Driving Stuff : Evolution Automotive

BMW GINA Light Visionary Model

noreply@blogger.com (MH) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 08:24:00 +0000

BMW just unveiled its latest design philosophy — via a radical concept car — that will sure to raise some eyebrows in the automotive industry. Touted as the "game changer" for the "development of tomorrow's mobility," the new concept centers around the GINA principle, for Geometry and Functions In "N" Adaptions. What this means is the ability for BMW to think outside the box and innovate maximum ideas with mininum amount of the usual constraints associated with car design.

The first translation of the GINA philosophy into physical being is demonstrated in the Light Visionary Model concept. The only specs that may be familiar are the car's realistic 8-cylinder powertrain package residing in a roadster built from an aluminum space-frame chassis with two double tailpies and 20-in. alloy wheels at the corners. Other than that, it is the Visionary's exterior body that will catch all of us by surprise. It is skinned by four large pieces of flexible material that can stretch and contract based on a number of substructures that can move about on the chassis with electro and electrohydraulic controls.

There are four main pieces of skin that make up the Visionary's body: The largest component starts at the front of the car and extends all the way to the base of the windscreen, then down and across the two doors, ending at the rear edge. The next two fabric-like skins begin at the front lower rocker panels, then run across the rear wheel arches to the back. The last piece of skin makes up the rear deck. The roadster's scissor-type doors open with its outer skin wrinkled in a very clearly defined pattern, but they are stretched back into a silky-smooth surface when the doors close.

The fabric that covers the Visionary's body is constructed from a waterproof and temperature-resistant mesh netting on the outer layer, supported by a flexible metal- wire structure underneath to maintain the skin's tension and smoothness. Around a few areas where curvatures of the skin are called for, carbon struts are added to allow for higher flexibility while keeping the rounded contours.

The Light Visionary Model is striking not only because of its fabric outer skin, but also its utility in form following function. Because of the flexible skin, the headlights can be hidden or exposed when necessary. The side markers to signal lane changes are not visible on the outside until they are turned on during use — their light shines though the translucent (but not transparent) cover. Airflow around the car can be managed actively as the skin can be closed, opened or stretched based on need; the rocker-panel shape can be adjusted for better aerodynamics. And because the rear deck is covered by one single piece of fabric, the spoiler can be completely hidden when it is not in use.

Chris Bangle, Head of BMW Group Design, says, "Personal customer requirements will broaden the context of our products and change the core values that define our industry along the way." That's why BMW is focused on breaking new ground and finding innovative design solutions. And by the looks of the GINA Light Visionary Model, BMW is in the forefront of ingenious automotive design.

2008 HPA Audi TT

noreply@blogger.com (MH) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:18:00 +0000

THE BUILD UP of this machine actually started in Germany where it was painted custom Lamborghini Gallardo orange before being shipped overseas to HPA Motorsports where the tuner completely rebuilt the 2DO8 Audi TT from the ground up.

Undefhood, the stock 3-2-liter V-6 was transformed with HPA's FT-550 twin turbo modification. The compression ratio was dropped from 11.3:1 to 8.3:1 so the engine wouldn't grenade ~if when on full boost (17.4 psi). Force-feeding the engine are two Garrett/HGP R25 ball-bearing turbos, along with Race Grade connecting-rod bearings, a castaluminum short-runner intake manifold, dual air-to-air sidemount inteircoolers, proprietary silicone boost plumbing, and a high-flow fuel-supply system. Twin 6Omm downpipes have been added along with 100-cell count low-restriction catalysts and stainless 88mm exhaust with bypass valves.

Getting this 565-horsepower beast to hook up was no problem with Audi's fantastic AWD system, but trying that with a stock S-tronic transmission is downright insane. HPA popped in performance clutch packs and a reprogrammed mechatronic. upping the launch control revs from 3000 rpm to around 5000, depending on your needs, while a generation 2 Haldex sport controller helps evenly distribute all that power.

	2008 Audi TT 3.2	2007 HPA Audi TT 3.2
Power/torque	250-hp/236 lb-ft	565-hp/500 lb-ft (est)
0-60 mph	5.7 sec	3.5 sec
0-100 mph	16.1 sec	8.4 sec
Quarter Mile	14.4@94.6mph	11.8 sec@120mph
Braking, 60-0 mph	111ft	111ft
Latera; acceleration	0.92g (avg)	0.94g (avg)
MT figure eight	26.1 sec@0.69g (avg)	25.2sec@0.79g (avg)

The KW Variant 3 coilover suspension features three individually adjustable components that Improve the TT's handling without causing a harsh ride. While 365x34mm front discs with eight-piston calipers and 335x22mm rear discs hidden behind the color matched 19-inch Moda MD3 wheels wearing Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT 255/35ZRI9 perform stopping duty. LSD provided the Lamborghini-style doors.

On acceleration runs, the HPA TT keeps you pinned back hard, and on our figure-eight course, it feels as smooth as stock but with better numbers. While It enters the corners nicely, rotates well through the center, and explodes out of the exits, too much throttle mid-corner will still induce a front-end push-nothing a right foot modulation won't cure.

HPA has again given us a truly amazing machine, a complete package. The tuner didn't add just performance, but exterior styling and interior refinement as well. It'll cost you-about $60,000 for the upgrades-but you'll be able to beat almost anything on the road.

NGV's - "Racing Into the Future"

noreply@blogger.com (MH) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 05:55:00 +0000

Introduction

For natural gas vehicles to attain the position in the marketplace they deserve, more efforts must be made to win the "hearts and minds" of garage mechanics, motorsports fans and those who can assist in bringing the vision of a clean-car future to reality. The industry has an identity problem of sorts, which can be finessed in order to expand our "market".

What attributes does the NGV industry share with the motorsports industry? Both are multi-million if not billion dollar per year industries. Both are involved with transportation and vehicles. But while only one is obsessed with speed and high performance, the other is obsessed with emissions, mandates, regulations, and legislation. Seldom does a week go by without seeing the smiling faces of Winston Cup Champions Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon or the commercials featuring the drivers, cars and their sponsors. Race tracks across the country and the world are proving grounds for automotive technology, and NGV's should not be exempt. Racing is fun. It also reinforces traditional American values such as; fairplay, teamwork, competition, rewards for hard work, perseverance, adaptability, and the will to prevail.

There is an old adage in the car business, "What wins on Sunday sells on Monday". This may be an oversimplification, but if those most inclined to purchase a new vehicle see it perform, they often desire it. That is why the test-drive is an important aspect of the sales process. How many presentations have ended with the audience thinking to themselves, "Show me, don't tell me". We need to be mindful that outreach and education efforts must include a hands-on demonstration. People need to see it work, and understand how it works before we can win their hearts and minds. There have been many recent developments that give us hope and which can point us in a new direction, and these will be explored in this paper. There is also a vision of the future which must be communicated in order to initiate a dialogue and debate on where we are headed and where we want to be.

Those in the motorsports industry can be a cynical bunch. "If it's so good, why don't they race it?" is a question they often ponder when exposed to new automotive technology. Why indeed? NGV advocates may need to get out of the executive boardroom or the laboratory and go out to the local racetrack to get a more accurate picture of how the high-performance automotive industry works. We have a unique opportunity to advance our agenda. NGV's keep the internal combustion engine, they are not souped-up golf carts or some kind of speculative flight of fancy, but a real alternative to petroleum-based motorfuels, available now. But the fleet market dominates the purchasing, and therefore the marketing of NGV's. How many of these fleet managers, mechanics and others watch NASCAR Winston Cup stock car racing on the weekends? How many let their buying decisions be influenced by a scantily-clad model on a calendar? How many had a classic car they would drag race on Saturday nights? Probably more than we care to admit. There is a wide cultural gap between those of us with coveralls and grease under our finger nails and those of us in starched white shirts, power ties and Gucci loafers. There is a class divide in the racing world we need to be aware of when formulating our marketing plans, tactics and strategies. What we need is to put a human face on this complex technology, a well-known spokesperson to champion our cause publicly and take NGV's to the next level.

Trends in the high performance AFV arena:

There are several events to be highlighted in order to explain where we have been, and where we could be in the future. These are the tips of icebergs, but they should make us use our creative problem solving skills to advance our industry to where it needs to be competively. Putting your money where your mouth is can pay off real dividends. Enjoy a brief history of high-performance NGV's!

1. The Blue Flame Sets the Land Speed Record

October 23, 1970 is a day that shall live in NGV history. It was on that day that The Blue Flame, driven by drag racer Gary Gabelich, set a world land speed record of 622.407 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. It all started when a former employee of the Institute of Gas Technology, knowing of IGT's commitment to developing LNG fueled vehicles, asked the IGT to help "launch" a program to build an LNG fueled rocket car. The Northern Illinois Gas Company and IGT interested the American Gas Association in the project. Forty eight gas utilities and equipment manufacturers contributed to it. What an example of cooperation for a common good and to achieve a common goal. Maybe that kind of "can do" attitude went away with manned moon missions. Why can't we all get together to do it again? Maybe not for the land-speed record, but there are many other mountains to climb in the nascent NGV racing arena.

2. Andy Poulin's NGV Beretta GT stock car

Andy worked at Auburn Chevrolet near Seattle, Washington, converting cars to natural gas power. He liked them so much he hated working on "dirty" gasoline cars. He is also a race car driver. So he built an NGV Beretta GT race car for circle track racing in the Pacific Northwest. Regarding the problems of getting an NGV oval-track car onto a speedway, he said in a Swift Energy press release from 1995, "It took me four months just to convince the insurance company that insures the race track that natural gas cars are safe." He pointed out the lack of safety when a five car wreck spilled 22 gallons of gasoline onto the track, pooling under the hot engines and exhaust pipes. He was a winner several times in the Beretta, including a 40-lap main event at the Spanaway Raceway near Seattle. In 1994 he finished 9th in his class of 30 cars. He dove into the mechanical differences of using an alternative fuel and experimented with different camshaft profiles and gear ratios to produce the best results.

3. Chrysler Patriot Hybrid

This experiment in high-performance alternative fuel vehicles may end up reshaping in the future. Hybrid vehicles combine technologies like gas turbines operating at a constant optimized RPM, batteries, flywheels, supercapicitors, electric motors, regenerative braking, and many other innovations. The design team's goal of a "green car with guts" was certainly attained. LNG powered twin turbines creates the electricity to power the car and charge up the flywheel spinning in a vacuum at 56,000 RPM's, turning electric energy into kinetic energy and back again. That item was created by SatCon Technology of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Although the project was not a success in that it did not race publicly, it did provide us with a brief glimpse of the future. Natural gas powered high-performance hybrids could help bridge the gap between internal combustion engines and electric vehicles. The original Patriot Mark I prototype was shown at the North American International Auto Show in January 1994.

