[DWind]

Just wondering, the fuel tank on the truck is raised and is in the middle. Is there a reason why? I know Diesel is not as flammable as Petrol but would it not be better to have it cocooned between the chassis ?

[JoseVijay]

Originally Posted by 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.

Wouldn't it be interesting to know the top speed of the racing drivers in the last season? We may compare that with that of Stratos's 142kmph.

[Stratos]

Originally Posted by DWind

Just wondering, the fuel tank on the truck is raised and is in the middle. Is there a reason why? I know Diesel is not as flammable as Petrol but would it not be better to have it cocooned between the chassis ?

Its located on the side for the standard truck. One reason is safety (even thought diesel is not as combustible as petrol) and secondly, since the sides require special underrun protection, this tank was moved in the centre over the chassis. Position might have to do with bringing overall weight of the truck in centre. Though I highly doubt if the position of the 100L tank really affects handling in a good or a bad way.

[tanwaramit]

Excellent drive experience shared. Thanks for video too. Would have loved to be in one such truck.

How is the clutch? Like typical, Tata, Leyland truck Or softer in Prima?

Love the inside rear view camera availability in this truck.

[Dr.Suraj]

Yo Nishant !

What a drive man.

I don't think I am ever going to feel this in real life. It will always remain a dream.
Showed my Dad the video too.
(He drools over the Prima race truck and would love to own one)

Planning on getting him a scale model.

Thank you for this lovely review & most importantly the video.

142 ! Magical number indeed.

[maddy42]

Stratos: You should be invited to drive in this series. Would be fun!

Thanks for the review. If you have driven the volvo or the merc vehicles whats your comparison between them and homegrown tata?

I have been in a lot of trucks when i was young and can say one thing with confidence. Some of the controls have remained the same for ever at tata. The start switch, handbrake lever and the rattle noise .

We have a swaraj mazda at home and one of the frequent issues is the vehicle pulling to one side during braking.

Is there a massive difference between a tractor like combo vs a full length truck in driving dynamics? Did you get to test the suspension?

Maddy

[sudev]

Great. How I wish I could be in that seat.

I only wish that TATA Prima has Indian drivers to do racing on BIC rather than importing them. This can create more hero's for public to identify with. And that it could be a three or four round series to create more excitement and following.

[S2!!!]

Originally Posted by JoseVijay

Wouldn't it be interesting to know the top speed of the racing drivers in the last season? We may compare that with that of Stratos's 142kmph.

At the press event, they mentioned that drivers were able to reach speeds of 115-117 km/h in the last season. Let's see if Stratos' or the test driver's 143 km/h is broken this season

[Stratos]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Is there a massive difference between a tractor like combo vs a full length truck in driving dynamics? Did you get to test the suspension?

The Navistar that I drove a while back had a three-axle setup with the chassis being much longer than this tractor Prima. The only difference I could feel was during turning. Since the tractor has a much shorter chassis length, it is easier to cut into turns, whereas with the three-axle setup in the Navistar, you have to go much wider so that there is enough room for the last axle to turn and still be on the tarmac.

Originally Posted by S2!!!

At the press event, they mentioned that drivers were able to reach speeds of 115-117 km/h in the last season. Let's see if Stratos' or the test driver's 143 km/h is broken this season

I don't think they will ever reach these speeds during the race because the actual race trucks are limited to a 110 or 120 km/hr as per truck race rules in India, if I am not mistaken.

[pgsagar]

Wonderfull thread! I always drooled over those big American semis and Australian roadtrains. Coming to Prima, everytime I see a red Prima lumbering down our highways, I wish I could buy one. BTW, can it be bought as a personal car? If yes, it will be the ultimate king of the road and would send our pesky autorickshaws running for cover.

[rev_rohit]

A very interesting read Stratos!!

It must be thrilling to drive a commercial vehicle on a race track but I think things would be a bit different in actual racing. Seeing your numbers I would definitely love to see you doing actual racing an penning an article of the same.

This post has inspired me to try my hands on some serious big boys toys.

Thanks for the inspiration and congratulations for the record!

[dreamliner17]

Absolutely droool-worthy images Stratos and a fantastic review of a special machine which can hardly be experienced by the aam-aadmi ! We get tons of reviews about cars , big or small, but watching you drive the mean machine it actually felt as if i was sitting inside the cab with you

I have played computer games like Euro Truck Simulator 2 and Scania Truck Driving Simulator and wonderded as to how it would feel to drive a powerful truck like that! The high stance, horizontally inclined steering wheel, panoramic view of the road ahead, big cab, enormous amounts of torque on tap is the most wonderful feeling to have in a big vehicle

A few observations/questions- I feel that the size of the steering wheel is small and could do more with an inch or two in diameter. A big vehicle and small steering looks scary to me.
What are the two gauges just below your digital speedometer? Are they the air pressure indicators for the brakes?
Could the bouncing and the 'thud-thud' or drumming noise be of the ABS in action during hard deceleration?

[Autolock123]

Originally Posted by Stratos

Attachment 1327576


Let us now move on to something that was terrible - the 9-speed Eaton gearbox. This transmission has 8 forward gears + 1 crawler gear + 1 reverse gear. During my very first run, the test driver told me that I may have issues getting into 5th. Boy, was he right! 5th was the most difficult gear to get into. The gear knob literally needed a thrashing at times to upshift from 4th. Fighting to get into 5th gear - while holding the steering wheel with one hand - wasn't comfortable at all. One of the employees who had driven the truck confirmed that the gearbox was having issues with the gear getting into its gate. This reminded me of the time when Tata showcased the Prima at the Buddh International Circuit. Even then, the gearbox had synchronizing issues. I've driven the Mahindra Navistar and would rate its gearbox to be much better & smoother to use.

First of all. Thanks for such a wonderful review. I enjoyed reading it.

One thing that i observed that all of the Tata Prima trucks except 2528 (tipper) uses a Eaton 9 speed transmission while 2528 uses 9-speed ZF transmission.

Would like to know your thoughts on if Eaton transmission provides any significant advantage over ZF transmissions ?
Does the racing holds any rule that stock truck without any modifications should participate in competition?

[vipulbatta]

Maybe a bit off topic, but the open winger looks amazing and quite practical for use in resorts or touristy places like forts etc...

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by Autolock123

First of all. Thanks for such a wonderful review. I enjoyed reading it.

One thing that i observed that all of the Tata Prima trucks except 2528 (tipper) uses a Eaton 9 speed transmission while 2528 uses 9-speed ZF transmission.

Would like to know your thoughts on if Eaton transmission provides any significant advantage over ZF transmissions ?
Does the racing holds any rule that stock truck without any modifications should participate in competition?

Both ZF and Eaton are superior in their own ways. IMHO, many times manufacturer is at fault for choosing a wrong gear box. Between Eaton and ZF, later has earned better reputation due to higher reliability among certain customers.
Specific reason for switching over from Eaton to ZF in 2528 was inability of Eaton to transmit the required torque, especially in 100% over load condition.