Regarding the off-road version of the Great Wall Cannon, we tested it in Alxa when the trial version came out in September last year. After the mass production version came out, we also got two cars for some more detailed modifications and made two products. In addition to some improvements in performance, the prototype car is mainly to improve the user experience of the vehicle, focusing on improving the convenience of pickup trucks in daily use; it is only because of time constraints that it has not been fully completed, so we will discuss the modification in I will explain it in detail later.
There are already a lot of test drive videos of off-road guns on the Internet, so I don’t need to repeat those same topics in this article, and I always think that it takes a while to understand a car before I can understand it in detail, so here I would like to talk about some of the feelings I have come into contact with during this period of time, and the improvements made in the transition from trial cars to mass-produced cars.
About off-road expert mode: the function of completely turning off ESP
Before the off-road version of the fully mass-produced model was launched, the off-road gun had a bug in the electronic control system of the previous trial vehicle, that is, its ESP system could only be turned off by one stage instead of completely off. Said to be a very sensitive issue. After the off-road gun was tested in September last year, my driver Lu Binglong and I crossed the Tengger Desert once, and it is very obvious that this is a problem that must be solved.
Because the ESP cannot be completely closed, the power output will be limited under off-road conditions. In some cases, this will be a more dangerous state; so as an off-road gun, this is a matter that must be solved. From the current mass production release On the car, the Great Wall Cannon specially added an off-road expert mode. In this mode, the ESP will be completely turned off.
Questions about TOD:
Many people have complained about the TOD problem, including the owner of the Haval H9, because the off-road gun is equipped with the same system as it. The complaints are mainly focused on its reliability and durability; about TOD, I asked BorgWarner people many years ago, and their answer is very clear, that is, as long as it is used within the range of product settings, it is not necessary at all. There will be no problems.
But the meaning of this “product setting” I believe that the user’s definition may be different from that of the manufacturer. In the user’s use, in addition to the use under extreme conditions, improper use methods are also common. For example, when climbing a steep slope, many people have insufficient vehicle grip under the 4L condition, and the wheels are already on the ground. Jumping and jumping, still stepping on the accelerator and rushing upwards; and hanging the 4L high-speed low-speed crazy car in the desert, these are indeed driving skills.
In fact, TOD is a very suitable configuration for our daily use; this is because we will encounter various complex weather conditions even at home, such as the long winter in the north with more rain and snow; while the rainy season in the south is long, these climates The characteristics will cause the road surface to be slippery. Domestic pickup trucks do not have a full-time four-wheel drive configuration at all. In the case of two-wheel drive, they are all rear-drive. The biggest problem with rear-drive is that it is easy to cause the vehicle to slip on wet roads. Finally, even if you have ESP or other control systems, it is always a passive response. From the perspective of safe operation mechanism, it is a better choice to actively control the vehicle.
In addition to these common vehicle usage conditions, TOD also has a particularly wide range of applications, that is, most of the off-road environments we come into contact with are mild off-road situations, such as non-paved roads that we often walk on. Like gravel roads, this is common in both the south and the north, as well as in the east and west. The driving characteristics of this kind of road are very similar to those of rain and snow. Although they are two completely different environments, dry and wet, the performance The way is that the ground friction is insufficient and uneven.
Sometimes the grip of the tires on this kind of road is not bad, but sometimes it is very poor. In the case of rear drive, it is particularly easy to lose control in some slippery places, and the most important feature of TOD is that it is functionally similar to a full-time four-wheel drive. Drive, so the practical value on this kind of road is similar to the slippery state of rain and snow we mentioned earlier, and the handling and safety it provides are much higher than that of the rear drive state.
So TOD, a product that seems to be criticized by many people, actually has great practical value; but if you particularly emphasize the reliability under high-intensity use, then you can ask Great Wall to produce a time-sharing four-wheel drive model , Great Wall Motor’s market feedback on vehicles is still very fast. For example, the problem of closing and winding the steel wire rope of the tailgate of the cargo box before, and the problem of insufficient cooling of the air conditioner, they quickly introduced a solution to solve it.
I once communicated with the Great Wall people about the feasibility of producing part-time four-wheel drive configuration; technically, there is no obstacle at all, because part-time four-wheel drive is simpler, but the factory has doubts about the market demand, because TOD can meet at least 90% of the demand, and now the production volume is large and the price is low. If it is to produce a part-time four-wheel drive model that is more expensive than TOD, how many people will buy it is a very real question.
