The name Meritor is well known in the trucking industry. For over 100 years the products produced under that name have been the axles and braking solutions fitted to truck OEMs in Australia including Kenworth, Mack/Volvo, Isuzu, Western Star, Freightliner and Iveco.
Now under the stewardship of another well know trucking brand, Cummins, following its acquisition in 2022, the Meritor name continues to be applied to over two million production brake assemblies per year for heavy commercial vehicles including trucks, trailers and coaches. In this article we take a closer look at the company’s brake friction offering in this space.
Although Meritor is used extensively among OEMs as first fitment, when it comes to the aftermarket replacement of brake friction materials, the market is very competitive. Like oils and filters for engines and transmissions, pads, rotors, brake shoes and drums are common replacement maintenance items for commercial vehicle wheel ends.
Meritor has a range of brake shoe kits to suit the needs of varying customers from firsthand owners to second, third and so on. Australian customers can now select brake frictions from several different price points and value propositions to suit their needs and application.
Newest in the Meritor suite of friction materials is the OEM production friction material; MA2301 (GG / 23,000lb GAWR). Recently introduced to Australia, MA2301 meets the reduced stopping distance requirements in the USA and has minimal copper content to be more environmentally friendly to waterways. It’s now the friction of choice and used in OEM truck production.
Meritor brake shoe kit part numbers can be easily identified using the above part numbering system. Image: CumminsThe most popular and well known of the Meritor friction materials available in Australia are MA212 (FF / 21,000lb GAWR) and MA312 (FF / 23,000lb GAWR) friction materials. MA friction materials are used by vehicle OEM’s installing Meritor production brakes on new vehicles. MA friction materials still provide the highest levels of stopping performance, in many cases exceeding industry standards as well as FMVSS 121 requirements. MA212 is the standard friction used on Meritor trailer axles and provides outstanding friction stability without sacrificing lining or drum wear and is suitable for truck, trailer and coach applications. MA312 is a premium long life friction material that provides superior stopping power in demanding heavy duty linehaul and vocational applications. It offers a 20% service life improvement over comparable products.
For aftermarket customers Meritor also offers two linings MG1A (FF / 20,000lb GAWR) and MG2A (GG / 23,000lb GAWR). These friction materials offer outstanding value without compromising on quality. All MG friction materials continue to meet or exceed FMVSS 121 requirements.
Both the MA and MG brake shoe kits are manufactured in Australia according to strict Meritor quality standards and contain two lined shoes and brake hardware to suit a range of different truck and trailer applications. The in-house production allows multiple quality checks to ensure that the brakes are manufactured to the highest standards.
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