I only got 262 kg 
, but I had leaf springs in the rear. My engine turned out 65hp and 112 Nm of torque, any more and I would have imminent piston and conrod failure. I would sure like to study your mules when this is over, make me a better designer.
I found that gearing also had a lot to do with the towing figures. I geared mine super low, which hurt my fuel economy a bit. If you still have the file try messing with that and see what happens.
so basically… i accidentally make it look like i know what i’m doing with my suspension setup. according to my pic, and your explanation 
(nah jk. i’m actually pretty okay at suspension tuning now. i have actually dedicated a bit of practice time to tuning suspension alone)
Try that with a trailer without the extra axle…
I set my gears at 60. Didn’t want to be too unwieldy. Going back into it however, 1000 lbs is 455 kg (+/-) I guess could’ve been done at 73; would’ve only dropped drivability by 0.2. Oh well, learn something new every day.
Part 3?
still comin, got some stuff to do but it’ll be out soon
what is he doing???
2 Likes
part 3 of part 1 i guess
As an air raid siren screamed and Llemocivh ran off to his craft, the two more important members of the party continued on to the ninth vehicle -
The Maurus.
“It’s cute!” Gavula exclaimed as he caught a glimpse of the brown truck. “It certainly is, General,” Yanovikch agreed. “This doesn’t look exactly like a military truck with that smile, does it?” “Oh well, how does it do? Does it have a V8?” Gavula, always asking the important questions, directed this to the representative for the truck. “Why would it have a V8, sir-?” the man replied, before being cut off. “Never mind that, then. Yanovikch, handle the statistics, I’m going inside!” With that, the General pulled open the door and disappeared. Yanovikch, then, began to ask his own questions. “How much can it tow?” “Seven hundred and fifty pounds is the recommended maximum,” he was told. With a sigh, he continued on nevertheless. “How’s economy?” “It runs on low quality fuel, of course, so it’s not excellent, but it’s about average for this segment,” the representative said. “Also, our own in-house field tests have shown excellent reliability, and we can ensure you it’ll be cheap to run.” Nodding, Yanovikch called to Gavula, and the two, after a short discussion, came to a conclusion. "It’s solid except for the low towing, Yanovikch told the enthusiastic General, who had still yet to exit the vehicle.
Looks happy to invade and lay waste to neighboring countries. And it seems that it can do it relatively well.
Gavula immediately stopped, taking in the fearsome van. “Looks quite the part, doesn’t it?” he said. Nodding, Yanovikch opened the rear doors. “Looks like it can carry a lot, too.” The General had by then pulled open the side doors, noticing the sturdy feel, and looked in. “This could do quite nicely as a troop shuttle, too. Better than an open-back truck.” The General was being serious for once, something Yanovikch noticed, but was too busy hurriedly approaching the Avtonovia salesman to make sure this vehicle had no flaws. “How much can it tow?” he asked. “Not much,” was the reply. Meanwhile, Gavula had begun asking about upfits. “Could be of use to someone,” he said, which meant he wanted one.
Would have been a finalist easily but could only tow 400 pounds, not very suitable for a general purpose truck but would be a great offroad shuttle.
The three walked just across the hangar to the last two vehicles, starting on a green - AMERICAN war machine.
The ATI M19.
“Remember when we went to Korea? We saw these, didn’t we?” Gavula asked the Foreign Minister, doing a double take when he saw the ATI. “We certainly did somewhere, weren’t these American?” Yanovikch replied, a bit of fear showing in his voice. “Are they coming after us now?” “Call the Russians!” Gavula yelled at a nearby soldier. The salesman for ATI, dressed in what appeared to not be a U.S. Army uniform, however, dissuaded their fears of invasion. “Never mind!” Gavula shouted at the bewildered soldier, calming down quickly. “The ATI M19 is the latest in military technology,” the man said. “It’s designed to go anywhere for the smallest sum.” “How much can it haul, though?” Yanovikch asked. “We need it to carry and tow as well as invade our neighbors.” “It’s not really -” was all the man managed to squeeze out before the General’s anger boiled over. “You bring American SPIES to our BEAUTIFUL MONARCHY and expect to still sell your USELESS JEEPS! I ALMOST GOT KILLED BY ONE OF THESE IN KOREA LAST MONTH, and you expect me to BUY ONE?”
towing is bad, and it’s a jeep, we don’t like americans (also most stats were a bit low, except price)
The last vehicle, finally, that the two - or three, as Llemocivh had returned - moved on to was certainly different.
The Semyonovia Elite II.
