Chapter 338: with translation of chapter title

Actually, early wheeled armored vehicles were not popular at all; their off‑road capability was poor, and once it rained they could barely move—if you wanted to travel over rough terrain as if on flat ground, a tracked chassis was the best choice!

However, tracked vehicles also have drawbacks: high fuel consumption and low top speed. Especially on highways, their snail‑like pace makes you want to kick them.

But as technology improved, the shortcomings of wheeled vehicles were gradually corrected, especially off‑road ability; when it evolved into four‑axle armored vehicles with eight wheels, they performed well in the wild and could also go fast on highways.

With the development of the times and technological progress, wheeled armored vehicles have become increasingly formidable, even surpassing tracked vehicles in later eras and becoming the main equipment of the army's rapid reaction forces.

Drawbacks?

The old Russians always had the BTR series of wheeled infantry fighting vehicles, the West was also studying various vehicles, and what about the East?

The East actually had them too.

Initially, they just welded armor onto cars for modification; such off‑road capability was always mediocre, the front and rear wheels were not evenly spaced—obviously a car conversion—and even as late as the early 1980s, the WZ523 wheeled armored vehicle was like that.

Later, in the 1980s, they developed the WZ551 series armored vehicles, with front and rear wheels evenly spaced—a major breakthrough—then they became the army's mainstay; thus, after the new millennium, the big eight‑wheeled vehicle emerged, finally catching up to world‑advanced levels in this field.

When it comes to wheeled armored vehicles, eight wheels are the way to go: the front two wheels steer, the rear are all‑wheel drive, and the front can be coupled or decoupled as needed—this is how mainstream armored vehicles worldwide are built.

「Currently, most wheeled armored vehicles are modified from car chassis; the advantage is that we can use existing technology, and the drawback is obvious: a bulge in the middle makes the vehicle's overall height too high. If we want an advanced solution, it should be side‑drive」

In later times, our big eight‑wheeler uses exactly this scheme!

Central drive, like in a car, has a single driveshaft running front to rear with a differential in the middle; this causes a bulge, affecting both ground clearance underneath and ride comfort above.

Look at those later‑era armored vehicles that roll over, and you'll see the big bulges on those four axles.

Side drive, by contrast, removes the central driveshaft and sends power out to both sides, so the middle no longer bulges—instead there are bulges on the sides, but that doesn't matter because this space is perfect for placing the crew's seats!

In later times our big eight‑wheeler is quite low, yet its internal space is very spacious—whoever sits gives a thumbs‑up.

Listening to Qin Miao's introduction, Yuan Lao and the others kept nodding: "You little brat, you never think to take the initiative! We have to push you before you'll hand over the good stuff!"

"Exactly, we'll punish you—within a year you must produce this big eight‑wheeler!"

"Director Lu, this R&D project falls on Ha Gong Da; from now on we'll still produce it via contract manufacturing."

Now it was Director Lu's turn to frown: "San Shui, we…"

"Let's cooperate happily!"

"Report! We just got a call from the Thus: Space Institute; please have the Qingshan Benz Factory drive out the first‑off‑the‑line missile launch vehicle for them to evaluate its use."

"Looks like the Thus: Space Institute is in a hurry!" Yuan Lao laughed and said, "Let's go take a look together."

Thus: Space Institute.

"Leaders, the vehicles produced by Wan Shan Factory are absolutely top‑notch!" Fan Jian's face full of expectation: "Ha Gong Da over there simply has no experience operating a vehicle enterprise; they can't achieve mass production of vehicles, and even if they eventually found Qingshan Factory to produce them, that factory is new, and its quality simply can't compare with our long‑standing enterprise……"

"Old Fan, don't rush—we've already called Qingshan Factory; once they drive the vehicle over, we'll compare the two side by side."

"What?" Fan Jian beside them widened his eyes: "Huang Lao, we're all in the same system—don't you trust us?"

"No, no, this is just a procedure; as long as your factory's product quality is better, we'll certainly use yours."

As they spoke, the roar of an engine sounded outside, and a handsome multi‑axle wheeled launch vehicle appeared before everyone's eyes.

The vehicle body was wide, with five rows of axles, the driver's cabin indented……

The people from Wan Shan Factory looked toward the doorway, that vehicle……

"Hahaha, the driver's cabin is actually indented—it looks like an ugly monster; where's the good in ours?"

"Exactly, the right‑side view is easily blocked—I really don't know how they came up with this!"

This is of course to accommodate the East Wind-3 missile; after all, that missile is 24 meters long, and even with a five‑axle launch vehicle design, the driver's cabin must be indented to fit it.

But now, the Thus: Space Institute's Giant Wave shore‑landing project has a missile length of truly 10.7 meters, so there's no need to indent the driver's cabin anymore, and the rear section can easily accommodate it.

However……

Giant Wave-1 is just the beginning!

"I think it's right—later we'll develop longer‑range missiles, East Wind-31 and East Wind-41 will appear, their lengths will keep growing, and an indented driver's cabin will be the correct choice!"

What?

The leader of the Thus: Space Institute actually took a liking to it?

The people of Wan Shan Factory were somewhat unwilling; we're part of the same system, after all—you're not looking after our own brothers, and yet……

"Come on, let's go take a look!"

Hubbub— a group of people went over.

The Wan Shan Factory folks were even more speechless; when we drove our vehicle over, the big guys weren't that excited either—you lot…… are you still part of the same system?

Upon entering, Qin Miao also saw a missile launch vehicle parked in the courtyard—this was like Li Kui meeting Li Gui!

"Drive over and park side by side with that vehicle!"

"Yes!"

The two missile launch vehicles parked together, and instantly a comparison was evident: the vehicle from Qingshan Factory was more refined, every weld, every screw was perfect, and even the paint looked brighter.

"What's the yellow marking on this screw for?"

"It's obviously a tightness indicator—if this line splits, it means the screw is loose."

"What a good method!"

"All German standards!"

"This paint looks really bright."

"German craftsmanship—after electrophoretic coating, it won't rust even after thirty years of use."

"Hmph, what's with German craftsmanship—we still have to look at actual performance!" Fan Jian came forward, saying this angrily.

"Yeah, then let's start the formal comparison—let's each shoulder a big round barrel!" Qin Miao said with a chuckle: "Twenty tons, how about that?"