MITSUBISHI FUSO is offering a completely new product line in Class 3 through 5 and a significantly upgraded line in Class 6 and 7 for the 2005 model year.
“There's excitement because there are some major changes to the product line, particularly in Class 3 and 5,” said Bob Aquaro, vice president of product planning and development. “This was a better year for us in terms of product change and development. This is the beginning of the model, not the end of it. They will be around for at least a few years. It's the beginning of a new generation of truck. It's not so significant in appearance with Class 6 and 7, but there are major changes.”
The FE120 (FE83) is 12,000 lb GVWR, the FE145 (FE84) is 14,500, and the FE180 (FE85) is 17,995.
“When you see an FE120 come into your place of business for a body, it means that it's a 12,000-lb truck, the FE145 is a 14,500 GVW and the FE180 is a rounded up 17,995-lb truck,” he said. “However, in the bodybuilder drawings, we don't use those. An FE83 is an FE120.”
All the wheelbases have been changed: the 114.6" wheelbase has 87.4" UCA, 12' minimum body, and is available for Classes 3 through 5; the 134.3" wheelbase has 107.1" UCA, 14' minimum body, and is available for Classes 3 through 5; the 152.4" wheelbase has 125.2" UCA, 16' minimum body, and is available for Classes 3 through 5; the 164.2" wheelbase has 139" UCA, 18' minimum body, and is available for Class 4 and 5; and the 176" wheelbase has 150.8" UCA, 20' minimum body, and is available for Class 5.
“When you see the cab and the truck and the bodybuilder books, you are going to see a larger cab,” Aquaro said. “What does that mean? It means the front axle has more weight on it than it used to have. We prefer to see some trucks with longer bodies than what we traditionally used.”
The cab-to-body clearance is going to vary by weight range. Although the dimensions will be 4.5" or 6.5" for perfect applications, 6.5" will work for all applications. Aquaro stressed that there is a high-heat area located behind the cab at the EGR crossover pipe.
“You probably don't want to move the body as close as you possibly can to the back of the cab,” he said. “You probably want to leave a bit of space. You can get as close as 3", but I don't think you want to.”
Peak performance
The specialty trucks will continue the same as they were last year: The FG140 (FG84) 4×4 at 14,050 GVWR with 112.6" wheelbase and 87.4" UCA and 136.2" wheelbase and 111" UCA; and FE145 (FE84HW) C-Cab at 14,500 GVWR with 165.4" wheelbase and 103.4" UCA.
“When you get a chance to drive these trucks, I think you will be surprised that the peak performance is as good as it is, considering how much emissions equipment there is,” he said. “Performance-wise, it's actually better than it was last year.”
He did say, however, that it has “proven to be a rather challenging issue. We had to make some significant changes as well as meet emissions. It has to do not only with the EPA but also California Air Resources Board. CARB regulations have been adopted by many states and in various pieces. We have to try to figure out which state is going to do what. Thirteen states have adopted heavy-duty diesel regulations, meaning 14,000 lb and higher. Five states adopted light-duty diesel regulations, which is basically Class 3, 10,001 to 14,000. Ultimately, in 2007, it's theoretically a clean sheet of paper again and a level playing field, and all vehicles will be required to have OBD to meet the heavy-duty diesel cycle emissions. Manufacturers are struggling to meet the regulations.”
Aquaro said the 4D34 pushrod engine, which was available until the 2004 model year, is now gone and the 4M50 is the only engine in light-duty trucks. The 4M50 features: water-cooled EGR system; common rail fuel injection; water-cooled turbo; enhanced cooling system; flat torque curves; and positive crankcase ventilation.
He said torque is up considerably: 26% for the manual transmission (to 347 ft-lb); 42% for the automatic transmission in Class 3 (to 391 ft-lb), and 13% in Class 4 and 5.
“The drivability of these trucks is excellent,” he said. “We've done a lot of testing for two years in the US with this engine configuration, and we're quite happy with it.”
New transmission
FE products will feature an all-new Aisin MY600 6-speed automatic transmission. The design goals: improved drivability, best use of engine torque; fuel economy equal to manual transmission; exhaust brake performance equal to manual transmission; and improved reliability and durability.
The overdrive ratios: first gear, 3.742; second gear, 2.003; third gear, 1.343; fourth gear, 1.000; fifth gear, 0.773; and sixth gear, 0.634. He said the ratios in fifth and sixth gear allow high cruising speeds with excellent low-range startability.
There is a standard equipment heavy-duty transmission cooler for all automatic transmissions in all trucks. FK and FM 260 coolers are liquid type in front of the truck below the radiator.
“We've increased the size of the transmission cooler and we've changed it so it's perpendicular to the frame,” Aquaro said. “It should make it easier to work with.”
