Experts participating in a power train discussion forum at last weeks SAE World Congress held in Detroit conclude that conventional gasoline engines could rival the efficiency of diesel engines by 2015. Continual development of emerging key technologies are vital for the target goal which include advances in direct injection methods, variable valve timing, cylinder deactivation, plasma ignition and homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI).
HCCI engines have a great potential to eventually providing a higher efficiency than their diesel counterparts while still producing very low emissions. HCCI engines rely on a diluted pre-mixed air/fuel charge to auto ignite and burn volumetrically due to a high, diesel like compression ratio. The air/fuel charge can be diluted through either a lean charge mixture or even being recycled with exhaust gasses.
Several technical boundaries must be broken through in order to make HCCI engines commercially viable, variations of this technology featuring other ignition systems are currently being prototyped in the hope to overcome any of these initial barriers.
27/04/07 New electric car achieves record breaking performance |
With many companies hot on the heels on building the best vehicle to combat the petrol crisis, many models claim to be the most efficient and environmentally friendly.
Where does that leave the performance conscious motorist? Well it’s a good thing that a few companies out there are thinking about us.
Meet the Velozzi. The Velozzi is an electric powered vehicle that features a gasoline fuelled micro turbine charging system. Basically, the vehicle utilises a highly efficient generator to power the vehicles charging system fuelled by regular gasoline rather than the conventional electric car. This allows for much great versatility as the vehicle can be charged at home using the residential electrical system or on the go. Ok, so that sounds pretty impressive but the real question here is how does she go? Lined up against a Ferrari F355, this thing will put the Italian stallion to shame day in day out. Think 0-100km/h times of three seconds flat while on your way to a 320km/h top speed. That’s right, she’s damn fast!
Under normal driving conditions, typical fuel economy is expected between 100 and 200 mpg, which is a lot better than the Ferrari could ever dream of. One of Velozzi’s goals when creating the vehicle was to try and curve the public perception that all electric cars were un-inspiring lookers with lack-lustre performance.
“We want the public to want to buy alternative green power cars. We want to change the public perception that environment-friendly cars look like boxes and that they are under performing. It is not so!” says Velozzi.
The technology that powers the Velozzi will be licensed to all automakers, eliminating exclusive rights so that the entire world is able to reap the benefits. Three second 0-100km/h times, mega top speed, awesome economy, low maintenance electric motors. Put me down for two thanks!
Eric Bana has crashed his immaculate ’74 Ford XB Coupe in the latest stint of the Targa Tasmania rally series. Bana who escaped from the crash without injury had over-shot a corner, striking a rock which had forced the car into tree.
The Coupe had suffered some fairly extensive front end damage which Bana stated hopes to have repaired for today’s round.
The crash, which echoes parallels with Peter Brock’s fatal Targa crash last year, saw Eric’s 600hp Falcon leave the road in similar circumstances as Peter’s Daytona Coupe.
Bana was in 53rd position at the time of the accident.
V8 Supercar organisers have confirmed that amid of variety of safety concerns their Wanneroo track could be axed from the V8’s line-up after 2009. The idea to race on the streets of Perth has been shunned off by the Perth local government with politicians going cold on the idea.
The WA Sporting Car Club had offered to rectify the safety issues surround the motoring complex in which V8 Supercar boss Wayne Cattach responded by stating that the decision reached was final.
Cattach had stated that if no resolution can be achieved then the V8’s won’t be returning after 2009.
The safety concerns addressed by Cattach included a “dangerous” pit area which mixed crowds and race cars, inadequate toilet and media facilities and a large distance between the city and the track.
If the Perth round of the V8’s bite the dust there is no official stand on what location would be used as its replacement. Some suggest that a further overseas round could be implemented, but initial thoughts on the proposal suggest that the idea would be not be one in the sports favour.
When it comes to stopping a vehicle moving at a high speed, brakes play a major role in transferring all that movement into heat energy. It’s a pretty obvious theory but there is a lot more in practice to stopping a car than just the brake system being used. Tyres, road surface and vehicle aids all play a huge role with the brake system itself falling behind on the importance list of bringing a vehicle to a halt.
Having said this, we all know how good it looks when massive brakes are installed on a vehicle. The driver automatically assumes that he is the new Peter Brock, that the car has now got super magical powers that enable him to bring it to a halt in no time all time and time again. So just how big do your brakes really need to be? Well that’s question that can’t be answered easily, but just how big can you actually go?
Well, Rotora have just released a new 12-piston braking calliper system that utilises 15” or 16” oversized 2-piece floating discs with t-billet aluminium hats, yes that’s right, 12-piston brakes.
The larger 16” brake discs that work with the callipers measure a massive 405mm in diameter and are 36mm thick. Make no mistake; these are the Gillette Fusion of the brake calliper world.
Each brake system comes with special Rotora ceramic formulated pads, stainless steel brake lines and S35C carbon steel mounting brackets and hardware.
No word yet if these bad boys will ever fit on a Falcon, but honestly I can’t ever seeing the need to. Mind you trying your mates down at the pub that you have 12-piston callipers on your XR8.
