Alpha: the next generation...
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• When is a Foden not a Foden9 it's a good question—and one that the Sandbach-based manufacturer has had to grapple with over the past three years. Since the launch of the original Alpha back in March 1998 the challenge for Foden has been to keep its Paccar parent happy by maximising the use of Daf components while retaining its reputation as a manufacturer of "bespoke" trucks. With the launch of the next-generation Alpha. Foden has managed to walk that fine lire with commendable skill.
You don't need an engineering degree to see that the number of Daf components in the new Alpha range has increased. But Foden's latest multiwheelers, due to arrive in the first quarter of 2002, certainly maintain that bespoke tradition—and whatever Alpha model you look at, proprietary engines are still firmly on the menu.
Product story
The seeds of the new Alpha were sown at the end of the last decade when Foden was told that the F230 cab (developed by Daf for the original 65/75 and 85 Series, and later adopted by Foden on the first generation Alpha 2000 and 3000 models) was about to be superseded with a new product that would ultimately become the Daf CF.
According to Foden general marketing manager Gary Rowlands: "We were challenged to create our own truck out of that cab change. The final specification for the new Alpha was issued in November 1999 and it had to take into account all the forthcoming legislative changes including Euro-3 as well as minor details like glass, paint, wheels and tyres."
Shortly after the project (and its budget) were given the green light by Paccar, Foden's engineering team got down to the job of converting a concept into reality. Foden is typically cagey about how much the new Alpha has cost: Rowlands Will only say: "It's very costeffective as you'd expect from Foden and Paccar."
The new generation of Alphas will appear in two batches: first off the blocks are the 4x2/6x2 tractors and 18-tonners, with the first models due to roll off the line at the end of August. Six and eightleggers and 6x4 tractors will come on stream during the first quarter of 2002, with an official launch scheduled for next year's NEC CV show. Prices and kerbweights wit be announced soon: all Foden Alphas will be built at the Paccar-owned Leyland Trucks assembly plant, alongside its right-handdrive Daf CF65 'cousin".
Product profile
Let's start with the most Obvious innovation on the new model: the new Alpha cab. Its core structure has been carried over from the previous F230 cab (as it has with the Daf CF) but there are a number of major changes. Like the CF cab, the latest Alpha has bee stretched by 140mm to give mor legroom. Standard cab suspension is co springs and dampers, although a full air sprung system is optional.
As before, operators get a choice c day, standard-height sleeper and high roof XL sleeper. The XL, with its extr 680mm of headroom, is now a line-bui option (unlike the previous XL which wa based on a Hatcher design and GRI moulding). Buyers can still order Hatcher roof as an off-line fitment via; dealer. Tractor and tipper buyers get th raised cab while 18-tonners come with; lower cab mounting to provide the lowe entry height that suits multi-drop wed+ But what really gives the Alpha cab it own identity is the external styling. At thi front, new panels and bottom valance differ markedly from the big black featured on Daf's CF and XF heavies; the centre of the grille carries the familiar kite badge.
Foden has retained the straight side profile, rather than the 'stepped" Daf cab styling, with doors and side rear panels straight off the old model but with new mudwings. There are no quarter deflectors at the front, Rowlands explains: 'We carried out extensive research and concluded the radius of the cab corners was sufficient to get a good air flow around it and stop dirt building up on the sides without deflectors."
Other external revisions include an improved air management kit and head
lights, with a wire mesh grille insert, remarkably like that on the latest Bentley The previous Alpha 2000/3000 nomenclature is out—instead an Alpha tractor with a 450hp Cat C12 is badged cD‹ 450 on the side. However, tucked inside the cab on the driver's seat base there's a small sticker confirming that the Alpha is "A Paccar Product"..just in case anyone forgets who's the boss.
Briveline and chassis
If you're used to buying Fodens with Cat or Cummins engines don't panic, because the next-generation Alpha offers an extensive choice of Euro-3 diesels from a 185hp Cummins ISBe in the 18-tonner up to a 450hp Cat C12 in tractors and 8x4s. A 275hp version of the ISBe will be available on request, and Rowlands confirms that the company will be taking a close look at Cummins' recently launched nine-litre ISL. Caterpillar seems determined to take its C12 up to the 500hp mark, though cooling it under the Alpha cab won't be easy
Having supported Eaton at the heavy end of the market for years, following the demise of the S-Series, Foden has adopted ZF's Ecosplit synchro box as standard in its tractors and eightleggers (the tippers get 12 cogs in place of the usual 16).
Significantly, Foden won't be taking the Ecosplit with Servoshift. The shift aid device normally sits on the left of the ZF box, and Foden's engineers have rejected a complex cross-engine gear linkage. Instead they are collaborating with their opposite numbers at ZF 'to deliver a solution". Lower down the weight range there's a choice of Eaton and ZF boxes.
One of the most significant driveline changes on Alpha 18-tonners—and indeed with the 4x2 and 6x2 mid-lift "pusher" tractors—is the adoption of a Daf rear axle (with four-bag ECAS suspension as standard on artics) supplied from the Dutch manufacturer's Westerlo plant. Foden will continue to fit a Mentor double-drive bogie on its multi-wheelers
and 6x4 tractors, with six and eight-leggem getting rubber suspension as standard.
The Alpha range has three braking systems: 18-tonners get all-round Knorr Bremse discs with pneumatic activation; 4x2 and 6x2 tractors also have discs all round but with EBS; 6x4s and 8x4s get non-EBS discs on their steer axles with drums on the rear.
• Foden's previous two-year bumperto-bumper warranty is unchanged on the new range, except that the third-year driveline warranty (a 11,000 option) is no longer dependent on having Road Relay fitted.
Shared heritage it was inevitable that somewhere along the line Daf and Foden would move closer to "badge engineering" on specific models—and equally inevitable that this merger would be at the lighter end of their respective ranges. Lift the cab off a new Alpha 18-tonner and you've got a Daf CF65 as Paccar's two-axle rigids share the frame and drivel ine.
But start comparing tractors and the gap between the two marques begins to widen. Aside from the obvious driveline to thinner (7mm) frame rails with steel cross-members on its 18-tonners and tractors; multi-wheelers stick with 9.5mm rails with inserts where required, relying on alloy cross-members to keep the weight down. Tippers can be supplied with straight-beam front axles to ensure good ground clearance: Rowlands reports that 50% of all Alpha eight-logger buyers order this option.
The slightly longer cab entails minor adjustments to Foden's 18-tonner wheelbases. Two-axle tractors are available with either 3.25, 3.6 or 3.8m wheelbases; the 6x2 has an outer axle spread of 4.0m.
While Paccar has clearly benefited from a greater sharing of components between its two European subsidiaries, the most important thing about Foden's new baby is that while the Alpha shares its basic cab structure with the CF, clever styling and driveline delineation, particularly on tractors and tippers, has retained its identity. The bottom line is that Alpha isn't a CF clone—it's a new Foden.
• CM'S exclusive preview of the new Alpha coincides with this week's launch; see next week's CM for first driving impressions and all the news from the actual launch.