Vehicles and their engines

[Ravlie]

Hello,

I was wondering why all the trucks in-game drive with max. 1000/1400 RPM and they can't go over this limit to maximize their power? Could someone explain to me how the engines works in this game? Normally you should be able to push an engine to it's limits for trucks ex. MAN (not sure how much you can push it but for ex. Scania on their gauges have red line at ~3000 RPMs you can safely drive with ~2500 RPMs while driving uphill and pulling heavy cargo for example). That's just example while playing Euro Truck Sim 2 and driving the Scania I can easily drive uphill while in FS19 all I can do is drive ~5 km/h using MAN TGX with it's most powerful engine 640 HP filled with logs + additional log trailer. The game says 1000-1400 RPM is this a joke? It feels to me like trying to drive uphill on 12th gear with lowest gear ratio while trying to burn a clutch, ugh... and it's funny the engine is still working and not turning off.

Hope someone with enough knowledge on this topic can explain to me why is that. Thanks.

[TheSwede]

It's all about the tourque and you get the best tourque at those rpm.. But the lack of gearboxes in the game make it sound like a slipping clutch..
If I had hired you to drive a truck, a Scania for example, and you would drive at 2500 rpm when going uphill, I would fire you... There is absolutely no need to rev the engine that high..

[Guil]

You never drive a truck at redline or close to it. Auto boxes always want to change to the highest gear as quick as possible in the least amount of gear changes. The Volvo truck I drive in work sometimes gets to 12th with only 4 gear changes. Starts in 3rd, 7th, 9th, 11th and 12th.
The highest it ever revs is 2200rpm and that in only in 5th or lower.

The green band on the rev counter is the torque band on all European trucks at least and an auto will always want to be in that rev range. It's anything from 1000-1600rpm depending on the spec of the truck.




Added picture for reference.

[TheSwede]

Even lower in the truck I drive today.. Sorry for driving while taking photo but wanted to show rpm at 80 km/h..

[Guil]

Is that a Volvo FL by any chance. Usually trucks are geared so that in top gear at 90km/h they are sitting at the end of the torque band.

[TheSwede]

Nope, it's a fh4 480hp
Almost 1400 rpm @ 90km/h so pretty close to the end of tourqueband.

[Guil]

That's strange. An instructor in the CPC told us the torque band is smaller on trucks with more power. That in itself doesn't make sense but the green band is the most economical rev range.

[george.earlslight]

I also used to play ETS2 on a Scania, but always tried to maintain RPM in the green zone.
Started on 3 and went 5,7,9,11 and final 12. Don't remember why exactly, probably was easier to stay on green and/or read somewhere that that's what professionals do (when not climbing hills).
Another thing I miss from ETS2 is the retarder (engine brake). I cringe when I have to hit the brakes downhill with a 50k litres trailer.

[TheSwede]

I also used to play ETS2 on a Scania, but always tried to maintain RPM in the green zone.
Started on 3 and went 5,7,9,11 and final 12.

Pretty much how I used to drive a Scania R420 in real life except I usually started on 1 to save the clutch.

[Guil]

I also used to play ETS2 on a Scania, but always tried to maintain RPM in the green zone.
Started on 3 and went 5,7,9,11 and final 12. Don't remember why exactly, probably was easier to stay on green and/or read somewhere that that's what professionals do (when not climbing hills).
Another thing I miss from ETS2 is the retarder (engine brake). I cringe when I have to hit the brakes downhill with a 50k litres trailer.

Believe it or not even going up hill it's usually not any quicker over revving the engine. Sometimes it's slower because it has lost so much of the torque the further it goes out of the green band.

[Ravlie]

You're saying it's better to drive uphill for ex. at 8th gear at ~1500 RPM than 6, 7th gear at ~1800 or so?

It's all about the tourque and you get the best tourque at those rpm.. But the lack of gearboxes in the game make it sound like a slipping clutch..
If I had hired you to drive a truck, a Scania for example, and you would drive at 2500 rpm when going uphill, I would fire you... There is absolutely no need to rev the engine that high..

Sorry, that was just an example I exaggerated it too much. Anyway I've never drove a real truck so I don't know if that's pretty accurate in-game what I posted about the truck filled with logs at the back + log trailer and going uphill at speed 5 km/h is realistic? I'm playing on Hopfach map but let's take for ex. the hill on Felsbrunn map at the right corner it's similar to that one. Would you really drive at 5 km/h uphill that road? Would you in real life even try to climb that hill with that cargo?

[george.earlslight]

Pretty much how I used to drive a Scania R420 in real life except I usually started on 1 to save the clutch.

Do you even step on the gas at all on 1, or just use the clutch to start rolling?
I had military training on rigid trucks (Steyer 680M) and the instructor told us to always start on 2 unless loaded and on a slope.
But it could be they were just bored to explain properly, or it's too long ago and I don't remember

[Guil]

You're saying it's better to drive uphill for ex. at 8th gear at ~1500 RPM than 6, 7th gear at ~1800 or so?

Yep, as crazy as it sounds but Scania and Volvo brought instructors on training courses in Sweden. They done it to highlight the increase in efficiency in trucks and in particular the the gearboxes.

The test showed that there was no benefit to changing down and going out of the green band, all it done was increase fuel usage. The iShift or opticruise will change down as and when needed without sacrificing fuel efficiency.

[TZ441]

ya'll europeans have it rough at being maxed that low in speed on your semis. In America most big company trucks are limited to 70 to 75mph while privet truckers are able to go up to the speed limit of 80 mph on the interstate.

[Guil]

Funny you should mention that though. I don't think runaway ramps are in use at all over Europe but just a guess.