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Challenger 2 Off Road Performance


hatakashi

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When I read "SPECS" on books or websites they often say CR2 is the slowest both on, and off road.

However, I've also seen/read/heard from various sources that CR2's off road speed is among the top with Leclerc, above M1A2 and Leopard 2A6

Which is true?! :blink:

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Thanks for your answer, and I've seen that Top Gear episode, excellent "dual"!

 

Duel friend, in english it is duel. ;-)

 

And about FV4034 mobility, in my opinion all modern western tanks have equall mobility on road and off road.

 

Leclerc and FV4034 have hydrogas suspension that gives probably more smooth ride in hard terrain, when M1 and Leo2 use much simple suspension system, the ride is still preatty smooth, maybe slightly more rough. ;-)

 

But then again, if you "switch off" governor in M1's engine, you can go really fast on flat road, more than 100km/h I suppose, of course same fo other tanks but I suppose second after M1 will be Leclerc then Leo2 and CR2. But this will cut life time of engine, suspension, transmission, tracks etc. So better is just don't doing this. :-)

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Duel friend, in english it is duel. ;-)

 

And about FV4034 mobility, in my opinion all modern western tanks have equall mobility on road and off road.

 

Leclerc and FV4034 have hydrogas suspension that gives probably more smooth ride in hard terrain, when M1 and Leo2 use much simple suspension system, the ride is still preatty smooth, maybe slightly more rough. ;-)

 

But then again, if you "switch off" governor in M1's engine, you can go really fast on flat road, more than 100km/h I suppose, of course same fo other tanks but I suppose second after M1 will be Leclerc then Leo2 and CR2. But this will cut life time of engine, suspension, transmission, tracks etc. So better is just don't doing this. :-)

 

Damian,

 

Not only may it reduce life time of engine, suspension, transmission, tracks, etc. DON'T FORGET THE LIFE OF THE CREW!! :-) The M-1 is fast enough and when I was 25 years old or so, I told my driver to slow down!! I though we were all going to die! 60+ tons going downhill on a German two line highway, so fast that my driver was afraid to turn his head to the left to look at the speedometer and tell me the speed!! Ouch! :o

 

Mike

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I'm of the understanding that there is no 'governor' to 'switch off' - the ECU controls max vehicle speed and the only way to 'switch it off' is to reprogram it - much like most modern autos.

Entirely correct and anybody that says otherwise is blowing smoke. That said, I gave the benefit of the doubt to Damian because in a manner of speaking, he is correct. The M1 was governened down after it was realized that little good came to the tank and crew when it was allowed to travel at higher cross country speeds. If the Overspeed limiter program is eliminated the M1 will be returned to its full capacity with the thrown tracks, broken final drives, and concussions to prove it.

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Pardon my ignorance, I've always thought the governor was a mechanical thing in the engine or someplace in the driver's cab that required tools to remove. So it's a software/program that needs reprogramming, correct? Thanks.

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Pardon my ignorance, I've always thought the governor was a mechanical thing in the engine or someplace in the driver's cab that required tools to remove. So it's a software/program that needs reprogramming, correct? Thanks.

Yes, it is software. As soon as the M1 passes its governed speed, which used to be 45 mph, but is now 42.5 mph AIUI, an 'overspeed*' situation occurs and the throttle becomes non-responsive until speed falls below the overspeed threshold.

 

*And a big red warning light illuminates for the driver indicating the transmission is at overspeed.

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Delta tank 6, any problems with brakes after such downhill?

 

 

IIRC the brakes are in the transmission, so no, no problems with the brakes. Right before I told the driver to slow down we made a left turn and I thought the turret was going to pop off and continue straight down the road while the hull made the left hand turn. I have no idea how fast we were going, but 60+ tons should not go that fast on planet earth!

 

Mike

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Entirely correct and anybody that says otherwise is blowing smoke. That said, I gave the benefit of the doubt to Damian because in a manner of speaking, he is correct. The M1 was governened down after it was realized that little good came to the tank and crew when it was allowed to travel at higher cross country speeds. If the Overspeed limiter program is eliminated the M1 will be returned to its full capacity with the thrown tracks, broken final drives, and concussions to prove it.

 

DKTanker,

 

Yep! I got a concussion, 17 stitches in my left knee, and a ripped pair of coveralls after I landed on the loaders machine gun handle and then fell to the turret floor unconscious! About 5 years later I started having problems with my left knee and after waiting the mandatory two years (this is the manly way of doing things, fear of doctors and hospitals! :) ) before being told to go to the hospital to get it checked out, they discovered that I had torn my posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) (almost a complete tear) in that little tank accident in October 1982. That little accident would of never of happened in an M60 series tank, not enough speed, and if it did get up to that speed the suspension system would of failed in a massive way!

 

Mike

Edited by Delta tank 6
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IIRC the brakes are in the transmission, so no, no problems with the brakes. Right before I told the driver to slow down we made a left turn and I thought the turret was going to pop off and continue straight down the road while the hull made the left hand turn. I have no idea how fast we were going, but 60+ tons should not go that fast on planet earth!

 

Mike

The brakes are indeed in the transmission but that isn't why you didn't have problems, they're just a very good brake system. Tanks from the M46-M60s all had brakes internal to the transmission and you can ask anybody that crewed those tanks for any length of time, the brake systems were merely adequate. You certainly couldn't lock up the tracks on an M60 as you can with an M1.
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Guest Charles
The brakes are indeed in the transmission but that isn't why you didn't have problems, they're just a very good brake system. Tanks from the M46-M60s all had brakes internal to the transmission and you can ask anybody that crewed those tanks for any length of time, the brake systems were merely adequate. You certainly couldn't lock up the tracks on an M60 as you can with an M1.

 

What other MBT's have this arrangement?.

 

TIA

 

Charles

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Never actually seen that claim I must admit.

 

First ever time I heard that was from Top Gear's episode, when a CR2 was chasing JC's Landrover.

Then I read it on few translated news articles recently.

And most recently, I saw it again on a Youtube video.

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You must admit that this is mostly from people that have no real knowledge about modern tanks and this is, how to say it... patriotic proud fixation?

 

As we know for many people some thing like i.e. modern tank is a form of national symbol or national proud so this automatically cut in their mind something like impartiality and always equipment from their country is better than the rest even if we know that it is not better but just equal or even worser (of course CR2 is equal and comparabale to other western modern tanks, is just the same class so no superiority, anyway I don't see it).

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Thanks for all your info, so I gather that the "CR2 is the fastest offroad 3rd Gen MBT" is a false claim :rolleyes:
The CR2 just doesn't have the power/weight ratio to stand up to that claim. That said, I took Clarkson's statement (he's an entertainer after all) as a general statement, that the CR2 is representative of many modern tanks that are quite nimble and fast cross country. Toss in a bit of national pride for good measure.
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M1s no, nor am I aware of any others.

 

 

At the very least the newer Leopard (et al) driver is, as he wears the 'seat' as a harness as part of the anti-mine protection system.

 

I also thought that some IFVs had belts for their passengers, but that may be rare, or not used operationally

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At the very least the newer Leopard (et al) driver is, as he wears the 'seat' as a harness as part of the anti-mine protection system.

 

I also thought that some IFVs had belts for their passengers, but that may be rare, or not used operationally

 

 

At the present only safety engineered restraining devices for M1 series would be chest pad for gunner and a shield that is erected for the TC so that he doesn`t fall into the path of the maingun. The U.S is also researching a better restraint device for some crew members also due to IEDs, this could cause some concerns though.

Edited by eckherl
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