4. Bugatti EB 110 GT - Brooklyn Union Gas - GreenGas

What is blue, foreign and very fast? A quad-turbo 60 valve V12 Italian masterpiece that happens to run on natural gas and held the World speed record for a production car. This car used a conversion system from Italian manufacturer GreenGas and is featured on Brooklyn Union Gas Co.'s webpage. We know under Benito Mussolini the Italians fell in love with NGV's back in the 1930's due to the fact imported gasoline was not going to be a dependable resource with the approach of the Second World War. Their quest for energy independence is commendable, much more so than the fascist politics that made the trains run on time at the expense of individual liberty. This car is what most fleet vehicles are not, fast and sexy! Why is it the Italians have such a flair for style and fashion? Are they really ahead of their time, or are we behind ours?

5. Motion Concept Vehicles

A Canadian company based in Mississauga, Ontario that has built a prototype NGV sportscar dubbed the CH4. This is no anemic "green" econo-box. This is a mid engine, rear wheel drive two door coupe with a twin supercharged 4.6 liter Chevrolet V8, sporting an aluminum block and heads, capable of 400+ horsepower. This a ground-up NGV Supercar utilizing the latest composite fabrication and computer assisted design techniques. The CNG tanks were not added in as an afterthought, but became an integral part of the design. They are interested in racing the CH4 in endurance events like the 24 Hours of Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring or even a trip across the Atlantic to LeMans. It will certainly take more than a few high profile events to bring this car to production, but they are headed in the right direction, forward quickly! For those who think this kind of effort is a step backwards environmentally, I would implore NGV advocates to better explore the advantages of using recovered landfill methane as fuel for public relations purposes.

6. Mobeta Natural Gasser dragster sponsored by MoGas Sales

We are very fortunate to have Joe Mezquita here. He is truly a pioneer and a trailblazer, making NGV history. If you have not personally witnessed quarter-mile drag racing, you are in for a treat, albeit a loud one! He races in the National Hot Road Association's Super Gas category, and won a national title this year at the Fram Nationals at the Rt. 66 Speedway near Chicago, Illinois. MoGas Sales is no stranger to racing, in 1996 they participated in The Corel Great Race, a controlled speed, endurance competition for vehicles built before 1943. It starts in Tacoma, Washington and ends 14 days and 4,100 miles later in Toronto, Canada. They ran a 1932 Chrysler conversion in the antique race. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Joe for helping raise the standard for NGV racing.

7. Yankee Energy Services of Connecticut sponsored stock car

This is a good start for a local distribution company to make, or their unregulated marketing subsidiary. Sponsor a local race team, infiltrate the scene, adsorb as much as you can, advance your knowledge, understand what it requires to be competitive and allow the team to get there. It takes more than deep pockets for a sponsor to do the right thing, although for some race teams that would be more than enough! Sponsorship means more than county fair public relations and advertising at high speeds. When they are comfortable working with a race team and the racing community, think of what can be done to get some NGV's out on the track. The lessons learned supporting a regular racecar would surely be transferrable to racing NGV's. Although the sponsorship for Barry Gold's car ended last year, it is a good example for others to follow. Barry finished in second place in the Pro Stock point standings last year in his #29 Oldsmobile Cutlass. He races at local tracks such as Riverside Speedway in Agawam, Massachusetts. NGV conversion shops should also carefully consider getting involved with racing to expand their customer-base. For more information on racing in New England, please see this webpage: http://www.newenglandracing.com/

8. Indoor NGV go-karts at IANGV show in Cologne Germany May 1997

Indoor racing is a trend worth pursuing. Many parts of the country have temperate weather that shortens the racing season. Those of us who suffer these withdrawal symptoms have come to depend on televised re-runs of events to tide us over, or the truly off-beat and lesser-known racing series. The beauty of alternative fueled race cars is their lower emissions, and their ability to run indoors, any time of year, and I am sure we shall see air conditioned indoor racing venues when it is too hot out to enjoy oneself. Races would not have to be postponed due to inclement weather. Those in the NGV industry who are serious about gaining mass acceptance should seriously look into sponsoring one of these go-karts, or a few of them! Many are used in charity events like the Arthritis Foundation's Mini Grand Prix up in Boston, or the Easter Seals Mini-Indy in Phoenix, Arizona, where a company owns the kart and their employees race for a good cause. Of course these lawn mower engines run on gasoline, but it doesn't have to stay that way. Think big, or in this case, small. These small races have a way of blossoming into well attended annual events that can create the perception your company cares about pollution and public health and is doing something about it. Information on the International Association for Natural Gas Vehicles can be found at: http://www.iangv.org.nz/

9. "Small Block" Allison gas-turbine project

Another high-tech AFV company from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada is Nye Thermodynamics. They're going to mate a 317hp Allison GasTurbine to smallblock Chevy motor mounts, crank flange and bellhousing to be used in any vehicle powered by a small or bigblock Chevrolet engine. Apparently Mark Nye has been building gas turbines at home since 1985. In 1989 he was involved with a project to add a jet engine and an auxiliary power unit to a go-kart. Now picture one of these inside a late 60's era Pontiac GTO with a continuously variable transmission, flywheel and super-capicitor. Another application would be to use this gas turbine in an NGV motor-boat or personal watercraft. Please see their webpage for more information: http://www.gasturbines.com , or check out the efforts of the Gas Turbine Builders Association at: http://www.gtba.cnuce.cnr.it

10. The Safe Alternative Fuel Association (SAFA) spreads the news about racing NGV's

Bert Cox is to be commended for his efforts to sustain this fine New Hampshire based non-profit group. AS a member of the Association, I can relate to you our successes in overcoming public misconceptions and educating them in order to increase awareness of the many advantages of NGV's. Our first public event was the Ninth Annual New England EnviroExpo, held from April 29th to May 1st 1997. The SAFA NGV racecar was on display next to the booth for the Massachusetts Dept. of Environmental Protection. It just so happens that the car's driver, Bert Cox of New Hampshire, works at the Mass. DEP. The 355 c.i. TPI Corvette engine looked very stout. It will races in timed hill-climb events sanctioned by the New England Region of the Sports Car Club of America. Wayne Swanson of Clean Air Carburation came by to see how his natural gas fuel injection system looked on the racecar. These "enviro" expos and conferences are the first place to go for increasing awareness and conducting some high-profile public relations. The audience is already accepting of our pro-environmental and clean air messages.

The next event was the October 18, 1997 hillclimb race up Mt. Philo in Vermont.

The car placed fourth in class in the annual race up Mt. Philo. SAFA has created the natural gas stock car to give broader exposure to alternative fuels and to dramatically demonstrate their potential through events like the Mt. Philo hill climb. In the car's first competition, it placed fourth in the "Prepared 1" class, which includes the most highly modified and fastest vehicles. The course climbs over 900 feet in a little over a mile winding through 20 turns to the top of the mountain. The car is the result of the combined effort of SAFA and their sponsors. The car's principal sponsor, Eastern Truck and Auto of Manchester, NH, converted the 1995 Pontiac Grand Prix to natural gas by installing a new fuel system and CNG tank. The Eastern team are experts in the conversion of vehicles to alternatives fuels, having worked with propane conversions for 15 years and natural gas conversions for 5 years. Eastern also fitted a new body and made other enhancements to improve the race car's performance. "We wanted to increase awareness of natural gas as an increasingly accessible alternative fuel," explains Eastern Truck & Auto owner Brian Benard. "We feel it makes sense to use the rising popularity of stock car racing as a vehicle for communicating this to the public."

Natural gas fuel was supplied by Energy North of Manchester, a gas supplier to the 1-93 corridor. To ensure that an adequate supply of fuel would be available at the remote race location, AMI Leasing of Marlboro, MA supplied SAFA with a portable refueling station. AMI uses the portable fueling unit to support CNG fleets. The race car has other environmentally friendly features beyond its natural gas fuel. It uses only water as a coolant instead of toxic chemicals, and the car is pointed with water-based paint. Water based paints eliminate harmful VOC vapors. The car was the first natural gas vehicle to compete in the Mt. Philo race.

We next took the car to the "World of Wheels Expo" held from January 9th to the 11th, of this year at the Bayside Expo Center in Boston. This is a large event that was well attended by automobile fans in the New England area. There were many cars on display at this event. Unlike the Enviro Expo, this audience was not as aware of alternative fuels. We held a raffle for a go-kart (not an NGV) which did keep people listening to our NGV pitch while they were filling out the entry blank! While the children gawked at the go-kart and tried it on for size, we took that opportunity to make our case for NGV's to the parents. While many of the cars shown were of the heavily modified and customized variety, we did succeed in educating those who were not afraid to learn something new.

The "Race-A-Rama" was held in February at the Big E in West Springfield, Massachusetts. The "Big E" is the site of the regional fair, the Eastern States Exposition, and was another well attended event. Race fans, race teams and those who sell them products and services were all under one roof, technically two roofs as the show has outgrown its original space and now takes up many more square feet than any other New England-area racing industry tradeshow. Whereas the "World of Wheels" had all types of interesting vehicles including motorcycles and trucks, "Race-A-Rama" was almost completely devoted to the motorsports industry. This event had workshops for car owners and race team members. Bert Cox of SAFA attended the workshop on Media Relations. As it turned out, we had some of the best press coverage of any New England area race team! While many had sent out photos and snazzy press releases, few ever got into print. We have been blessed with an interesting angle, or hook, for the newspaper writers to hang the story on, alternative fuel! Do not underestimate the wide-eyed stares and increased interest such a vehicle creates, use it to your advantage and gain a leg up on the petrol-using competition.

11. Ford Mustang Super Stallion using Ethanol (E85)

This 590 horsepower beast was shown at last years Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas and at this years New York International Auto Show back in April. Although it runs on a methanol blend, it proves the ability of Detroit's Big Three automakers to create a top-shelf high-performance alternative fuel concept car. The Mustang Super Stallion has a 5.4 liter aluminum head V8 engine coupled to an Allied-Signal Garrett supercharger with intercooler. Simply put that means a more than respectable 4.3 second 0-60 time. If OEM's would produce a high-performance alternative fuel option for their production NGV's, then they would get a much better idea of just what some alternative fuel advocates want, because although we all care about the environment, we are not all "environmentalists" by the strictest definition. Why not allow people to cruise around guilt-free without having to give up their favorite sportscar? It was "Bunky" Knudsen of Pontiac that brought them back from extinction in the 1950's by favoring a high-performance brand identity, combining that keen audience analysis with just enough of a pro-environmental stance could be a whole new marketing strategy for makers of NGV's, truly offering the best of both "worlds".

