climate."

The PlatinumShield coating was developed by Meritor's brake engineering team to resist micro-abrasion caused by the movement of the brake lining against the shoe table during normal use. Rust-jacking occurs when rust forms on bare shoe metal under the lining, causing it to lift and crack.

The second-generation PlatinumShield II coating will be used on new aftermarket brake shoes with new Reduced Stopping Distance (RSD) friction materials and on remanufactured brake shoes.

Meritor's announcement at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week of a line of friction material complementary to the new reduced stopping distance requirements will reduce the need for fleet operators to stock two sets of lining materials.

"To comply with the new stopping distance regulations, our customers specified the 'new' brakes on new tractors, but many fleets told us they preferred to outfit their current vehicles with the same friction materials for ease of inventory and vehicle maintenance," said Tim Bauer, director of Undercarriage Products with Meritor Aftermarket.

According to Bauer, fleet managers prefer to use RSD friction materials on remanufactured brake shoes at normal service intervals.

With a complete suite of friction materials, the Meritor Q Plus drum brake package is available to support FMVSS 121 compliance for new trucks. Meritor brake engineers addressed balancing the torque load between tractor and trailer brakes, as well as maintaining a focus on everyday driving characteristics and the more stringent emergency stop performance requirements

To meet the new government regulations applicable to new trucks that went into effect last August, Meritor designed more powerful front brakes and highly effective rear-axle brakes with new enhanced friction materials, according to Joe Kay, chief engineer for Brakes at Meritor.

For more information on RSD friction materials, visit Meritor's reduced stopping distance webpage on www.meritor.com.