NTER THE 95 SERIES
Page 32
Page 33
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Des F220 and F241 cabs are the longest-serving forward control cabs in Europe — but they are being superseded by the Daf/Enasa Cabtec cab on Des new 95 Series.
10 Europe's longest-serving forward control heavy truck cab has finally come to the end of the line. Daf has begun the process of replacing its F220 cab and its larger F241 stablemate, which in one guise or another has been around since 1969, with the introduction this week of its 95 Series truck range.
The first 95 Series models, which replace the current 2800, 3300 and 3600 top-of-the-range tractive unit and rigid models, are the first Daf trucks to be fitted with the Cabtec cab. It was developed and built jointly by Daf and Enasa, and was first used on Enasa's new Pegaso Troner (CM 9 May).
Like Enasa, Daf will offer four versions of the new cab: a sleeper (with one or two bunks), a short day cab, a short cab with top sleeper pod, and a high-roof sleeper or Space Cab.
CAB TYPES
The first five 95 Series models to go into production at Eindhoven in the Netherlands are a 4x2 tractive unit, a 4 x 2 rigid, a 6x2 rigid and tractive unit with trailing third axles, and a tractive unit with steered leading third axle. Dal's current prefixes for models will continue to be used, with FT indicating 4 x 2 tractive unit, FTG 6x2 twin steer and so on. Daf says that both leftand right-hand-drive versions of all these are now in production, but it is not yet clear which cab types will be the first to become available in this country.
It has been confirmed that UK speci fication 95 Series vehicles will be on sale here from next month and will be on display at the Scottish Show in Glasgow in November. They will be the first trucks to carry Leyland Daf badges.
Enasa's British subsidiary, Seddon Atkinson, is expected to begin to fit its version of the cab from about next January. Cabtec is a company owned jointly by Daf and Enasa with its headquarters in Eindoven, a short distance away from Daf's head office and main assembly plant. The Cabtec cab's steel panels are pressed both in the Netherlands (for Oaf) and in Spain (for Enasa).
All 95 Series models are powered by revised versions of Dal's 11.6-litre, ATi, in-line six-cylinder engine with new power and torque ratings and new designations. The four 11.6-litre variants in the old range, designated DKV, DICXE, DIOC, and DIU have been replaced with three, the WS225, WS259, and WS282.
The most significant mechanical difference between the 95 Series engine and its ATi predecessors is the use of cross-flow cylinder heads on the WS engines. Power, torque and specific fuel consumption figures for the new engines seem little different from the old, although Oafs revised truck model designation system could lead one to think otherwise as far as maximum power is concerned. Daf now uses the ISO 1585 power rating in its model numbers in place of the lower DIN rating which was the basis for the 2800/ 3300/3600 designations.
The maximum power outputs of the WS225, WS259 and WS282 engines, to the 1501585 standard are respectively 225kW (302hp), 259kW (34'7hp), and 282kW (378hp), all at 2,000rpm. The 95 Series model number indicates the engine's approximate maximum power output in horsepower. Thus a 95.310 has the WS225 engine, and a 95.380 has the WS282 engine. Drive axle air suspension will be standard equipment on all 95.380 models.
Dal's main purpose in updating its 11.6 litre engine two years after the ATi models were introduced is to keep pace with steadily tightening European noise and exhaust emission legislation. Daf has introduced an electronic accelerator pedal control system with the 95 Series, partly in anticipation of another EEC law on the use of speed limiters. The E-Gas system should also bring other benefits such as more precise driver control over engine speed, the ability to maintain a constant engine speed up to 1,200rpm, close control of idle speed, and integral cruise control. There is no mechanical connection between pedal and injection pump in the 95 Series.
IF GEARBOX
To the surprise of some, Daf has not taken another step forward in the use of on-board electronics by specifying one of the various gearbox control systems that are currently available. Standard gearbox on the 95 Series is the ZF Ecosplit 165130 or 165-160 with conventional manual shift system. Electronic control systems do appear elsewhere on the 95 Series, however, in the form of the optional ECAS (electronically controlled drive axle air suspension) which Daf introduced last year, and the electronic control for the four air springs used as standard on the cab suspension system of the Space Cab.
We have already sampled the remarkable effectiveness of this suspension in controlling cab pitch and roll on the Pegaso Troner (CM 9 May).
Only the Space Cab in the new Daf range is eqnipped with this four-point air suspension. The day cab and standard sleeper are suspended on coil springs while the top sleeper, with its higher centre of gravity, has a less compliant front mounting coil springs at the rear, and telescopic dampers front and rear.
The Dafs interior trim looks broadly similar to that of the Pegaso, but one novelty in the 95 Series is a hinged flap in the hub of the steering wheel that is designed to give the driver a convenient surface on which to complete his tachograph charts or other paperwork.
Daf dubs the microprocessor-based, dashboard-mounted warning system which is common to the Troner and the 95 Series as the IWS (Intelligent Warning System). Up to 30 functions can be monitored by the system. Visar, Des fuel consumption indicator and gear change advice system, is standard equipment on the 95 Series.
Much attention has been paid to noise reduction on the 95 Series, to reduce both external, drive-by noise and in-cab noise. The engine is partly encapsulated, by insulating panels at the top and rear, and Daf claims interior noise levels as low as 68dB(A) at a road speed of 80Iun/h with a 40 tonne combination.
All versions of the F249 cab tilt hydraulically to 58.5° slightly less than the tilt angle of the earlier cab, and the top part of the engine insulation tilts with the cab.
The long sleeper cabs have external storage lockers beneath the bunk. Air conditioning is an optional extra, as is an electronic control system which can automatically maintain a preset temperature and humidity in the cab, with or without the air conditioning system.
Daf has not yet released 95 Series specification sheets, so it is not possible to compare the new models weights and dimensions with the old.
It is clear, however, that the Dutch company's engineers have been mindful of weightsaving. Of the reasons given for the use of a new chassis frame one is its lightness, and for the same reason several plastic SMC (sheet moulding compound) panels are used on the new cab, including the grille and step housings.
LI by Tim Blakemore