Editor-in-Chief | Zhang Kehuan
Edit | Zhang Li
Author | Steamy Jun
Reports from The GreatAuto
China's automotive industry, after decades of development, has gained a lot. We have world-class design, world-class intelligent technology... It's no exaggeration to say that if you had a dream about a car's intelligent system last night, engineers would have the strength to make it a reality the next day.
However, China's automotive industry has long been held back by core power technology. China's car companies cannot build top fuel engines, which restricts the upward development of major brands. Based on this situation, there is a call for "overtaking in curves", that is, "since we cannot surpass overseas brands in the field of internal combustion engines, we will speed up the pace in the field of electric drives".
When "overtaking in curves" has almost become a consensus, a voice that is incompatible with the general environment is issued by Great Wall Motors: Why should we overtake in curves? I'll overtake from the corners first, and then I'll overtake from the straights!
So, with the rumbling of the V6 engine, the tank 500 slowly entered our sight.
Tank 500 in your eyes
What kind of car is it?
Traditional old-school off-road hard goods such as Humvee, Ford F-150, and Jeep Wrangler have all taken the road to electrification one step ahead. However, off-road enthusiasts who are accustomed to large-displacement multi-cylinder engines do not seem to buy the account of electric drive. What people need is a more advanced, more powerful, more pure off-road vehicle.
After the introduction of the Tank 300 and the success of the great success, the Great Wall was not satisfied with this small size, not very large displacement of the off-road vehicle. As a result, Great Wall Motors opened a new round of plans.
At first, when the Great Wall talked about building a medium and large off-road vehicle with a 3.0T V6 engine, we were all immersed in the joy brought by the Tank 300, and no one took it seriously; later, the Great Wall released a powertrain composed of 3.0T+9AT+48V, and we thought things became interesting; now, the Tank 500 is officially listed, what else is landed Onozer? What else do you want to do with the Wranglers? Rush the tank and you're done!
As a medium and large hard-duty off-road vehicle that retains a large displacement engine, the Tank 500 seems to be a "rebel", but it is the "rebellion" of the Great Wall that allows old-school fans who are loyal to tradition and pure, and can still recall the glory days in this new era. To put it bluntly, the Tank 500 is not an off-road vehicle for young people.
Tank 500 retains a lot of the characteristics of Japanese off-road vehicles, such as the solid rounded corner design, although this car looks a little "greasy", or incompatible with this era, but it is this retro form that shows the understanding of off-road vehicles after 80, 70 and even 60.
Is Great Wall Motors not designed? No, this is not the case, the Great Wall can design such a quirky square box off-road vehicle as the Tank 300, and naturally retain other novel designs. Tank 500 is facing the old users of Pajero, Prado and even Tule, and if Tank 500 continues to be ahead of the curve and continues to catch up with the trend, it may backfire.
The designers of the Great Wall know very well what this batch of old players need, after all, their boss Wei Jianjun can be regarded as the first batch of high-end car players in China. From the player to the player, Great Wall Motors knows how to write the word "faith".
The tank 500 is the emotional work of Wei Jianjun and many old players, and what it needs is not to embrace the future one-sidedly and deliberately, but to pay tribute to the past years.
Therefore, the tank 500 has an old-school and retro off-road vehicle design, a fantastic 3.0T V6 engine, a vibrating silicone oil fan... All this is so dreamy.
However, this off-road vehicle, which can bring us back more than a decade, is carried on top of the top technology of the Chinese automotive industry. From the power system, to the chassis system, it is so modern...
This is not the first autonomous V6
But it was the first truly valuable V6
Synonymous with V6 engines and silicone oil fans seem to be somewhat separated from this era, but we have been pursuing them. Just as the A350-1000 with two XWB-97 engines is very powerful in the eyes of aviation fans, we still miss the AN-225 with six ZMDB Progress D-18 engines...
