Update Speculation thread

What currently bugs me the most about the H-Series is the total lack of rear badging, among other details.

Last post is great proof, in real life badging would go off if necessary in order to paint it and/or apply a company livery, but out of the factory, it's weird seeing a van without any badging at all, it's just a small detail, but it really adds that bit of realism to the whole car, in the D-Series it was definitely a distinctive touch when it was added (let's remember the D-Series never had any rear badging for the first years) so I think that will come for the next update, they might do it since it's not a major task, but improves the realism/looks of the car with minimum effort. (And all cars would finally have rear badging as well)

 

Personally I'd replace them with an overland/van life config. It's a big thing nowadays.

 

Talking about the h-series, there's no such thing as a base duty version. Currently the most basic you can go is the H15, and that one's description states that it's a medium duty variant.

 

I think medium duty because it’s a full size cargo van. Maybe the base version of a passenger van would be considered “light duty”, but I think the term “light duty” mostly applies to minivans and small pickup trucks.
--- Post updated ---
Also maybe a 3.5 V6 version of the H-series could be considered “light duty” as well.

 

The I6 is a thing as well

 

The V6 could probably replace the I6 as the base engine in a 2002-present iteration, along with an ‘02 facelift (possibly based off the front of the facelift d-series or Roamer) and maybe a lightly refreshed interior (new steering wheel, gauge cluster, maybe new seats, while the dash and door panels would stay the same or only get minor changes.) This could followed by another, more contemporary facelift and all new interior coming out around the 2008-2012 range and being offered up to the present day. The Ford and GM vans were both updated around these times, so I think it would make sense for the devs to parallel this with the H-series. Of course all of this stuff most likely won’t be released in one update, but in several subsequent updates. Let me also not forget to mention that the V6 engine I talked about would probably also be available in the D-series and Roamer after 2002, since a lot of full size pickup truck and SUV manufacturers in real life ditched their I6s in favor of the V6s as base engines during the 90s and 2000s. Although I think this is less likely, The grand marshal might even get the V6 engine as its base powerplant as well.

 

I don't really agree about the Gavril Inline-6 being replaced by a V6 since the opposition duo of Bruckell/Soliad already has V6 power plants. The Inline-6 engine has become a Gavril trademark, so it's good having diversity in that respect!
It's also good for (semi)commercial vehicles like the D-Series, the H-Series and the T-Series (and the base versions of the rest of the Gavril vehicles) to have an Inline-6, because the Inline block is an inherently simpler construction than a V block, offering easier shade-tree maintenance and, therefore, keeping the making costs/price tags and servicing costs down!

edit: The Burnside Special could also have a base Inline-6 version. Not only that, but it could also have an Inline-6-powered Nascar version, paying homage to a certain revolutionary race car of its time!

 

i6's in American cars were pretty rare by this time. It's not uncommon for American manufactures to offer engines of this sort in different engine configs though. Chrysler Powertech came in V6 and V8 config, Ford Modular comes in V8 and V10, etc... The i6 at this point isn't strictly unrealistic, but a V6 would be a better choice. All 3 of the big three had V6 engines as the base US spec config by this point.

Personally I'd love to see a diesel I block for the platform. Having only a single diesel in a commercial platform like this is odd and an i block would add a lot more variety than a second V block diesel. If we include Brazilian versions all of the big 3's pickups came with an i6 diesel option. Much of the roster needs more diesel engine options.

 

Not just export engines but actual export versions of the USDM Gavril vehicles would be an awesome niche to fill.

 

Hmmmm... Hadn't really thought of an Inline-6 diesel option tbh. After all, the "Cummins engines pack" mod has shown us what the Heavy Duty versions of the D-Series and H-Series are capable of, especially with some tuning in the internals. It's gonna be a great option for those who want a Heavier Duty option than the V8 turbodiesel and also for those who don't want the complexity of the V8 turbodiesel.
But, just for engine option diversity, I think the base gas Inline-6 should be kept, since it's a cheap and simple option for bulk buyers. Yes, I agree, the V6 may be a tad more realistic in the said time period but not everything has to be that much realistic in the game!
On the other hand, though, seeing how strong and capable could the said Inline-6 diesel end up being, some "buyers" may think the base gas Inline-6 is the poor relative (but again, it all comes down to what someone wants, so the gas Inline-6 is still perfectly good for the base versions just like the more powerful engines are perfectly good for Heavy Duty or performance versions)!

 

no one's saying get rid of the 4.1 I6, we're just saying add a V6 to replace it in the post facelift trims.
as i've said before, with the van likely also getting more heavy duty content, i wouldn't be surprised if the post facelift D35 and H35/45 get some ~8.0 V10, designed off the magnum and triton V10s.
as far as extending the variety for older versions, a super rough and robust I6 diesel, like a cummins 12v 5.9 would be quite interesting, especially with some n/a and supercharged versions.

speaking of diesel engines, i find it weird that the hopper still doesn't have any.
(sure, the jeep inspirations didn't, but the japanese equivalents like land cruisers and vitaras all did.)

 

my guess for the lack of diesels in the hopper is it was designed to be a cheap, robust car for rural Japan and diesel engines are much more expensive to maintain and build than petrol ones

 

but as i said, the land cruiser, vitara, patrol, pajero, etc. were all designed as a "cheap, robust car for rural Japan",
and they all came with diesel engines.
in fact, the hopper could feasibly explore the "gutless n/a diesel 4 cylinder" role reasonably well with something like a toyota L series or mitsubishi 4d55.
I would, as I said before, explain the lack of a diesel by the hopper's very heavy yj/tj wrangler inspiration (and probably gabe's lack of knowledge in non-usdm cars.)

 

Oh, you're talking about the post facelift versions? Mea culpa! That's OK, I agree about the newer versions having a V6! Besides, I'm somewhat curious to find out what the V6 will turn out to be!
I'd also like to see a large V10 for HD use, since the game also lacks V10s.
About the Hopper, it has a lot of potential in the diesel turf. It could have a torquey but underpowered Inline-4 diesel (displacing 2 liters for example) for agricultural purposes and it could also have an overall more capable Inline-6 diesel, this time displacing 3-liters (always hypothetically)! There was also the Defender that had a torquey but underpowered Inline-4 diesel, so this should tie the game with the reality!

Two last details!
First, I'd like to see the 6.9/423 Gavril V8 in the Hopper, as a very weird option for equally weird tastes!
And second, if the Barstow and Moonhawk ever get modern generations, I'd like to see the Gavril Inline-6 make a comeback (I find it a fantastic engine, hehe ) opposing the long time-favorite V6s of the Bruckell/Soliad companies!

 

I think it's a bit funny to compare Hopper to a Land cruiser, patrol etc lol.
It's a tiny car in comparison.

Considering it's an Ibishu, it must have some Suzuki Jimny/Samurai roots.



They did also come with diesels though

 

Yeah, we need non-turbo diesel I4 for the Japanese cars.

 

I feel like it'll be a 3.5-3.7L twin turbocharged v6 engine or naturally aspirated engine. it's supposed to be very boring. it may be something like a pentastar or a similar engine.

 

doubt an ecoboost in the early to mid 00s

 

Definitely a V6 in the later D,H and Roamer vehicles would make sense. if they do create a new Gavril V6 it would be useful for either a minivan ( Astro sized) or a compact pickup truck (Ranger,S10 etc) both would make sense as they share components.