Too Much Power?

[Gearhead13]

[[[The article from a couple weeks ago said that trucks in Thailand are too powerful (especially the newer ones like vigo, triton, ranger, bt-50, etc.) and that they pose a danger on the Thai roads. These trucks are 3 liters up and have a torque value of 350 Nm up which is "ridiculous". It said that especially with rear wheel drive its easier to spin out of control when moving off. Those with little driving experience therefore pose a danger driving these powerful machines. Too much torque, little to no built-in stability control on these trucks. Its both the government and the manufacturer's fault by not "capping" these power/speed figures.]]]

Thats what it basically said. The specs are real and the effects are foreseable....but is it that serious? There are other factors that make some necessary compromises. Afterall, what are pick ups for? The main purpose of a pick up is to carry loads and who wants it to be sluggish? Lessening the power against today's necessary constant load range would stress out the internal members of the drivetrain wouldn't it?

What do y'all think?

[Cuban]

The main purpose of a pick up is to carry loads and who wants it to be sluggish?

So the average driver can load it up with a tonne of pineapples charge along the freeway building huge momentum only to discover another average driver has misjudged his/her approach speed to their turn off of the U turn gap and the sound of crunching metal results. Sluggish is fine, causes less accidents.

Let's face it - most of us are average.

[apetley]

If the driving standards were improved by adequate training, if rules were enforced and responsible driving the norm this would not be an issue.

[philipm]

why is it to powerful? i think not powerful enough....but hey down to the point, its not the machine its the driver which at all times is ment to act responsable....then again it hard to all the time :

[stingray]

why is it to powerful? i think not powerful enough....but hey down to the point, its not the machine its the driver which at all times is ment to act responsable....then again it hard to all the time :

Powerful??? I don't think so. A V8 or a 10 Cylinder is powerful, like American Ford, Dodge or Chevy Trucks. Even Nissan and Toyota builds V8. To bad they aren't available in Thailand.

[suegha]

Too much power is an oxymoron!?!

[philipm]

haha exactly...if i had a pickup of choice defentialy the dodge ram srt 10.....hummmm running a 500hp 8L V10 up...imagen the grunt on that!!!!!!!! :

i have seen only 2 dodge rams in thailand, one was black and another i think yellow...

[Thaiboxer]

Rear wheel drive is more difficult to control in an unstable driving situation than front wheel drive for the average driver. However, front wheel drive is limited in the horsepower it can take, as severe torque steer can result when the driver accelerates quickly All that power gets dumped on the wheels which also steer the vehicle and with the shorter half shaft on the gearbox side, the car can suddenly shoot off in that direction.

As for trucks here being "overpowered", give me a break! A 3.0 liter Vigo is a toy compared to what they have in the States. I've driven a 7.3 liter V8 turbo diesel Ford F-250; now that has real power. The truck handled very well with smooth acceleration/gear changes and good power steering. Those larger pickups are also less likely to roll over than the ones here which, for the most part, are considered pretty small. As another poster mentioned, a pickup is designed for hauling stuff around and is NOT to be driven like a Formula One car. I wonder how many accidents are caused by unsafe driving as opposed to any design or "power" flaws in the pickups. Even with front wheel drive and small engines, being in a lot of these compact cars isn't particularly safe either, but the ridiculous new car prices force a lot of people to purchase them. Too bad they can't offer a decent sized, strong and safe family car that is reasonably priced. Paying 2 million Baht for a Toyota Camry is madness.

[Gearhead13]

The main purpose of a pick up is to carry loads and who wants it to be sluggish?

So the average driver can load it up with a tonne of pineapples charge along the freeway building huge momentum only to discover another average driver has misjudged his/her approach speed to their turn off of the U turn gap and the sound of crunching metal results. Sluggish is fine, causes less accidents.

Let's face it - most of us are average.

The appropriate power for a relatively big load makes it easier to "get on with it" on certain road scenarios. It doesn't mean the driver has to speed. Speed happens to come with the package under certain manipulations with torque. So I agree with the other comment where its supposed to boil down to the responsibility of the driver. So coming to think of it, driver responsibility is the problem and that can be traced to the slack of govt. enforcement. Manufacturers have responded to decent customer demands.

[Gary A]

There is NO truck in Thailand that is over powered. If they had more power it would be safer. The way it is now, it takes those overloaded trucks 5 or 6 kilometers to get up a head of steam. Once they are moving right along, they are loath to step on the brake to slow down a bit.

[PeaceBlondie]

If Thailand is overloaded with overpowered trucks and BMW's, how come I always pass them when they are going 75 kph in the fast lane and I have to overtake them on a 17 horsepower motorcycle? I think most Thai trucks are driven much too slowly. Speed up or get on a Fino!!

[Thaiboxer]

Many of the older cargo trucks take forever to get moving. Virtually all the big rigs are turbo charged which helps, but they still take a long time to get moving compared to a regular pickup. Where there is a disadvantage, there is an advantage when it comes to these trucks. They can run for a million miles without major overhauls. A typical pickup would have been scrapped way before a million miles. The engines are also less complicated since the big guys use direct injection..no precombustion chamber thus less machine work in manufacturing.