12. NGV's featured in the movie, "Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome"

For those of you who are not familiar with this series of movies, (Mad Max-1979, The Road Warrior-1981) Mel Gibson portrays Max Rocketanski, a former police officer who suffers the loss of his family to a roving gang of thugs on motorcycles in a dark post-apocalyptic future in Australia. The rest of the action is him seeking revenge. Australian Fords provide most of the motion in these fast-paced films. Max's "Interceptor" was a 1973 Ford Falcon GT Coupe, with custom modifications to the 300bhp 351C V8 engine, including an "all-show, no-go" Weiand supercharger used as a prop. In the final installment that came out in 1985, starring Tina Turner, all the gasoline in the world is gone and cars only run on methane recovered from pig excrement! Here's to the future!

The Future

Humans have the unique ability among animals to both remember the past and look towards the future. If we take the trends and extrapolate them out to their logical conclusions, we have a vision of the future which is very friendly towards high-performance NGV's.

Who are the potential drivers of high-performance NGV's? They might me the person who drives a 1996 Chevrolet Impala SS to work now, the die-hard car enthusiast who will not settle for anything less than the neck-snapping, torque excessive, tire smoking power of an internal combustion engine. They are the Joe Six-Pack's who change their own oil and tune the car up themselves. To them AFV's are exotic and unproven freaks of the automotive world. It is these people who we need to ally ourselves with, to win their hearts and minds. Let us now step into that perfect, clean future... Understand that these vignettes of the future are seen through the authors eyes, and represent what he wants to see.

1. Get Them While They're Young

If there was one thing a sponsor of a NGV racecar should do, it would be get it out to those most able to influence the industry in the future. Students! Bring NGV's into high school auto-shop classes, and vocational-technical schools that have automotive science programs. There is an inherent appeal of high-performance to the younger drivers. If we can plant the seeds in them, they can sprout in the future. The efforts of NATEF, NAFTP, ASE, and others is commendable, but of course more must be done. Student competitions are a great way to stimulate those creative problem solving skills. The reality is that most schools cannot afford their own AFV technology program, so a travelling roadshow is an ideal way to bring the message to those most likely to benefit from it. A local distribution company could help sponsor these visits within their service territory. Scholarship programs are another way to help provide us with the NGV technicians we will need.

2. NGV's as pace cars at races

There is probably no better way to increase the recognition factor for NGV's than to have race fans exposed to them at the local track and/or on television. There is also no better way to increase acceptance than to see the "experts" using the technology first. Equipment manufacturers, OEM's and the local gas companies can do a lot to keep this ball rolling and keep NGV's a high profile alternative fuel technology. Race fans at home who see NGV's are then better able to understand and recognize them, increasing acceptance, or at least encouraging a lively debate on the alternative fuel vehicle issue in the pits, grandstands and in bars and restaurants as well as living rooms across the United States. The days of home-made cars driving on local dirt tracks is not completely gone, but as the popularity of racing keeps expanding, those who consider themselves "fans" are increasingly living in areas where there is pipeline gas service and not just "bottled" gas for their double-wide mobile homes. This again brings up the class warfare in the racing world, with the "grease monkeys", "gear heads" and "rednecks" who follow American stock car racing on one side and those more refined and dignified types who follow Formula One and other European-style racing on the other. Be aware of these cultural differences when doing audience analysis for your special events, so when you talk about the "Oak Ridge Boys", they may not know you mean the fellows down at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Perhaps the "best" NGV pacecar would be a high-performance option to an OEM offering, maybe some far-sighted company could turn a dedicated NGV Ford Crown Victoria into the same kind of awesome, rear-wheel drive, tire-spinning option the Impala SS was on the Caprice Classic.

3. Big block NGV pro-street show car

As has been said, "There is no replacement for displacement". Who has a 427 cubic inch, 450 horsepower big-block 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle that runs on natural gas? No one that we know of, but it is on our high-performance project wishlist. What better way to spread the news about the primacy of NGV among AFV's? This particular project is for the car show circuit, since due to the nature of the equipment, it might be hard to keep this machine street legal. What is required is a used classic car in a glider configuration, no engine or transmission needed. There are many classic cars available that are in fine shape, but are not considered "collectable". Either the engine is not original, the serial numbers of the chassis and the engine do not match, or there is no engine at all. Adapt a used CNG-breathing truck or bus engine for passenger car use and then hold on for the ride of your life! The car can be sponsored with a company's name on the side, it can be used by them when they are exhibitors at conferences like this one. It can be used in conjunction with their marketing efforts for special events, company pic-nics, and the like. It should appear in as many custom car magazines as possible. Write up a good press release and have some good color photos available. Post all of these on a webpage to make it easier for others to report on the history you are making, and just try to keep your fleet mechanics away from it!

4. "Classic Conversions" - using classic cars w/CNG engines

A friend once asked why they do not make large displacement V8 passenger cars any longer. I began to recite the reasons, the oil crisis, federal emission laws, competition from more fuel efficient foreign cars. Then it hit me. A person could take an older classic car and retro-fit a clean NGV engine into it. This was the original reason I began my own NGV project. We were going to obtain an engine-less 1972 Chevelle and install a dedicated 350 c.i. NGV engine into it. Since the cost of the project outstripped our budget, it was temporarily shelved. Although the idea of cruising guilt-free in an environmentally friendly vehicle has survived, and may still see the light of day and the car show circuit.

5. NGV companies sponsor races

After a company begins to be part of the racing scene, they may wish to explore other options as far as involvement. What to do after you got an NGV in as a pacecar? After you sponsor a car? What are the next logical steps to take? Sponsor a race! Make an investment. The probability that an NGV-only support race would be included on the program increases greatly if those with the interest in them doing so are the ones paying the bills. This activity is not for the faint of heart, and again should be started as a small event, like, the "Local Gas Co. 100", if that works, make it an annual event. Work closely with the local car dealer that sells OEM NGV's or with the local conversion shop you have a relationship with. Insist on having space for NGV educational materials to be handed out, get the NGV pacecar out in front of the fans again, race fleet vehicles for charity, set aflame full CNG cylinders in the cars to prove their safety, drop cars from great heights to prove they can withstand an impact. Seeing is believing. Bring those exciting "torture test" videos to life! Do not forget to send out press releases if you are going to make history. Maybe local television would bring out a news crew to report the event. Consider starting small, with a day at the races for your employees and their families, a pic-nic under a hospitality tent, or have an event that you can invite your best customers to. Some of these kinds of events can be held during off-times when the track is not being used. Another fine program would be to have an employee day at the track that includes some basic instruction in driving a racecar. An NGV company could also think seriously about doing cable advertising during car races.

6. All-season all-weather indoor NGV racing

Wherever there is a stadium or civic center that has monster truck shows, they can also have indoor NGV racing. As stated previously, where racing is a seasonal activity the true fanatics are always looking for ways to fill the void. Some opt for watching pro world rally racing from Finland Malaysia, while others will watch truck races on ice from Minnesota and Wisconsin. An indoor NGV racing series would be an amazing addition to an already busy televised motorsports schedule. What do race fans do when their local event is rained out? Suffer! The advent of rain tires for racing may alleviate the need to postpone races, but that wet surface technology does little to keep the fans in the grandstands dry! Build it and they will come. What's next? An indoor 1/4 mile drag strip?

7. CNG refueling at racetracks near gaslines

If the objection to racing NGV's is fuel availability, do something about it! Form an ad-hoc group of interested parties, or use the resources of an existing group in your area that would be willing to assist your efforts to expand NGV's. If the track already has gas-lines for food service and hot water, it would be easier than investing in a line extension. A portable compressor station capable of refueling a handful of cars is the least expensive option. That low-buck set-up could pave the way for more NGV's that just a pacecar or a demonstration vehicle. Unfortunately many racetracks are in rural area far from gas mains, so be aware of that refueling dilemma when taking your NGV race team on tour.

8. NGV Go-Karts at amusement parks

Again, get them while they're young! I love to race the go-karts at the amusement parks, but oh those fumes coming out of the tailpipes of the karts in front! What a health hazard! Especially for older folks and children. Why not convert them to clean natural gas? That way they could also race indoors, in any weather, in any season. Tracks could then be made indoor-outdoor combinations with tunnels and other enhancements. Disney has made efforts to use AFV's in their operations. Other such facilities can easily benefit from using NGV's in their in-house fleets, including fork-lifts and other purpose-built vehicles. If they use pipeline gas for food service needs, expand them into vehicular applications. Start small, get some mileage under their belts and let the program expand naturally. Eventually they will wonder how they did without them. Users of these mini-NGV's will be sold on them, if they even notice they use an alternative fuel. Remember to direct their attention to the fact to increase awareness. A simple logo or decal is enough to begin to create some "meta-communication" favorable towards NGV's.

9. NGV commercial endorsements

"What if's" are a way of life. They allow us to envision the way things "should" be. For those of us who truly believe in the benefits of NGV's and drive them daily, we already live in a more perfect and clean future. Testimonials from celebrities is a way of life. We have come to accept their status, even if we manage to attenuate the messages. We see Michael Jordan on television and know him in a "post-modern" way. What if Winston Cup Champion Jeff Gordon drove an NGV as a daily driver? What is he made commercials touting the superior performance of NGV's? What should be the role of "opinion makers" and "trendsetters" we aim to convert to our cause. Within organizations are agents of influence. They can make or break new technologies by either embracing them or rejecting them. It would cost an awful lot to pay some "name shoe" to pitch NGV's, or maybe just a little luck. We need to put a human face on this wonderful technology and spread the wealth to others, a pitch-person would certainly assist in achieving the goal of increasing recognition and acceptance. What is the collective identity we wish to communicate? Whole industries can have identities, created on purpose and carefully controlled, or made by the audience, out of the industry leaders control or worse created by their competitors. What do we want the spokesperson to represent? A pro-American energy independence? Environmental considerations? An earthy homespun appeal? Young and high-performance oriented? Or a composite of all of these. Maybe it could be a fictional person.