“It looks like a concept out of that Capitalist future magazine, what is it called?” Gavula tried to remember the name as he walked around the very futuristic looking Elite II. “Why is the tow hook so high!?” he exclaimed as he got to the back, forgetting his first thoughts. “And the brake lights are tiny!” Yanovikch and Llemocivh had already been looking underneath, while the salesman stood uncomfortably next to them. “This doesn’t look very capable,” Llemocivh muttered, and Yanovikch agreed. “How much can it tow?” Gavula asked the salesman, who seemed relieved to have a chance to talk to someone who wasn’t carrying a rifle. “A ton. It also gets a remarkable ten miles per gallon, and it’ll cost just seventy Dakotz to keep running a year.” “That’s quite a high estimate!” Gavula exclaimed. “Anything promising down there?” he asked the pilot and minister. “No, should we move on?” came the muffled reply. “I believe we’re done with all twelve, actually,” the General replied.
Most stats are pretty low EXCEPT TOWING
The three met again in a small office at the base. “So, which are we taking to the proving ground?” Llemocivh began. “I think the Rhino was a quite solid contender.”
Yanovikch, then, chipped in - “The Maurus was relatively solid, except for that low towing rating. And the Empire was also quite alright.”
Gavula, finally, had a quite obvious choice - “I want the one with the V8.”
“So, then, it’s settled?” Llemocivh said, as more of a statement than a question. “I’ll have them brought to the site by this afternoon. Gentlemen-” he stood, offering a handshake to the General, and then Yanovikch - “I’ll see you there.”
CONGRATULATIONS to the second-round contenders!
you done good
5 Likes
Actually ati is an Estonian company, but otherwise good call
ROUND 2
FIGHT
undisclosed location somewhere in Semyonovia, near Seydotzt
April, 1955 - PROVING GROUNDS
The Honorable General and Chairman Akulov arrived at the proving grounds early in the afternoon, their transport, an old Zenith 150 kept in the country after its failed trials years earlier, only coming close to overheating once or twice as it made its way through the spring heat. The two, who had become fast friends, had a quick and uneventful ride, but were then instructed to wait at a certain location for someone. While they waited, they looked over all four vehicles.
The General, of course, stood near the Federal Avtozavod, while Yanovikch took a liking to the Rhino, now that he had gotten over its decidedly Western appearance. They waited for the good part of an hour, before the special guest they had been told to wait for arrived. King Gevketovt II’s limousine pulled up next to the Avtozavod, and the cheery King of Semyonovia stepped out. “Gavula! Nice to see you again!” he exclaimed, giving the General a firm handshake. He turned to Yanovikch, embracing him warmly. “It’s great to see you both again!” he said, and the three, after a brief chat, turned to the subject at hand. “I’ve heard about the four you picked - shall we go for a drive?” The King, who had become more and more of a gearhead since the first Petrov SEMs arrived in Semyonovia, turned to Gavula. “Which one has the V8?”
FEDERAL AVTOZAVOD Виктор Мк.II
The Victor’s V8 roared to life as the King twisted the key in the ignition. Gavula, in the passenger seat, and the King immediately began chatting about the truck. “It’s got a 2.6 liter V8, pushrods, overbuilt block from what I’ve seen,” the General told him. “Ah, tiny engine. How much power?”
“Enough, I suppose. Sixty or seventy, manufacturer says seventy-five at the crank.”
The King upshifted to third.
“Four speed, that’s certainly a rare one.”
Gavula nodded. “Most had three. Name certainly adds to it, too - the Victor. Not bad.”
“How much can it tow, Yanovikch?”
“Enough, the men say the test loads they brought here were no trouble for it. That’s including the one-ton. It carried the boxes they were given just fine inside, as well. A bit slow with all that weight, but it managed.”
The King downshifted, going uphill. “Seems quite nice to drive. Much better than those older trucks we use.”
“It is a few decades newer,” Gavula reminded him. “But I do admit, it’s quite good anyhow.”
“How long have we been going, Yanovikch?” the King queried.
“About fifteen minutes, I’d say about six or seven miles,” came the reply.
“Not excellent in the realm of fuel consumption, then, is it?”
“It does have a V8,” Gavula reminded him. “No matter how small it is.”
“Let’s go off-road, then,” the King said, pulling off the hill and up a small embankment. “Plenty of torque, I see.”
After several minutes, the trio had crossed quite a bit of terrain, arriving to a river bank.
“Gentlemen,” the King said, “I think this one could be a very solid vehicle. What’s the price, Yanovikch?”
“They said it’s just under twelve hundred Dakotz. Projected service costs are a bit on the high side, but not too much more costly than two of the other three, cheaper than one.”
“Let’s head back then, shall we?” Gavula said. “I think the V8’s just a bonus for this one - though who knows what that means for reliability.”
“What’s next, then?” the King asked. “One of you have a preference?”
“The Rhino,” Yanovikch quickly replied.
“Let’s get to it, then,” Gavula said, opening the driver’s door.
