Driving impressions
Page 20
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• We drove a left-hand-drive pre-production EC11 tractive unit with trailer loaded to 38tonnes. The EC cab included all the dashboard modifications, but these took second place to our first sampling of the new Cummins engine which is mated to the Eaton S-series 16speed synclu-o box.
Turn the key and the first impression is the sound the MI1 produces: a deep rumble more like its big 14-litre brother than the L10 10-litre from which it was derived.
As with all Cummins Celectequipped engines, using the accelerator to pull away from rest does not produce the right result. Easing the clutch up without any right foot sets the electronics to work and the revs pick up automatically to provide enough grunt for a smooth get-away.
With 1,3461bft (1,825Nm) of torque available at 1,200rpm, the Mll produces a mere 1% less than the Volvo D12 420 414hp engine in the FH12. This abundance of torque is immediately obvious as the Mll pulls cleanly and strongly without pressing the pedal to the floor.
Our drive took in a short stretch of single carriageway with most of the running on the M6 around Sandbach. The engine's torque made light work of the motorway inclines and starts from traffic lights and roundabouts. Euro-2 includes tighter drive-by noise limits, down to 80d13(A) from 84dB(A). This represents a reduction of more than half. This does not seem to have reduced interior noise levels but the EC cab was a relatively quiet environment in the first place.
A victim of the tighter noise regulations is the Eaton TwinSplitter gearbox—its straight-cut gearset will not pass the Euro-2 regulations.
Eaton is working on noise encapsulation to bring the gearbox into line, but for the moment ERF is not listing the TwinSplitter after September 1996. At present the only choice is the new S-series synchromesh but Eaton is confident that it will be able to offer ERF a TwinSplitter option after the Euro-2 deadline.
Pulling away in 3L and on the flat we could take whole changes to top gear with the synchro box.
It needed a few more miles to bed it in, but offered generally light shift loads and relatively quick changes.