Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

Only those who have operated armored vehicles know how much know-how is involved.

Tracked armored vehicles may seem invincible, capable of traversing any terrain thanks to their tracks, but in reality, the tracks must be adjusted according to different road conditions.

On highways, they need to be tightened a bit, otherwise they might come off during turns. In the wilderness, they need to be loosened a bit, otherwise they might break when encountering potholes. The tragic scenes of some armored soldiers in later generations were due to not properly adjusting the track tension.

Wheeled vehicles are the same.

When driving on highways, the tire pressure needs to be higher, which saves fuel and increases speed. Some car drivers, in order to save fuel, keep their tires inflated to 3.0 or higher year-round, which can make the ride extremely bumpy. This is because the tire pressure is too high and not suitable for off-roading.

In the wilderness, the tire pressure needs to be lowered a bit to reduce bumps. And in sandy areas, the pressure needs to be increased again, otherwise the rolling resistance of the tires will be too high.

Different road conditions require different tire pressures. For small cars, maintaining the same pressure year-round is fine, but for armored vehicles, it has a significant impact.

How to adjust it?

Ordinary tires only have one valve connected to the outside. To release air, you press the valve pin inside. To add air, you need to use an air pump to inflate it. This is fine normally, but what about on the battlefield?

If the tire pressure is low and you're driving in the wilderness, and suddenly the terrain turns into a desert, and you need to adjust the tire pressure, are you going to get out and shout to the pursuers, "Please don't chase, let us inflate our tires first?"

Foreign countries noticed this problem long ago, and the central tire inflation system (CTIS) was developed. This system has a T-shaped air pipe on the wheel hub, directly connected to the valve, and then passing through the axle to connect to the inside.

The tire rotates, but the axle and the inner air pipe cannot rotate. Therefore, the most critical part of the entire CTIS is this T-shaped air pipe. The outside of the T-shaped air pipe rotates, but the inside does not. There needs to be an axle in the middle, and it must be sealed, otherwise it will leak. It cannot leak during rotation, so the processing requirements for this thing are very high.

The domestically produced 523 armored vehicle was not equipped with this system. It was first used on the 92-type infantry fighting vehicle, but it was constantly malfunctioning. After many improvements, it was not officially mature until 2008! Only then was it equipped on various military vehicles.

Now it's only 1983, how could everyone not be shocked to see this T-shaped pipe inserted outside the tire.

"This system is provided by Mercedes-Benz," said Wang Jinman, who came with the vehicle.

Wang Jinman was originally a young technical personnel who used to work under Qin Yang's father. In recent years, watching Qin Yang develop and grow, he was very envious and constantly learning and improving.

The steering gear of wheeled armored vehicles is the same as that of trucks. The steering wheel drives the worm shaft, which transmits to the tie rod, and the tie rod then drives the front wheels to steer. The larger the vehicle, the greater the torque required for steering, which places higher demands on the steering gear.

In the past, steering gears did not have power assist. It was unthinkable to turn the steering wheel while stationary. Even when the car was moving, you had to exert a lot of effort to turn the steering wheel. Drivers had to develop a pair of strong arms, otherwise they simply couldn't turn the steering wheel.

On heavy trucks, the steering gear must have power assist, using hydraulic power to turn the steering wheels, so as to complete the steering action. If the steering gear quality is not good, it will leak oil, and in severe cases, it will lose direction, which can be fatal.

When Steyr was introduced, the Steyr heavy truck steering gear was also introduced simultaneously, but the performance of domestically produced products was still not very good. Many vehicles were proud to be equipped with imported ZF steering gears. Many drivers only recognized imported goods, there was no way, this was a matter of life and death.

For wheeled infantry fighting vehicles, the steering gear must also be imported, after all, this type of steering gear requires even greater force, because it is an eight-wheeled vehicle, and the front two rows of wheels need to have steering function!

Both sides have large wheels, and the resistance is very large when steering. It is necessary for the front two rows to steer together. Making the two rows of wheels steer together requires even greater torque.

In another ten years or so, two-row steering wheel trucks will also be popular in China.

They were also popular abroad, but they were quickly eliminated. In China, they were popular for a long time. The rear row is the drive wheel, and the front two rows are the steering wheels. When steering, the two rows of wheels turn together, which looks very domineering. In fact, this design has many problems. The second row of steering wheels often wears out the tires due to design defects. When encountering ice, the second row of steering wheels has to be deflated, otherwise the rear drive wheels simply cannot exert force.

However, there is a reason why this car is popular. The biggest advantage is that it saves weight. Compared with the rear two rows of drive wheels, it can save a ton of weight, and what is saved is earned, so it can carry more goods.

Even if there are no policy restrictions, this type of car will become popular.

But now, China does not yet have this technology, and the steering gear for the front dual steering wheels can only be purchased from abroad.

In this way, it is necessary for Factory 960 to engage in this project. After all, it is easier to get help from Mercedes-Benz because of the close relationship.

"Are there any other aspects?" Qin Yang continued to ask.

The entire power train is their own, but there are also some parts that require Mercedes-Benz's support. Besides the central tire inflation system and steering gear, what else is there?

"There are also shock absorbers," Wang Jinman continued, "The shock absorber systems we produce ourselves always leak oil. The imported ones are more reliable."

Trucks use leaf springs, which is the most suitable suspension system for load-bearing vehicles. However, on wheeled infantry fighting vehicles, this suspension takes up too much space. Therefore, Factory 960's suspension uses a brand new method. The front steering wheels use a "sliding pillar swing arm" independent suspension modified from MacPherson suspension, and the rear two wheels use a single trailing arm suspension.

These suspensions all require hydraulic rods, which are equivalent to the oil-gas suspension of the failed Three-Liquid Tank. This thing cannot be produced domestically for the time being.