Archive for Technology

Audi has unveiled official details on its upcoming new supercharged 3.0 V6 TFSI engine, that will likely make its first debut installed in the upcoming Audi S4 and as an engine variant for the Audi A6. Sadly there are only technical details and no photos.

The two key technologies in the engine is direct injection and supercharging. It also marks the T in TFSI (and TSI for Volkswagen) no longer standing for Turbocharged, which probably means Volkswagen will have to find some creative alternative meaning for what TSI stands for, as it currently means Turbocharged Stratified Injection. The engine also features Valvelift, which in this implementation allows the intake cams to be adjusted through 42 degrees of angle.

Audi says they decided on a supercharger for the new 3.0 liter engine as compared to a twin turbocharged setup as comparative tests revealed the supercharging solution to be better. This means that somewhere in Audi’s test facilities there is a twin turbo version!

The engine uses a single Roots supercharger that sits in between the 90 degree V bank and is integrated into the intake manifold. The supercharger is located right behind the throttle valve, and is designed to require very low amounts of power to drive it during coasting and other low load, low engine speed driving situations as the rotors can just free-run because of the low density of intake air during those situations.

The supercharger is tuned to deliver a boost pressure of up to 0.8 bar, and is hooked up to two water-to-air intercoolers. They managed to tune it so that boost kicks in from idle speed, so there should be no delay in waiting for that thrilling forced induction surge of torque to kick in when you hit the accelerator pedal from a stand-still.

Peak torque of 420Nm is achieved from 2,500rpm and remains constant up till 4,850rpm. Peak horsepower of 290hp is hit at just under 5,000rpm! This is likely the “milder” stage of tune designed for the Audi A6 installation. Expect more power (say about 350hp) and torque for the version in the Audi S4.

Previous Posts:
B8 Audi S4 will come with supercharged V6

Mazda has announced the world’s first idle-start-stop system that restarts the engine without the use of a special starter, and will put the system into one of its production cars in 2009.

The proprietary system called the Smart Idle Stop System restarts the engine by injecting fuel via DISI direct injection into the cylinder and igniting it to force the piston down instead of using a conventional starter like other idle-stop systems. Mazda claims this results in a quieter and quicker restarting of the engine.

When the SISS system stops the engine, it makes sure the pistons that are in the compression stroke and expansion stroke are stopped in the position that creates the right balance of air volume to ensure a smooth automatic restart. The starting process then rotates the engine slightly backward, after of which normal ignition systems take over and the engine moves forward as normal.

Mazda also announced plans to reduce vehicle fuel consumption across its range by 30% by the year 2015. By 2011, all new gasoline engines will incorporate DISI direct injection. From 2011 onwards, Mazda will also introduce new diesel engines. The new 16X RENESIS rotary engine will see an introduction in the early 2010s.

We previously saw Antonov advocating the use of a dual-speed supercharger which allowed boost to be delivered effectively over a wider range of engine speeds. Antonov seems to be taking this dual-speed thing quite seriously, with a new range of gizmos that take advantage of mechanical-based gear shifting.

Their latest idea is allowing belt-driven devices like alternators, water pumps, air-conditioning systems and other engine ancillaries to be driven by two-speed systems. A two-speed planetary gearbox with one step-up ratio and one direct ratio is mounted at the engine crank. At low engine speeds, the step-up ratio is used, and at high engine speeds, it is not necessary to drive ancillary devices faster than is needed so the direct ratio is used to improve efficiency.

Antonov says adding this gearbox will only cost about US$100 and can be used with existing components. Cost is kept low because this planetary gear system is mechanical and does not use external electronic controls or hydraulic systems.

Volkswagen is partnering up with Sanyo to jointly develop high-performance energy storage systems, or in laymen speak batteries that can store LOTS of juice. According to Vee-Dub, Sanyo is currently the world’s biggest supplier of lithium-ion batteries in terms of market share, and will invest over US$769 million over the next 7 years in this project.

