BMW is currently working on new technologies to better manage heat released from its vehicles. By improving heat management, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions can be reduced. Even a very fuel efficient engine can only convert about one-third of the energy contained in fuel to actually propel a car.

The rest is lost as waste heat via the car’s exhaust and radiator. To be more specific the auto maker is working on three systems including technologies to eliminate cold starts, convert heat from a car’s exhaust into electricity and use waste heat for interior heating.

To eliminate cold starts, BMW is working on improving heat insulation of engines (pictured below) that can help prevent them from cooling down quickly and retain as much residual heat as possible for the next start. With the technology that is being developed, the engine will take longer to cool down and even after 12 hours, engine temperature can still be figured at about 40 degrees Celsius.

BMW claims that each degree Celsius above the ambient temperature can help reduce fuel consumption by 0.2%. To help achieve better heating, a vehicle will be surrounded by fully clad walls and panels using materials that are normally used in the car’s underfloor for insulation.

Heat can also be converted into electric power. The automaker says that between 3 and 8% of the total fuel consumed by modern cars is due to the rising number of electricity-dependent features. BMW is testing a component called a thermoelectric generator (pictured below).

This generator uses the effect of the temperature gradient in thermoelectric semi-conductor elements generating electrical voltage (the Seebeck Effect). The bigger the difference in temperature, the higher the voltage generated. Exhaust gas temperatures, which are usually between 300 and 900 degrees Celsius, are on the hot side of the generator, and engine coolant is used for the cold side.

Basically up to 250 W of energy can be produced by integrating the component with the exhaust gas recirculation cooler. 250 W equals to about half the on-board electricity consumption in a BMW 5 Series. This can help reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 2%.

The final technology of the heat management idea is an exhaust gas heat exchanger. This system can be placed close to the catalytic converter and it can convey heat to other components or areas like the interior. It can replace the need for electrical heating modules which consume additional fuel (by about 1 liter per 100 kilometers).

Furthermore, the feature can also be used to help warm up components like the transmission (example, oil in the automatic transmission). The above mentioned technologies are in testing stages hence it can take years before we can actually see them in production cars.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

Alot are of the opinion that F1 technology rarely makes it into road cars because of the completely different way of doing things when it comes to racecars, but with F1’s budget cuts forcing components to last longer (i.e. more than just one race), R&D to improve durability can definitely benefit road car usage, or at least transmission maker Xtrac strongly thinks so.

Xtrac is a name that alot of you will probably be familiar with. They make the 4WD gearbox that goes into our Proton Satria Neo Super 2000 rally car. According to Xtrac’s chief metallurgist Steve Vanes, the latest specification of steel being required to significantly extend the life of a Formula One gearbox could be broadly applied to a wide range of vehicles to improve their driveline reliability and efficiency.

“From a cultural point of view the world of motorsport has changed considerably, and the costs and relevance of its technology to wider consumer markets has become more important. For example, the trend towards engine downsizing in road vehicles to improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions can be complemented by the downsizing of transmissions, requiring the intervention of new technologies and manufacturing processes for stronger and more lightweight components,” says Vanes.

According to Vanes, the recent cost-cutting measures in F1 have lead to the development of a brand new specification of steel necessary to extend the service life of gears, shafts, bearings, dog rings, hubs, selector forks, final drives and other highly stressed driveline components. Vanes claims that until recently the typical life of a set of gears for a main shaft was approximately 350,000 cycles. To quantify the improvement that this new Xtrac steel development as the result of F1 R&D is an extension of typical service life to more than 2.5 million cycles.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

A company called Controlled Power Technologies is offering something new called a VTES, or Variable Torque Enhancement System. It’s basically an electric supercharger. There are alot of people who try to install fans in the middle of the car’s intake tract and try to call it a supercharger, but this is a proper compressor that can spin independently of crank speed at rotational speeds of up to 70,000rpm.

CPT has installed it on various test systems including a 1.2 liter turbocharged engine. The VTES electric supercharger is meant to complement the existing turbo. CPT reported an increase of over 50% in torque at engine speeds below 3,000rpm. I guess what it does is compensate for any turbo lag there is at low engine RPMs, allowing the turbocharger to be larger than it normally would have needed to be to spool up that quickly.

