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May 16, 2019 The Ranger Raptor is not the strongest bakkie on Earth. That title goes to the partly-Ford, all-electric, 14 000 Nm Rivian, but the Raptor’s racetuned suspension can put its 500 Nm down as delicately as a racing pony or as ponderously as a cart horse.
Witness
WHEELS
Elaphe’s hub motor packs 1 500 Nm and 110 kW into a 19-inch rim to theoretically give any SUV or bakkie 6 000 Nm of power. PHOTO: ELAPHE
Elaphe’s latest hub motor ALWYN VILJOEN SLOVENIAN physicist, innovator and philosopher Andrej Detela showed the L1500, Elaphe’s latest in-wheel electric hub motor, at the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Technology expo in Hanover last week. It is the fourth and most powerful of the company’s in-wheel motors, and comes with an integrated standard disc brake, outer caliper and suspension knuckle. Dedicated for high power requirements, Elaphe designed the L1500 for use on SUVs and fast sedans. Elaphe’s latest gearless hub design delivers a 19-inch hub motor that makes 1 500 Nm and 110 kW — on
each wheel. The company did not specify weight, but based on its M1100, which makes 1 100 Nm and weighs 68 kg, the L1500 hub motor could weight in at over 70 kg. This unsprung weight delivers a hard ride with lots of forward momentum in smaller cars, but will not be that noticeable in trikes with a low centre of gravity, or bakkies and SUVs with tough suspensions. The forward momentum also helps to recharge batteries with regenerative braking, thereby saving on disk pads. Elaphe has tested the L1500 motors on tar, track and off-road, and said its biggest motor yet will go into limited-run production in October.
Raptor wraps it up ALWYN VILJOEN rates the almost-rally-ready Raptor the world’s second-best bakkie WHEN it comes to bakkies, power sells. Now I ain’t talking just kiloWatts, which tells you how fit an engine is. I am also talking torque, which shows how big an engine’s muscles are. The fittest bakkie with the biggest muscles in the world right now is almost a Ford ... well, partly. This after Ford Motor Company announced in April it is investing over R7,2 trillion in electric start-up Rivian as part of a strategic partnership that will give Ford instant electric bakkies and SUVs, and Rivian access to Ford’s global sales network. Wheels has reported how the 3 500Nm hub motor in each of the Rivian’s wheels gives this bakkie a truly mad 14 000 Nm, making it the most powerful pickup this side of Pluto. By comparison, most bakkies make about 350 Nm, with the top-end bakkies for “suits in utes” like the Mercedes-Benz X-Class 350d and VW Amarok V6, generating 550 Nm. The new Raptor is not quite that
Charles Waller from Hi-Performance Feeds with his 1,1 million kilometre Tata eight-ton truck.
strong, making 500 Nm and 157 kW. But as several YouTube videos show from markets where South Africa’s first ever factory-built, off-road performance bakkie is already sold, it’s not just how fit and big a bakkie’s muscles are, but how it puts that power down. It is a Catch-22 all 4x4 drivers face — that you want lots of torque to force loads up steep inclines, but too much torque will just spin the wheels or, if the wheels are trapped, bend the side shafts. The trick is to trickle out the power when going slow on slippery surfaces and slap it on like carpet glue when going fast, and right now, no one does this better than the Raptor. ‘RALLY-TUNED SUSPENSION’ Up front, the Raptor’s suspension has the usual MacPherson strut and double wishbone with coils over oils, while at the back, a Watts-link keeps the bakkie level over undulations. The oils under those coils are rather special. These dampers will set a race car builder back
