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the world of Grand Prix racing consisted mainly of small British manufacturers who bought in engines and other major components to fit to their
chassis—and the continental "Grancls Marques", such as Ferrari, who made everything in-house. To the dismay of the establishment, the Grands Marques were frequently beaten hollow by the "garagistes", as the upstarts were sneeringly known.
'All very interesting, but what has this got to do with trucks?" we hear you ask. Well, apart from the proportions being reversed, the current UK truck market resembles Formula 1 racing in the sixties and seventies. The majority of contenders are built by the continental giants who still tend to make most of their own components, while the remaining traditional British (if no longer British-owned) manufacturers are effectively kit assemblers.
The Foden Alpha tested here is a prime example of the garagistes' art, with Foden's contribution extending to the chassis engineering and tuning and some outer cab panels. The likes of Ken Tyrell proved way back that you don't need to be a Grand Marque to be a winner, but does the Caterpillar-powered Foden even make it to the grid?
PRODUCT PROFILE
The Alpha 3000 range of tractive units is unashamedly targeted at the distribution sector, where the Foden badge has never had a huge presence. There's a choice of 4x2., 6x2 midlift and Gx4 versions, together with a 6x4 on/off-roader for Foden's more traditional dients in the construction world.
Buy any Foden and your first decision is whose electronically controlled engine to specify on the order form—Cummins or Caterpillar? In the case of the Alpha 3000 tractor tested, the baseline is provided by 38ohp units. The 1o.3-litre Caterpillar Cm has a 34ohp alternative, while the Cummins Mix can be changed for 340 or 4o5hp versions. If the bottom line of that order form is crucial to you, the Cat is likely to be your first choice: it costs £305 less—and it comes with a Jacobs engine brake as standard; on the Cummins that's a £1,240 option.
The rest of the Alpha's spec reads like an industry guide. The standard transmission is the Eaton 16-speed synchro unit, as tested, with the option of the 12.-speed Twin Splitter for traditionalists. The steel-suspended 7,100kg front axle is by Dana, with the 11,500kg drive axle coming from Mentor. Rear suspension on our test truck is the optional Hendrickson HP4 four-bag air system.
Sitting atop all this is Foden's version of the steel cab borrowed from Paccar stablemate Leyland Des 85. New door skins and side panels eliminate the Daf's trademark flared appearance, while a kite-badged grille completes the transformation.
PRODUCTIVITY
Caterpillar's yellow paint may be up there with Coca-Cola red when it comes to global familiarity, but being one of the world's leading makers of construction equipment doesn't necessarily mean that its engines are ideally suited to trundling along the M6. Apart from the cost advantage, unless you are a plant operator making extensive use of other Caterpillar products, the main selling point is likely to be the power delivery characteristics claimed for the C-to.
The Cat's maximum power is achieved 2oorptin below the governed speed of 1,900rpm before dipping to its rated power, while the Cummins Mu i reaches its peak power at maximum revs in the traditional way. The torque curves of both engines are pretty well identical; the Cat's staying slightly flatter through the green band. Superimpose the engines' specific fuel consumption graphs however, and a different story emerges, with the Cummins' line not only being lower down the scale, but lower down the rev range as well.
At the start of both engines' green bands at r, 2o orpm, the Cummins is a clear 8g/kWhr (or 4%) lower, and also gives its best consumption at 1,300-1,400rpm compared with the Cat's best at i,Go orpm—the Cat regains its lead above 1,6 oorpm.
But hauliers operate trucks, not graphs, so what do these numbers mean in the real world? In performance terms, all of the Cat's figures from track testing and hill climbs were consistently slower than the Cummins. On the road, the Cio's slightly higher average speed meant it saved 12 minutes over the 1,179km route, only losing out to the Mu t on the tough motorway section. Time is but one factor of the productivity equation, however; the second, payload, shows little to choose between the two with the Cummins weighing in about 20kg less than the Cat. Add the 32kg of the Cat's standard Jake brake and the scales tip back in its favour.
The final and, some would say crucial, element is fuel economy, and here CM would introduce a word of caution. When we tested the Cummins-powered Alpha it was with Foden's own trailer. Although a triaxle curtainsider much the same as our own, its overall height was 3.91m. That's 9omm lower than ours, and this should be considered when making comparisons. But we have to admit to some disappointment with the Cat's overall figure of 7.54mpg, o.8mpg worse than the Cummins.
Backing up the average speed results, its worst consumption was on the tough motorways, giving away 1.7napg. It just goes to show that those little charts at the back of the brochure really do mean something if you look hard enough.
One further aid to productivity is the place for a driver on a two-day Foden Institute of Driveline Management course, which is now included in the price of all Alpha tractors. The training, which we sampled at its launch (CM 25 Feb-3 Mar), teaches roadcraft and correct use of the engine and transmission for optimal performance from the truck.
ON THE ROAD
At 40 tonnes on level roads, the Cat was happy to pull away in low second, skipping to low fourth and then taking whole gears. The gearchange has a rather wide gate, calling for a fairly deliberate technique until it becomes familiar, and a stronger reverse detent would be useful. Range changes are made by a switch on the front of the gear knob, and splits by a rocker on the side. The split status needs a feel of the switch; a warning light would be useful. The upward journey through the gears is easy enough, but the semi-desperate downwards range change needed when faced with a steep hill is rarely a satisfying experience, even in expert hands.
