Quote:
Originally Posted by EastCoastCB
The Duck will be rolling even faster!
Hell- my bus is faster than my van.
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that duck will definitely roll !! that little bus of EC;s is a runner!
knowing what marc is looking for. gives me some ideas of busses he might look for..
first off, trying to go over 75 in a school bus brings the manufacturer limits into play, from what ive seen most all highway-capable busses are built with 70-75 as the maximum.
for one, tires.. while we know that you lkikely wont explode a 75 MPH tire by driving it 80, a school bus manufacturer wont build a school bus that will exceed the norm for standard truck tires.. (and fleet managers dont want to have to buy special tires)...
Next, expected majority use-case. even school bus routes that require highway travel, usually require 20 miles or less of it.. and much of it around the city where limits are 65 or less.. a 70-75 MPH bus is still very adequete and isnt running against its governor for hours and hours..
from experience and testing, ive come up with the fact driving a diesel engine at 85% or lower than its max governor RPM is highly favorable.. this is non-lugging.. dont build it so low that it lugs at your cruise speed..
Redbyrd is over-geared.. i think we calculated last year that it has a mathmatical 117 MPH.. at 2700 RPM.. my highway RPM is so low that im always dropping a couple gears on any type of hill...
if you want a front engine bus to go 80 im thinking it may have to be built.
an Amtran High ceiling FE with a DT-466 and MD-3060 is probably going to be the best bet.. a mechanical DT-466 could easily be turned up to 250-300HP without much effort.. however those are not easy to come by..
a 230 HP DT-466E is out there.. just not sure if ive seen it in an FE or only RE.. for some reason most of the powerful busses are RE configuration it seems.. thats where you find the cummins 8.3's which is one of the best for highway cruising.. just not seen it in an FE bus.
the CAT 3126 is a good motor. but its not very powerful from what people say.
Im still thinking a DT-466E AmTran with an MD-3060 has the most potential to be a bus that can get you close to where you want to be out of the gate.. and still possible to find at a decent price.
-Christopher