over R25 000 each. Designed by Ford and Fox Racing Shocks, who also build shocks for endurance races like the Baja, each damper features three holes at different heights on its shaft to rapidly allow more or less oil to escape, enabling the Raptor to survive jumps over rough terrain and cruise comfortably over the blocks of cement highways. Coupled with active terrain response, this gives the big bakkie both the soft ride of the Navara and Merc, and the stiff ride of the Hilux or Isuzu to carry loads. The gearbox from the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. — the Ford F150 — also deserves special mention. This U.S.-built 10-speed automatic transmission has a low range and linked with the drive modes or just a locked diff, will offer the right ratio for every road surface. Twenty ratios and an efficient bi-turbo, 2-litre enables the Raptor to get decent consumption when driving through sand or cruising on the long
Northern Cape roads. The Raptor rides on 17-inch rims clad in all-terrain BF Goodrich 285/70 R17 wheels. Ground clearance is increased to 283 mm with an approach angle of 32,5°, ramp over angle of 24° and departure angle of 24°. Towing capacity is down to 2 500 kg, which is far more realistic than the 3 500 tons for most other bakkies. This is because once the mass of a 3,5-ton trailer is subtracted from the licensed gross vehicle mass (GCM) of most bakkies, there are barely enough kilogrammes left to load two people up front without exceeding the limit. COMPETITORS In South Africa, the firm-riding Hilux is the best selling vehicle overall while the more pliant Isuzu bakkies lead the pack in putting down the Newtons softly. The Raptor’s rally-tuned suspension delivers both types of rides where and
when needed, and buyers are loving it. Ford exports to 12 African states and 37 European countries, and the Silverton factory cannot meet demand in England and Germany fast enough. The only criticism against the Raptor to date is that its looks can be too butch for the office parking lot. This is a bakkie for blokes who party as hard as they work. Hence I suggest those who prefer ties to tatts would do better in the Amarok or X-Class. Those who take every chance to step the tail out can also look at the Ranger Wildtrack, Mitsubishi Triton and Fiat Fastback. For rough farm roads, Isuzu’s lesserspecced Arctic is the closest in price to the Ranger’s R786 400. But until South Africa imports that 14 000-Nm Rivian, the Raptor rules the local bakkie roost by offering the complete package. As Ford states: “This is a 100% uniquely designed, wonder engineered off-road performance truck.”
McLoughlin will be on a mission at Dezzi Raceway
TRUCK CLOCKS OVER 1,1 MLN KM
COLIN WINDELL
WITH more than 1,1 million kilometres on its odometer, a Tata eight-ton dropside that’s used as a maximumload workhorse is well into its second decade of delivering exceptional service for Meyerton-based animal feedstock manufacturer Hi-Performance Feeds. When Charles Waller and his father decided in 2007 to buy a Tata 1518 for their business, they didn’t believe that more than a decade later, the vehicle would still be capable of hauling maximum eight-ton loads
THE third round of the KZN Road Racing Championships at Dezzi Raceway at Oslo Beach this weekend, will see Mike McLoughlin aiming to extent his lead in the GT Class in his Backdraft Cobra replica, much to the delight of team boss Tony Martin. “It has been a long time coming,” Martin said at the last race meeting in April. “We have been working extremely hard on this car and Mike is doing a great job of bringing it home ahead of the Porsches.” McLoughlin won the two opening races of the season and then set the fastest lap around the Dezzi circuit in
on a daily basis across Gauteng, the Free State and Mpumalanga. “When we bought the vehicle, we had no idea that it would serve us so well for so long. If you’d asked me in 2007 whether I thought the truck would last for 12 years, I probably would have said no — now I’m looking to at least a 20-year lifespan, perhaps even more. So the plan is to have it repainted and branded with Hi-Performance Feeds’ new 3D logos and to spruce up the cabin,” said Charles. — WR.