When the going gets tough, the Cat certainly digs in well, settling down to hold nroorpm impressively well. But the engine doesn't feel particularly smooth, and under heavy load it produces a strange surging effect like a washing machine. We also experienced a mystery glitch on a few occasions when at around t,600rpm, under full acceleration, the engine would fluff for a second or so as if it had hit the governor.
The Jake brake can be controlled in a number of ways. A dash switch selects whether six, three or no cylinders provide braking when the throttle pedal is released. If cruise control is selected, the system can be programmed to engage the Jake at a predetermined speed above cruise: the default is three cylinders at 3mph above that speed and all six at 7mph. The benefits of this automatic mode are minimal, as engine speed is likely to be too low. To get the best out of the system the driver must be prepared to help—a change down to seventh gear brings the revs up to around 2,100rpm and makes all the difference. Also, with cruise switched on, the first bit of brake pedal travel activates the Jake.
Unfortunately, the weather gremlins again prevented us carrying out track testing of the brakes, but on the road the all-drum ABS setup proved that the old technology still works. At the bottom of the A68 descent from Hadrian's Wall to Corbridge with the help of the Jake, they still felt factory fresh.
Given that Foden's driver training programme quite rightly places great emphasis on use of the cruise control, the Alpha's could be more user friendly. A master rocker switch on the dash works in conjunction with a "set" button on the end of the right-hand column stalk and an "increase/decrease" slider on the top. However, the "set" button was sometimes reluctant to accept the command (a warning light would help). The only way to change the speed setting without stopping the engine is to ramp down using the slider—which can be a bit of a pain when leaving a motorway for an A-road, for example.
The Foden's steering is impressive, contributing to its excellent handling. The shock absorption of the Hendrickson four-bag rear end is also very good, working with the steel front suspension to give a better-than-average ride. The cab nod experienced during our previous Alpha test now seems to have been tuned out.
CAB COMFORT
Cab access is easy enough via two steps and a pair of well-placed grab handles. The most striking feature in the test vehicle's cab is the optional half-leather trimmed luxury seating. Although the overall colour scheme of dark blue is pleasing enough, the great number of different materials and textures in the cab (we actually lost count), would give an interior designer nightmares. The cab is basically very quiet but with 65, 000km on the clock it was rather let down by various squeaks and creaks from dash and seats and a gear lever rattle that got progressively worse during the test.
Once in the driving seat, you are faced with a Foden-badged version of Dafs handy steering wheel boss that turns into a tacho desk. All the instruments, including fuel and temperature gauges and separate air gauges, are dearly visible, although reading the brown-on-black tenths display on the tacho's odometer is a challenge for less-than-perfect eyesight.
Sundry switches flank the instrument panel. The less frequently used ones, such as lights and diff-lock, are fine there, but those for the cruise control and engine brake could be more conveniently located. A six-position headlamp-levelling controller is also included.
An up-market-looking Grundig RDS radio/cassette is fitted above the screen, but it failed the CM intuitiveness test of finding Radio 4 without recourse to the handbook. The Cat ID information display unit sits next to the radio, and is similarly difficult to operate without taking your eyes off the road.
Storage should be more than adequate for most needs. There are shallow net-fronted trays to the left and centre of the header rail, small bins in each door and a deep bin with pen ledge in the lower centre of the dash. Another smaller bin is mounted next to the ashtray, and is interchangeable. A tray on the engine hump is big enough to take a standard. issue CM dipboard and includes two cupholders with removable sleeves to fit your favoured tipple container.
Two larger storage boxes are provided under the bunk, although one is half filled by the night heater. The bunk's mattress is firm and the cab has full and bunk-only curtains. A reading light and controls for the Eberspacher night heater are accessible from the bunk, but the radio is a long stretch across the driving seat.
A cigar lighter and 24V DIN socket meet auxiliary power needs, while the main fuse board is located under a lid in front of the passenger. The angled central dash panel includes the heater controls and fresh air vents. Unfortunately no adjustable vents are provided on the outer ends of the dash, which means the left side of the driver's body can be cooled in hot weather, but the other side must roast—presumably all hairy-armed Foden drivers tend to keep the window open.
The otherwise efficient heater lacks recirculation, which meant we were unable to establish if the occasional smell of diesel smoke came from other vehides or from this Foden; in any event, it became bad enough at one point on the Mx to cause running eyes.
The doors are the same window-in-window design as the Daf 85. The left-hand window can be electrically operated by the driver, while the right-hand is manual.
Visibility is very good, with a large gap between mirrors and A-pillar, while the window frames are not as intrusive as they might seem at first glance. Sun visors are staggered to eliminate the central gap, and the driver also gets a side visor.
SUMMARY
Until we've expanded our database of fuel test results at 40 tonnes, the Cat-powered Foden's true place in the scheme of things must remain unresolved. But factoring in our experience that running at 40 tonnes gives a 4% increase in consumption compared with 38 tonnes, we are still left with an unimpressive overall notional figure of 7.84mpg.
This test confirms our view that Foden deserves its place in the ranks of purveyors of fine fleet tractive units, with a high degree of flexibility to introduce improvements as they become available. But when it comes to our choice of engines, the Cat's thirst puts it in firmly in second place. Eby Colin Barnett