VTES electric supercharger on an AVL demo engine

One way that VTES has been positioned by CPT is an alternative to mild hybrid systems, like the units installed in the Honda Civic Hybrid and the Kia Forte LPI Hybrid. According to CPT senior engineering manager Mark Criddle, one method that car makers have been using to boost performance of downsized engines is integrating an electric motor between the engine and transmission to create a mild hybrid, but this is a costly exercise and can be difficult to package within a small car’s front wheel drive engine bay.

The VTES system can provide a viable low cost micro-hybrid solution, significantly increasing an engine’s air charge density over the critical first 10 combustion cycles of a low speed transient. The supercharger’s speed can increase from zero up to 70,000rpm in less than 1/3 of a second. Adding 25kW at the crank at low engine speeds via VTES costs significantly less than a 25kW assist electric motor. It uses standard 12V power.

Left: 1.2L turbo inline-3 direct injection engine
Right: 2.0 liter turbo inline-4 direct injection engine

It will be featured in the HyBoost system, a project led by Ricardo and supported by the UK government’s Technology Strategy Board. It will also be used in an engine project by AVL. AVL is an Austrian-based independent engine developer. The 1.6 liter engine that you can find in the Chery Tiggo here in Malaysia was developed by AVL and they are actually pretty good. Some time ago there was news that Fiat was interested in using Chery’s AVL-designed ACTECO family engines in Fiat cars in China.

AVL previously showcased a demonostrator engine using CPT’s electric supercharger. A 2.0 liter inline-4 direct injection engine was equipped with a regular single-scroll wastegated turbocharger, and CPT’s VTES electric supercharger. It resulted in 200 PS and 400Nm of peak torque. The engine also has auto stop-start and smart alternator control. They installed it into a Volkswagen Passat and the resulting CO2 emissions were 159g/km. Comparatively, the Passat’s original 200 PS 2.0 TSI petrol and 170 PS 2.0 TDI diesel engines gave out 194 g/km and 165g/km respectively.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

A Ford that shoots laser beams? No, we’re not talking about James Bond’s next Ford Fusion. Nor are we talking about Ford bringing back the Laser nameplate. Ford and the University of Liverpool have just received a £200,000 grant from UK government-funded Carbon Trust to develop a car ignition system that uses laser beams instead of spark plugs to ignite combustion.

A laser (that can be fired over 50 times per second) is directed through a lense towards a point in the combustion chamber where the fuel is most concentrated. It could also be split into multiple beams to give multiple ignition points.

Using a laser could result in better use of cylinder head space as the fiber optic cable that can be used to deliver this laser beam is much thinner than a relatively big spark plug. This will allow more space in the head to be used for other things such as larger valves. However, apparently tests showed that fiber optic cables were too affected by vibration in the engine bay, so the best would be via an “optical plug”.

If you want to read more about laser ignition, it’s best to hear it from the horse’s mouth themselves. Read the report by the University of Liverpool. Watch a video after the jump comparing a conventional spark with laser ignition.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

The US Government has loaned US$ 5.9 billion to Ford, for the development of fuel-saving technologies including hybrid-electric systems, alternative-fuel power plants, direct-injection as well as other developments that are related to help reduce fuel consumption such as dual clutch transmissions, vehicle weight reduction and aerodynamic efficiency.

On that note, Ford has revealed more information about its electric car programs. First on the list, is a ‘pure battery electric’, or (BEV) Transit Connect commercial van that would be introduced next year. Ford will be working hand in hand with Smith Electric U.S on the development of the electric Transit.

Next on the list is something that is more interesting, which is the production of a BEV Focus. The emissions-free Focus would be co-developed with Magna, and can hit the streets by 2011. Both the BEV Transit Connect and BEC Focus are expected to deliver up to anywhere between 160 and 257 kilometers in terms of driving range.

Ford’s CEO Alan Mulally revealed, “This green partnership between Ford and the U.S. Government will help accelerate the development of advanced technologies for even better fuel efficiency and emissions. Ford is absolutely committed to fuel economy leadership with every new model we introduce. In fact, we plan to invest nearly $14 billion in advanced technology vehicles in the next seven years.”

