Anyone else following The Tiger Bus?

[jed the spread]

I see they are in Turkey right now,

OUCH!!!




Makes you think that massive power, big wheels and longer gears driving in 2wd is such a good thing, especially in a big heavy van. Is this what happens with MG'g gear boxs too? Its going to be interesting to see what happens when they get on rough roads and not smooth tar, it might be worth winding in some power some how. Good luck to them anyway and I really hope it works out for them.

jed

[ninja.turtle007]

Yep, that's a very nice Syncro.

[MCBKat]

Even a nicer trip!
Something like I wish to do, driving through Russia to South-East Asia...
http://www.easy2design.de/bla/en/travel ... ia-201112/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Despite all their preparations, anything can go wrong... Hope they'll be on the road again soon.

Stefan

[hotpod]

its quite inspirational. Need a few quid in the bank to do it though.
the transformation of the van is pretty epic...it wasnt a 16"

[orcecaveman]

Thanks for the link Jed. Same wheels as mine, so that answers the question about the spare wheel carrier.

[syncropaddy]

Yeah ... been following it for a while now. Met a guy in Sweden recently who drives from Vladivostock to Moscow regularly and had great chats about his experiences.

[syncrosimon]

Makes you think that massive power, big wheels and longer gears driving in 2wd is such a good thing, especially in a big heavy van. Is this what happens with MG'g gear boxs too?

jed

No it is not Jed.

The torque will go through the gearbox irrespective of whether de-coupled or not. 3000lbs + diesel motor + flat out in fourth on maximum torque = stripped gears. Should have stayed standard and within the parameters of the design. Simple.

[jed the spread]

Makes you think that massive power, big wheels and longer gears driving in 2wd is such a good thing, especially in a big heavy van. Is this what happens with MG'g gear boxs too?

jed

No it is not Jed.

The torque will go through the gearbox irrespective of whether de-coupled or not. 3000lbs + diesel motor + flat out in fourth on maximum torque = stripped gears. Should have stayed standard and within the parameters of the design. Simple.

Oh, I thought 5% of the power was given to the front wheels through the VC so 5% more strain on the rear gear workings would be a consequence and of corse 5% less wear on the gearing in a selected point. Anyway this has already been settled and in this case it could maybe be 5% added with the extra 5% from the powerful engine, longer gearing, and by the vehicle weight too. Putting simple at the end of a sentence doesn't really make it simple, (glad you didnt say simples, thats annoying ) But I do agree that even in automatic 4wd the other points and all that power with big wheels is asking for trouble in a heavy van, the fact it was in 2wd might have actually done them a favor and it failed 5% earlier and it could be fixed before they got to China. Thinking about it though 5% more punishment every day might cause failure 1000 times quicker, but that would be guess work as I am only a hairy arsed plasterer.

Its a good learning experience though and although stuff like this happens its good to follow, especially if you are planning a long trip and investing in modifications in a trip yourself.

jed

[syncropaddy]

Just think if their front outer CV joints had failed they'd be grand cuz you can get them in China!

On another note ..... I find myself in agreement with Simon ( thats his street cred gone! ) Big this, heavy that, uprated this, modified that ...... keep it standard and keep it simple!

[jed the spread]

I find myself in agreement with Simon ( thats his street cred gone! ) Big this, heavy that, up rated this, modified that ...... keep it standard and keep it simple!

Me too, though with the help of oiling plates slightly bigger rolling radius tyres and a slightly bigger engine giving more power (Taulk not HP) is well with in a Syncros Gear box capabilities.

Anyway is this what happens to MG then?

jed

[Russel]

1: that is a standard gear not up-rated.
2: decoupled or not there is the same strain on any given gear.
3: decoupling will only increase the strain on the crown wheel and pinion and this in marginal.
Russel

[Aidan]

Mike's didn't strip a gear - that is 4th gear in the pic - standard VW one built for 112BHP engines - though also used in the SA 1990s buses with 5 cyl power and torque with the oiling plates (not fitted in the picture)
Mike's been eating crown and pinions, maybe down to power, may be partly down to lube used, possibly a set up issue, but big fo tyres and powerful engine driven well hard generally isn't a great idea for a 20+ year old bus, if you want to do that buy a landcruiser and throw a chunk of money at that and know it'll do it, or buy a disco and drive it into the ground knowing that the electrics will all go one by one before the eventual death of the chassis but it'll be pretty cheap to fix

apart from a 20mm lift and 15" tyres at weekends I drive a standard bus, one vehicle, daily driver, seems to work pretty reliably

[jed the spread]

Thanks for the info guys, all a big help for the understanding of these things. I really hope they get it sorted, but what a worry to be hanging over you through out the rest of the trip. I wish them good luck and I am really looking forward to seeing where they finally end up.

Jed

[jed the spread]

Have you ever seen a 4th gear like that before Aiden?

(PS thanks for the mega fast delivery of the parts I bought from you yesterday they just arrived. Super dooper service that, especially as it was gone 3 when I rang you )

jed

[Aidan]

Have you ever seen a 4th gear like that before Aiden?

seen a few, Pete did it with the SVX bus, Richard Jones and a couple of others have done the same to third which has similar gear teeth size; the Heavy Duty Gears are like twice as butch+ and rated at 300Nm which you can probably safely add 50% to in the real world, but they don't like the mega super synthetic oil either

seen a few 16" vans just break 4th gear where they are friction welded cone and gear and have seen same damage on drag raced box on a second gear which was as they are muckle

it's worth noting that the earliest 2wd boxes have even finer toothed top two gears and even though there's a nice 0.76 ratio gearset to be had in a few it's probably only good for 100Nm