The suspension that actually raises standards

Pierce is the only custom fire truck manufacturer in North America to offer a proprietary independent front suspension. And it has quickly become one of the most popular new technologies ever introduced by Pierce.

The benefit's are amazing:

• Shortens stopping distance by up to 23%
• Improves ride quality by 340% (as measured by accelerometer testing)
• Improves handling
• Enhances vehicle control
• Increases load-carrying capacity for more fire package flexibility
• Improves durability
• Simplifies maintenance

Brochure | Article by John Phillips

Brake Life and Maintenance 

Brakes on a TAK-4 equipped custom chassis last longer. The larger brake pads and rotors (17”) simply seem to wear less than traditional 15” brakes. That’s based on the experience of several high-run metropolitan departments, and on our own verification. We have a chassis that’s racked up almost 40,000 miles. Normally, you’d expect to have changed the pads, maybe even turned the rotors. Not with this truck. It has plenty of brake pad and the rotors are in great condition. With this much pad left, we’re looking at a full 56,000 miles before the pads need to be changed. And that may just put your second brake pad change on a TAK-4 equipped chassis at around 112,000 miles.

shorter stopping distances enhances safety

Pierce apparatus equipped with TAK-4 IFS simply stops shorter than those with standard axle and brake combinations. A full 60 feet (23%) shorter. Using the same weight / size truck, we proved that a TAK-4 unit can stop within 200 feet, compared to a straight-axle design that stops within 260 feet. The difference is in the brake configuration. The TAK-4 system is equipped with vented brake rotors that are a full 17 inches and brake calipers with high torque output. Your typical brake configuration features 15-inch rotors. 

Tested to extremes

We even had our testing certification by a third-party. Plus, we performed durability brake tests on long, downhill grades and brake snubs in Jennerstown, PA, to have them approved by Bendix/Knorr.

15" rotor, std. axle

17" rotor, TAK-4

Pad/rotor/labor $

$1,260

$1,600

Miles/change

9000

56,270

Life miles/unit

112,000

112,000

Changes in 100k miles

12

2

Brake cost life/unit

$15,120

$3,200

And, there are other, less obvious ways that TAK-4 can save your department money.

• A normal brake jobs takes about 4 hours, so cutting down on the number of brake jobs really adds up.
• Less wear and tear on vehicle components thanks to improved ride quality
• Fire fighters can stay on task, instead of being sidelined by down time.
• Transfer equipment from truck to truck less often.

Ride Quality

Straight axle configurations simply can’t compare with the ride quality you’ll get with TAK-4 IFS. And, we’ve scientifically proven it. We used an accelerometer, which measures G force inside the cab. Then we tested the same chassis over the same road at the same speed, once with TAK-4 and once with a standard taper-leaf suspension. The results? With taper-leaf suspension, the chassis registers .51 g. With TAK-4, it’s down to 0.15 g. A 300%+ improvement, or approximately equivalent to the ride quality of a Chevy Tahoe (we tested that too!). The reasons for this impressive improvement in ride quality are 10 inches of suspension travel, a light spring rate, robust design, and, of course, independent wheel movements.

Maneurverability and Handling

Just how sharply you can turn your front wheels, or cramp angle, determines how tightly you can turn a fire truck. The higher the cramp angle, the more you can turn the front wheels. We bother to mention all of this because Pierce apparatus equipped with TAK-4 offer the industry’s highest cramp angles. It’s 45º for 18,000 – 22,800 lb rated TAK-4 suspensions. When you bump up to a 24,000 lb. rating, the cramp angle is 40º. As you drive a fire truck equipped with TAK-4 IFS, you’ll notice that it handles like an SUV instead of a traditional fire truck. That’s thanks to a tight, mechanical-over-hydraulic steering system with two steering gears that provide power to the steering linkage and the torsion bar independent suspension.

Performance

While independent suspension is common on passenger trucks and SUVS, there’s only one other independent front suspension available in the fire service. We encourage you to compare that with TAK-4 IFS. Go ahead. Really. Here’s what you’ll find:

Maintenance

The TAK-4 suspension was designed with the mechanic in mind. We made sure it not only delivered impressive performance benefits, but was easy to maintain too. These features tell you more:

• No U-bolts
• Caster angle built into the design so there’s no adjusting
• Lube-for-life ball joints
• Grease zerks on control arm pivots
• 17” brake rotors
• Dual-steer gears
• The anchor lock system lets you adjust chassis lean in about 15 minutes
• Cast metal control arms and knuckles
• Vogel lube system is available as an option

Competition

1. Air bag suspension means potential leaks.
2. Non-vented brake rotors may heat up and reduce braking ability.
3. Dual-source supplier with third-party installation. 
4. 18,000 lb. maximum capacity.
5. Never installed on a fire chassis.
6. No real-world customer use to support durability claims.
7. No availability of braking or durability certification.

Tak-4

1. Torsion bar design doesn't leak.
2. TAK-4 reduces stress on brakes.
3. TAK-4 is our own system, so you’ll only ever need to make one call for information or service.
4. 24,000 maximum capacity
5. More than 4,000 TAK-4 systems sold.
6. With Pierce, simply ask us for our customer list. We’re happy to provide it.
7. Proven testing and certification.

Testing & Durability

The original TAK-4 IFS systems were designed and built by Oshkosh Truck for the U.S. military and the harsh terrain their trucks need to tackle. It was put through 80,000 actual durability test miles, most of them in extreme off-road conditions. And, these systems have stood up to years to service on airport fire fighting and rescue vehicles. Then, when Pierce began to integrate the TAK-4 design into its chassis, no testing was spared. A TAK-4 equipped fire chassis was subjected to durability testing at the Transportation Research Center in Ohio. TRC is one of the largest independent test facilities in the world for structural integrity testing of heavy truck components. Their durability course covers rougher road than you’ll see in a life time – chatter bumps, staggered bumps, chuckholes, high crown intersections and a brake skid pad – and accelerates the real-world duty cycle by a factor of 7. So, the 17,700 actual miles that we put on a 24,000-lb. TAK-4 suspension equals almost 124,000 real-world miles.