Price: C77,470 (ex-VAT). Includes £63,100 for basic vehicle, £8,520 for
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Cummins N500E Celect engine, £790 for Eaton RTO 15000 Series gearbox, £1,880 for Alcoa aluminium wheels, £650 for Eberspiicher D11. C cab heater and £2,530 for assorted options. Engine: 14 litres, 373kW (500hp). GCW: 38.0 tonnes. Payload: 23.62 tonnes. Speed: 73.3km/h (45.6mph). Fuel consumption: 43.3lit/100km (6.54mpg).
We don't test 373kW (500hp) trucks all that often, which is a fair reflection of the number operating on UK roads. It's even rarer to find a 6x4 tractive unit up for test: the fuel consumption penalty is such that the manufacturers are generally wary of putting them our way Our last encounter in this class was with a Foden 4000 Series powered by a 14-litre Cummins (CM 10-16 Sept 1987). Rip-roaring performance round our Scottish test route was matched by its thirst.
Nearly six years on, another 6x4 4000 Series Foden has been made available, also engined by Cummins. The same basic cab has had a good working over inside and out: Cummins' 14-litre N Series engine has also been revamped, mainly to meet forthcoming emissions regulations. Godfather of the engine family is the 373kW (500hp) Euro-1 N500E with Celect electronic engine management, launched last year (CM 17-23 Sept 1992). Foden only announced that it would fit the N500E two months ago so there aren't many on the road but Scottish owner-driver lain Munro kindly agreed to part with his for a few days.
Munro runs out of Forres with a tipping trailer hauling 12,000 tonnes of limestone from Ullapool each year, hence the 6x4 configuration. His 4500 actually started life as a 4465. He had read about the N500E in American magazines last year and approached Cummins at Tipcon to see when it would arrive in the UK. On learning that it wouldn't be available here until this year he offered his new truck as a prototype test bed.
With agreement from Foden the 4465 became a 4500 and has been involved in Cummins field trials ever since.
• PRODUCT PROFILE
It's the 373kW (5001m) engine with Celect electronics that sets the Foden apart from its stablemates.
Not only is this the first 500hp Foden we've tested, it's the first Cummins Celect engine to pass through our hands.
Celect offers a range of features to protect the engine, improve fuel consumption and handle fault diagnosis. "Geardown protection" is designed to encourage the driver to use the most economical gear; with the Eaton Fuller Roadranger 13-speed transmission the maximum speed in 81. and below is limited to 90km/h (56mph). To go faster, simply change into top (8H).
If an engine temperature or oil pressure fault is detected Celect can reduce torque and engine speed to protect the engine. In this mode up to 70% of torque is available; if necessary engine speed is limited to 1,400rpm.
All faults are stored in the electronic control unit's (ECU) memory and can be analysed using Cummins "Echek" or "Compulink" service tools. Other features include foot-off cruise control and PTO control, idle shutdown and tamper resistance.
Apart from the Celect system the N Series has been modified in several ways to boost power output.
An uprated fuel system provides the higher injection pressures required—to cope with these Cummins has modified the rocker hous ings, valves, guides and camshaft assembly These and other changes to the oil cooler and conrods have added 70kg to Euro-1 N Series units.
The four-valves-per-cylinder Cummins packs an impressive punch with 373kW (500hp) at 1,900rpm and 2,100Nm (1,549Ibft) of torque at 1,200rpm. On power it outguns most rivals, except the latest Renault Magnum 520ti and yet-to-come Iveco Eurostar 520. On torque it gives way to Scania's vee-eight 143 500 but beats most other 500hp rivals. Where it really excels is in torque spread: more than 2,000Nm (1,4751bft) is available between 1,100rpm and 1,650rpm, where the engine is working for much of the time.
Cummins' C-brake compression engine brake is standard kit on all N500Es, but as part of Cummins' test programme it has been temporarily replaced by a Jake on Munro's truck. The two systems operate in much the same way, offering three stages of retardation via a dashboard switch. Behind the flywheel it's Eaton all the way. As we've reported before the company is still working on a Twin Splitter to handle the torque from the latest (Top of 500hp engines, so our test vehicle was fitted with the trusty 13-speed overdrive Fuller Roadranger. The Eaton tandem bogie is geared to suit Munro's A-road running at 3.70:1 but also ran happily on the motorway sections. Munro has opted for Foden rubber suspension on the bogie, to suit his onfoffroad operations.
• PRODUCTIVITY
Most tractive units we test come equipped with aerodynamic aids but as this 4500 usually pulls a tipping trailer it isn't fitted with a cab roof deflector. The fixed fifth wheel was also set up for the tipping trailer. Then there's the double-drive, which also takes its toll on fuel consumption.