Tucker U-Turn Feature
In addition to the so-called three locks, the Great Wall Cannon also has a gimmick that the tank turns around; in terms of this matter itself, there are generally two types of tank turns: for example, the previous Jeep Hurricane concept car, which uses two V8 The engine, two gearboxes, two transfer cases, and two sets of transmission systems drive the wheels on each side respectively. This method is of little practical value in civilian vehicles, and the cost is too high. There is no need to adopt.
Another way for tanks to turn around is the Great Wall Cannon; its core is actually unilateral braking, that is, when turning, the rear wheel on the steering side is braked to improve the turning ability of the vehicle. This design has been used in many racing cars and cars modified by professional players, including KOH (Ultra4) racing cars, rainforest racing cars and rock climbing cars. It uses the lowest cost to improve the steering performance of the vehicle under extreme conditions. for purpose.
The function of unilateral brake is mainly used for turning in narrow places; in narrow terrain, the efficiency of drag brakes is far better than that of steering wheels, and if the two are used together, the effect will be far better than that of only steering wheels. Especially in many special situations, the steering wheel cannot achieve real steering behavior, which is most obvious in rock climbing and rain forest.
Whether it’s a slippery muddy ground or a rocky ground with high adhesion, when you make a sharp turn, you will find that it is very difficult to turn with only the front wheels in the state of part-time four-wheel drive, but if The rear wheel of the car on the side that is turned can be braked, and the steering effect of the car will be greatly improved. This is the benefit of the practical application of drag brakes in off-road.
Especially in narrow mountain roads with sharp turns, you can use the drag brake function when you cannot turn around, and you will find that the turning effect of the vehicle is particularly obvious. Therefore, although the wheelbase of the off-road gun is long, with this function, its sharp cornering effect will be much more flexible than vehicles of the same size on narrow roads.
The product advantages and characteristics of the Great Wall Cannon
From the off-road version of the Great Wall Cannon itself, its configuration is very high; both safety configuration and comfort configuration are very high; we can see this from the configuration sheet, ESP, traction control, steep slope descent, creeping , sunroof, coil spring suspension, etc., these things that are completely passenger cars can be reflected in the off-road version, which greatly improves its practicality in daily use, because we usually drive whether it is commuting Whether it is an outing or a long-distance travel, the comfort of a car will bring you completely different feelings, and even a completely different mood and mentality, especially those who have experienced long-distance travel, must have a deep understanding of this of.
Then we talk about the shortcomings:
From the appearance point of view, I don’t like the large wheel eyebrow of the off-road version; its size is a bit too large and exaggerated, which makes the overall shape of the car look a bit awkward, and this excessive plastic black actually reduces the The texture of the vehicle, especially its wider wheel base than the off-road gun, makes the vehicle visually unstable.
In fact, the paint color of the Great Wall Cannon is very good in appearance, but it is disturbed by this large area of black. When viewed from the side, your visual center of gravity will always stay at the position of the wheel eyebrows, because Its size and area are really too big, which means it’s a bit of an overreach.
Wader hose and tire size
The wading throat of the off-road gun has been mentioned in last year’s trial vehicle test, that is, its intake noise is obvious, which has a lot to do with its shape. Its intake pipe diameter is a bit thin, and the intake port The hydromechanical shape of the car is not perfect, and the head-on wind at high speed will also cause noise in the gap between the wading throat and the A-pillar. You can also hear howling when the accelerator is high, which also shows from another aspect. It’s under-intaked, with noticeable surge under the apparent intake pressure of a supercharged machine.
The other is its tire size. Personally, I prefer a narrower and larger diameter size. Like this 265-65-18, the wheel size is a bit wide for me. If you often travel through the West, you will find that 18-inch tires are not readily available, and the price will be significantly more expensive. I prefer a smaller wheel size and a thicker tire wall.
Therefore, our modified prototype car is replaced with 25575R17 tires, which are half an inch larger than the original car. In fact, the cheaper 24575R17 is a very good choice. It has the same diameter as the original car, and the tires are narrower. For 2.0 For T-level power, tires with this specification will make the car more responsive.
Let’s talk about the off-road version of the Great Wall Cannon first; the long-term test drive experience cannot be obtained after driving for a few days, it needs to be done slowly; in addition, a video about the modification of the Great Wall Cannon will be made later and I will give you a detailed explanation .