In fact, the Tank 500 is not just a work of emotion. This car is not equipped with a V6 for the sake of carrying a V6. The 3.0L twin-turbo V6 engine, code-named E30Z, actually has a lot of new technologies that are ahead of its time. It is no exaggeration to say that it is the first Chinese V6 engine that can truly compete with well-known V6 engines such as Toyota 3.5T, Ford 3.0T, And Volkswagen 3.0T and so on.
There are many domestic V6 engines, such as the Wuling 3.0T engine equipped with the BJ80 and the FAW 3.0T engine equipped with the Hongqi HS7. However, the domestic engine that can achieve the power parameters to 354Ps and 500N·m, the Great Wall's big V6 is still unique. Even in the face of the 3.0T engine equipped with well-known models such as the Volkswagen Touareg and Lincoln Aviator, the power parameters of the tank 500 are not inferior.
In the comparison, we can find that whether it is the maximum power data or the high torque speed range, the 3.0T engine of the tank 500 is not inferior to the similar models of Volkswagen, Ford and other brands, and even has certain advantages in some parameters.
For example, the tank 500 3.0T engine, at a speed of 1500 rpm, can enter the high torque working range, burst out of strong power, and the engine curve is also very linear. During off-road processes, such engine output performance can help drivers obtain more precise and delicate throttle control.
This advantage actually comes from the twin-turbo structure and the VGT variable-section turbocharger. In order to squeeze more power, it is generally enough to have a larger size supercharger. However, the larger the size of the turbine, the greater its own operating resistance. According to the theory, a large-size turbine does increase power at high speeds, but it loses a certain amount of low-speed torque.
The tank 500 adopts a twin-turbo system, which is equivalent to corresponding to low speed and high speed through a small and large two sets of turbines, respectively, so as to obtain high torque for full-speed working conditions; and the VGT variable-section turbocharger is also automatically adjusted by electronically controlled actuators, changing the design of turbine inertia, so that the engine can obtain greater torque at low speed and bring linear power output.
In addition to paying attention to power, large-displacement engines in the new era need to pay more attention to the problems of emission cleanliness and fuel consumption economy. Prior to this, many manufacturers would ignore this problem when developing large-displacement engines. This problem has also directly led to the fact that the off-road vehicles that can enter the country are generally small and medium-sized displacements...
When Great Wall developed this 3.0T engine, it deliberately optimized the injection system of the engine. For example, through 35Mpa high-pressure injection, the fuel particles are refined, so that they burn uniformly and reduce emissions.
At the same time, in the face of strict emission regulations, large-displacement engines with direct injection in the cylinder are also difficult to overcome. The R & D personnel thought of manifold injection and added it to the direct injection engine, forming a hybrid injection system unique to the tank 500.
In simple terms, under low load conditions, the manifold injects oil during the intake stroke of the cylinder, the mixture enters the cylinder, and then the injector in the cylinder is injected with oil during the compression stroke, so as to achieve layered combustion; and under high load conditions, only the direct injection in the cylinder is carried out in the compression stroke. In this way, not only can the efficiency of the engine be improved, but also the emission problems caused by oxygen excess under low load conditions mentioned above are avoided.
For fuel saving, the tank 500, which weighs 2.5 tons and has a strong 3.0T power, has a WLC fuel consumption of only 10.79L/100km, which is really valuable. You know, the same power of the Toyota Prado, 100 kilometers of comprehensive fuel consumption often 15L.
The secret of the tank 500 fuel economy, in addition to optimizing the structure inside the engine, is optimized for the vehicle's drivetrain. Great Wall engineers matched the tank 500 with a 9AT gearbox. Objectively speaking, the Great Wall on the longitudinal platform, matching the 9AT gearbox is not a difficult task, the difficulty is that the Great Wall also added a 48V light mix system between the engine and the gearbox.
In general, many models equipped with a light mixing system are arranged in the position of the starting machine, connected to the engine through the belt, which is an ordinary BSG motor; and the tank 500 arranges the light hybrid motor on the gearbox, which belongs to the category of ISG motors. The biggest difference between BSG and ISG is that BSG is only responsible for power generation, which can help the engine idle to reduce fuel consumption; and the ISG motor of the tank 500 can achieve a certain power output, help the engine avoid the high load range, and truly improve power and reduce fuel consumption.
