John Baxter

John Baxter is a freelance truck journalist and serves as the technical director of Advance Diesel Concepts, a small venture that is developing a stratified-charge-compression ignition combustion system that will shortly be tested at Argonne National Laboratory. He is a full member of SAE International and a member of the Truck Writers of North America (TWNA) and serves on its Technical Achievement Award committee. Over his long career, he has been employed by a number of the major truck industry publications.

Downspeeding the engine, having it run at low speeds and with high torque, offers higher efficiency, increased fuel economy and decreased emissions. However, the faster axle ratios needed to accommodate the lower rpms generate additional torque in the drivetrain, placing much higher stresses on driveshaft components.
Chassis, Body & Cab

A primer on the concept of downspeeding heavy duty trucks

Aug. 13, 2014
An overview of the trend toward downspeeding.