Ultra Loud and Powerful ZF Kickdown - Mercedes Benz O500LE CNG m/o 4868

The third and final instalment of 4868, as it’s pretty much the only bus I post here. Heading to depot after a 310 with full kickdowns and 6th gear!
6th gear at 04:42
Full Kickdown 1st-6th gear (0km/h - 70km/h) at 05:25
Full Kickdown 1st-5th gear (0km/h - 60km/h) at 08:30
Enjoy!

[@busesaroundmelbourne]

Wow, what a beauty. There’s a preservation candidate! Lovely video.

[@stabuses882]

@@busesaroundmelbourne Never will be a preservation candidate. Unfortunately, CNG buses aren’t able to operate after withdrawal.

[@busesaroundmelbourne]

@@stabuses882Ah of course. Some of the Scania CNG units from brissy were repowered with Diesel engines, but ultimately that was just an expensive task for an already old bus.

[@Transperth.Trains]

Bro is understand asf you need more recognition ❤

[@O405NHCNG]

Yo.

[@O405NHCNG]

Fr.

[@TSE_E12]

That’s so loud and amazing!

[@O405NHCNG]

This is the loudest ZF I have ever heard. I wanna ride it!

[@stabuses882]

not sure how long it’ll stay like this. just a matter of time, and then you’ll probably get some people complaining about how loud it is

[@O405NHCNG]

@@stabuses882 Yeah. The gearbox could be replaced or something. Or it might get a work differential.

[@stabuses882]

@@O405NHCNG It’s not to do with the gearbox actually. The gearbox ECU regulates the power levels, hence someone really bumped the power in this lol. It isn’t really damaging to the gearbox, but it does really heat up the engine, which is why the fans are constantly on.

[@O405NHCNG]

@@stabuses882 Ah ok.

[@SolvableRex1932]

Best and fastest gas bus I’ve seen wanna ride this so badly to bad I’m in Perth but favourite bus in Perth is 1932

[@O405NHCNG]

Same! I wanna ride this Sydney gas bus too lol.

[@LachieVidsTransportVlogs]

Goes hard for a O500! NBS sounds good too.

[@stabuses882]

hard to believe that these are actually the fastest buses in sydney lol

[@stabusfan]

Helllo, I was wondering how you can get access to depot runs. Can you please check out 4880 again? I got it recently and it did not seem quiet like last update, it was louder than most Ryde CNGs.

[@stabuses882]

Was in 4880 2 nights ago. Very much quieter than the old 4880, but goes faster than before. If you compare 4880 from last year and 4880 currently, you’ll understand the huge difference!

[@stabusfan]

@stabuses882 Looking at your earlier videos, 4880 was definitely louder. I should definitiely visit the Eastern suburbs again to check out more TDJH buses, especially 4868. Have you taken 1996 before? It was the first one I took from there and I thought it was excellent.

[@ike.p1510]

Easily one of the top 3 gassies at PoBo, if not the best!

[@user-pn5sl1ys6n]

4

[@Transperth.Trains]

yummy ZF

[@perthtransport1]

Seems to slip alot.

[@Transperth.Trains]

hi

[@misterrocks3035]

As I understand, the Sydney OCs are setup such that they rev in excess of 2000rpm when driven on kickdown, whereas most of Perth's shift around 1700-2000 on kickdown, depending on the gearshift program. Particularly on buses that run exceptionally well, like this one clearly is, the engine, gearbox, and their respective computers seem to stop playing "nice" together at those really high revs, especially when you have a bus with a gearbox that's wearing out... the result is flaring out of gears, the engine computer cutting power momentarily as it's hitting redline (you hear this every time this bus starts off in first, particularly) and generally an exaggeration of the already-rough behaviour of this type of bus. While it can be fun to thrash a bus like this, it would be far kinder to the bus (and passenger comfort) to get off the kickdown and let the bus shift a bit more normally.

[@stabuses882]

So the thing with this his specific bus 4868, what is suspected about the gearbox is either a blown cylinder or a dying gearbox computer. On all O500’s, including diesels, that have the same dashboard as the gas O500’s, the little display in the middle tells the driver if the bell has been pressed, displays which gear the bus is in, and displays any error codes. With 4868, there is an error code which is constantly lit, meaning the gearbox isn’t enjoying or isn’t functioning properly, which is obviously the case here. The reason why such a bus hasn’t been fixed yet is because drivers love the idea of an exceptionally fast gas bus, as they’re generally hated in the driver community. This is why 4868 is constantly thrashed even though it doesn’t need to be. With that being said, this bus is now faster than any diesel bus in Sydney, and is as fast as an electric bus, which is just mind blowing!

[@misterrocks3035]

@@stabuses882 I'd put my money on AGN5527 being the gearbox code, they seemed to like throwing that one for whatever reason back when I drove that type 😂 Running that well I'm surprised MR1820 ("too much boost") isn't also showing up and throwing a bucket of cold water on the works with a limp mode too. They're by no means a terrible bus, when maintained properly - but will happily show up anyone who lacks respect for their individual nuances. A firm, decisive driving style rather than dithering about, would be rewarded, with a relatively smooth, comfortable ride.

[@stabuses882]

@@misterrocks3035 MR1820 is exactly the error code we were being shown!! There was also one more, but i can’t remember. I’ll see if i can get it another day and let you know what MR code comes up! I really get disappointed when people bag these buses out. They’re the only buses left in Sydney with a real soul haha!

[@snowfall6767]

its slippery as fuck lol

[@stabuses882]

Nah, just the insane power in it