brisbane truck show: parts & accessories
AFTERMARKET EXTRAVAGANZA
Parts and accessories stands were spread across three floors at the Brisbane Truck Show. Here’s a snapshot of some of the standouts Garrett Motion Australia GM Paul Carlsson
GARRETT’S LIGHT DUTY CREDENTIALS Garrett Motion Australia GM Paul Carlsson highlights the many ways to gain from the BTS. The local arm of the global US firm that helped boost engine output through turbochargers, Garrett had a range of both heavy and light machinery options, including those for trucks. But, as Carlsson notes, fleet owners and their managers are also performance and leisure machine fans. Thus the Garrett stand accommodated both. Whereas Garrett used to do heavier-duty truck turbos, it is now more focused on fitting lighter rigids, such as Isuzu, Hino and Fuso. “In most cases, you’ll get guys come up and say ‘I don’t have your turbocharger in my truck but, I’ve got a twinturbo ski-boat that I want to do up – and that’s why we have the performance stuff here,” Carlsson says, noting that they might also have company utes or private performance cars as part of their lives. They can be “truck drivers, fleet owners, managers that are successful as far as their work-life goes” who may have little opportunity otherwise to see the performance range, which, interestingly, is where the most BTS enquiries are focused. Carlsson’s 2021 is chequered with similar events planned at least as far back as before November. He insists there was little concern about the BTS going ahead. And the value of it and other such events is broad. ”It’s a way of getting in front of the customers out there – the end-users, the installers – and talking to them – it works well,” he says, not to mention the opportunity for education and advice nights
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Garrett can provide to the likes of diesel mechanics. Carlsson estimates that perhaps half of turbo problems can be put down to device failure and the rest are entirely fixable, saving replacement cash. “It could be an oil drain line that’s blocked [meaning] that oil’s got to go somewhere so it goes through the seal,” he says. “Fix the drain line and the oil can drain away again and it’s not pressurising the internal part of the turbo charger and the oil stops. “Or, the opposite. They think it’s the turbocharger, they replace the turbocharger and the leak’s still there. “It’s what I call ‘diagnostics by replacement’ – it’s very expensive. It’s not a good thing to do.” Carlsson insists developments come constantly, reducing device size while increasing power, at a ratio of 15-20 per cent a time and informed by Formula 1 turbo technology. And it wouldn’t be the 2020s without an electric aspect here too. “This year we are launching with AMG the world’s first mass-produced e-turbo vehicle,” he says. “It’s like a normal turbo-charger but in the centre of it, instead of having the bearing where the oil and water goes into it for cooling, it has an electric motor as well. “Through the rpm range, from the 800rpm at idle to 1,500 to 2,000, the electric motor does the work. “As soon as it’s going fast enough that the exhaust gas takes over, the normal turbocharger kicks in. And then, when it goes past that point, it then reverts the electric motor to an alternator and the power goes back into the battery.
“So, what that gives you, via ECU control, is infinite power whenever you want.” The e-turbo move to from performance use to heavy vehicles is seen as only a matter of time.
HELLA’S SHINES WITH DURALED RANGE Hella Australia’s stand lit up the surrounds with its array of heavy commercial lights, lamps and other electrical accessories. The company promotes a ‘fit and forget’ mantra for fleet owners with maintenance-free lighting solutions – particularly its DuraLED range of signal, marker, heavy duty and combination lamps that comes with a lifetime warranty. The company notes the DuraLED collection is tried and tested over two decades, hence its confidence in the range. Further offerings include its Grilamid lenses that provide UV and chemical resistance to avoid fading and embrittling, Jumbo-S Series signal lamps, Rallye 4000 driving lamps, and wider catalogue of warning beacons, safety daylights, light bars and work lamps. Hella specialist Kevin Betty notes an innovative product development involves forklift-mounted bar lights that shine a ‘guided’ area around the vehicle, providing a safety zone for others to keep clear of. He also emphasises the importance of Australian Design Rule (ADR)-spec lights as non-compliant products that are not optimised for human eyes can contribute to an accident and lead to later legal headaches for the user. In an interesting sidebar, suzi coils have been a recent
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