The Aisin MY 600 has PTO capability using the popular Chelsea and Muncie units. He said the frame is wider, which allows for greater PTO selection.
He said reefer kits for 4M50 are complete, provided by BSI in Fort Worth, Texas. Engine-driven hydraulic systems are under development with DewEze, but are not available yet. They will not interchange with the previous kits, so “if you have a kit for an '04, it will not fit in an '05, even though both are using 4M50 engines.”
On the PTO speed control, there is an idle up switch on the right side of IP for all trucks, giving PTO speed control up to 1850 RPM.
Class 3 and 4 trucks basically have a Class 5 frame — 33.1" wide, straight and not tapered, with a RBM rating of 415,532 PSI. CrewCab and 4×4 models will retain the 29.7" frame-rail width.
There is a 30-gallon rear tank and 33-gallon side tank, with a 24-gallon auxiliary tank to be made available with the side tank on selected wheelbase trucks.
“Our plan is to make the side tank the most prominent tank,” he said. “For 99% of applications out there, the side tank is the best choice. Every once in awhile, you get into an application where you can't use a side tank. But the common tank is going to be a standard side tank.“
There is an extended exhaust pipe on the short wheelbase model (114.5").
“We continue to run our exhaust system over the rear axle and exit it behind the axle,” he said. “The difference is that it exits now very close to the rear tire and stabilizer bar, and there's still a lot of frame beyond that point. I think the position now is very good. Some people ask us, ‘Why?’ Because we have an engineering standard for heat. When the exhaust dumps right into the rear-axle housing on the truck — which happens on short wheelbase trucks — it causes the rear axle to exceed our engineering standard for heat. So what do we do? We run a pipe all the way to the back of the truck. That's on short wheelbase trucks only. On long wheelbase trucks, there's enough distance between discharge of the catalytic converter and the rear axle of the truck.”
There is a full after-frame on all FE wide-frame units. The rear section, up to 10", can be removed by the bodybuilder, if required. Aquaro said utility bodies, sweepers, and custom rear steps are going to remove the after-frame.
Mitsubishi Fuso has made huge rear stabilizer bars standard on FE145 and FE180, with a 33.1" frame that allows the use of a higher completed vehicle VCG.
All-wheel dual-caliper disc brakes are on the FE120 to FE180 trucks. Electronic wear indicators are standard on the disc-brake system. Aquaro said the only significant change are on Class 3 trucks, which now have all-wheel disc brakes, and Class 5 trucks, which have all-wheel disc brakes with hydraulic system.
Aquaro said the door hinges have been completely redesigned, with the door swinging out and forward.
“There is 100% utilization of the step,” he said. “Before, in most cases, if you got 70%, that was a lot, because the door would open halfway into the step.”
Aquaro said there is more room than in any Mitsubishi Fuso Class 3-5 truck in history (15% bigger), along with more interior volume than most competitors. Leg room, hip room, head room, and shoulder room were all increased for 2005.
He said an industry-first dash-mounted shifter for automatic and manual transmission trucks opens up clean floor space for driver and passenger legs and feet.
He said there are crush bars in the doors, and the front section of the frame rail has been boxed to improve the reaction to front-end impact.
The FE Crew Cab includes all features and benefits of the standard cab and seats seven comfortably.
“It's even bigger than before, which is saying something, because it was a big cab in the first place,” he said. “It's a niche truck. We don't sell a lot of them, but most who buy them are quite proud. Mostly we see them going to landscapers.”
He said Mitsubishi Fuso has the only 4×4 cabover in the US market, and benefits the most in overall performance from the new emissions engine because torque went from 275 ft-lb to 347 ft-lb for the 2005 model.
Medium-duty
Talking about the medium-duty lineup, he said the FK200 is 19,850 GVWR, the FM260 is 25,995, and the FM330 is 32,900.
“The significant change is that the FK used to be a 23,000-lb truck,” he said. “It was too high to be low and too low to be high. You didn't quite know what it was. We decided to make it a true low-profile truck. We dropped it down to under 36" frame height. We changed the tires, springs, suspension systems, and GVW.”
It's designed for the towing, recovery, and furniture-moving markets — anywhere a low loading height and high GVW are required. There is a new front suspension system on all Class 6 and 7 models, with a tapered leaf design to improve ride.
The FK200 comes with Mitsubishi 6-speed or Allison 1000. If it's an automatic transmission, it has an Allison 1000 with 19,850 GVW. If it's a manual, it has Mitsubishi 6-speed with 20,835 GVW.
The 6M60 engine that is standard in Class 6 and 7 has 243 hp, as opposed to 200 last year. It's available in Class 7 at 274 hp, an improvement over 230 last year.