[mr_hardcore]

Spotted this humongous beast just now, best part, this is a Govt. vehicle used for tire traction testing. It roars by the way!

[GTO]

Thanks for sharing! Learn something new everyday.

Can apparently be used for testing with different weights too:

Here's another interesting tire testing device I saw in operation at Goodyear's proving ground. The trailer can carry various weights and is equipped with a braking device. In this image, the trailer is fitted with a C4-Corvette-sized F1 GS-D3. The trailer is used to evaluate wet traction at various levels of weight on the tire.

Source

And a sample company offering such services - link.

[//M]

Oops I had a few pics of this big daddy. I so wanted to share the pics with all the bhpians but couldn't share it anywhere as the pics were clicked in a private setting and I was not supposed to share them anywhere.

Glad that pics are right here on Tbhp. Its a Ford F-150 Super Duty.

[//M]

Attaching a screenshot from the International Centre for Automotive Technology official website, the screenshot clearly shows the F-150 Super Duty in action. So in all probability ICAT has imported this car for the testing purposes.

Link: ICAT

[nilaykmrsr]

Originally Posted by //M

Attaching a screenshot from the International Centre for Automotive Technology official website, the screenshot clearly shows the F-150 Super Duty in action. So in all probability ICAT has imported this car for the testing purposes.

Link: ICAT

The F-150 does not belong to the Super Duty Series.

The Super Duty series starts only from F-250 all the way up to F-450 for non-commercial and F-550 chassis cab to F-750 for commercial purposes.

[//M]

Originally Posted by nilaykmrsr

The F-150 does not belong to the Super Duty Series.

The Super Duty series starts only from F-250 all the way up to F-450 for non-commercial and F-550 chassis cab to F-750 for commercial purposes.

My bad, it is probably the Ford F-250 Super Duty.

[scarecrow]

Is the Ford specifically been used here to carry the heavy equipment i.e. which captures the data, etc?

Generally asking to understand the specific role of the Ford truck here...

[nilaykmrsr]

Originally Posted by scarecrow

Is the Ford specifically been used here to carry the heavy equipment i.e. which captures the data, etc?

Generally asking to understand the specific role of the Ford truck here...

Yes that's correct. This vehicle belongs to ICAT(Manesar - Gurgaon, HR). I've been to ICAT a couple of times and they use the Ford simply because of its towing capacity which is practically not on offer on any other vehicle in the Indian Market. The F-250 comes with a 6.2l V8 Petrol Engine producing almost 385HP and 583Nm of torque accompanied with a 6 speed torque converter automatic tranny, resulting in even further torque multiplication during startup resulting in copious amounts of tractive power.

The C channel frames on these pickups are essentially meant for towing purposes and even have a provision of a 5th wheel gooseneck. The use of such a vehicle is therefore highly purpose driven along with its rather compact form factor for its capabilities.

[nilaykmrsr]

Additionally, the pickup truck itself does not carry much of a load as far as payload is concerned. There is a small rig consisting of the mounted test wheel assembly being towed at the rear portion of the vehicle for carrying out brake/wheel grip tests on various wheel/tire combinations under varying loads. To do that you would need a vehicle with decent overhead in terms of tractive power, which warrants the use of this kind of a truck.