The joint development program will focus on lithium ion batteries, which Volkswagen hopes will be able to bring concept cars such as the Volkswagen Golf TDI Hybrid and the Audi metroproject quattro (shown above) to production. Both of these concept cars can run solely on the electric motor, without using the combustion engine.

“Our focus in future will be directed more strongly at making electrically powered automobiles alongside ones driven by more efficient combustion engines. Drivetrain electrification is the way forward if we wish to secure mobility in tomorrows world. This will involve energy recovery. The whole idea will be to no avail, however, as long as we do not have powerful energy storage systems at our disposal and as long as vehicle operations are not in tune with customer demands. This cooperation is an important step for us,” says Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn.

Volkswagen hopes to have their first production lithium-ion powered vehicle out in 2 years time.

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Ricardo Engineering Consultants (the company that designed and produced the Bugatti Veyron’s DSG gearbox and designed the JCB Dieselmax’s engine) has produced a prototype 2.0 liter V6 engine called the 2/4SIGHT, which can seamlessly switch between 2 stroke or 4 stroke mode. It produces the same amount of power as a conventional 3.5 liter V6 engine, while having reduced fuel consumption of up to 27 percent.

The prototype Ricardo 2/4SIGHT engine achieved high torque levels of over 300Nm at 1,000rpm and 460Nm of torque at 2,500rpm.

The prototype also uses other technologies such as electro-hydraulic valve actuation, direct injection, and two stage forced induction combining the use of a Rotrex supercharger and a Honeywell turbocharger. The forced induction system is only in concept form - the actual prototype uses pre-compressed air from an external compressed air supply for simplicity sake.

BMW has conquered the 2008 International Engine Of The Year awards again, with the N54 Bi-Turbo in the BMW 335i and the BMW 135i taking home the overall award and the 2.5 liter to 3 liter, and other BMW engines winning the 1.4 liter to 1.8 liter award, the 3 liter to 4 liter award, the above 4 liter award, and the best new engine award. Find out more about the results after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of International Engine of The Year 2008 Results

UK-based Antonov Automotive Technologies is advocating the use of a dual-speed supercharger (which they are already producing and continuously improving) for the current trend of downsizing displacement and force inducting engines in efforts to improve fuel economy and emissions.

“Car makers are increasingly looking at superchargers to enhance the performance of small engines. Unlike turbochargers there are no heat issues to manage, and the study of exhaust gases can then be assigned to energy recovery systems,” says Antonov operations director Chris Baylis.

According to Antonov, a dual-speed supercharger which can run faster at low engine RPMs for that instant “kick” and run slower at high engine RPMs to extend the boosted torque curve across the rev range can be much cheaper than complex combinations of a supercharger and turbocharger like the Volkswagen 1.4 liter TSI’s twin-charger.

Prodrive is currently developing an innovative system called Active Toe Control that may eliminate the need for complicated multi-link rear suspension setups.

Active Toe Control works on the rear axle of a front wheel drive car to adjust the toe angle depending on the speed of the vehicle. Toe angle is typically set between a compromise of giving a vehicle agile handling at lower speeds (toe-out on the rear axle) or making it more stable and predictable at high speed (toe-in). Active Toe Control eliminates this compromise, ensuring optimum toe angle at all times.

“Typically most drivers stay well within 60-70 per cent of their car’s capabilities. This means vehicle manufacturers are increasingly focusing on making their cars feel more sporty in this region, without necessarily increasing their outright performance,” says Matt Taylor, Prodrive chief dynamics specialist.

According to Taylor, handling characteristics are increasingly becoming attributes of vehicle brands. A German car is expected to have its yaw rate and lateral acceleration build at the same time, so you feel as if the rear wheels are following the front wheels, with the car turning around the rear axle.

A typical French front wheel drive car however, is expected to have its lateral acceleration lag behind the yaw rate gain where the suspension flexibility allows the rear wheels to move sideways before ‘pushing’ the rear of the car.