FoMoCo will also work on plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) as well as “next generation” hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). Both the PHEV and the HEV could be introduced by 2012.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

Full details and photos of the new Mercedes-Benz ESF 2009 research vehicle have been unveiled. Based on the S 400 HYBRID, the Mercedes-Benz ESF 2009 essentially features 5 key new safety elements which are the following:

• PRE-SAFE Structure – The inflatable metal structures save weight or increase the stability of structural components. When at rest, the metal section is in a folded state to save space. If its protective effect is required, a gas generator builds up an internal pressure of 10 to 20 bar within fractions of a second, causing the section to unfold for significantly more stability.
• Braking Bag – If the car’s sensor system concludes that an impact is unavoidable, the Braking Bag located under the car is deployed shortly before the crash and stabilises the car on the road surface by means of a friction coating. The vehicle’s vertical acceleration increases the friction, and helps to decelerate the vehicle before the impact occurs.
• Interactive Vehicle Communication – The ESF 2009 is able to communicate directly with other vehicles, or via relay stations. Using “ad hoc” networks and Wi-Fi radio technology, it is e.g. able to receive and transmit warnings of bad weather or obstacles in the road.
• PRE-SAFE Pulse – It reduces the forces acting on the torsos of the occupants during a lateral collision by around one third. It does this by moving them towards the center of the vehicle by up to 50mm as a precautionary measure. As an active restraint system, it uses the air chambers in the side bolsters of the seat backrests.
• Spotlight lighting function – This partial LED main beam specifically illuminates potential hazards. If the infrared camera of Night View Assist PLUS e.g. detects animals like deer at the roadside or pedestrians on the road, these can be briefly illuminated beyond the normal area covered by the main beams, as if by a spotlight.

Look after the jump for full descriptions of the various technology.

PRE-SAFE Structure: inflatable metal structures

It sounds like science-fiction: concealed metallic structures that wait patiently in a collapsed, space-saving state until they are required to go into action. Daimler researchers working together with the gas generator specialists at Autoliv spent two years actively researching such active metal support systems, and tested a variety of applications. For the very first time, inflatable metal side impact protection can be seen in the ESF 2009.

Imagine an inflatable mattress. When it is not needed, it is rolled up flat and e.g. consigned to a shelf in the attic. When inflated, however, it has a highly resistant structure that can easily carry a man weighing 100 kilograms. In-flatable metallic structures work in the same way: when not in use, the metal section is folded together to save space. Once its protective effect is needed, a gas generator just like those used to inflate airbags builds up an internal pressure of 10 to 20 bar within fractions of a second, the metal section is unfolded and the structure has significantly greater stability.

The advantages are obvious, and mainly involve packaging and weight: more stable structures can be accommodated within the increasingly tight installation spaces of an automobile, or weight can be greatly reduced while maintaining the same stability. Using the example of the side impact protection member in the doors of the S-Class, the researchers have calculated that around 500 grams less weight per door would be feasible.

Daimler safety researchers examined various applications for these innova-tive, crash-responsive metal structures, among them side impact protection, the side skirts and the seat cross-members. These have the advantage of being several centimetres away from the impact zone. The gas generator therefore only needs to be activated when a crash has definitely taken place.

One of the still unsolved problems of these protective members is that unlike the PRE-SAFE® measures already in series production, their active deformation is not reversible. Moreover, the activation of protective members installed well to the outside of the bodyshell that can be inflated by in-ternal pressure requires their deployment before the crash. The pre-crash sensor system must therefore provide highly reliable signals.

Another hurdle is the currently still uncompetitive cost level of the required gas generators in relation to the cost requirements for weight-saving meas-ures. These crash-responsive metal structures are therefore still a thing of the future – but the same was also once true of standard safety features like the airbag, ABS or ESP®.

Braking Bag: a braking parachute for the car

Airbags in cars have previously only been used as a restraint system for the occupants. In the future they might also be a PRE-CRASH- compo-nent, activating an auxiliary brake in the vehicle floor and improving both deceleration and compatibility with the other vehicle involved in the accident.

Energy is not only reducible by braking the road wheels: jet fighters and dragsters use braking parachutes, for example. And as early as 1952, Mer-cedes-Benz was already experimenting with an air-brake at the Le Mans race: when decelerating, the driver was able to move a metal panel on the roof of his racing SL to a vertical position. Even earlier, coachmen used special wheel chocks. These were placed in front of one of both rear wheels on long downhill gradients, and their iron-clad base helped to brake the ve-hicle during the descent.

