ERF lands Tx400 Eagle EC ministers
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EXCLUSIVE • ERF is the first truck manufacturer to confirm that it will offer the 298kW (400hp) version of Perkins' Tx Eagle engine, which was finally launched this week.
Seddon Atkinson, which has been running its own tests on the engine, says it will have to see "a little more interest" from customers before making a decision, and Foden has no definite plans to fit it.
Perkins has been running trials with several operators for about 18 months and a release was expected shortly after the Motor Show in October. The Peterborough-based company denies that work on cutting noise levels was causing a delay: "We are quite rigid in our procedure and have to get miles on the clock," it says.
One of the hauliers trying the engine has been BOC Interbrand in Croydon. It installed the 400Tx in an ERF E12 tractive unit last June and has since run 150,000km with it. It has returned 321it1lOOkm (8.83mpg) and says drivers are happy with its driveability. Another operator to have trialled the model is Sudburybased owner-driver Clifford Batley, who had it fitted to his three-axle Seddon Atkinson Strato at Perkins last year. ERF, which prematurely announced on spec sheets last year that it had the 400Tx available in an E Series tractive unit, has confirmed that it will add the new version as an option on its 4x2, 6x2 and 6x4 tractors. It currently offers the Tx up to 280kW (375hp), and says the 400 "is available now".
The present Tx range comprises 224kW (300hp), 242kW (325hp), 261kW (350hp) and 280kW (375hp) versions. Seddon Atkinson currently offers up to 242kW versions of the Tx, although its Cummins options go up to 347kW (465hp). Foden fits up to the 280kW Tx version, though it too offers the 347kW Cummins. The 12litre 400Tx is air-to-air chargecooled and provides 1,810Nm (1,335Ibft) of torque at 1,250rpm. It is no heavier than its counterparts in the rest of the range, says Perkins.
To bring the Tx up to 298kW Perkins has developed a new piston and ring pack. Modifications to the fuel injection pump and injectors have also been introduced.
The Eagle Tx range was introduced two years ago, and Perkins now claims a 27% share of the heavy tractor engine market.