Two Setras completed 1800 km on motorways each day
In the touring coach comparison the Euro VI-certified Setra ComfortClass S 515 HD competed against its Euro V-certified Setra S 415 GT-HD ComfortClass 400 predecessor with identical engine power output. The two-axle high-deck touring coaches each measure a little over 12 metres in length. The ComfortClass 515 HD coaches were powered by the OM 470 engine with 315 kW (428 hp). Its OM 457 predecessor in the ComfortClass 415 GT-HD had the identical power output. The touring coaches were equipped with the Mercedes GO 250-8 PowerShift (ComfortClass 500) respectively the Mercedes GO 240-8 PowerShift transmission. Their gear ratios were identical as was the final drive ratio of i=3.583 of both high-deck coaches.
The touring coaches also used Wiesbaden as the starting point, in this case for a trip to Leipzig. From there they made an 8881-km daytime loop from Leipzig via Erfurt, Schweinfurt, Bayreuth and Dresden to Bautzen and back. At night the two Setras drove a 922-km route from Leipzig via Potsdam to Hamburg and back.
The touring coaches travelled a distance of just over 1800 km a day. Some 90 per cent of the distance was driven on motorways, the remaining ten per cent on main and country roads. The vehicles travelled at the legal speed limit of 100 km/h or 80 km/h whenever the traffic situation permitted such speeds.
Record Run Buses 2012: five buses, five days, 18,000 km
Identical conditions, technology and refuelling stops monitored
In addition to the transmissions and the final drive ratios, the loads as well as the tyre brand and tread depth were also identical within each respective model series. All buses had been broken in at the start of the Record Run Buses 2012 with around 10,000 km on the odometer. The Record Buses 2012 were driven by skilled test drivers as well by trainers from Omniplus Ecotraining. Each shift, a crew of two drivers manned each of the five buses. These crews changed buses every day. The buses were operated in two shifts around the clock. In addition, the drivers for the Record Run Buses 2012 on route 17 in Wiesbaden received briefings from driving instructors of the transport authority.