Ace is at hand . .
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FOR THE PARTS that other exhi bitions cannot reach, it has to be ACE.
From next Wednesday (March 28) through to Friday (30th), you can find the largest selection of specialist commercial vehicle parts at the Accessories and Components Exhibition, sponsored by Commercial Motor, Last year's event was in April at London's West Centre Hotel, but for 1984 we have moved up to the more spacious surroundings of the Wembley Conference Centre.
Seventy stands will be wholly devoted to the commercial vehicle industry, so visitors will not have to wade through any irrelevant car equipment to find what they need. The range of products and services to be found at the exhibition is wide. It covers parts, accessories and components for vehicles from car-derived vans to maximumweight artics, and everything inbetween. And we have not forgotten the psv world — there are bus and coach components there as well.
Vehicle under-run protection is a topical subject today as the final stages of the legislation come into effect next week. On April 1 vehicles exceeding 3.5 tonnes gvw and manufactured on or after October 1 1983 must have side and rear under-run guards.
On Stand A71 T1 Tube Products is showing the TI Rearguard, which is designed to lessen the risk of injury to car occupants and reduce damage to the lorry involved in an underrun accident. It incorporates two collapsible cartridges which progressively absorb the collision. TI's sideguards are supplied in kit form and are light in order to minimise the payload penalty al
though are strong enough to meet the Construction and Use regulations.
Hope Technical Developments (Stand A22) is also showing a rear under-run protection device called the Hope Safe-T-Bar. It too absorbs the energy of an impact but uses natural rubber springs to do this. An audible warning is incorporated to alert the vehicle's driver if contact is made with an object while reversing.
The Department of Transport issued its draft regulations for spray suppression earlier this month. The proposals include an extensive but short retrofit programme and so there will be a lot of operators looking for some form of spray suppression for their vehicles. Both major types of spray flaps will be exhibited at ACE. The well-established Clear Pass flaps by Monsanto can be seen on Stand A50. These have been in the UK for more than three years and are fitted to over 10,000 vehicles already.
A more recent arrival onto the UK market is the Cat's Whisker system by Schlegel and this can be examined across on Stand A58.
Continuing on the safety theme, there are two anti-lock braking equipment manufacturers showing their wares. AntiSkid Controls of Coventry (Stand A54) bought Maxaret from Dunlop last year and has developed the system to cater for the different braking needs of the individual axles in a trailer bogie according to their respective loads. That is the new Maxaret MDR system; the existing Maxaret CR for tractive units is also to be seen at the exhibition.
Lucas Girling (Stand A79) will also be showing two types of anti-lock braking for trailers and tractive units; there is Skid Chek GX for the drive axle and steered axle while Skid Chek MGX is for trailer bogies.
The Hope Anti-Jack-Knife device uses no electronics and is well-proven now. You can see it and find out how it works on the Hope Technical Developments stand.
Drivers who were caught up in the French traffic jams last month and spent some cold nights in their cabs would have welcomed some form of inde pendent cab heating. Eberspacher (Stand A60) will be showing its range of heaters from cab models to a 24kW output heater for coaches. For use with these heaters is a new 24hour pre-set clock that displays continuous time and also permits up to three automatic heater starts.
Currently undergoing trials in actual operations is the Econocruise gearshift programmer (Stand A32). Its objective is to achieve maximum economy by the optimum use of the vehicle's gearbox. An electronic voice synthesiser gives "change up"
or "change down" instructions at the appropriate gearchange points.
Also on the Econocruise stand is the company's speed control device; visitors will be able to arrange to test drive a vehicle fitted with the control.
There are two other speed control equipment manufacturers at ACE for visitors who want to make some comparisons: Lucas Kienzle Instruments (Stand A9) has its electricallyactivated device (along with its chassis lubrication system and M-Fos tacho chart analysis) while across on Stand A59 you will find Romantic. This company has two types of speed control — a top-speed limiter and Varispeed, a variable speed control combining a maximum allowable speed setting and a facility for selecting intermediate speeds.
Just in case you are considering a little spring-cleaning in the fleet there will be several makes of vehicle washes appearing at Wembley. Kew Industry (Stand A1.3) is bringing its new range of Powerforce highpressure water cleaners and Karcher (UK) will be showing three of its Rotobus washes on Stand A46. Deb is to exhibit a wide range of cleaning products
on Stand A68, including its Hotshot hot-water washer.
Robertson Research International (Stand Al2)will be hoping to persuade you that it can learn more from your engine oil than the tea-leaves. Its Wearcheck oil analysis programme has been designed to simplify the collection of engine oil samples and give a fast results service for the operator. If the spectrometric or physical tests of the oil sample find anything seriously amiss the operator will be notified by phone or telex on the same day that the sample was received.
That is a small selection of what you can find at ACE. You will also see brake linings, filters, fifth wheel couplings, axles, trailer parts, automotive electrical components, seats, turbochargers, tachograph charts, workshop equipment ...
The vehicle manufacturers will also be represented, stressing the need to use genuine parts to ensure that the original specification is maintained.
While the Commercial Motor Accessories and Components Exhibition is taking place in the Greenwich Room at Wembley the New Motor Trader Show 84 is running in the adjoining Hampton Room. It is sponsored by one of CM's sister publications, Motor Trader, and caters for the garage trade and anyone involved in running a vehicle workshop or dealership.
Among the exhibits will be computers for the motor trade, garage management systems, engine diagnostic equipment, power tools, paint sprayers, rust-proofing and financial services.
Many of the New Motor Trade Show 84 exhibits are equally applicable to commercial vehicle and car people so visitors to ACE should find it worthwhile going next door to Motor Trader's show as well. You are welcome to wander from one to another and both shows share the same opening times.