[philipm]

ill tell u what though, even though american pickup are much more powerful, fun and to futher state that they are way nicer to. but the fact is, a pickup here weighs no more than 1800-2 tons....now factor that in with an american what....3? 3.5?? tons? even though it might have a smashing V8, it would accelerate toooooo much faster then a top spec here.....

that is not to say that american pickups are shit....cause i dam right love them. the fact is, imagen two tone pickups taking forever to move, and now picture probably what 20%wider and longer and maybe another 50% heavier...now picture them taking their sweat ass time with that.....

[Thaiboxer]

The big American pickups wouldn't be so practical here, due to the tight sois and parking spots. However, they are built stronger than the average pickup here and would be good for giving taxi drivers an "incentive" not to block your way!

I can see why taxis use those metal frames around the bumpers...keeps those pesky motorcycles away.

[philipm]

haha yea, come on i love motorbikes, but well people here just drive like their life depends on how quick they can be killed.

[Thaiboxer]

Many motorcyclists on the smaller bikes (Honda Wave, etc) ride as if they own the road. The bikes are often quicker off the line and more manueverable than a car, and this leads to over confidence and that leads to poor riding habits. I've been scraped a few times by those dirtbags...sometimes I fantasize about conducting a little "impact assesment" on that group

[PeaceBlondie]

Many motorcyclists on the smaller bikes (Honda Wave, etc) ride as if they own the road. The bikes are often quicker off the line and more manueverable than a car, and this leads to over confidence and that leads to poor riding habits. I've been scraped a few times by those dirtbags...sometimes I fantasize about conducting a little "impact assesment" on that group

Nah, let's not get into urban warfare, bikes versus four-wheelers. I purposely parked my CBR at the 7-11 the other day slightly out in the road, in case I got pinned in. Sure enough, when I came out of 7-11, there was a late model nice car parked about 15 cm. from my bike. I had to move the Wave/Dream on my left twice, and my own bike three times by sliding out the rear wheels (without a humerus in my shoulder, or a humorous attitude). Was I tempted to key the side of that shiny new car?

Was that guy lucky that I'm a pacifist?

"Conducting a little impact assessment" is not material; it is criminal and homicidal. thaiboxer, I'm glad you were only fantasizing, as was I about keying the new car.

[Gearhead13]

Many motorcyclists on the smaller bikes (Honda Wave, etc) ride as if they own the road. The bikes are often quicker off the line and more manueverable than a car, and this leads to over confidence and that leads to poor riding habits. I've been scraped a few times by those dirtbags...sometimes I fantasize about conducting a little "impact assesment" on that group

Nah, let's not get into urban warfare, bikes versus four-wheelers. I purposely parked my CBR at the 7-11 the other day slightly out in the road, in case I got pinned in. Sure enough, when I came out of 7-11, there was a late model nice car parked about 15 cm. from my bike. I had to move the Wave/Dream on my left twice, and my own bike three times by sliding out the rear wheels (without a humerus in my shoulder, or a humorous attitude). Was I tempted to key the side of that shiny new car?

Was that guy lucky that I'm a pacifist?

"Conducting a little impact assessment" is not material; it is criminal and homicidal. thaiboxer, I'm glad you were only fantasizing, as was I about keying the new car.

Bikers assumming other motorists are on the lookout for them and just pull in or out in a spasming manner whenever they want IS criminal and homicidal. If this behavior causes a schoolbus full of kids to flip over and catch fire, thats criminal and homicidal. My friend knows a kickboxer whose motorcycle taxi one day jumps out clipping a car and ended up crippled because a tendon in his ankle ripped. I almost fell off the back of one of those bikes once because the dude thinks his bike's a Ducatti.

Criminal and homicidal...

[Plus]

Add suicidal.

I think I saved many many motorcyclists' lives already. Unfortunately they don't count for much, just above dogs and chickens.

[Thaiboxer]

Some of these American oldies which you see every now and then have a lot of potential for power. Just saw an old Pontiac sedan...probably dates from the 70's. If it has the original engine, it's most likely a V-8. If not, there's plenty of room in those old engine bays. Perhaps a souped up V-8 or even a turbo or supercharged diesel 3.0 would be good. Once you had the thing running, you could install some steel bars on the front (not blocking the headlights and radiator) and rear bumpers. The kamikaze motorcyclists will fear you, plus the BIB won't have a change to catch you. It would be like "The Road Warrior" (aka "Mad Max II). Also, you could "trim down" the soi dog population!

[Plus]

Or you might end up like Kurt Russel in Death Proof.

[Thaiboxer]

Haven't seen "Death Proof"...I assume the ending isn't as good as my production: "The Soi Warrior" There are plenty of movie extras (motorcyclists and soi dogs) available, and better yet, they're expendable.