practice at the second race meeting of the season. A mechanical glitch meant he did not score points in the first race on that day, but rebounded to win the second. He leads the series with 75 points from the Bigfoot Porsche of Sun Moodley (67), the Pirelli Porsche of Duncan dos Reis (58), the Ultima of Stuart Kidgell (45) and the Akrapovic Porsche of Lawrence Smith (36). “He must remember, the Porsches are hunting in a pack,” said Dos Reis. MOTORBIKES The 300 Series motorcycle class remains one of the most hotly contested classes this season, with Malcolm
Rudman (M Projects Kawasaki 400) leading the points with 95 from three wins and a second-place finish. Nicolai Conci (BandIt/Actum Yamaha R3) edged out Rudman at the last meeting and is itching to gain the upper hand this weekend. Blaze Baker (BandIt/Actum Yamaha R3) is third. Another motorcycle class producing some top-level action is the Powersport class where Llewelyn Puren sits at the top on 95 points with Duncan Day (85) and Bruce Cuthpert (54). The Super Modified and Modified cars always provide plenty of action and the race for points in the former is between the VW Golf of Elton Fuchs and the similar car of
Cross-country battle for KZN teams A TIGHT battle between KwaZuluNatal crews is on the cards at the Berg 400, round two of the South African National Cross Country Series (SACCS) that takes place around Winterton this weekend. HILUX LEADS THE FAST BAKKIES In the FIA Class, Toyota Gazoo Racing SA Hilux team-mates Giniel de Villiers/Dennis Murphy and Henk Lategan/Brett Cummings, will continue their ding-dong battle. In the opening round, it was initially all about Lategan and his new navigator, former motorcycle rider Brett Cummings, but it was eventually De Villiers/Murphy who stuck to their guns to take the win. It was so close yet so far for Lategan/Cummings and a victory this early in the season will be a positive boost for their confidence.
Wheels events in KZN KZN’s many drag racers are excited about the year’s first big event at Mkuze Airport on May 25 to 26. Organiser Kas Moodley said about 100 racers will bring their tuned cars from as far as Gauteng and Mpumalanga. ‘It is a new track, the widest and longest in KZN at 36 metres wide and 1,85 km long, with new tarmac,’ said Moodley. He encouraged all enthusiasts to make a weekend of it and visit the game parks or beaches on the North Coast, as well as catch the fastest cars in the province, More from him at 084 517 5200.
CLASS T Leading the Class T standings are reigning champions and local KZN competitors, Lance Woolridge and Ward Huxtable (Ford Castrol Cross Country Ranger), who are also third on the overall standings behind the Toyota Gazoo Racing teams. Lance’s brother Gareth, who is just behind him on the standings after a great performance at the opening round, will not be participating in the Berg 400 as the second Ford Castrol Cross Country Ranger will see the regular international team of Marcos Baumgart/ Kleber Cincea in the cabin. With Gareth Woolridge/Boyd Dreyer not in the picture, two other Class T teams who are in the overall top six have a chance to move up the overall and Class T standings. Gary Bertholdt/Geoff Minnitt (Atlas Copco Toyota Hilux) are always going for gold and will do so again, while former Class T champs, brothers Johan/Werner Horn (Malalane
Toyota Hilux) will be aiming for a trouble-free race and good points to stay in the race for the titles. SPECIAL VEHICLES Lance Trethewey and Adriaan Roets (LT Earthmovers Bat) enter the race as the overall leaders in the Special Vehicle category as well as Class A and another good result will put them in a comfortable position going into the third round — the Toyota 1000 Desert Race (TDR 1000) — the halfway mark of the 2019 championship. They can, however, expect tough competition from the Voigts brothers, who are also a local KZN team. Ralph has moved in behind the wheel of their Voigts Group Bat with Andre reading the notes this year. These two teams have locked horns before, with the Voigts win-
ning the 2018 Battlefields 400 in Dundee and finishing as runners-up to Trethewey/Roets at the Harrismith 400 last year. Although they missed the season opener this year, they are ready for action and would like nothing better than to finish on the top step of the podium again. A good result will be the perfect motivation for the rest of the season. The Berg 400 in the Champagne Valley area at the foothills of the Drakensberg will start tomorrow at 12.30 pm with a 64 km qualifying race, which will determine the starting order for Saturday’s main race from 7.30 am. Cross-country enthusiasts can follow the Berg 400 on the RallySafe App that is available for free download for Android and iOS devices. — WR. The Gazoo Racing pit crews are so tough, they double as car jacks. PHOTO: ALWYN VILJOEN
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Paul Tarboton, while Class A of the Modifieds is a battle between the Golfs of Ronal van Rensburg (77) and Shiren Rajpaul (60). In Class B, Damien Parker (65) is two points up on Dane Thompson. Gary Brown leads in Class C. Racing starts at 10 am and entry is R80.
Mike McLoughlin aims to extend his lead in the GT Class in his mighty Backdraft Cobra replica against a pack of Porches. PHOTO: COLIN WINDELL
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