I like the engine condition of the new Citaros. Sadly it is
still using Voith gearbox, and since the drivers like to floor the
accelerator, it is bad for the engine.
Err. Just try taking the same Citaros a few months down the
road. The engine condition would be as atrocious / good as the
current ones already on the roads elsewhere, depending on which
ones you sit. haha.
And as for the gearbox, the BCs simply have no choice uh. If
they leave it to the normal acceleration pace, the Voiths tend to
be awfully slow. Even worse than the Mk3s if you know what I mean.
And the so-called 'sweet spot' for the turbo boost comes in from
the 2nd gear onwards. The 1st gear doesn't do much to the speed
even if you hear the turbo boost coming on.
The downside of the Voiths is that there's not much engine
braking if the BC just brakes suddenly, you can go from 60kmh to
standstill without hearing the Voith downshift at all. The ZF ones
(SMRT) do downshift in the same context.
But at least the Voiths don't keep the turbo spooling forever,
helps to prolong the life of the turbo? The turbo only kicks in
according to the gears. The ZF ones, you can hear the turbo forever
no matter which speed you're at. (From my own observations)
