[Octane_Power]

Thank You Stratos for the report The normal road-going version won't be able to do such a speed even if it has no load at the back. Anyway, let these trucks do such insane speeds in such controlled environments itself and not on open roads!

Do other high end trucks also come with drum brakes all around or it is the case with only this one?

-Bhargav

[Stratos]

Originally Posted by Octane_Power

Do other high end trucks also come with drum brakes all around or it is the case with only this one?

Several truck manufacturers abroad sell their trucks with disc brakes (Kenworth on some of its models) while some manufacturers offer them as an optional extra. For now, I think most trucks in India only come with drum brakes all around.

[fiat_tarun]

That's a unique experience ! Great review and you sure had fun with that beast

Originally Posted by rahul4321

. Can I just ask in the picture you posted of the gear lever, what is the gear below the 'Reverse'?

That's the crawler gear or Low gear. This is used only when the truck is carrying a very heavy load and has to climb an incline, etc. It is used widely in mining trucks.

[manas_270]

Thank you for the wonderful write up Stratos of this CV. I too love these huge machines like semi's, volvo buses, railway locomotives. Even though they are not quick off the block, but once they are at top speed, even 100-140's feels really quick in these

Sitting at that vantage point & experiencing it is a different experience altogether. Had an opportunity to ride in a 18-wheeler in US [didn't try to ride it though for my safety as well as others ] & man it's an different experience altogether.

BTW, did you start off in 3rd gear itself since I see you only shifted 6 times & at around 7-8 sec mark had a tough time slotting the gear in which I believe is the 5th one based on your review.

Originally Posted by Stratos

After the drive, GTO asked me whether I'd rather have driven this truck or an Audi R8. Well, he knew my answer here too .

Haha. The above quote & the big grin at the end of video sums up your passion for these vehicles & great to see you inspiring a test driver to push his limits as well. Cheers!!

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Stratos

Strictly depends on how fast you change gears . But jokes apart, I would assume that the Prima touches 100 km/hr somewhere near the 25 second mark. Sorry, I did not get an opportunity to check the time accurately.

Hats -off to you for the review of the Prima! Enjoyed the details on the thread.

One wicked video I must say and isn't that the 'Turbo sound'?

Regarding the water which is sprayed during braking, wont it cause an thermal shock?


OT:

You should have asked the driver to send the video of the test run!

[SchumiFan]

Great write-up, Stratos. Could see in the video how excited you were about driving this monster at that high speeds

Will look forward to the race this season. I hope more manufacturers join to make it grander like in European countries.

One question about the safety nets on the windows: What is its purpose exactly? They seem not attached at both ends and were flying as the speeds climbed high.


Thank you!

[createrkid]

Originally Posted by SchumiFan

One question about the safety nets on the windows: What is its purpose exactly?


Thank you!

It's actually used to protect the driver from flying debris. In this case, I'm not sure why it's flapping around like that

[GrammarNazi]

Kudos Stratos! Nicely covered.

Its about time others like Mahindra too got into the Truck Racing & showed its engineering prowess.

Btw, the guy driving the Winger is Mr. Patil IIRC, he knows quite alot about the factory & passionately showed us around explaining each process of car making when I went for the factory visit.

[MadTiger]

How I wish I could drive on of those machines! Many congratulations for attaining such a feat!

Truck have evolved a long way in India, specially when I see Tata bringing out these machines gives me immense pride. Volvo, Bharat Benz are definitely there but a Tata is a Tata!

Thanks Stratos for sharing with us your experience, I hope you can bring us more such experiences.

[kolimuttai]

Great review Stratos.

I loved the shifts, and the sound. I could imagine such torque and horse power at such lower RPMs. I love and am a great fan of great torque and horse power available at usable RPMS.

Guess, the test driver will provide more feedback now to his engineers.

Also, commendable initiative by TATA, I must say.

~koli.

[S2!!!]

Tata Motors announced the second season of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship to be held on March 15, 2015 at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) in Greater Noida. This championship is licensed to run under the FIA (Federal Internationale de l'Automobile) framework and activities will be coordinated by the FMSCI (Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India).

The championship features 12 Tata Prima race trucks driven by experienced international drivers representing 6 teams - Team Castrol Vecton, Team Cummins, Team Tata Technologies Motorsports, Team Dealer Warriors, Team Dealers Daredevils and Team Allied Partners.