23/04/07 Rick Kelly ties with Garth Tander for the Round 3 win |
Holden are off to a flying start in this year’s V8 Supercar Championship with the Toll HSV Dealer Team racking up another Round win for the year. Rick Kelly and team mate Garth Tander have tied for the Round win with Ford driver Jamie Whincup in the Team Vodafone Falcon taking out the number three place.
The weekend was far from accident free with Paul Morris on the Sirromet Wines Commodore slamming into a barrier and flipping the car onto its roof. Morris escaped uninjured despite the 190km/h impact speed into the barrier.
Rick Kelly leads the Championship with a total of 173 points over team mate Tander on 160 points. Brother Todd Kelly is sitting in third position while Jamie Whincup sits in a tied position with Mark Skaife both sitting on 104 points.
The next race of the Championship will take drivers to Winton Motor Raceway on 18th -20th of May.
Just when you thought the GT500 couldn’t get any tougher comes these pictures circulating around the World Wide Web.
Production of this limited-edition Red Stripe Appearance Package for the Shelby GT500 Mustang is set to commence in May which includes unique exterior striping and badges, Red or Black leather seating, special interior trim with matching logos and of course a Shelby GT500 car cover.
The appearance package will set back buyers an additional US$1,650 to the list price. The official Ford press release hadn’t in fact stated how many numbers their ‘limited’ meant, I’m guessing until they run out of red paint.
V8 Supercar teams are gearing up and preparing for tomorrows practice session ahead of round three taking place at the Pukekohe circuit in New Zealand. Drivers each take part in the 50 lap practice session which commences from 1:15pm tomorrow.
Qualifying will take place on Saturday arfternoon followed by the first of three 43 lap races. Mark Skaife is going into the round as favourite for the win, with Skaife having past success at the New Zealand track.
“I always feel confident at Pukekohe as it’s a circuit I’ve gone well at,” Skaife said.
New Zealand’s own Team Kiwi Racing will be making their Ford debut. Paul Radisich is confident of a top three finish at the end of the 2007 season, beginning his serious assult on this weekend.
"TKR has the strongest Kiwi connection out of all the V8 teams," said Paul Radisich.
"The public would love to see the TKR car running at the front and that's exactly what we'll be trying for this weekend”.
Currently Rick Kelly sits on top of the point tables with 115 points, leading his closest rival Garth Tander by 13 points.
19/04/07 Ford V8 Production halted, total plant shutdown immanent |
The Ford Australia Broadmeadows plant has from Monday this week ceased production of all V8 Falcons following failed talks between part supplier Coghlan and Russell.
The meeting was to see Ford shore up for the cash-strapped parts company which supplies many key parts in the production of new Falcons and Territories. V8 Falcon has already ceased with production, with other parts imperative to the production of other models expected to run out by the end of today (Wednesday).
It is expected that Ford will be closing the doors to its Broadmeadow manufacturing facility from Thursday until further notice.
It is alleged that Ford and Delphi has offered close to one million dollars in order to keep the company afloat, and wipe clean a debt that the company had wrapped up when Ford overpaid a supply bill by $2.5 million.
The deal was rejected on the grounds that Ford Australia would front up for the workers’ entitlement obligations due to the massive industry precedent it would set.
Those who happen to work for the blue oval over in the States would have received a unusual email requesting all employees become “walking advertisements” for the automotive giant, talking up the brand as part of their new Way Forward initiative.
The message contained information that went on to convince that a higher public reputation would intimately lead to more vehicles sales, and also employees should speak with “a more confident tone of voice”.
Somehow I can’t see this plan to be a positive step forward, forced worker happiness to self promote the Ford brand will only result in a total reversal of all intentions. Time will tell if this new plan will have any effect on sales results, I’m tipping for Ford not to hold their breath.
While a Nissan GTi-R may not usually be seen gracing the pages of our forums or magazines, this one is a little different. Normally a 2-litre turbocharged all-wheel-driven Nissan wouldn’t do anything for me, but this particular blue with white wheeled hatch is has got the engine conversion of the year.
Sitting normally where the back seats would be lives a 3.5-litre 380hp V8, extracted straight from a Ferrari F355. You might need to read that last sentence a few times, but I assure you that this is not a typo and the only drugs in my system would be the abnormally strong coffee to help me deal with the usual morning tasks.
No word on just how this thing will go, but you can be assured that either way at least you know that nobody else is going to have a hope in hell at the usual traffic light battles.
A new movie based upon all sorts of high end automotive mayhem has debuted in the US today.
Appropriately titled ‘Redline’, the movie is centred on high end exotics, stunning women and more explosions than you can poke a any sized tyre leaver at.
The producer for the film, Daniel Sadek, provided the exotics in the film from his own collection of stunners that include a Lamborghini Murcielago , Enzo Ferrari, Ferrari F430, Ferrari Scaglietti and two Mercedes SLR McLarens.
One of Sadeks very own Porsche Carrera GT’s was crashed during an intense driving sequence.
No word as of yet as to whether it is actually any good, but if the trailer is anything to go by it should be good viewing for anyone that has cars or women on the brain.