FRANKLIN RHINO PERSKTOKT
“It’s automatic,” he quickly exclaimed, a mixed expression on his face. Still, he stepped in and turned the key in the truck’s ignition, and with a sputter, the four cylinder started up.
“Sounds much weaker than the Avtozavod, although it’s not a V8,” the King observed, stepping in and taking the passenger’s seat - leaving Yanovikch sandwiched in the middle.
“Still works quite well for the task at hand, according to the men - towed everything no sweat, but it had trouble with the weights we put in the bed.”
“That’s odd,” Yanovikch said. “I thought this one could carry the most.”
“Well, it does have an open back. Could be a benefit or a drawback in several ways,” Gavula chimed in.
“Let’s get moving,” the King said.
Gavula put the Rhino in gear, and pressed his foot onto the gas. Very little response. “It’s quite slow.”
“Hmm.” Yanovikch watched the revs climb slowly. “The two-speed and a tiny engine aren’t a great combination.”
“Gevketovt, what’s the engine like?” Gavula asked, foot still to the floor.
“It’s a small one. 1.8 liter four cylinder. Fifty horsepower.”
Once the heavy truck hit sixty, after forty seconds, Gavula twisted the wheel and took it down an embankment. “This can’t be good for going up hills,” he observed. “We won’t be able to tow too much.”
Yanovikch chimed in again. “Doesn’t seem to be as good as the - ouch!” Just as Gavula went over a rock. “Doesn’t seem to be as good as the Avtozavod off road, and how much does it cost?”
“Twelve-fifty,” the King said, reading from a spec sheet. “Somewhat more than the Avtozavod. Predicted maintenance is… Also more.”
Gavula, turning back onto a main road, remarked, “Seems better to drive than the Avtozavod on the road, though. Simpler. Goes where you want it a bit more.”
“No matter, though - I don’t think this’ll do quite as well,” the King said.
“It just seems to be a bit worse than the Avtozavod in most ways,” Yanovikch agreed.
Gavula brought the Rhino back to the strip of road where the two remaining trucks were parked, and hopped out.
“What now, gentlemen?” the General shouted.
“Next in line, of course,” the King replied with a chuckle. “I’d have to say the frowny one.”
“Alright, then.”
MAURUS
Gavula, again, hopped into the driver’s seat of the beige vehicle. Noticing the four-speed manual, he let out a sigh of relief. “Hopefully this one’ll be a bit faster,” he said, which resulted in resounding agreement from the two others. Yanovikch in the back and the King in the passenger seat yet again, the three set off, immediately noticing the difference in speed.
“It’s much faster than the Rhino. Much faster,” the Foreign Minister exclaimed from the rear seat.
“Still seems slower than the Avtozavod, though,” the King replied.
“Seems to be, yes.”
“Engine?” Gavula asked.
“Overhead cam? Fancy - oh, 2.2 liter 4 cylinder. Less power than the V8, of course. About twenty horses more than the Rhino, twenty torques,” Yanovikch said, reading off the vehicle’s specifications.
“Seems a bit worse to drive than the other two, but not a remarkable amount,” Gavula observed.
“The men say this one had the most trouble towing, but was okay in regard to equipment in back. Towing estimation by the manufacturer isn’t even half a ton.” Yanovikch continued reading. “Rear suspension is soft - hey, try taking it off-road.”
“Doesn’t sound very enthusiastic,” Gavula said, describing the exhaust note, before pulling off and climbing up an embankment. “This is quite capable, it feels like. More so than the other two. Much more than the Rhino.”
“It certainly seems to have little trouble. Makes me wonder how good a rear-drive truck would be at this,” Yanovikch added. “So, it seems to be capable - it’s a little better offroad than the other two, but it can’t tow. I think the Avtozavod is still in the lead for now - any thoughts?”
Gevketovt and Gavula simply agreed, the latter beginning to drive back to the strip of land where the other three vehicles were parked.
The three disembarked and moved on to the last vehicle, another boxy brute, with less of a frown.
PERSKTOKT EMPIRE I
“Looks quite the part, like the Avtozavod, doesn’t it?” King Gevketovt spoke first, taking in the Empire. “And it’s got quite a good name, the Empire. I like it. Let’s go for a drive, shall we?”
The trio piled in, yet again, to the Empire, with Yanovikch in the driver’s seat. Twisting the key in the ignition, the Foreign Minister took note of the rough idle and lazy sound. “King, do you have the spec sheet?”
“Right here. Engine?”
“Of course.”
“About eighty horses, one-twenty torques. Most powerful thus far, isn’t it?”
Gavula chimed in to correct him from the back seat. “Still the Victor, it’s got more than one-twenty torques if I remember correctly.”
Yanovikch shifted the truck into first, with another four-speed manual.
On the first corner, he noticed something. “Not very easy to drive, is it? Doesn’t handle too well.”
“It is a truck,” the King chimed in, with some agreement from Gavula.