The Tata Prima 4038.S produce 370 BHP @ 2,100 rpm and max torque of 1,550 Nm @ 1,300 rpm! Power is transmitted to the rear wheels by an Eaton 9-speed transmission. The Tata Prima race trucks have received a bump in performance and now boast of 10% better acceleration, higher top speed of 130 km/h (vs 110 km/h), 10% better weight reduction and improved aerodynamics.

In its premiere season in India on March 23, 2014, the championship saw a footfall of over 20,000 spectators. Truck racing has been around internationally since 1979 and as a sport, it is rapidly gaining popularity. To popularize this among Indians, Tata also revealed a new driver selection program for 2016 wherein 240 aspiring race drivers from across the country will be shortlisted, fewer will be selected and trained and only 16 will make it to the 2016 season to race these beasts for their respective teams. Tata is still in the process of laying down the criteria for drivers.

Here's the new look:




Tata's attempt to add glamour to the trucking industry:


C Sleeper Flat Roof Cab with roll cage:


Fixed rear mudguards + tail lamps repositioned based on driver feedback:


315/80 R22.5 tyres (front and rear):



The main sponsors - Tata Technologies, Cummins, Castrol, Webco, JK Tyres, and Setco (sponsor for Team Allied Partners):


Perfect place for a 'got bhp?' sticker


Here's the championship trophy:

[Motard_Blr]

Originally Posted by Stratos

...
Brake Cooling System: One of the most important components in racing are the brakes. The Prima gets drum brakes on all four wheels, which tend to get really hot. Heat can hamper braking performance during the race. To tackle this, racing trucks have a brake cooling system, wherein water is sprayed on the brakes every time the driver lets go of the pedal (after braking). This system was present in last year's truck as well. In 2015, the mechanism has been further modified. The system will now spray water on the brakes throughout the race, without any gaps. The water tank's capacity is 120 liters. I don't get this concept...why should the system keep pouring water on the drum surface even when the truck is driven flat out on a fast straight?

...

Originally Posted by a4anurag

...
Regarding the water which is sprayed during braking, wont it cause an thermal shock?
...

I was surprised to see that the racing truck has drum brakes as I was expecting disc brakes. I would be interesting to us readers to understand if the choice of drum brakes was due to economic or technical reasons.

The water spray is continuous to avoid the thermal shock that would occur if the water were sprayed immediately after braking when the shoes and drum were heated.

[joe_antony]

Wow, to be candid, I envy you Stratos . Its a nice review (giving 5 stars already). Initially I was surprised to see this on the 'hot threads' but it was a typical TBhp review nonetheless . I have always dreamt about getting behind the wheels of these monster machines, have to wait in zen mind state now for that.

[Jaggu]

Awesome experience that would have been Stratos! And a superb thread, really loved the video where you were playing WWF with the beast

Compared to Tata, the Volvo beasts seems so smooth! They shift gear and move so smoothly, those buses i mean.

[sandeepmohan]

That profile pic, I used to travel in that bus when I was living in Bombay back in 2005-2006. If I am not mistaken, it had a crawler gear too. Then came the EDC, air suspension equipped Leyland's and man were they quick. They sounded sweet too. I used to look forward to a spirited driver when I was going to work and back. On the good days, traffic played spoil sport so opportunities were rare to hear than engine roar. It is a model of bus that took a while to reach the south and it was kinda weird cause the south is all about Leyland's more than any other brand of bus or truck.

Moving on to the Tata Prima, I salute this company for being the first to take a bold step and offer what I believe is the best high performance truck to be offered by a Indian company. No manufacturer has shown interest nor are they putting in everything they can to offer a top notch truck. There is some compromise made somewhere. Tata approached it different. Their idea (Atleast to me) of the Prima was to take the fight to the big guys like Volvo, Mercedes and Scania and I feel they have achieved what they set out to do, as a first attempt. I thought Leyland would beat them to it but these guys are sleeping. The Prima is in a different league.

I thought 1.6kmpl for a 9l turbo diesel is superb. Guess I'll consider a truck as my next new car.

I too don't understand the purpose behind spraying those brake drums all the time.

I watched the video and boy oh boy, the noise of that turbo is music.

Thank you for sharing your experience with a race truck.