Place I work has acquired some new and 6-12 month old Merc Actros tractor units, 2545 model which leads me to think they’ll be equipped with a 450hp engine. I’ve now driven 3 different ones from the fleet and they are all way down on power to the point where they can’t even maintain 56 running up Windy Hill with an empty curtain sider 
. Driving them at full weight is laughable and even kicking them into manual mode and keeping the revs up they’re still down at under 20 mph just before the top of Windy Hill. I know Merc’s have never been known for being good pullers but 2543 Axor’s I’ve had in the past used to pull reasonably well. Are our Actros’s broken or are they all like this? I remember back in the day when I had an FH12 380hp and that would happily pull up Windy at full weight at a constant 40mph no problem.
Our lads say they die on hills too, but then so do our latest DAF’s, especially if you use cruise, driving it proper not so bad.
I’m sure one of my oppos went into the menu on his DAF and turned off some sort of GPS cobblers (haven’t a clue what it was called), might be worth having a fiddle round and see what you can find, summat about 'em reading the road for you and cutting power 
nearing the brow of a hill to take advantage of rolling down t’other side, course that could be all ■■■■■■■■.
Don’t think you can go much by the numbers, meaningless just like car bhp figures, torque is all and how and when its delivered, makers don’t tend to make data like that freely available unless it’s rosy stuff.
They do die on hills. But one thing I’ve noticed with them is that the seem to pull better with a bit of weight on them. I’ve seen mine climb the Bogs Brae (the hill heading to Bellshill on the A725 from the Raith) better with a load of tiles on board than it can with a lighter load on. I’ve also noticed if the load isn’t spread evenly throughout the trailer, that also seems to play a big part in it being crap on hills too.
It’s all in the name of fuel economy apparently.
Judd, that’s the terrain intelligence cruise control bull ■■■■ thing. It “knows” when you’re on a hill and as you say, cuts the power just before you crest it, however it reality it cuts the power when you’re 3/4 of the way up and if you don’t intervene you find yourself cresting the brow at 30mph. It doesn’t take into account headwinds or rain soaked roads either, both of which have a negative impact on the rolling resistance. I’ve found the bodge “solution” to that is to cruise will the gearbox in manual mode but this also stops them from dropping into neutral down hills, but that annoys me too because the CC doesn’t pick up when it drops back to 56, it drops to about 53 before re-engaging. Maybe I’m doing it wrong … 
On a related note, how does one stop it from dropping into neutral when you’re tootling round town and come off the gas pedal? Sometimes you just want to stay in gear and let the engine brake itself rather than it drop into neutral and it start gathering speed.
Terrain Intelligence Control, Jesus wept more three letter acronyms to make their latest ■■■■■■■■ sound good in the accountants office, and more rubbish to go wrong.
TIC, a useless thing that leeches onto a body in order to drain it, dogs and horses are prone, TICs should be eradicated, killed off, terminated, destroyed, as soon as possible.
Carl Usher:
On a related note, how does one stop it from dropping into neutral when you’re tootling round town and come off the gas pedal? Sometimes you just want to stay in gear and let the engine brake itself rather than it drop into neutral and it start gathering speed.
You can switch it off by going into the menu using the buttons on the steering wheel. But it defaults to on every time you start the engine again, so if you are doing alot of stopping and starting, its a pain in the arse turning it back off every time. You could just put the exhaust brake on position one to stop this happening instead.
Juddian:
Terrain Intelligence Control, Jesus wept more three letter acronyms to make their latest ■■■■■■■■ sound good in the accountants office, and more rubbish to go wrong.TIC, a useless thing that leeches onto a body in order to drain it, dogs and horses are prone, TICs should be eradicated, killed off, terminated, destroyed, as soon as possible.
This GPS based cruise control system is being used on alot of new trucks. Merc call it Predictive Powertrain Control (PPC). But I’ve never heard drivers of DAFs or Volvos etc complaining that it drops their speed too much near the top of a hill yet. I think merc have just set their system up to aggressively.
It’s all ■■■■■■■■ whatever its called, bloody glad i’ve only got a few years left now.
Thanks for the tip about exhaust brake on position 1 Damoq, thats now memorised for when i have to go out in one of the things.
450 BHP ■■? Blingy Hyperbolised Pomp … to pull like a train an engine needs volume and at 12L the merc just doesn’t have it.
Bluey Circles:
450 BHP ■■? Blingy Hyperbolised Pomp … to pull like a train an engine needs volume and at 12L the merc just doesn’t have it.
Amen
Bluey Circles:
450 BHP ■■? Blingy Hyperbolised Pomp … to pull like a train an engine needs volume and at 12L the merc just doesn’t have it.
I think the 450 is a 12.8l engine, but it feels more like a 10l lump.[emoji22]
and thats why god made 16ltr V8’s 
hill what hill 
Mine drops down to near on 45mph climbing up M4 from Chepstow to M5 split, with only 6t in the back! As for the PPC, I don’t mind that…set mine at 88km/+2 & -2 and works a treat on m/ways and returns some pretty gd fuel figures…if it’s correct of course!
Must admit, even my old 530 Megaspace was gutless uphill but ain’t all Mercs like that? Comparing power, the old 420 Scania would ■■■■ all over most things of similar output up many hills, even running heavy and just by dropping half a gear
damoq:
Bluey Circles:
450 BHP ■■? Blingy Hyperbolised Pomp … to pull like a train an engine needs volume and at 12L the merc just doesn’t have it.I think the 450 is a 12.8l engine, but it feels more like a 10l lump.[emoji22]
thats because of all the BS filters thats on them
Actrosman:
Mine drops down to near on 45mph climbing up M4 from Chepstow to M5 split, with only 6t in the back! As for the PPC, I don’t mind that…set mine at 88km/+2 & -2 and works a treat on m/ways and returns some pretty gd fuel figures…if it’s correct of course!0
Must admit, even my old 530 Megaspace was gutless uphill but ain’t all Mercs like that? Comparing power, the old 420 Scania would ■■■■ all over most things of similar output up many hills, even running heavy and just by dropping half a gear
What does the 2nd row do in the menu where you set the overrun speed? I know the 1st row is the overspeed allowance but what does the 2nd row do?
Dunno what your all whinging about ! 
I wouldn’t be ,well if I was hourly paid I wouldn’t
Chill and go with the (slow) flow 
Thats why I always overtake Mercs on the M62. 3rd lane, flatout at 53!
Radar19:
Thats why I always overtake Mercs on the M62. 3rd lane, flatout at 53!
You would do in in your van
tango boy:
Radar19:
Thats why I always overtake Mercs on the M62. 3rd lane, flatout at 53!You would do in in your van
At a shade over 9 meters long, its a very big van…
click along to right hand thingy at the top of the screen and switch off the ‘eco roll-on’, as has been said you have to do it every time you start the engine 