New NOx emission limits placed on truck diesels built after October 2002 have engine and truck manufacturers scrambling. One of the biggest challenges they face is how to cool them.

To run cleaner, the new engines will have to run hotter – engineers estimate anywhere from 30% to 80% extra heat. Figuring out how to get rid of the added heat efficiently may well fall in the laps of specialty cooling system suppliers such as Modine Mfg. Co., which developed a unique “side-by-side” cooling system for the recently-introduced Peterbilt Model 387 which allows the use of a smaller radiator.
Modine is just putting the finishing touches on its $30 million advanced truck cooling center at its Racine, WI headquarters. The new center has a large wind tunnel and numerous test cells capable of recreating virtually any climate or road condition in the world, allowing the company to test trucks with new engines under a number of different conditions and come up with cooling solutions faster and more efficiently.