10. NGV-specific aftermarket parts - the forgotten retail channel

Someday an NGV enthusiast will be able to drive down to Pep Boys, or Big A Autoparts and get a PRD, stainless steel tubing, a regulator or any number of NGV-specific after-market high-performance products. The era of NGV's being in the realm of hobbyists could return. As those with adequate training are employed in the industry and they are working on their own cars, they may find themselves wanting more. So there should be resources for these pioneers. NGV equipment manufacturers should expect and plan for selling these bolt-on performance enhancing modifications, and sell them through the normal retail channels that exist to support the rest of the marketplace. This will require some training so the wrong parts are not sold, there will be safety and warranty issues to deal with, but the main idea is to get NGV's out of the "special interest" category and into the mainstream.

Acknowledging that there are people ready, willing and able to work on their own cars is a good beginning. The worst thing to do is take away the feelings of success and accomplishment that working on your own car in your garage provides. There is not enough volume to justify this at his point in time, but as the market expands, the NGV industry will have to better mirror the rest of the automotive aftermarket part industry. Cutting the do-it-yourselfer out of the picture will engender more bad feelings between potential customers and the NGV industry. Alienating a key market is just shooting yourself in the foot. Be aware of the Speciality Equipment Market Association, (SEMA) and visit their webpage at:www.sema.org, they are a key aftermarket automotive parts group. Consider becoming a member. Their next event will be their 1998 SEMA Show, Nov. 3 6, 1998, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Some companies may wish to consider setting up another division or subsidiary to do this kind of work. That is, activities that were never traditionally conducted by NGV companies. This is particularly important in regards to market segmentation and corporate identity. If it's a stretch to redesign an image of an older brand or company, create a new one. Remember, brands make promises that products deliver! Consider the slippery slope of advertising conversion kits in "hot rod" magazines. How would the pitch to the reader of that publication differ from the message you want to send to a state or municipal fleet manager?

11. NGV racecar fabricators move into AFV business incubators

The Alternative Fuel Technology Center managed by the New York State Technology Enterprise Corporation, is an AFV business incubator located at a former Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, New York. (www.nystec.com/aftc) The NGV race teams are on the cutting edge and should be located near facilities, resources and others with the technical expertise to create the clean car future on the race tracks across the country. Another such facility is located in Alameda, California at the Naval Air Station is called "Project Hatchery" and is operated by CALSTART. (www.calstart.org/projecthatchery/phalameda.html) Perhaps such a business incubator will exist in Charlotte, North Carolina near the other race shops in that area. Perhaps some day a whole fleet of high-performance NGV''s will exit through an airplane hanger and do a few test runs down the runways at these former air bases.

12. BMW Hydrogen Car vs. Mercedes Fuel-Cell

Picture you and your family curled up on your couch watching on your high-definition digital TV the race of the future, the Trans-Europa AFV Rally. The BMW M10 powered by hydrogen is ahead after the fourth stage of the race, in hot pursuit is the Mercedes fuel-cell powered entry. Who will win? What technology is best? We shall see. Foreign competition is a fact of life. The day may come when good old gasoline powered cars enter races in the "antique" category. It will be creative marketing strategies, including some non-traditional ones, to get this industry where it could be in the hearts and minds of the racing fans and the common man on the street. Think big, keep your eye on the ball and go for it. The worst thing that could happen is a horrible accident or a lawsuit, just make sure all participants sign a waiver form.

13. NASCAR-NGV Engine/Oil promo

Jasper Engines of Indiana sponsors a Winston Cup stock car, the #77 Chevrolet driven by Robert Pressley, and many other cars in several other divisions, including drag racing series. Heavy duty NGV engine manufacturers Caterpillar and John Deere also sponsor Winston Cup racecars, the #96 Chevrolet driven by various drivers, and the #97 Ford driven by Chad Little. Some of the same motor oil manufacturers who sponsor race cars have an NGV-specific low-ash motor oil. Sometimes a team will do a special promotion and paint their car a different color for one race. It would be great to see a car painted green and advertising their alternative fuel engines or NGV motor oil to a nationwide audience. It's just that simple... Start small, think big and realize this is a "game of inches", including the psychological warfare component.

14. NGV's at car shows

Turn some heads and make some waves. Once a company begins the task of becoming part of the high-performance automotive industry, they may eventually feel the need to hawk their wares at a car show. Many of these are quaint local events to benefit a local civic group or charity. Others are run by model-specific car clubs and are regional events. Then there are the national touring shows like the Goodguys and Super Chevy. These tour dragracing strips, county fairgrounds, and other venues. At most racetracks there is a manufacturers midway where tents and trailers are set-up specifically to help retailers meet their customers, and potential customers. A company doesn't have to start off selling conversion kits or cylinders at the races, but distributing literature about where one could a car converted is a good start. Have a high-performance NGV on display with the hood up for all to see. Once again, win the hearts and minds the hard way, through brute force repetition! The first year you will be a mutant freak, the next year it gets a little easier until you are accepted. Again, start off small, event and investment-wise, then grow to fill your niche before someone else does.

NGV owner groups are another way to make the scene. Companies and organizations can help establish owner groups that share information through e-mail lists, webpages, newsletters, legislative action updates for lobbying efforts, weekend bar-b-que get-togethers, dyno-days where the members cars are tested on a chassis dynomometer to assess horsepower and torque, and many more activities can be included, just be creative. Attend the car shows as a group because club participation awards are often given out to the club with the most members attending. In Brookline, Massachusetts, is the Museum of Transportation where they have an Electric Vehicle day. EV owners come to look over each others cars and compare notes. There should definitely be an NGV Day as well, it could also be combined with the EV Day into an AFV Day. Keep your eyes and ears open, opportunities are all around us. These are all good ideas for achieving local and regional exposure, but what may be needed is a permanent national touring NGV showcar exhibition.

15. Project Caprice 9C6

9C6 is the GM Special Equipment Option code for the "taxi" package. Taxis and police cars (9C1's) have more heavy-duty equipment than the regular production models. I kept my eyes open and when I found out the Clean Air Cab Company of Washington D.C. was going out of business, I decided to look their fleet over. They had four 1993 Chevrolet Caprice Classics and twelve 1994 Ford Crown Victorias. All are bi-fuel conversions done by Kleenair Systems of West Virginia. I bought it and drove it back last October. The main thing it needed was a standard refueling connector. All of the refueling stations in the area are NGV-1 compatible. Once that was done I focused on the cosmetics, new tires and rims and a basic black paint job and the removal of the sign on the roof. It was good to be able to drive around without people trying to flag you down for a ride to the airport.

I brought the re-done car to the Super Chevy car show held at New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire. While I did not show the car at the event, I did do some valuable strategic reconnaissance and touched base with the local car clubs. I ended up joining the Impala SS Club of New England and am considered by them to be a cousin, since the 1994-1996 Impala SS's are based on the same GM B-body chassis. Encouraged by my analysis I decided to show the car at the next local event, the "All Chevy Show" in Farmington, Connecticut. That event was sponsored by the Connecticut Chevelle Club and benefitted the Hole In The Wall Gang, a favorite charity of race car driver (and actor/gourmet food purveyor) Paul Newman, that runs a camp for children with blood diseases. At that event the NGV Caprice was put into the "Modified" class. I answered many questions about CNG and the car's history. There seemed to be those who had heard of AFV's and were willing to learn something new, and those who felt if they were forced to learn something new, it may displace the part of their brain devoted to beer and professional sports!

Next was the Tewksbury Massachusetts Cruise Night held on Sundays in the parking lot of a plaza mall. While this show had no judging and no prizes, there were many classic and newer high-performance cars on display. It was a rather informal affair, with people looking at cars and asking questions, comparing modifications and performance statistics. There are probably many such ad-hoc "cruise nights" in your part of the country, you just have to look for them. At this event I parked next to the other GM B-body cars, all 1994-1996 Impala SS's. SS owners were puzzled at first, but again, exhibited a healthy curiosity in the alternative fuel former-taxi cab that now looks like an Impala SS "wannabe".

I then brought the NGV Caprice to the Fairhaven Massachusetts Car Show, a local event held by and for the benefit of the neighborhood improvement association. At this event I was placed in the "Special Interest" class, which included many cars that simply did not fit into any other category. Bi-fuel conversions are certainly NOT considered "stock". I was again pleased with the attendee's level of interest and helped them to better understand the many advantages of NGV's. I even suggested to a few of the more interested viewers that I was considering installing another gas line out of the trunk for a gas grill! They loved that idea, especially around lunch time.

In conjunction with the Impala SS Club of New England, I attended their "Impala SS Day" at the Lebanon Valley Dragway in West Lebanon, New York, near Albany. We were allowed to have two staging lanes to ourselves to find out just how fast we can go in the quarter-mile. I did not do too well compared to the Impala's. While they ran mostly in the 14-15 second range at 90-100 mph, my three runs were all closer to 18-19 seconds at 70+ mph. Some of this difference has to do with the horsepower ratings of the engines between 1993 and 1994, 205 vs. 260.

Most of the Impala's are heavily modified to deliver better performance. They also do not have two heavy CNG tanks in their trunks! There was bracket racing eliminations afterward. A gathering of gas utility fleet vehicles at a drag strip would be a great way to break into the racing scene. NGV Fleet Day perhaps? Maybe it could be set up under the auspices of the regional gas association for the benefit of charity. Good PR is where you find it!

Conclusions-

There is a wide world of automotive and racing events which can be successfully exploited by those with an interest in high-performance NGV's. Start off small and grow with time. Pick and choose the "arenas" where you feel comfortable operating, whether those are traditional car shows, environmental tradeshows, gas industry events, drag races, or other organized tests of speed and power, you can only help our cause by increasing awareness through education. Focus on winning those "hearts and minds". Racing is a hard sport, but it is also fun! Fun is usually the reason people get into motorsports, until they get too good and start getting paid for it!

