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SEVEN
Volvo's latest FL7 puts out 285 horsepower and meets Euro-2 requirements. Is this the vehicle to finally cure the tippermanis prejudice against little engines?
Ask a hot-rodder about the most important factor in a vehicle's performance, and he'll say "There's no substitute for cubic inches" or even "There ain't no substitute for cubes".
Either way, he means the same thing. Making an engine bigger is much easier than tuning it for higher performance. But ask an engineer, and you may get a different answer: a small engine is lighter, more free-revving and potentially more fuel-efficient.
Volvo has hedged its bets. In a tipper market full of hairy-chested 10, 12 and 14-litre engines, the Swedish manufacturer has developed its 6.7-litre engine to produce ever more power and to meet ever-tightening exhaust regulations, while keeping its 10-litre FL10 as the staple vehicle for higher power ratings.
At the same time, the FL7 claims to have pulled off the trick of combining the torque of a larger engine with the fuel economy of a tiddler—and Euro-2 emissions to boot.
The latest version of the little straight-six has been modified quite substantially. Bore and stroke remain the same, as does the compression ratio, but pistons and inlet and exhaust tracts are redesigned, and there's a new injection system. The Bosch P8000 injection pump delivers much higher pressures than before, and peak power now arrives at 2,200rpm rather than 2,400rpm. Massive bearings should answer criticism that the engine might be overstressed. These changes amount to a major reworking of the engine, which is now known as the D7A rather than the TD73ES, and is available in 230hp (169kW), 260hp (191kW) and 285hp (210kW) versions (the FL10 range starts at 320hp).
The technology is impressive, but will the customer bite? Volvo is a major player in the UK tipper market (now recovering strongly after the transport and construction recessions of the early Nineties). But only one in seven of its eight-wheeler sales is an FL7—the rest are FL10 models from 320hp upwards. Evidently operators, like hot-rodders, like the idea of a bigger, understressed engine.
• PRODUCT PROFILE One of the FL7s major selling points ought to be its light weight, but our figures suggest that it offers little advantage over the FLIO, or a big-engined featherweight such as the Foden 3325C. Extra weight is saved by its II" • alloy wheels (a factory option) which are around 200kg lighter than a set of standard normal steel rims. But the bog standard FL7285 chassis costs £64,500-12,750 less than the 320hp FL10, and less than any of the other Continental competition, Engine apart, the latest FL7 is entirely conventional: just a massive ladder chassis, an eight-speed gearbox and a steel day cab. The test vehicle had quite a few extras which add substantially to the price, but some (such as air conditioning) would be entirely optional for most tipper operators.
The gearbox is the customary Volvo R1400 eight-speed synchromesh (plus crawler) unit, with a substantial range-change flick switch on the lever. The SR1400 14-speed splitter box is an option, as is a shorter final drive ratio. Differential locks are standard, along with a lock between axles three and four.
Our test vehicle had "B" ride suspension, which costs £500 less than the more heavyduty "T" ride alternative.
The Z-cam brakes have a load sensing valve on the rear bogie—ABS is a 12,100 option. The exhaust brake is fitted as standard. In the customary Volvo way, it is linked to the service brake with a conventional foot switch as well.
Daily checks are fairly straightforward. The windscreen washer bottle and clutch fluid container are behind the front panel, while the dipstick for engine oil is mounted on the offside behind the cab. The cab tilts via a manual pump on the nearside. Coolant level is indicated by amber and red lights on the dashboard. The sealed system should need no topping-up between services.
Intermediate services come every six weeks, with basic services every three months (or 30,000km) and major services annually or at 120,000km.
• PRODUCTIVITY Our test vehicle was well equipped, with a handsome aluminium Mackworth body, Edbro tipping gear and an Evertaut Clearspan rollover sheeting system. That little lot came to £12,885 and gave the truck a kerb weight of 10,490kg, for a true payload of 21.51 tonnes. So this vehicle's productivity is potentially pretty good.
Fuel consumption is the next factor. This is where we find out whether a small engine is really a sure-fire recipe for economy. In fact, it turned out not to he the case.
The Volvo's overall test figure of 8.33mpg (33.91ft/100km) presents no threat to the likes of the Hino FY1P-UKA, with an electronically-controlled 295hp (220kW) 8.8-litre engine which yielded an astonishing 9.26mpg (30.5Iit/100km). Even the Cummins L10-powered Foden 3325C could manage 8.56mpg (33.01ft/100km).
So why choose the FL7? Well, it beats the FL10's best figures comfortably—which may be enough for an operator running a Volvobased fleet—and also bests its immediate predecessor, the FL7-260. But another reason is that the new D7A engine meets Euro-2 stan dards, which are considerably stricter than Etu-o-1 and which could lead to a corresponding penalty in fuel economy. We may find other tippers turning in apparently disappointing figures over the next couple of years.