This is an old idea that Mercedes safety researchers have revitalised on a similar principle with the Braking Bag, an airbag installed between the front axle carrier and the underbody panelling. If the sensor system concludes that an impact is inevitable, the PRE-SAFE® system not only initiates automatic emergency braking.

At the same time the Braking Bag is deployed just before the crash, supporting the car against the road surface by means of a friction coating. The vehicle’s vertical acceleration increases the friction and has an additional braking effect before the impact. The Braking Bag uses the PRE-CRASH sensors in Mercedes-Benz cars, which are already able to initiate preventive occupant protection measures in critical driving situations.

There are several advantages to this unusual auxiliary brake:

• The rate of deceleration is briefly increased to over 20 m/sec/sec. This scrubs additional energy beyond the potentials of a wheel brake, thereby reducing accident severity.
• Because the car is raised upwards by up to eight centimetres within a short time, the dive effect that occurs with conventional brakes is substantially compensated. This improves geometrical compatibility with the other party in an accident.
• This vertical movement also improves the effects of the restraint systems: the seats move towards the occupants by around three centi-metres, which enables the belt tensioners to take up more slack. The high deceleration rate before the impact has a “pretensioning” effect on the occupants, so to speak.
• Downward support for the vehicle during the crash reduces the typi-cal diving motion during a collision.

All in all, the braking airbag has the effect of an additional crumple zone.

Mercedes engineers have calculated that even at a low 50 km/h, the additional deceleration has the same effect as lengthening the front end by 180 mm. Initial driving tests in a C-Class have already shown the effectiveness of this new auxiliary brake – though it will still be some time before the Brak-ing Bag becomes another component of the PRE-SAFE® system.

Interactive Vehicle Communication: cars report what their sensors have detected

Cars sometimes know more about their surroundings than their drivers. With the help of intelligent communication systems, vehicles themselves are able to contribute to improved road safety and mobility.

A patch of black ice on the next bend? A bank of fog three kilometres down the road? A new traffic tailback where roadworks are being carried out? What used to come as an unpleasant surprise is far less frightening if the approaching driver receives an up-to-date is warning beforehand. This is a task that will in future be carried out by the other vehicles on the roads at the time – automatically, by radio. This is the basic idea behind Interactive Vehicle Communication.

Cars are nowadays able to collect a great deal of information about the cur-rent driving situation, as the numerous sensors, cameras and control units for the dynamic and assistance systems can register e.g. poor weather conditions just as well as sudden braking and avoiding maneuvers, or broken-down vehicles on the road. There are also other sources of information, for example local police reports. This information can be passed on via additional relay stations (”car-to-x”) such as radio masts at the roadside, stationary nodal points (e.g. traffic centers and overhead gantries) or via the internet. The onboard computer classifies all the reports according to plausibility and relevance. Tailback reports on the radio which are out-of-date or irrelevant to the individual driver will then be a thing of the past.

Mercedes engineers have been working on “Interactive Vehicle Communication” as a technology of the future for more than seven years. The ESF 2009 safety concept vehicle demonstrates the current status of this re-search: this Mercedes can automatically recognize an approaching police car, for example, and warn its driver by showing a symbol in the display. It is also possible to send and receive warnings of bad weather or obstacles in the road.

The exchange of data between vehicles is via so-called “ad hoc” networks, connections that are spontaneously formed between the vehicles over short distances. These wireless local area networks (WLANs) are self-organising, and require no external infrastructure. Transmission and reception is at a frequency of 5.9 gigahertz, over a distance of up to 500 metres. In fact the achievable communication range is much greater, as oncoming vehicles pass the messages on.

Cars that communicate with each other can do more than just pass on in-formation: linked to modern proximity control systems such as DISTRONIC Plus from Mercedes-Benz, they can help to harmonise the traffic flow and avoid tailbacks by automatically selecting the most suitable vehicle speed when joining a motorway. And collisions can be avoided if onboard sensors recognise an impending accident and automatically regulate the distance.

This technology is currently demonstrating its practicality in the “Safe Intelli-gent Mobility – Test area Germany” project (simTD), in which Mercedes-Benz and other German manufacturers and suppliers are taking part. Up to 400 vehicles communicate with each other in these, the world’s largest field trials for Interactive Vehicle Communication. simTD is being conducted in the densely populated Frankfurt/Rhine-Main area from autumn 2008 to 2012. Experts expect us-able mobile information networks with full coverage to become a possibility when around ten percent of all vehicles have this communications capability.