Consider participating in a way to maximize your return on investment while learning more for future use. These types of projects do not happen overnight, they require a concerted approach that addresses the needs of all involved. Maybe your NGV company is not ready to go out and bracket race at the local drag strip, but there are many things that can be done to get the ball rolling. Perhaps sponsoring a car is financially out of reach, so consider becoming partners with another local NGV company to co-sponsor a team. Of course, you may work in an organization that is resistant to progressive ideas, in which case you could get a group of like-minded high-performance NGV enthusiasts and set-up a non-profit group to do the NGV racing. Use your creative problem solving skills and have fun!

by James L. Cypher
Presented to the 16th National Natural Gas Vehicle
Conference and Exhibition
held in Providence, Rhode Island
September 14th, 1998

The Fastest Honda Civic In The World

noreply@blogger.com (MH) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:29:00 +0000

Running in the Blown Gas Competition Coupe class, the turbocharged Civic bettered the 1991 record of 196.124 mph by over 11 mph. Bonneville records call for two runs, with the official speed being the average of both. The Lucas Oil Civic ran 206.2 mph in the first run and 208.7 mph in the second. The Civic was clocked at nearly 210 mph exiting the fifth mile. Holdener was quick to credit extensive dyno and top-speed testing in preparation for the Bonneville event. "We spent hours on the dyno making sure the motor was both powerful and reliable," Holdener says. We also made numerous 200-plus mph speed runs at our top-secret Nevada test facility (appropriately labeled Area 52). Running BFG street tires, Eibach coilover suspension and 17 psi of boost, we ran over 211 mph at Area 52. That was an exciting ride!"

A turbocharged B18C built by Killer Bee Racing powers the World's Fastest Honda Civic. Though it has posted as much as 728 hp at 29 psi of boost on the dyno, the boost was kept between 13-14 psi for the record runs. "We purposely ran the boost, air/fuel and timing at conservative levels. The aero package on the car worked so well that it took very little power to achieve these impressive speeds," Holdener says. "Of course, the 1999 Civic Si was also a good car to start with." In addition to the use of Lucas 5W-20 synthetic oil, the 1.97L engine buildup features a Dart head and block, Skunk2 camshafts and intake manifold and a Hondata S300 management system. Internal engine components come from Eagle and Coast High Performance. Boost is supplied by a Turbonetics T72 turbo feeding a dual-core Spearco air-to-water intercooler. Ice water is used to reduce the air intake temperature, but further cooling is achieved with the use of a water/methanol injection from Snow Performance. Ignition chores are handled by MSD while the custom 4-inch oval exhaust is from Borla. Holdener was quick to credit Bernie Vanhamond and Tom Habrzyk for their fabrication of the rollcage, full belly pan and other aero and safety equipment. "Driving a race car, even a 211mph Honda Civic, is always the easy part," Holdener says. "The real talent behind this car comes from the guys who built it."

Koenigsegg CCX v/s Bugatti Veyron

noreply@blogger.com (MH) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:09:00 +0000

HOW DO YOU COMPARE THE GREATEST supercars in the world? You do it properly, that's how. You take them to the best driving road you can think of, you give them the time and the space to run at speed, you get the road closed by the cops to eliminate risk to the public, and then you hope The Stig turns up.

He did, of course, seemingly unaffected by the 45 degree heat, striding across the desert from the direction of Ayn al-Faydah toward the base of the Jebel Hafeet mountain. This 4,068ft high limestone alp is one of the most spectacular places in the Arabian Gulf, rising straight up from the plains above the city of Al Ain, two hours cast of Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. The views oil the way up are incredible, and it's an amazing looking geological wonder, but forget all that the multilane road cutting its way up to the summit is new and beautifully surfaced, the corners majestic and challenging and varying in radius and severity. If there is a road more suited toThe Stig, I can't think of it.

Bugatti Veyron Cockpit

Koenigsegg CCX Cockpit

If we take the American Shelby SSC Ultimate Aero out of the picture production of that car isn't underway yet the Veyron and CCX are the fastest cars in the world. Koenigsegg claims to have run a CCX-R at 260mph in private testing, while the 683,000 euro Veyron's official maximum is 253mph. The Koenigsegg has 'only' 806bhp compared to the Veyron's 987bhp, but it's worth noting that the Swedish car is considerably lighter, 1,473kg plays 1,888kg, and slipperier too. The Koenigsegg holds no fear of its German rival.

The Veyron, the only all-white example in the world, was provided by a private owner, because Bugatti will not sanction or support any comparison involving one of its cars. The sheer walls of Jebel Hafeet echoed to the sounds of a twin-supercharged V8 and a quad-turbo W16, accompanied by the occasional whoosh and chirrup of tyres. Never a screeching howl, nothing lurid. Just hard, precise, fast piloting. The Stig avoided any incidents with the Koenigsegg he has a history with this car, as we know.. try YouTubing it but still quite dearly took it right to the very limit. He was on it. After a full 40 minutes, Stigster seemed satisfied. He walked off in the direction of Al Maqam.

First, the Veyron. You may have read about it before, you may have seen it on the telly racing across Europe and taking on Eurofighters. But none of that can really prepare you for the shock of the acceleration when you open the throttle and unleash nearly 1,000bhp and 923lb ft of' torque. It will get to I 00 mph in 5.5 seconds and 0- 1 50mph in 9.8 seconds. That's about the same time it takes a Lexus IS-F to get to 100. Lunacy. The Bugatti is immensely fast, with its fury delivered in a huge surge of turbo boost. This 8.0-litre W16 engine would deliver amazing performance without the four turbochargers. But they're there. Cool.

Koenigsegg CCX Door Panel

Slicing up the Jebel Hafeet road, snicking through the supremely fast and effective paddleshift sequential gearbox, it was immediately obvious that there's a lot more to this car than straight-line grunt. Its four wheel drive chassis gives it massive traction our of corners, though the traction control light blinks in an instant if you're leadfooted. More impressive is the way it change % direction you get quite a lot of feel for what the tyres are doing, and the overwhelming sensation is one of 'plantedness', a solidity drawn from many thousands of hours of testing and money no object engineering by masters. The steering's a bit dead in a Mercedes kind of way, but the weighting is fine. It's wonderfully quiet and refined too, the Veyron. There's a big sense of engine from behind your head, but it's never overly loud or intrusive. You could travel many hundreds of miles in this thing and remain comfortable.

Bugatti Veyron Rear

The Koenigsegg is a different type of animal altogether, and in a few seconds I understood why so many Koenigsegg owners also have it Veyron. It's the perfect combination an all rounder in the Veyron, a racer in the Koenigsegg.

It's raw, this Swedish thing aggressive, loud to the point of ear damage when it revs, and very much a track car in its unforgiving, direct nature and it is, very loud. But why shouldn't it be? This is a supercar, riot a shopping trolley, and it's not as if that 4.7 litre twin supercharged V8 sounds nasty. It sounds wonderful, without the wearing supercharger whine you usually get from such engines. It's a simple V8 yell.

Put your foot on the throttle violently, and the whole car snaps forward in an instant, bang. Do the same in the Veyron, and the computer will have a very quick think about it, the turbos will come on boost and you'll then be accelerated into the next dimension. That whole process takes no time at all, but you notice it, and the throttle pedal is very slightly fuzzy.. The Koenigsegg's throttle pedal, by, contrast, is like a delicate, sharp, snapping switch, one that you can adjust to very, small degress if you need to. This is a pure driver's car.

Even more impressive is the way the car rides. It's magic I found some hacked-up sections at the bottom of he mountain and the Swede really glided over them. It is far from uncomfortable it is a beautifully engineered machine, and its subtlety genuinely surprised. Most of all though, it's immensely fast.The engine noise is ridiculous... and the speed, well. A recent 0-300km/h-0 test carried out by a German magazine clocked this CCX at 29.2secs. No Veyron was present Bugatti doesn't help with such things, remember so the next fastest car was the McLaren SLR 722. It was line-ball between it and the Koenigsegg from 0 to 200km/h (120mph), but then the Swedish beast was 6.5 seconds faster from 200 to 300km/h (186mph). That's a lot, and it says everything about the car's immense performance.

Koenigsegg CCX Engine Compartment

So which car wins this face-off to end all face-offs? Ultimately, it's the Veyron, because it is probably the greatest engineering fear in automotive history. It's inefficient. yes, and it's far from green, but, by God, it's fast and it combines that monumental speed with real luxury inside, and a quiet, relaxed cockpit ambience when you're not in a hurry. If you happen to see a Koenigsegg drive by when you're in your Bugatti, you'll know that its driver is having more fun a more exciting experience, but you simply won't care. Because if You wanted to, you could have him. Because the Veyron rules. And probably always will.

Subaru GC8 Impreza Reborn With 722bhp

noreply@blogger.com (MH) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:51:00 +0000

Many people in the business reckon this Subaru is the best the UK has to offer-and with good reason. The facts and figures speak for themselves. This car won the '07 TOTB-the UK's prestigious handling, top speed and dragstrip competition- the Scooby Shootout Handling competition and finished second overall at the '07 Time Attack. It produces 605 bhp at the wheels or 722 when the gas is switched on; so figure on about 800 at the flywheel. To build, the car cost 150,000 and has reached 194 mph and a recorded 9.59-second quarter-mile. Despite that multitasking competitive pedigree, it's still road legal and immaculate enough to be entered in concours.

"The whole concept for the car was that it had to be a show car, a race car and a drag car," says Roger Clark Motorsport's Matt Clark, who built the car. "We wanted to build an all-round car, which could do anything." That's a great description of the Subaru and the results confirm it. Bear in mind, however, that the car runs in basically the same spec regardless of what the event is, so some kind of compromise is inevitable.

The car is the result of four months of Matt's hard work and is an "Evo" version of an earlier customer's car that produced 800 bhp and was the first Subaru in the world to clock a 9.8-second quarter-mile with a manual gearbox.

"We wanted to stick with an old Subaru shape because it's still the car that everybody loves, especially with those wide arches," he says. "Those arches are a '99 WRC kit and so are the bumpers and boot spoiler. We had to add strengthening struts to the wing regarding midrange power. And because it was bigger than the GT35 it replaced, it didn't need to work as hard." He says the twin scroll helped to cancel out any extra lag.

A lot of this car was fabricated to meet Matt's specifications, and he's especially proud of the six-speed sequential gearbox that he had designed and built. You can now buy one from RCMS with the same spec for 18,000.

"It's reliable, fast and very strong," Matt says. "The big turbo cars are frantic once they get going and the engines are high strung. With a dog box, you can change into any gear at any speed and it blows your engine in the process. It's happened to a couple of people I know this season, but you can't do that with our box." The car is also fitted with an optional paddle shift system for when the driver-Olly, Matt's brother-is too busy to take his hands off the steering wheel. Although, he hasn't really had enough practice to feel comfortable using it.

So what does Olly make of the car his brother built? "It's been built in the ruthless pursuit of perfection," he replies. "If it's not absolutely perfect then Matt won't compromise and the whole car reflects that." Despite a successful rally career, following in the footsteps of his late father, Roger Clark, Olly has limited experience on the track but, as results show, he has adapted quickly and been a consistent front-runner.

