ANEW 4-TONNER Makes
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its Mark
FEW vehicles have earned so enviable a reputation in the passenger-carrying industry as T.S. Motors Express models. When we made the first announcement on May 12th, 1931, of the new 9-tonner, which followed in many details the Express machine, we expected a distinctive performance. H a ving now carried out our usual comprehensive road test on an example of this chassis, we can state that we were not one whit disappointed, as the figures and details given herein bear witness.
Summarizing t h e specification we find a parallel-sided frame, carrying a 6.4-litre four-cylindered sidevalve engine, a singleplate clutch, a separately mounted fourspeed gearbox and a worm-typef axle with underslung springs and worm ; fourwheel brakes (with servo), Manes steering and Autovac fuel feed also are standardized. Normal or forward control can be specified ; a chassis of the latter type was tested by us. Taking into account the complete equipment and thoroughly tested components made by T. S. Motors, Ltd. (formerly TillingStevens Motors, Ltd.), of Victoria Works, Maidstone, the chassis offers definite value for money at £720 ready for the road.
The example submitted for test was a standard production. type, then passing through the test shop ; it was laden with five met al blocks, giving the full pay-load of 4 tons and the maximum recommended •body weight, i.e., 1 ton. The exact, detailed weights are given in t h e accompanying panel.
As it was obvious that rain might be expected, advantage of tile existence of dry roads was taken and the retardation figures t hen ob
tamed are reproduced in graph form. Both sets of brakes *eke in perfect adjustment and, at all times, the vehicle maintained a straight course during this test. The foot brake, without the servo, allowed the vehicle to be retarded and held on a gradient of 1 in 7; on 1 in 5i either brake held the weight easily and without undue exertion on the part of the driver.
The four-wheel brakes, as the curve shows. gave -stopping distances considerably better than the average at all speeds above 10 m.p.h. and a good normal result at that low rate of tra:vel. at is -no mean feat smoothly and safely to bring to rest an Si-ton vehicle in 63 ft. when
travelling at 35 : the foot brake alone accomplished this task on the T.S. Motors 44onner. The stopping distances obtained by the unaided use of .the hand brake are bett'er ' than corresponding figures obtained with four-wheel braking systems on certain other chassis of similar weight and load capacity.
Hardly had the last stop, in the series of brake tests, been effected than rain began to fall. Throughout the rest of the trial torrential rain, alternating with short fine periods, was the order of the day so that wet road surfaces obtained for acceleration and fuel-consumption performances.
Reference to another series of curves which we reproduce reveals that the acceleration on top gear, third gear and from rest through the gears—starting in "second "Is well up to the average for vehicles of this pay-load category. The chassis had covered about 100 miles prior to our test so that it was fairly stiff, but, as this condition has obtained in the majority of previous tests, the results obtained from the T.S. Motors 4-tonner are comparable with others.
During the acteleration trials 'snappy" gear changes were required; the lever is mounted to the left of the driver and is conveniently placed. We found that conventional methods gave quiet, speedy changes and that no unusual degree of shaft-speed , estimation was required.
During our periods of observation—as distinct from driving—we sat immediately above the gearbox and found that all the indirect gears emitted nothing more than a hum, whether on the run or overrun. The leather-disc clutch stop acted quickly, but it was not neces
sary to give more than a passing thought to the required amount of clutch-pedal travel, to determine whether or not the stop was to be employed. Both during gear changes on level roads and uphill the take-up of the drive was all that could be required. When restarting on 1 in 5i the chassis did not "judder," and any running backwards was brought about •by too early a release of the hand brake. On this gradient— which was verified by a Tapley meter—the 6.33-to-1 axle ratio proved suitable; for stiffer hills it would be advisable to employ a slightly lower ratio.
While on the question of control it is worthy of note that the steering layout of the new model is a great improvement on the type employed in former years. The wheel is now of the spring-spoked type, minimizing shocks to the driver's arms, whilst the Manes gea.r, coupled with the well-chosen degree of castor action, gave a response as light and positive as modern standards demand.
All four semi-elliptic Springs have rebound leaves. The riding qualities of the vehicle were good, there being no fore-and-aft pitching or lateral rolling. It is commendable that such good results have been obtained with a minimum of complication, thereby simplifying maintenance.
One of the salient features of the performance of vehicles of this
make has always been economy in fuel, the extent to which this "family tradition" has been per petuated proved a pleasant sur prise. During the test the roads were wet and wind conditions were equalized, so far as possible, by running in opposite directions on the same stretch of road.
The change-over from the main tank to the test tank was made when the chassis was stopped beside a milestone on the MaidstoneLondon road ; by disconnecting the main feed pipe practically all the fuel in the float chamber ran away. After coupling up the test-tank pipe a gallon was measured into the.
container and the journey of live miles each way was commenced.
As will be seen by reference to the appropriate section of the panel, the speed was a good average (21.24 m.p.h.), such as is commonly attained in everyday service. . We. turned around at the fifth milestone. and stopped, at the original starting point, after exactly 10 miles.
From . the tank was drained exactly 1 pint of spirit, so that the consumption rate worked out at 12.304 m.p.g. This is the greatest distance we have covered. on a gallon of fuel during our tests of
4-tonners. The Zenith carburetter had the following setting: Main jet, 115; compensator, 115; choke, 25. The normal temperature of the radiator was 108 degrees F., and this figure was not exceeded by more than 20 degrees when climbing steep hills, We found that the ignition control required only occasional use, there being a marked improvement in this respect as compared with the Express engine tested in the coach chassis in January, 1930. Without knocking it was possible to accelerate from 5 m.p.h. on top gear. It was, of course, necessary to retard the ignition during this test, but the need for such action, when travelling at ordinary cruising speeds, was much less than in former years.
In an abbreviated form our impressions of the road performance of the T.S. Motors 4-ton goods chassis are as follow :—Power and speed, adequate for all normal commercial requirements, plus a reasonable safety margin ; .suspension and controllability of a high standard, retardation powers being considerably above the average .for a chassis of the .pay-load capacity in question ; silence and smoothness of running; good fuel economy, the outstanding feature of the chassis performance. We found no cause for adverse criticism.
This type of chassis is also. offered with a Gardner compressionignition engine, as was pointed out in our issue dated May 12th. In this form the chassis price is .£903; an ingenious feature is that a.special pump is provided on the gearbox to deliver fuel to a reservoir on the dash, whence it 'lows to the standard fuel-injection pump.