“I heard you two complimenting the other three - this just seems more like our old trucks.”
“Take it off-road,” Gavula advised. “Try it there - it must be compromise.”
Yanovikch complied with the advice, turning off and beginning to climb up through the foothills.
“It is quite good at this, but it seems to have about as easy of a time as the Maurus.”
The King shrugged. “How’s the towing and load rated by the men?”
“They say it’s able to tow, load is worrying,” Gavula answered.
“And price? You two remember the others’?”
“The Avtozavod - Victor, was it? - was the cheapest, Maurus was second, and I believe these two are even - hold on.” Gavula thumbed through the papers he’d been given. “Yes, they’re about the same.”
“And they’re all about as easy-to load, aren’t they? No big issues there…” Yanovikch stated.
“Should we head back, gentlemen?”
The King’s suggestion was met with an agreeable reaction.
THE FINAL DECISION
The three stepped out of the Empire, Yanovikch killing the engine as he did so. With all four trucks lined up, they had to make a decision - only one would do.
“So, gentlemen.”
Gavula began with a firm tone.
“We have to eliminate. Which first?”
“The Rhino is expensive, both in purchase and estimated maintenance. Can’t haul too much in the bed, only slightly better on-road, seemed a bit more economical than the rest but still used regular fuel.” Yanovikch took a breath. “While I do enjoy the styling - looks quite odd, maybe British? - I don’t think it’s justifiable when we could buy more of another model that performs better for less or the same.”
“Well, that’s one out,” the King said, pausing for a moment to listen as the whistle of a jet engine cracked the silence of the desert. Gavula waved to the sky as an inverted MiG passed overhead.
“One out, as I said,” the King repeated. “What’s next?”
“The Maurus is just slightly worse than the other two - it is, admittedly, cheaper than the Empire, but the Victor is even less. It’s got worse economy - and that’s rated, so it might be biased - it’s a bit harder to drive, but it does still have the cheapest maintenance, our men say. It’s still worse at going offroad than the Empire, and more expensive than the Victor, so I’d say it’s out.” Gavula delivered his statement concisely.
“Alright, we’ve got two left.” Yanovikch gestured to the Empire and, then, to the Avtozavod.
“Which will it be?” Gavula asked his final question
“The Victor,” the King said. “It’s cheaper, almost as economical, easier to drive, and only slightly less capable off-road - while it’s able to tow and haul a hell of a lot more. Sure, it’s got very slightly higher projected maintenance costs - but it costs so much less that it doesn’t matter. We’d be spending that amount anyway by the time it caught up. And from what I’ve seen so far from our evaluations, it’s not even unreliable no matter the V8.”
Yanovikch asked one question. “What’s the price difference?”
“77 Dakotz.”
Gavula, of course, agreed heartily with the decision.
CONGRATULATIONS @Caligo - 1st Place with the Federal Avtozavod Victor Mk.II!
2nd @GassTiresandOil - Perkstokt Empire I
3rd @koolkei - Maurus
4th @Jaimz - Franklin Rhino Persktokt
APRIL 1955 - ROYAL SEMYONOVIAN GROUND ARMED FORCES ADOPT VICTOR MK.II
AS GENERAL PURPOSE UTILITY VEHICLE AND TACTICAL TRANSPORT AFTER EVALUATION
MAY 1955 - ROYAL SEMYONOVIAN AIR DEFENSE FORCE ADOPTS VICTOR MK.II
AS ALL PURPOSE UTILITY VEHICLE AFTER EVALUATION
AUGUST 1955 - FIRST 195 AVTOZAVOD VICTORS ARRIVE IN SEMYONOVIA
price difference was really 67 but gotta go for that throwback
4 Likes
YEEEET
3rd place. i’d take it in a hearbeat 
My personal favorite finished 2nd 
, but overall good round.
Congrats to GassTiresandOil for the win! A very good round, CC9020!
EDIT: Why did I not see the larger text right above 2nd place?
what place did the groglog get? (probably last)
Woah! I knew that pushing for a V8 was a good idea.
This is actually my first challenge win too!
And Ihope they’re ready to pay for a lot of replacement headlights, they pop off at the slightest ding
Edit: I’ll have the next challenge ready by the end of the day, working with a military schedule means it might be a bit closer to midnight CST.
Expect more dirt, but at higher speeds for the upcoming challenge
2 Likes
I didn’t rate anything other than the top four; but you weren’t last. Probably 3rd or 2nd to last, looking at the stats. Towing rating means that there are a lot of disqualified vehicles that were otherwise quite good.
Thanks for participating everyone, hope you had fun. Let’s hope my next challenge is a bit better, yeah? No more towing rating?
1 Like
Can’t wait for Round #3!
1 Like
Round three is “up” for viewing! no Deadlines, rules, or opening set!
1 Like