So what's the car like to drive? "It's impossible to describe how fast that car is," Olly says. "It did 194 mph at TOTB from a standing start and since then we have added some more ignition at the top end, so it should be good for 200 mph now." He also says that the car is still docile enough to take your granny to the shops. Although, that would be a waste of its impressive potential. "It's absolutely brutal when the power kicks in between 4,500 and 5,000 rpm," he says. "And then it keeps pulling all the way round to 8,500." He describes the suspension as "awesome with some understeer," but admits that is an area that they plan to develop further.

Early teething problems with the nitrous bursting alloy boost pipes was resolved by switching to a direct-port system with individual jets for each cylinder, which has been successfully used on the dragstrip and the long straights at Silverstone.

Subaru Impreza
Power Output: 605 Bhp, 722 Bhp (Including Nos)
Car Spec

Engine
2 lt 16v Quad Cam Ej20 Engine
Closed-Deck Subaru Block
Wrc R-Profile High Wrap Cam Belt System
Modified Oil Pump
Wrc S10 Inlet Manifold, Eight Injector Kit
72 Mm Throttle Body
5.5-Liter Alloy Sump
Oil Catch Tank And Breather System
Subaru S202 Oil Cooler
Goodrich Braided Vacuum Hoses

Internals
Extreme Arrow H- Section Rods
Steel Billet Crankshaft
Omega Ceramic-Coated Flat-Top Pistons 9.75:1 Compression
Parted Sti 4 Cylinder Heads Modified For Lobe Clearance, Fitted With Wrc/Rcms A-Ring Head Gaskets And Gas Rings
Rcms Camshafts Exhaust 270-Degree 1o.5mm Lift,Inlet 290-Degree Duration And O.5mm Lift
One-Piece Nimonic Exhaust Valves
One Piece Stainless Inlet Valves
Uprated Valvesprings
Plasma Nitrided Titanium Spring Caps
Wrc Main And Big End Bearings

Induction
Garret Gt40/88 Twin Scroll Turbo Running 2.1-Bar Boost
I.C.E. Adjustable Boost (1.2 To 2.1 Bar)
K&N Air Filter With 100mm Inlet Trumpet
Rcms High-Flow 100mm Thick Front-Mount Intercooler With Twin-Tube Core 70mm Stainless Steel Intercooler Pipework
Wizards Of Nos Direct-Port Nitrous Kit Set For 100bhp Increase

Fueling
8 X 700cc Injectors
Blueprinted Bosch 044 Fuel Pumps (200-Liter Per Pump)
Sx Fuel Regulators Set At 4-Bar Static Pressure
Goodrich Fuel Feed Pipe
Goodrich Fuel Return Pipe
Rcms Fuel Distribution Block
Fia Spec 28-Liter Rubber/Kevlar Bag Fuel Tank In Aluminum Cover
Vp120 Race Fuel

Engine Management
M800 Motec Ecu With Traction Control, Nitrous Control, Anti-Lag, Paddle Shift Control And Full Data Logging
Exhaust
Wrc Short Runner Ceramic Coated Exhaust Manifold
Tial 45 Mm External Wastegate
3.5-Inch Unsilenced Stainless Steel System With Ceramic Coated Downpipe

Drivetrain
R180 Sti Rear Axle 3.9:1 Cwp And Plated Modena Lsd Differential
Gkn Rally Driveshafts
Torque Line Carbon-Fiber Propshaft
Rcms Six-Speed Subaru Gearbox Casing Modified For Sequential Gearbox System
Six-Speed Modena Gear Kit
Subaru 3.9:1 Front Cwp
Rcms Paddle Shift System
Plated Center Differential With 1:1 Uprated Output Modena Gears
Plated Front Modena Differential
Rcms Spec Triple-Plate Os Giken Clutch And Flywheel
Rcms Hydraulic Light Pressure System

Brakes
Front Ap Racing 355mm Discs And Six-Pot Calipers
Rear Ap Racing Gpn 270mm Discs And Four-Pot Calipers
Ds3000 Racing Pads
Rcms Hydraulic Carbon Hand Brake
-3 Stainless Steel Goodrich Pipe Work And Quick Release Fittings
Bias Pedal Box With Dash-Mounted Adjuster
Quick Change Brake Bias Adjuster On Center Console
Quick-Release Dry Brake Fluid Connection

Suspension
Wrc Spec Exe-Tc Fully Adjustable Dampers WithHigh- And Low-Speed Bump And Rebound Adjustment
350-Pound Front Springs And 325-Pound Rears
Sti Rose-Jointed Rear Lateral Links
Sti Rose Jointed Rear Trailing Links
Exe-Tc Bottom Rose Jointed Upright Bushes
Sti Alloy Front Arms
Sti Quick-Steer Steering Rack
Rcms Adjustable Rose Jointed Arms Front And Rear
Rcms Fully Adjustable Top Mounts

Wheels & Tires
8.5x18 Dymag Carbon/Magnesium Alloys
245/40-18 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup And Toyo R888 Tires

Exterior
Wrc Steel Arches And Skirts
Wrc Front And Rear Bumpers
Wrc Carbon Rear Spoiler With Additional Wing Supports
Sti Alloy Bonnet With 22b Vents
Rcms Carbon Vent
Wrc Front Vent And Rcms Gas Struts
Heated Front Screen
Wrc Non-Heated Lightweight Rear Screen
Modified Front And Rear Inner Arches
Semi-Tubbed Front Arches
Semi Seam-Welded Chassis
Carbon-Fiber Race Mirrors
Motec Data Logging Transponder Mounted In Drivers Wing Mirror
22b Alloy Wing Badge On Front Grille

Interior
Fia Gpn T45 Multipoint Welded-In Rollcage
Motec Digital Dashboard
Defi Turbo/Fuel Pressure Gauges
Carbon Kevlar Recaro Spa Pro Seats
Sabelt Six-Point Harness
Wrc Roller Bearing Single-Piece Steering Column
Momo Steering Wheel
Rcms Sequential Gear Stick With Reverse Lock Out Mechanism
Rcms Steering Wheel Mounted Paddle Shifters
Full Plumbed-In Fire Extinguisher System
Rcms Carbon-Fiber Door Cards

2009 Nissan GT-R

noreply@blogger.com (MH) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:31:00 +0000

In 2001, two years after the demise of the Skyline GT-R R34, rumors began to surface across the globe of a new GT-R being developed by Nissan's top engineers. As information of the new GT-R began to slowly trickle in (mostly rumors) the initial reports weren't looking promising. Immediately brought to attention was that the once proud Skyline name longtime associated with the GT-R family was rumored to be non-existent on the new R35. Would the removal of the "Skyline" badge spell disaster for the next generation or perhaps invoke a less performance-orientated vehicle? While rumors continued at a frenzied pace as Nissan kept tight-lipped on the development, another surprise twist began to spread of Nissan planning the use of a naturally aspirated 3.0L engine with an automatic transmission brought a sense of frustration among hard-core GT-R fans. And, who could blame them? The once proud Skyline owners and hard-core fans who relished the GT-R's monarchy within motorsports were stabbed in the heart by a shocking vision that Nissan relented to the pressures of the economy and developed a car that stressed comfort over performance. The new GT-R was looking less appealing with every rumor that spread.

The R34, known to be the last of the great GT-R family, paid a fitting tribute to the GT-R's 15-year dominance, winning numerous victories in the racing scene. The deadly combination of the RB26DETT engine, AWD platform and ATTESA E-TS Pro setup proved superior among Skyline owners and a virtual nightmare among those who dared to cross its path. In a fitting tribute to the R34, NISMO and Nissan developed the final production R34, known as the NISMO R34 GT-R Z-tune. The vehicle emerged in 2000 and was limited in production with only 20 produced in the world. Known as the cream of the crop within the GT-R family, the R34 GT-R Z-tune developed 500 hp from the factory and was brazenly dubbed "the strongest road-going car in the world." The vehicle enjoyed a short stint of fame before finally being put to sleep by Nissan-forever lost in the books of automotive history.

On Oct. 24 2007, all rumors were finally put to rest as Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. announced the launch of the new GT-R. Powered by a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6, 473bhp and 434lb-ft of torque, a rear-mounted twin-clutch transmission, Brembo brakes, Bilstein suspension, sticky tires and that it's going to be released in the US sometime next year. You've been bombarded with pictures, websites, articles and videos. No doubt, just 28 pages ago in this very magazine, you read that it'll sprint from zero to 60mph in 3.5 seconds and run the quarter in the 11s. But how will the GT-R fare when it goes on sale and the aftermarket gets its hands on it?

Engine
The recipe for Nissan's flagship supercar starts with the engine, the VR38DETT. According to GT-R chief vehicle engineer, Kazutoshi Mizuno, there are three conditions for a vehicle to be considered a modern supercar: a power-to-weight ratio close to 8lb/hp, a 186mph top speed and a Nrburgring lap time below eight minutes.

Naturally, horsepower is a necessary requirement and the GT-R comes on strong with two IHI turbochargers, connected to an all-new 3.8-liter V6 engine. According to Hiroyuki Ichikawa (from Nissan's Powertrain Engineering Division), the all-aluminum VR38 is based loosely on the VQ-series, but is different in almost every way. The casting is completely new, and the fully closed-deck unit uses plasma-coated cylinder bores to balance strength and weight. The VR uses twin throttle bodies ( la VQ35HR) and a single mass airflow sensor to meter air, which should help keep things simple on the ECU tuning side. What won't help is the drive-by-wire system controlling both throttle bodies.

The VR38 also uses a magnesium oil pan, which holds GT-R-specific Mobil One 0W-40 oil and Nissan's new wet/dry sump oiling system. Ichikawa tells us a dry sump-style oil pump, bolted inside the oil pan, sucks hot oil from each turbocharger and then, instead of feeding into a reservoir, spits the oil directly onto the standard wet sump oil pickup. From there, oil is pushed through an external cooler kit and then through the engine. The system has proved itself capable of maintaining proper oil pressure at up to 1.6g, according to Ichikawa-although he had no comment on its ability to fit onto a VQ35 engine.

The turbochargers' turbine housings are, unfortunately, cast as one piece, with the exhaust manifolds for each bank. The turbos use proprietary bolt-on housings to connect to the air intake tubing and to twin front-mounted air-to-air intercoolers. They're fairly small snails and the runners in each exhaust manifold are also quite tiny. Surely a compromise for throttle response and lag, this integrated system means that the only option for an upgraded turbocharger would be a complete replacement of the entire twin-turbo system. No, that's not going to be cheap at all.