“This gives the driver the sensation that the car is momentarily turning on the spot around its centre of gravity, as the nose tucks in and the back kicks out, giving an agile feeling. Neither approach is right or wrong, it’s a matter of preference. Vehicle manufacturers really want ways to reduce the production cost of their cars. Replacing simple twist beam axles with more expensive multi-link systems goes against the grain, but as they all strive for class leading handling, it is direction they are being forced to take. With Active Toe Control you have the added benefit of refining the handling simply by changing the control algorithms on the production line or at the dealer, to give the characteristics favoured by whichever market the car is to be sold,” adds Taylor.

Active Toe Control is still conceptual at this time, and Prodrive is looking for a hardware partner to take the project to a working prototype.

Related Links:
What is Toe Angle? (Wikipedia)

Mitsubishi Motors has published a list of what they claim are technical innovations in the new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. The list does look very fancy indeed, and stuff like ETACs will lend the Lancer Evolution X a much needed more upmarket feel - the Evo 9 did not really feel its price.

• No Reverse Gear - The 5-speed manual does not have a reverse gear, instead it uses a combination of gears 1 and 3 with an idler gear on a separate shaft to reverse the direction of rotation.
• Spoilers In The Wheel Arch - A miniscule spoiler lip protects wheel houses from swirling wind, this improves aerodynamics.
• Energy Saving Glass - This reduces solar heat transmission by 66 to 100%, and cuts out UV light so that the air conditioning system does not have to work too hard.
• Stainless Steel Manifold - the insides of the exhaust manifold is smoother.
• ETACs - The Mitsubishi Electronic Total Automobile Control system lets the driver personalise his car. For example, he or she can decide how long the interior light stays on after door closure, or just disable the feature. The wing mirrors can also be set to automatically fold when the door is closed and ignition switched off.
• Acoustic Engineering - Lightweight acoustic and vibration dampening materials including foam filling for pillars for good NVH while minimizing weight increase.
• Adaptive Front Lighting - HID lamps light up the way ahead but additional beams light up to illuminate corners.
• Vents - vents are placed around the car like the ones on the hood and behind the front wheels to release heat, and a central air intake for cool air.
• F1 Piston Technology - The 4B11T uses Mahle full floating pistons which are based on F1 technology. The pistons are made of a very hard and strong alloy. The 4B11T is about 12kg lighter than the outgoing 4G63T.

FM transmitters have become a rather popular car accessory these days, as most car manufacturers have yet to settle on MP3-capable CD players as a standard feature. Burning a limited amount of tracks to Audio CDs can be a pain, so many are turning to playing songs from their portable MP3 players. Because many cars also lack aux input for audio, you have to use something called an FM transmitter to interface between the MP3 player and the head unit.

The FM transmitter basically takes your MP3 player’s audio output and transmits it on an FM frequency that you specify. Then you tune your head unit in to the frequency and you get to listen to whatever songs the MP3 player is playing. Some FM transmitters are standalone, and they read songs from a memory card like an SD card. Some are rather premium, like the iTrip for the iPod.

The Nokia N78 succeeds the N73 Music Edition, and at first sight you might assume it is just another candybar phone that’s aimed at those who want an MP3 player in their mobile phone. But one unique feature is that the phone has a built-in FM transmitter. You just select the FM frequency that you want to transmit your music on and activate the transmitter. Then just tuned into the selected frequency on your car head unit. The phone transmits RDS text as well - “Nokia”, but it would be better if the song title could be transmitted as well.

VIDEO: Nokia N78

Other features of the N78 include A-GPS with Nokia Maps 2.0, Wifi, 3.5G HSDPA connectivity, support for standard 3.5mm headphone plugs, a 3.2 megapixel camera, and Nokia Internet Radio. I’m thinking with an unlimited data plan, you could stream the internet radio to your car audio. That should give those who are bored of our local radio channels some variety.

Of course, hardcore audiophiles will never consider something like this as there’s just so much loss of quality incurred through all the multiple layers of mediums - even including air - that the audio has to go to before it reaches your speakers. Track-by-track CD audio is the choice for quality.

The new Nokia N78 will ship in Q2 2008. More photos of the Nokia N78 after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Nokia N78 with FM Transmitter