Given all this, the overall result of 43.3 lit/100km (6.54mpg) is fairly respectable. It's certainly an improvement over the 45.61it/100km (6.20mpg) we recorded with the lower powered Foden 4400 in 1987 and on a par with the discontinued Renault Magnum AE 500, but behind the Euro-1 Mercedes 1850 and the non Euro-1 Scania 143 500 that we tested last year.
Our best result-37.5 lit/100km (7.53mpg) on the easy A-Road section—does not match Munro's regular 35.31it/100km (8.0mpg), but apart from the differences in trailer and aerodynamics he runs empty for half his route.
Fuel consumption is only part of the productivity equation of course. With this much power good journey times are more or less guaranteed. The Foden didn't disappoint, completing our three-day route at an average 73.3km/h (45.6mph). which puts it near the top of its class. Some credit for this must go to the excellent Jake brake which enabled us to maintain speeds on long descents with perfect safety.
The wide torque spread came into its own in the hills. It was faster than most rivals up our timed hillclimbs and romped up the 17% (1-in-6) Black Hill faster than anything else we have tested.
Despite its tandem bogie drive the Foden is light on its feet, topping our payload comparisons with a 23.62-tonne payload.
Keenly priced spares also weigh in the Foden's favour, but annual servicing downtime seems unusually high at 33.2 hours. Most of our listed rivals need half that time in the workshops.
• ON THE ROAD
"Fodens are noisy and uncomfortable," claimed a driver at a recent CM reader survey. The ride in this 4500 probably wouldn't change his view. Despite the air-suspended seat, the rubber suspension gave a pretty firm ride, accompanied by a fair amount of cab roll. Engine and road noise were well muffled, however; only turbo whistle and chatter from the Jake brake were intrusive.
With so much power available, driving the Foden was far from arduous. Its impressive hillclimbing ability kept gear changing to a minimum, while maintaining a speed that most other trucks couldn't match.
The 4500 managed Shap in top and even hit the speed limiter at one point on the M6 climb. Motorway driving was made easier still by the foot-off cruise control that comes with the Celect electronics.
The well used Roadranger gearbox had lost some of its precision but the constant-mesh scores highly on change speed. We pulled off in 2, block shifted to 4 then took whole gears all the way, splitting top.
One Celect trick took a little getting used to. Feed the clutch in without touching the accelerator and the electronics will automatically pick up the revs to give 1,050Nm (7741bft) of torque at 800rpm. Touch the throttle and Celect simply cuts back on power. Once mastered it gives a clean getaway—but it's very tempting to tread on the "Go" pedal!
The service brakes felt reassuring enough in general use but our track results were disappointing. Peak and average retardation figures were modest and stopping distances were above average.
We've already commented on the Jake brake, but it's superiority over an exhaust brake can't be overemphasised. It's contribution to downhill control and extended brake lining life should have operators queuing round the block.
• CAB COMFORT
The Ili-Line Foden cab is big and it's a fair way up into the driving seat. We reckon that two steps aren't really adequate.
The steering wheel adjusts for height and reach while the seat is adjustable in every direction. The wide pedal spacing means you can probably drive the Foden in snow shoes but it's comfortable once you've adjusted to it.
Mercedes can relax. It doesn't have the monopoly on lousy switch gear; Foden is a fellow member of the Kebab Club. The single column stalk operates wipers, washers, horn, _ .
indicators, headlamp dip and flash. No doubt it's cheaper to fit one stalk rather than two. No doubt it costs twice as much to replace when something goes wrong. Ergonomically, it's a mess. A word of advice to other manufacturers who may he thinking of ditching two stalks in favour of one. Don't.
For such a big cab stowage space doesn't seem generous. There's plenty of space under the bunk with room for oddments on the engine cover and in the header rail and door bins, but there does seem to be a lot of wasted space.
• SUMMARY
The 4500 is an impressive performer with good potential for fuel economy from such a powerful engine. That performance gives it
plenty of driver appeal which will certainly make it attractive to owner-drivers, On the other hand it probably won't appeal to Foden's existing fleet buyers, even though, as lain Munro shows, it can save money on the jobs that suit it.
Compared with its 500hp rivals the basic 6x4 is something of a bargain at .03,055 (exVAT). It's main battle is likely to be with its Sandbach rival, once the similarly powered ERE EC hits the road complete with its more modern cab.
One thing's for sure: anyone in the market for a premium 500hp truck should give the Foden 4500 Celect a serious look; the Cummins engine is certainly a match for any European "home-built" diesel.
ii by John Kendall