However, the twin intercoolers should be kept on all bolt-on equipped GT-Rs, as it will be fairly difficult to fabricate any tubing shorter or smoother within the tight confines of the GT-R's engine bay. Replacing some rubber factory connectors with hard piping could be good insurance at higher boost levels, though.

From the turbos, each downpipe snakes under the car, joins into a single pipe after the close-coupled catalytic converters and resonators, then splits again into the twin-exit, quad-tipped exhaust. Precious pounds can easily be shaved here. And power gained-from going to a larger-diameter, lightweight single exhaust system made of thin-walled stainless steel or titanium.

Boost controllers, exhausts, air intakes and even turbo kits should be no problem, but if you're going to attempt anything beyond a bolt-on part, be careful who you choose to build your engine. Each VR38DETT will be hand-assembled by a single technician in an engine clean room, to exacting tolerances that will be easier to corrupt than improve upon.

Transmission
One of the biggest problems with engine tuning on the new GT-R is the GR6-typedual-clutch transmission. The transmission is rear-mounted, right under the back seats. Torque is transferred to the transmission via a carbon fiber driveshaft and then front torque is sent back up using another driveshaft. Besides all-wheel drive, VDC-R stability/traction control is also on board to assist even the crappiest of drivers.

First, third and fifth gears utilize one clutch, while second, fourth and sixth utilize another. Upshifts can be cracked off in 0.2 seconds in R mode-using steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters-and downshifts come with an automatic rev-matching blip of the throttle. There are even selectable driving modes, which will change shift rate, plus a fully automatic mode for all the Starbucks-swilling types.

It's a brilliant system when paired with a stock engine, but start making 700hp and things could get a little wacky. The GR6's programming looks at throttle position, vehicle speed, redline and other data based on a factory car's output. Modifying the engine will undoubtedly affect the shifting point, slip and firmness of the clutch activation. The GR6's programming will need to be altered to enable a higher clamping load to handle greater torque numbers. And this isn't even considering how much power each clutch pack is rated for. Aftermarket tuners, such as Jim Wolf Technology, will surely sit down with the car soon and figure out how to crack and re-program the GR6. This is important, because there is no true manual transmission offered.

Chassis
Kei Miyata, Project Management Group No.2 (i.e. the brake, subframe and suspension engineer), developed the front double-wishbone and rear multi-link suspension. Although racecar design cues, such as using the rear-mounted transmission as a stressed member, were not considered, the GT-R does make use of pillowball bushings on some of the inner arm mounting points. Miyata also designed the GT-R with aluminum suspension arms and an X-braced front subframe.

However, swapping out the rear anti-roll bar would be our first modification. The solid rear unit (which we estimate to be around 14mm) should be dumped for more tail-out action, as Miyata admitted that the car was designed to lean more toward understeer at the limit. Blame that on the general public, who Nissan knows will surely wrap a few 473hp GT-Rs around light poles.

The DampTronic suspension, developed with Bilstein, is electronically controlled with three selectable settings (comfort, normal and R). The dampers are adjustable in real-time-even when in motion-and work by using solenoids hidden inside the inverted monotube damper piston. The solenoids vary the size of the bypass in the piston, adjusting the flow of shock fluid and thus the firmness of the damper valving. The system has been carefully set up by Bilstein and Nissan, but still has to make compromises in terms of noise, vibration and harshness (NVH). Our first experiment would be to swap in a set of stiffer springs and drive in R mode all the time, then see what difference a corner-balanced coilover suspension would make.

Brakes
To a brake geek, the R35 is a dream come true. Working with Brembo, Nissan has deployed 15-inch two-piece brake rotors all around, along with six-piston front and four-piston rear fixed calipers. The brake calipers are forged monoblock gems and feature carefully staggered pistons, which have drilled-out heads to help reduce heat transfer from the pads. The rear uses an integrated drum brake and all four rotors employ a staggered pillar vane system within the rotor to create high-pressure turbulence that sucks out air from the center of the hat through the rotor.

With a weight of 3836 pounds, the GT-R is not light by any means and it needs all the heat dissipation it can get on the track. A good set of pads, higher-temp brake fluid and some stainless steel braided brake lines are all the GT-R's brakes are going to need to handle most any race track. To the first person who figures out how to adapt these to a 350Z-please write and let us know.

Interior
If you've ever run across a JDM head unit here in the States, then you know the obscure frequency range is only good for Spanish radio. So don't expect the Carwings navigation system to come over with the GT-R. We'll have a Bose unit instead. What you can expect is the multi-function meter display system. This is an in-car, seven-inch LCD screen that can function as numerous gauges, like the HKS CAMP system. Developed with Polyphony Digital (of Gran Turismo fame) and Xanavi (sponsor of the Nismo Super GT Z), the monitor can display water temp, boost pressure, oil pressure, transmission temp, speed, brake pressure, throttle position, steering angle, g-force and other parameters, using a combination of graphs, charts, and displays. According to Nissan, it's designed to aid you in becoming a better driver. But all we know is that you won't need to buy another aftermarket gauge again. This means less clutter. And honestly, the GT-R has more than enough switches, dials and buttons already.

Wheels & Tires
For the GT-R to reach its 188mph top speed, a suitable tire had to be on board. The standard run-flat, nitrogen-filled Bridgestone Potenza RE070 and the optional Dunlop SP Sport 600 DSST all-season run-flat tire will be available-with no spare in sight. The tires are sized 255/40/20 up front and 285/35/20 in the rear. The tires can go 50 miles at 50mph with a puncture and are designed to give the GT-R a reported 0.99g of lateral grip. We're interested in seeing if a lightweight 18- or 19-inch wheel can cover the monstrous Brembo brakes.

Aerodynamics
High-speed stability was also high on the GT-R engineering team's list. And the car spent lots of time in the wind tunnel as a result. The R35 features sculpted ducting to fully shroud and feed the intercoolers and oil cooler, and the slippery body shape has a drag coefficient of only 0.27. The GT-R also uses a flat undertray, made of alternating pieces of polypropylene and carbon fiber, which feed a rear carbon fiber diffuser. The undertray also has aerodynamic ducts which help scoop air up and out of the rear to cool the transmission. According to Nissan engineers, the front splitter is good for 309 pounds of downforce (or reduction in lift, however you want to see it) at 186mph, while the rear wing is good for 220 pounds, and the rear diffuser 110 pounds.

Carbon fiber is used extensively in the undertray for its combination of heat resistance, low weight and high strength.

The new R35 Nissan GT-R is a supercar in every facet, from manufacturing to design to performance. According to Manaki Iwamoto, general manager of Nismo Corporate Planning & Communications, Nismo has already begun R&D on the GT-R and will soon release a host of parts. He admits the car will show relatively smaller performance gains from light aftermarket tuning than a Sentra, but the new GT-R will be a potent and fast machine, especially when tuned without compromise. We can't wait to see.

Boost controllers, exhausts, air intakes and even turbo kits should be no problem, but if you're going to attempt anything beyond a bolt-on part, be careful who you choose to build your engine. Each VR38DETT will be hand-assembled by a single technician, to excating tolerances that will be easier to corrupt than improve upon.

2009 Nissan GT-R
Estimated Price: TBD
Car Spec

Engine
Engine Code: VR38DETT
Type: V6, aluminum block and heads, twin-turbocharged and intercooled
Valvetrain: DOHC, four valves per cylinder, variable intake valve timing
Displacement: 3799cc
Bore x Stroke: 95.5 mm x 88.4 mm
Compression Ratio: 9.0:1
Claimed Crank Hp: 473hp @ 6400rpm
Claimed Crank Torque: 434lb-ft @ 3200-5200rpm
Redline: 7000rpm

Drivetrain
Layout: Longitudinal front-mid engine, all-wheel drive
Transmission: Six-speed GR6 dual-clutchGear Ratios
1: 4.056
2: 2.301
3: 1.595
4: 1.248
5: 1.001
6: 0.796
Final drive: 3.700

Chassis
Chassis Code: CBA-R35
Exterior dimensions
Curb Weight: 3836 lbs
Overall Length: 183.3 in.
Wheelbase: 109.4 in.
Overall Width: 74.6 in.
Track F/R: 62.6 in./63.0 in.
Height: 53.9 in.

Suspension
Front: Double wishbone, inverted electronically adjustable monotube, forged aluminum control arms, pillowball inner lower arm bushings, anti-roll bar
Rear: Multi-link, inverted electronically adjustable monotube, forged aluminum suspension arms, pillowball inner arm bushings, anti-roll bar

Brakes
Front: 15-in. two-piece floating rotors, six-piston fixed monoblock calipers
Rear: 15-in. two-piece floating rotors, four-piston fixed monoblock calipersElectronic driving aids/inhibitors: ABS, EBD, VDC-R (switchable)

Wheels And Tires
Wheels: 20x9.5 (F), 20x10.5 (R), forged aluminum
Tires: 255/40/20 (F), 285/35/20 (R), Bridgestone RE070A (summer) or optional Dunlop (all-season)

320 bhp Suzuki SX4

noreply@blogger.com (MH) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 21:49:00 +0000

Following the successful testing in selected events of the 2007 World Rally Championship (WRC), the Suzuki WRC Team has begun an assault on the 2008 championship with the SX4 WRC which is derived from the SX4. Developed as a driver-friendly World Rally Car by Suzuki Sport, Suzuki’s motorsports division, extensive testing on many different types of surfaces was carried out when the team entered two events during 2007. Using the valuable experience gained last year, the SX4 WRC has been improved for full-scale competition and among the major changes are a new differential and new suspension settings as well as other improvements under the skin. The SX4 WRC has a 2.0-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder engine (developed from the J20 unit) with full-time 4WD and a 5-speed sequential gearbox. The 1997 cc engine delivers 320 bhp between 4000 and 4500 rpm while maximum torque of 590 Nm peaks at 3500 rpm. The SX4 WRC’s powertrain features a carbon 3-disc clutch, electronically-controlled centre differential and mechanical front and rear differentials. Its well-balanced chassis and rigid structure allow the front and rear MacPherson struts with coil springs work to their full potential with Reiger shock absorbers fitted for dynamic, responsive handling. For tarmac events, the car uses 20/65-18 tyres fitted on 8X18-inch wheels; when racing over gravel, 17/65-15 rubber is mounted to 7X15-inch wheels. The SX4 WRC sits on a wheelbase of 2500 mm, stands 1450 mm high and weighs 1230 kgs (the minimum permitted by FIA regulations). The WRC effort builds on Suzuki’s success in the JWRC, where the Swift Super 1600 has enjoyed an excellent record. Commenting on the first full season of competition for the team, Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima, principal of the Suzuki World Rally Team, said: "As we embark on our full first season, our goal is to make steady progress by taking one step at a time. Results are obviously important, but we cannot get ahead of ourselves either. In our debut year, it's only natural to expect a few minor problems and we're grateful to have a driver of the calibre of Toni Gardemeister to help us improve. P-G Andersson is at the very start of his career, so his job is to learn as well. We all share the common objective of performing to the best of our abilities, and increasing the profile of Suzuki's compact cars all over the world."