A trailer and stacks more information can be found on the movies promotional website, http://www.myspace.com/Redline
The Toyo Drift Australia series is heading to Mallala Motorsport Park this weekend with three V8 Muscle cars set to return in spectacular sideways action.
Robbie Bolger in the VIP Petfoods / CAPA Monaro is hoping to be racing the coupe for the last time with a brand new VE SS set to take its place at the start for round three.
"We've had a couple of wins and almost won the championship last year which exceeded a lot of expectations,” said Bolger.
"The Nissan teams are running scared and we'll only get better from here."
This weekend Bolger will be getting a hand in the V8 vs. Japanese battle from a different kind of ally. Christian D’Agostin will be stepping into a CAPA blown Ford XR8 Ute which is said to be very confident in pulling of some high point-scoring moves and crowd winning smoking displays.
"I think it's great to have a big Ford V8 in the field, CAPA's Holden Monaro has already shown that a big V8 is capable of winning," D'Agostin commented.
"Barbagallo was tough with so little power, but in the Ford I'll have plenty of power under my right foot.
"Drifting really is very different to other forms of racing, it requires a totally different technique.
"One of the toughest things at Barbagallo was trying to de-tune my brain from the circuit racing mentality of correcting a slide, to the Drifting mentality of holding the slide, but I'm looking forward to more of it."
Joining the Holden and Ford brigade is a different kind of Skyline, once that has had the usual standard RB engine tossed into the bin and fitted with a twin turbo 5.7-litre LS1. The Skyline had problems in the first round of the drift series but is confident that all the teething problems have been sorted out so it’s full steam ahead. George Spartalis, the pilot of the Skyline said “We had pondered putting a V8 into a Japanese car for a while, and we actually bought the Skyline engineless before building it up from there.
"The actual physical build took about three months, and almost as soon as it was finished, it went on the truck to Western Australia, so there wasn't any time to test.
"The more you modify a car, the more problems you have and the more time you need to get it right and unfortunately we had some cooling problems in Perth.
"We've made some changes and the car seems better from some testing we've done - hopefully we can get out there and have a good weekend."
When a vehicles fuel system is uipgrading and bigger injectors and fuel pumps are added into the mix, a fuel pressure regulator is a must to maintain a stable fuel delivery pressure that will ensure your motor is always kept into the green.
Turbosmart have released two different fuel pressure regulator models to the market, the FPR 800 and FPR1200. As you have probably guessed by their names, the FPR 800 model is suitable to fuel systems up to 800hp while the FPR 1200 model is suited to race applications where fuel systems are up around the 1200hp mark.
Both regulators feature Aerospace-grade billet aluminium construction components and an adjustment range between 30 and 70 PSI.
Prices start at $269 for the FPR 800 model while the FPR 1200 will cost you $339. More information can be found on Turbosmarts website at www.turbosmartonline.com
Targa Tasmania is soon to be offing pod casting to all of its fans, competitors and officials so that all Targa-maniacs alike can keep up-to-date with the all the latest news before and even during current events.
When new audio files are added into the Targa Audio Library, subscribers are automatically notified of their arrival and then they can be streamed back to the listeners PC. The pod casting server can be found at www.sportcom.com.au/targaaudio.htm
We are just trying to move the whole event with the times,” said Event Director, Mark Perry.
“If people use Firefox or Internet Explorer 7 as their web-browser, it they click on the Targa Tasmania homepage they’ll see a “Podcasting” button, which if they click, will automatically see them subscribe to the podcasts.”
“Alternatively they can use any podcasting software, such as Juice, a podcast receiver, by using the feed, http://www.sportcom.com.au/targa.xml.”
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Every year Easternats carves up the Sandown International Raceway with high octane action of all sorts as the hottest cars push their engines to the limiter and beyond in a spectacular show of sparks, skids and smoke screens.
Cruising was a very popular event with Sandown Raceway bursting at the seems all weekend as cars drifted sideways through chicanes and tore shreds of those tyres in the sectioned off ‘burnout track’.
Old school models proved to be the most popular of the Falcon pick over the weekend, with tons of fine examples wearing a variety of colours such as the wild twin turbo ‘UKNTRY’.
The 6 cylinder guys were also well represented for with a quite a few turbo charged models making their track debut including a few turbocharged, single cam headed XDs.
The wider bodies of the XDs proved to be the perfect recipe for on track shenanigans with high speed drifting being the flavour of the day.
The burnout comp witnessed its fair share sacrificed tyres with a few Mustangs providing some solid entertainment.
An immaculate drag-spec Capri suffered an unfortunate blow in the qualifying round with the orange tubbed beast loosing control and contacting the wall quite hard. The end result was a damaged guard, bonnet and bad need for a wheel alignment.
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The Street Fords team is pretty content in trying to get the YouTube server to crash by placing a crazy amount of Ford filled mayhem to keep any Ford fan going. The ball is slowly is rolling with the latest addition being a little teaser of JR's XR6 Turbo 'STFORD' doing a quick lap of Oran Park Raceway.