In addition to the power system
Its strengths are also worth noting
At the power system level, we can completely see that the 3.0T twin-turbo V6 engine of the tank 500 brings not only faith and feelings, but also makes up for the various problems of the traditional large-displacement multi-cylinder engine with new technology. Because of this, the tank 500 can also be regarded as a "technical car".
Of course, the technology of the tank 500 is not only reflected in the power system level of the vehicle.
Most friends probably know that tank 500 is based on the tank off-road platform, and the so-called tank platform actually contains a variety of new technologies. Next, we will look at the two levels of physical structure and electromechanical design to see how powerful the tank 500's off-road platform really is.
In the basic chassis structure, the tank 500 still uses a non-load-bearing body structure, with a suspension designed with front double wishbones + rear integral axle five-link design to ensure off-road performance and road comfort. Whether it is from the body design or from the suspension composition, the tank 500 is more conservative, and many luxury off-road vehicles have adopted this type of structure.
But in the four-wheel drive structure, the tank 500 brings a lot of surprises. It's hard to define whether tank 500's TOD 4WD system is full-time or just-in-time 4WD. Because, the TOD four-wheel drive structure of the tank 500 can be said to cover the advantages of both.
The TOD transfer case created by BorgWarner is first of all intelligent with a timely four-wheel drive system. In simple terms, in normal condition, the Tank 500 would be a rear-drive vehicle. On the vehicle, there are multiple sets of sensors distributed, which can be actively adjusted by the engine speed signal and the wheel speed signal, and the torque is reasonably distributed, thereby improving the driving condition of the vehicle. In simple terms, the system distributes torque reasonably, improves the stability of the vehicle, and does not waste power.
However, in the traditional timely four-wheel drive system, because it is divided by the clutch, the pressed multi-plate clutch will slide and friction in the 4H or 4L state before and after, that is, the 50:50 separation, and the problem of high temperature and serious wear will occur for a long time.
However, the system used in the tank 500 has a mechanical lock function similar to the F-150 four-wheel drive system and achieves 2.46 times the torque amplification in the low-speed four-wheel drive mode, which is equivalent to the hard connection between the front and rear axles when off-road, which greatly improves the stability of the four-wheel drive system.
From a structural and theoretical point of view, the tank 500 with this hardware system will not lose its off-road capability to the F-150 Raptor or Mercedes-Benz G-Class. Not only that, in order to let more people enjoy the fun of off-roading, the tank 500 is also equipped with a number of electronic auxiliary functions such as creep mode and tank turning. From the upgrade of hardware to control software, the off-road capability of the tank 500 is naturally pure, and there is no need for us to worry too much.
epilogue
With a powerful powertrain, a powerful all-terrain system, and a luxurious and comfortable interior, the Tank 500 has become the ideal off-road car in many people's minds. And this car really shows the maturity of the Great Wall in the manufacture of off-road vehicles. Needless to say, it's another blockbuster.
But in the end, tank 500 as a new car, there are still some places that can be upgraded, such as the vehicle's fuel tank is only 80L, considering the need for crossing, can it be expanded again? For example, can the car's 48V mix system also expand the battery capacity and provide external power supply to facilitate the user's demand for electricity when camping?
Copyright Notice
Some of the pictures in this article come from the Internet
If copyright issues are involved, please contact the author with proof of ownership and contact this official account
If you need to reprint, please apply to the background of this official account and obtain authorization
Legal adviser
Mr. Jiang Lei, Shanghai Hansheng Law Firm
Official website
Enter the media platform
Today's headlines | A little information | NetEase News | Sohu
Car headlines | Fun headlines | Easy car number | Sina News
Baidu Baijia no. | Motorhome | Tencent Penguin
Rider headlines | There is a car number | Love coffee number
Enter the video platform
CCTV number | Bilibili | Youku video | Tencent Video
Watermelon video | iQiyi | Microvision APP | Douyin APP | Kuaishou APP