Quote:
Originally Posted by Samurai  Quote:
Originally Posted by ram Nice matter-of-fact review, Samurai !
FAW is Front Axle Weight
RAW is Rear Axle Weight
GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight) is the total of the two. | Thanks Ram, but that doesn't give any idea about the Kerb weight. |
Dry Weight
Weight of vehicle as shipped,
without fuel, brake fluid, clutch fluid, power steering fluid, windshield washer fluid, radiator coolant or lubricating oils in the engine, gearbox, 4wd transfercase and both differentials, is Dry Weight.
Kerb weight is the weight of the ready to run vehicle with all fluids but without payload (passengers nor cargo).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Samurai Quote:
Originally Posted by ram There's one more aspect to these vehicles and I have had a Mahindra MM540 4x4 for almost eight years. They make for really tiring journeys. | How was the ride comfort, that is a big thing for us even above creature comforts. |
Ride comfort was poor. Our solid live axle Mahindras and Forces don't have independent suspension.
When you drop a single wheel into a pothole or lift it onto a bump in the road, the vehicle will tilt. This translates to a harsh jolt, when the road surface is bad. {as in NVH (noise, vibration and harshness)}
With a good working independent suspension, that wheel's suspension would absorb the wheel travel without rocking the entire vehicle.
On two wheel drive Scorpios with independent "A" arm suspension, the harsh jolt is absorbed at least on the front axle.
The Humvee (HMMWV) on the other hand takes care of this by independent "A" arm suspension on all 4 wheels with geared hubs and articulated axle-halfshafts. So ride comfort is better when you have 4 wheel independent suspension like the HMMWV.
Bottomline: A solid live axle 4x4 will have higher levels of NVH as compared to the cars we are used to.
Aside: Traveled between Bombay and Udipi a lot during 1975-1980 by CPC, Ballal, Ghatge-Patil and Shankar-Vittal buses. Always needed 8-10 hours to recover from the journey. Today with a modern Volvo B7R, air-suspension, a properly isolated low-vibration engine and gearbox mounts and radial tires, NVH levels are so low that, that tiredness is a thing of the past.