Technical Questions about the Artics and Seats on the new Nova's

[juelzkellz]

What type of drive are the artics? (FWD, RWD, AWD, or even 6WD) Do the all plastic seats on the new Nova's make cleaning easier? I'd imagine now with new plastic seats that now that there's no cloth that you have to wait to dry, and the AC vents are up top I think, you can just take a power washer on the bus and use a squeegee-type device to remove the excess water. Makes the most sense to me.

[Busjack]

RWD. They are pushers.

The MAN artics were center wheel drive because the engine was under the floor of the front unit. That, of course, becomes impossible with an entirely low floor front compartment.

The Hubner joint in the articulation (explained in the linked article, as well as the old way of doing it) is supposed to keep them from jackknifing. There used to be stories in the 10 o'clock news about NABIs getting stuck in the snow, but I don't recall anything like that about the New Flyers.

[sw4400]

32 minutes ago, Busjack said:

RWD. They are pushers.

The MAN artics were center wheel drive because the engine was under the floor of the front unit. That, of course, becomes impossible with an entirely low floor front compartment.

The Hubner joint in the articulation (explained in the linked article, as well as the old way of doing it) is supposed to keep them from jackknifing. There used to be stories in the 10 o'clock news about NABIs getting stuck in the snow, but I don't recall anything like that about the New Flyers.

Hubner joint didn't do it's job in 2011.

 

[sw4400]

New Flyer Artics are susceptible to getting stuck in the snow(maybe weight imbalance?). That's one of the reasons when heavy snow is predicted, CTA has a contingency plan now where the Artics are taken off LSD routes and, in many cases, replaced with 40' buses until the streets are cleared of snow.

 

[Busjack]

25 minutes ago, sw4400 said:

Hubner joint didn't do it's job in 2011.

It isn't going to do anything when the bus is stuck in traffic in the middle of a blizzard. There were similar pictures of 40 foot buses.

[Busjack]

21 minutes ago, sw4400 said:

New Flyer Artics are susceptible to getting stuck in the snow(maybe weight imbalance?).

I've always said I don't see how a pusher can get traction. The weight of the engine is over the drive wheels, but most of the weight of the bus is in the front compartment. At least inbound Metra trains are on rails.

[juelzkellz]

8 hours ago, Busjack said:

I've always said I don't see how a pusher can get traction. The weight of the engine is over the drive wheels, but most of the weight of the bus is in the front compartment. At least inbound Metra trains are on rails.

Maybe AWD could be a solution. Costs and maintenance would go through the roof but it would solve the problem of traction. Plus, the buses would be a bit faster for what it's worth.

[Busjack]

12 hours ago, juelzkellz said:

Maybe AWD could be a solution. Costs and maintenance would go through the roof but it would solve the problem of traction. Plus, the buses would be a bit faster for what it's worth.

Only way that could be done on a low floor bus would be electrical motor assist, as no way to get a drive shaft to the front of the bus. Then you get into the problem as with the 900s that one has to rewire the electric motors. However, if you have a schematic of a low floor (to the back  door) AWD bus, please post it.

[juelzkellz]

10 hours ago, Busjack said:

Only way that could be done on a low floor bus would be electrical motor assist, as no way to get a drive shaft to the front of the bus. Then you get into the problem as with the 900s that one has to rewire the electric motors. However, if you have a schematic of a low floor (to the back  door) AWD bus, please post it.

I think AWD could be pulled off on a bus. Look at Lamborghinis and other exotic super/hypercars that have AWD. They are very low to the ground and they have a driveshaft that connects both axles. Also, with Lamborghinis, the engine is towards the rear of the car so the setup is similar to a low floor bus. As for a schematic of an AWD bus, I far as I know, I don't believe one exists. Basically, this is all just theory. 

[Busjack]

3 hours ago, juelzkellz said:

I think AWD could be pulled off on a bus. Look at Lamborghinis and other exotic super/hypercars that have AWD. They are very low to the ground and they have a driveshaft that connects both axles. Also, with Lamborghinis, the engine is towards the rear of the car so the setup is similar to a low floor bus. As for a schematic of an AWD bus, I far as I know, I don't believe one exists. Basically, this is all just theory. 

As I indicated, the only place the theory has been applied on a bus was on a series hybrid. Maybe something like an Acura NSX works, which is also an electric motor on the axle not connected to the transmission. However, besides there being no room under the floor of a low floor bus,  the driveshaft would need a universal joint under the articulation, plus at least 2 clutches.

If it would have worked, the Germans would have come up with it, as they have with most bus designs.