The submersible Rinspeed Squba car

noreply@blogger.com (MH) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 21:47:00 +0000

Back in 1977, in the James Bond Movie "The Spy Who Loved Me," Roger Moore's agent 007 had a very special Series 1 Lotus Esprit that converted from a sports car to a submarine. The Lotus had propellers and rudders and even a battery of harpoon launchers to help Bond fight off the bad guys. The submarine Lotus was more than just a prop; it did go underwater and the rudder and propellers worked. However, it wasn't actually water-tight, and so a stuntman with Scuba gear operated it inside behind the dark glass. The picture to the right shows a scale model of the submersible Lotus. Well, now there is a real diving Lotus. Rinspeed, a Swiss tuner and builder of exotic concept cars and other futuristic vehicles built the Rinspeed sQuba, a drivable, divable concept car that really works. Based on a Lotus Elise, the electric-powered sQuba is the brainchild of Rinspeed founder Frank M. Rinderknecht, who never forgot that submersible car from the James Bond movie. “For three decades I have tried to imagine how it might be possible to build a car that can fly under water. Now we have made this dream come true,” Rinderknecht said. How did they do it? First, there had to be some practical thinking. For example, even though the Lotus Elise is a very small car (only about 150 inches long), the enclosed volume of about 70 cubic feet would have required adding 4,400 pounds of weight. The necessary ballast tanks would have made for a large, bulky vehicle that didn't look anything like a sleek sports car. So Rinspeed decided to build the sQuba as an open vehicle with its passengers using built-in scuba gear while underwater. The car floats on water, then sinks when the doors are opened and water enters the car. However, without passengers it surfaces on its own. What all did Rinspeed do to make this possible? Well, they removed the combustion engine and replaced it with a variety of electrical motors. For operation on land, the main electric motor makes 73 horsepower and 118 foot-pounds of torque at 4500 rpm. Rinspeed estimates the top speed to be "over 75 mph," but given the weight (less than 2,000 pounds) and power it's probaby over 100 mph. Floating in water, the sQuba uses two propellers in the back, powered by an 800 Watt electric motor each, good for a speed of about four knots. Underwater, propulsion is via two electric 5-horsepower Seabob jet drives that breathe through rotating louvers and expell the water through light but twist-resistant Carbon "nano tubes." That gives the sQuba an underwater speed of about two knots. Power is supplied by rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries. Rinspeed states "the sQuba's filling station is the water reservoir,” referring to the electric hydropower the Swiss are experts in. Operating diving depth is around 33 feet. When going under, the car's occupants use an integrated air supply system with two gas tanks -- one 15 liters, the other 18 liters -- and Scubapro regulators, specifically Scubapro's classic and very reliable air-balanced G250V second stage. The Scubapro gear and the tanks are mounted behind the passengers. The sQuba is chuck full of interesting technology, and not only for underwater operation. On land, it uses a laser scanner system to essentially drive itself. For underwater operation, Rinspeed and its partners designed a cockpit and instruments that's inspired by the elegant shape and lines of a Manta Ray. Individual instruments seem to float and have dials that are lined up like lenses. The main control cluster is futuristically lighted and sits behind a protective sheet of glass with a fisheye effect. Controls can be operated even with diving gloves. How real is the Rinspeed sQuba? Real enough for an impressive video of its operation on land, floating and diving. You can see the movie as well as pictures on Rinspeed's website. It works. But it's also a concept and not meant for production at all. For that, it'd need a more powerful motor, and the market for diving cars is likely very small. But none of that matters. Concepts are limited only by the imagination. "For three decades I have tried to imagine how it might be possible to build a car that can fly under water," said Frank Rinderknecht. "Now we have made this dream come true.” Very cool.

Basic Turbo Tech

noreply@blogger.com (MH) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 21:47:00 +0000

The center cartridge is often taken for granted as much of the attention when it comes to turbochargers is focused on housing sizes and wheel trims. The center section is the "durability center" of a turbo. Lubrication and cooling of the unit happens here and if things go bad, it's game over. There's no doubt that ball-bearing cartridges have been a godsend for turbo enthusiasts. Almost like cheating, tuners are using the ball-bearing design's quick spool-up to negate turbo lag and to run bigger units on smaller applications.

Garrett's dual ball-bearing turbos were originally designed for diesel engines. Diesels were known to produce throttle tip-in smoking. The smoke was the byproduct of a rich condition that occurs after the throttle is opened, but before boost is realized. Response was the goal because diesels don't rev very high. So ball-bearing turbos designed to spool-up quickly were developed that shortened the time between the pedal and the boost, which helped solve the problem. The highly responsive design was perfect for extreme motorsport applications, which eventually led to the HKS/Garrett GT lineup now seen on the street, as well as offerings from Turbonetics and other manufacturers.

In the first of this two-part article, we'll examine the inner workings of the center cartridge to develop a basic understanding of its functions. In the next installment, we'll explore the different types of ball-bearing center sections. Learn how the center cartridge works as we assemble a conventional journal center section and outline some of the differences between journal bearings and Turbonetics single ball-bearing center sections.

The difference can be seen in the palm of your hand. It's all about stability and friction resistance; the ball bearing easily outshines the journal bearing in both aspects. Turbonetics reports that its single ceramic ball-bearing design spools 25 percent faster than a journal setup, while delivering 50 times greater thrust resistance.

Here's a conventional journal-bearing center section setup. On the left, a 270-degree thrust bearing and brass journal bearing.

This is the Turbonetics single-ball-bearing center cartridge. It features a beefier thrust bearing, a 360-degree washer and an angular-contact ceramic ball bearing.

Small but important, these retainer clips slip into ridges inside the center section and keep the bearing(s) in place within the cartridge.

Next, the bearing is dropped in the housing. In this picture, it's a journal-style unit.

Then the thrust bearing and the washer are put together. The thrust-bearing assembly is positioned on the housing. The dowels are used to properly line up the assembly with the oil passages in the cartridge housing.

The thrust bearing is one of the prime areas of failure. Ever wonder why oil changes are more frequent for turbocharged cars? Note the three oil ports and pads on the thrust bearing washer (arrows). Everything is riding on the thin layers of oil provided by these orifices. In journal bearing applications, a retaining clip is inserted in the backing plate, which is secured with four bolts.

Clutch Upgrade Solutions For The Evolution VIII

noreply@blogger.com (MH) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:55:00 +0000

Ask any mechanic what a fried clutch smells like and most likely they would reply that it smells somewhat like burnt toast. Unfortunately for Mitsubishi Evolution VIII owners that smell is an all too common occurrence. Hundreds of Evo VIII owners have learned the hard way about living /eating burnt toast; it's a bitter pill. Some owners with have reported clutch failure with as few as 3,000 miles on the clock. Dozens of Evo VIII forums have reports of similar occurrences. The worst part of the whole situation is that dealers will not warranty the clutch due to it being a "wear item." One clutch we removed from a vehicle only had, 3,000 miles on the odometer and it looked like a grenade was thrown at it. All the friction material on the disc disintegrated into smaller pieces.

After doing some investigation we found that one of the reasons for the failure in the clutch is the flywheel. Heat is the number one reason for clutch failure and the Evolution's flywheel does a poor job of transferring heat away from the disc. Upon closer inspection, besides the obvious blown clutch fragments, we noticed the flywheel had severe discoloration on the backside due to excessive heat buildup. Our guess is besides the overall heavy weight of the vehicle and the AWD drivetrain the driver would have to ride the clutch much more than a lighter weight 2WD vehicle for that much heat to build up in the flywheel. Add a little stop-and-go traffic into the mix and you have yourself a recipe for clutch failure. Fortunately, the after market has also recognized the need for a performance clutch for the Evolution VIII. From a simple single-disc replacement to an exotic triple-disc carbon clutch, whatever your needs are the after market has you covered.

Advanced Clutch Technology

ACT offers three different types of clutches from a basic street to full race applications. The ACT street clutch kit has a 38-percent increase in clamp load and has a torque capacity of 497 lb-ft. ACT also offers two race clutch kits: one is a four-puck disc design while the other is a six-puck disc. Both race clutch kits features a 38 percent increase in clamping load and have a torque capacity of 636 lb-ft. All three clutch kits come with a new throwout bearing and clutch alignment tool. Centerforce Centerforce offers their patented Dual-Friction design clutch utilizing custom carbon fiber organic facings and ball-bearing pressure plate. The carbon fiber organic material is better suited to handle the extreme heat conditions of the Evo's drivetrain. The increased clamping load does not mean a heavy pedal due to its ball-bearing design. You won't have to perform leg presses at the gym to operate the clutch. The Dual-Friction clutch has been tested on vehicles generating over 450 hp to the wheels. Centerforce also offers a billet steel flywheel that is lighter and better able to transfer heat away from the clutch disc. Clutch Masters Clutch Masters offers four different stages of performance clutches for the Evolution VIII, from a basic street setup to full race applications. Their street variant has a holding capacity of 70 percent over stock while the race version is capable of holding 170 percent over stock. All Clutch Master clutches come with a new throwout bearing and clutch alignment tool. The company also offers an aluminum flywheel for the Evolution VIII.

RPS Performance Products If all-out performance is what you're after then the RPS carbon-carbon twin-disc clutch is what you need. Specially designed for high-output Evolution VIII's the RPS carbon-carbon clutch is capable of holding over 700 hp and still civil enough to be used on the street. Pedal pressure is increased only by 10 percent but the engagement is extremely smooth and comfortable to drive. However, if you want the Ferrari of clutches be prepared to fork out some dough.

Bullrun Episode 3

noreply@blogger.com (MH) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 22:16:00 +0000