The MAZ-5432 is a family of Soviet and Belarusian 4×2 tractor units built at the Minsk Automobile Plant since 1981. The first example left the main line on 19 May 1981 and is usually taken as the start of the third generation of Minsk heavy lorries.
MAZ-5432 at a glance
| Maker | Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ), Belarus |
|---|---|
| First tractor | 19 May 1981 |
| Layout | 4×2 tractor unit |
| Engine at launch | YaMZ-238PM V8 of 14.86 litres, 280 hp |
| Load on the coupling | up to 21 tonnes |
| Gross weight | up to 34 tonnes; train up to 44 tonnes |
| Cab | new design with a sleeping compartment for two |
| Award | gold medal of the Plovdiv fair, September 1983 |
| MAZ-MAN versions | MAZ-MAN-543265 and 543268 with MAN engines of 370–410 hp |
| Racing version | MAZ-5432S with 650–1,300 hp, 1987–1992 |
The MAZ-5432 is covered only by the Russian Wikipedia article; this page is based on one source.
History of the MAZ-5432
The first of a new generation
The first MAZ-5432 tractor unit was assembled on the main line on 19 May 1981. It had the YaMZ-238PM V8 of 14.86 litres and 280 hp, could take up to 21 tonnes on the coupling and had a gross weight of up to 34 tonnes. What set it apart from earlier models was a new cab with a large sleeping compartment and two berths. Many official sources take that day as the start of series production of the new, third generation of Minsk heavy lorries. In fact production of the MAZ-6422 and MAZ-5432 family had begun in 1978 with the MAZ-6422, and although the first serial MAZ-5432 left the main line in an official ceremony, it was built, like the other lorries of the new family, in the plant’s experimental shop, where assembly continued until the middle of the 1980s.
Development through the 1980s
In September 1983 the Minsk plant received a gold medal of the Plovdiv international fair for the MAZ-5432 with the MAZ-9397 semi-trailer. In 1985 the MAZ-54322 took over with a more comfortable cab. In 1988 the MAZ-54321 added the new YaMZ-8421 and YaMZ-8424 engines of 360 and 425 hp, the same year in which cooperation began with the German firm MAN, whose 360 hp engines were first fitted to the MAZ-54326. The MAZ-54323 with the YaMZ-238B of 300 hp also appeared then. The gross weight of a solo lorry is 16 to 25 tonnes and that of a train up to 44 tonnes.
Modernisation and the MAZ-MAN line
In the early 1990s the plant modernised the MAZ family: a new cab with a tilting front panel, new headlights and a new dashboard appeared, and the front axles, rear axles, frame and brakes were updated in time. A notable newcomer was the MAZ-543208 of 1998 with the Euro-2 YaMZ-7511, a modernised YaMZ-238, of 400 hp. On 23 October 1998 the MAZ-MAN joint venture started a line assembling the MAZ-MAN-543265 and MAZ-MAN-543268 4×2 tractor units with engines of 370 to 410 hp for 44-tonne trains; they were based on converted MAZ-5432 chassis with MAN diesels, F2000 cabs and 16-speed ZF gearboxes. In the mid-2000s the MAZ-5432 and MAZ-6422, the most produced MAZ families, received locking cross-wheel differentials and a new front axle rated at 7 tonnes with a steering angle of up to 45 degrees.
Versions and racing
Besides the base lorry the family grew into the MAZ-54321, MAZ-54322 and MAZ-54323, the cold-climate MAZ-543231 for −60 °C, the MAN-engined MAZ-54326 and the MAZ-54327, 54328 and 54329 with YaMZ engines of 330, 180 and 240 hp. Euro-2 versions carried the numbers 543202, 543203, 543205 and 543208, and Euro-3 machines 5432A3, 5432A5 and 5432A8 with 250, 330 and 400 hp. The MAZ-5432S was a racing version developed from the MAZ-54322 with the YaMZ-8424S engine of 650 to 1,300 hp; it competed from 1987 to 1992.
Design and features
- Two berths: the cab introduced in 1981 had a large sleeping compartment, then unusual for a Soviet lorry.
- One family: engines from YaMZ diesels of 180 to 425 hp to MAN units of 360 hp.
- MAZ-MAN: from 1998 the joint venture built tractor units on converted MAZ-5432 chassis with F2000 cabs and ZF gearboxes.
- Racing: the MAZ-5432S took part in truck racing from 1987 to 1992 with up to 1,300 hp.
MAZ-5432 versions
- MAZ-5432 (1981–1985): the base tractor with the YaMZ-238PM of 280 hp.
- MAZ-54322 (1985–1988): more comfortable cab and the YaMZ-238F2 of 320 hp.
- MAZ-54323 (from 1988): the YaMZ-238B of 300 hp.
- MAZ-54321, 54324 and 54326: YaMZ-8421 of 360 hp, YaMZ-8424 of 425 hp and MAN of 360 hp.
- MAZ-543208 (1998): Euro-2 YaMZ-7511 of 400 hp.
- MAZ-5432S: racing tractor with 650–1,300 hp.
The MAZ-5432 shares its family with the three-axle MAZ-6422 and was replaced by the fourth-generation MAZ-5440. More are in the MAZ collection.
Sources
- MAZ-5432, Russian Wikipedia: first tractor, engines, MAZ-MAN, versions, racing