A small engine is never going to offer superb average speeds, and our test figures are far from impressive. A 56mph speed limiter alone doesn't account for an overall average almost 10% slower than most. But traffic conditions vary, and hill climb times might be a fairer criterion: the FL7-285 made it up Edge Hill in two minutes 58 seconds substantially faster than the old FL7-260's three minutes ten seconds, despite slower average speeds.
• ON THE ROAD
Volvo's published figures indicate that the D7A is a huge advance on the TD73ES in terms of both power and torque. The new engine's torque peak of 1,200Nm (9851bft) is 15% higher than the FL7-260's, and occurs at 1,300rpm—a hundred rpm lower down. As peak power is at 2,200rpm rather than at 2,400rpm, revving the engine hard is a waste of time.
There's a surprising amount of lugging power available from 1,200rpm—the bottom of the green band, which goes up to 1,900rpm (200rpm lower than its predecessor's). CM tested Scania's 280hp P93 tipper six years ago, with a peak power figure comparable with the Volvo's, but it was far slower in acceleration and hill tests: 0-801cm/h took over twenty seconds longer, the Edge Hill climb lasted almost 11. .4 a full minute more and the Scania grossed a tonne and a half less than the Volvo.
Some credit for the Volvo's driveability must go to a well-matched turbocharger and wastegate, allowing the engine to work hard at relatively low revs. This means the engine feels bigger than it has a right to, and that an eight-speed gearbox doesn't feel too cheeseparing. You have to be in the right gear for a hill, but the ratios are well enough chosen that only the most insensitive driver would insist on staying in the wrong one. It's not difficult to stay in the green band on moderate hills.
The gear change itself is reliable, but above all it's slow. It's no use rushing the synchronisers, and well-planned changes were essential for the ascent of Edge Hill. Shift loads are quite high, too, and two hands may be needed to engage reverse! The range-change is hardly fast, but it's as straightforward a system as you will find anywhere. This is just the tipper for the novice driver.
Handling is predictable and safe, without excessive roll, and the steering is precise enough for confident town and B-road driving. The suspension felt slightly out of sorts on the dreadfully rough A422 approaching Buckingham, but overall, the Volvo's ride quality remained excellent.
The brakes are effective. We were unable to perform quantitative tests, but the truck stopped straight on the track repeatedly without any fade, locked wheels or drama. The footbrake felt progressive, perhaps to the point of feeling soft—but that's a matter of personal preference. The exhaust brake needs very high revs to be at all useful, and will probably be ignored by many drivers.
• CAB COMFORT The cab is Volvo's well-established, low-slung affair, strictly a day cab but with a reasonable amount of storage space. Access is easy, and once in place you're surrounded by the customary Volvo combination of clear instruments and switches that all look the same. Visibility is very good. It's one of those cabs in which you feel almost immediately at home.
Our example had the £400 option of "lux" seats—air-suspended for the driver, fixed for
the passengei which were comfortable, easily adjustable and (most importantly) well matched to the suspension. Other optional refinements included air conditioning, electrically adjustable heated mirrors and a sun visor.
An occupational hazard of the Volvo's lowslung cab is that the driver is close to the engine, which makes itself known constantly. Our measured steady-state noise figures are pretty good, showing a relatively small rise in noise levels from 20mph to the legal limit. But the engine "growls" constantly -perhaps a consequence of being worked so hard—and under acceleration it sounded particularly fierce; the chattering of the compressor was especially annoying.
• SUMMARY So what is the FLTs place? If even its own manufacturer hedges its bets by offering the FLIO and (soon) the FL12, why bother with
such a small engine Other 32-tonners that CM has tested have tended to be significantly more powerful, reflecting the general inflation in power ratings and the need to compensate for the 56mph limit.
So it is difficult to find a direct comparison_ The exceptionally-economical 295hp Hino suffers from a comparatively high base price (though this includes "extras" such as a PTO and a sleeper cab). The 11.6-litre Leyland Daf 85.330 is surprisingly frugal, and very pleasant to drive-as you might expect with an extra 45hp on tap-but again suffers from an apparently high price. The Cummins L10powered Foden 3325C seems to combine the best of both worlds. It is fairly economical, it ascended Edge Hill in a storming 2 minutes 18 seconds, and its base price is around the same as the Volvo's.
It's difficult to be immediately enthusiastic about this tipper. Its performance and fuel consumption figures are hardly exceptional. and many drivers will only be turned on by a big engine producing big power figures.
But as a demonstration of what can be clone with a small engine, it's impressive-and, vitally, it complies with Euro-2 legislation. In fact, if you're not concerned with shaving the last second off A-to-B times, you should consider the FL7-a pleasant, productive and thoroughly modern tipper.
0 by Toby Clark