PRE-SAFE Pulse: an automatic nudge in the ribs

With the multiple award-winning PRE-SAFE® system, Mercedes-Benz has once again been underlining its role as a pioneer in the safety field since 2002: once the system recognises certain critical driving situations, PRE-SAFE® activates occupant protection measures as a precaution. As a further development, PRE-SAFE Pulse is able to reduce the loads acting on the torsos of the occupants by around one third during a side impact by preventively moving them towards the centre of the vehicle.

Out of harm’s way – every millimetre counts during an accident. When an impending lateral collision is recognised, PRE-SAFE Pulse as an active restraint system moves the driver and front passenger towards the centre of the vehicle, using air chambers in the side bolsters of the seat backrests. If the onboard sensors report that a side impact is inevitable, these are inflated within fractions of a second and give the seat occupants a slight nudge in the ribs. This impulse is enough to move them out of the danger zone by up to 50 millimetres.

Even before the accident, it also accelerates the seat occupant in the direction he/she will later take during the accident. This reduces the loads acting on the occupant during the impact. The seat does not need to be replaced or repaired when this preventive safety system has been activated, as PRE-SAFE Pulse is reversible.

PRE-SAFE Pulse is being developed on the basis of the dynamic multicontour seat in the new Mercedes E-Class. Depending on the steering angle, lateral acceleration and speed, the inflation pressure and volume of the air chambers in the side bolsters of the seat backrests are already varied to give the driver and front passenger even better lateral support.

Partial main beam: full beam ahead at all times

Whether as brake lights and indicators in many Mercedes models, or as daytime driving lights in the new E and S-Class, LED lighting technology is seeing increasing use at Mercedes-Benz. And things will be brightening up at night as well in future: Mercedes lighting specialists are working on an adaptive LED main beam system that automatically excludes oncoming traffic from the cone of light. A special spotlight function also allows potential hazards to receive additional illumination.

Main beam, low beam, main beam… anybody travelling on country roads in western Europe at night is seldom able to drive with the main beams on for very long. The frequency of oncoming traffic dictates that the driver is soon obliged to switch to low beam, either manually or more conveniently using the Main Beam Assist in the new Mercedes E-Class. This is not enough to satisfy the researchers at Mercedes-Benz, however. Because during the phases when the driver switches to low beam – with its shorter range – to avoid dazzling others, it is possible to overlook other road users or potential hazards.

The lighting specialists at Mercedes-Benz are therefore working on an LED-based adaptive main beam system. This enables the driver to leave the main beams switched on constantly. As soon as the system detects oncoming traffic with the help of a camera, it automatically adjusts the light distribution accordingly. The Mercedes ESF 2009 experimental safety vehicle shows precisely how this works. A headlamp is made up of 100 LEDs. These semiconductor elements can be individually activated, so that when there is oncoming traffic, the precise beam area in which other road users are located can be darkened down. The system recognises these using an infrared camera. The purely electronic module is also able to respond much faster than present electro-mechanical shutter/roller assemblies.

The light distribution can also be refined in the opposite direction: a special spotlight function in the LED array of the research vehicle also enables potential hazards to be highlighted. If the infrared camera detects pedestrians in the road ahead, for example, they can be briefly lit up beyond the normal main beam illumination, as if by an aimed spotlight. The driver is thus alerted to the potential danger.

Side Reflect: not all Mercedes are grey at night

Reflective material on the body and tyres could further improve the lateral visibility of vehicles, and help to avoid accidents at road junc-tions.

Reflective materials have long been commonplace in children’s clothing, and in the case of bicycles it is even mandatory to have reflectors in the wheel spokes. So the engineers at Mercedes-Benz asked themselves why the perceptual safety of cars could not be improved in the same way. Accordingly the ESF 2009 research car features appropriate reflective elements when viewed from the side. These modifications are not visible during the daytime, but the additional benefit shows up when dusk and darkness fall.

Together with the manufacturer Continental, Mercedes specialists have developed a reflective strip on the tyres which visually enlarges the wheels in daylight and creates an easily visible band of light when illuminated at night. As a further safety feature there are reflective seals between the doors and the roof, a joint development with the adhesive foil specialist 3M. The aim is to make the vehicle’s silhouette more easily visible in the dark. This enables potential accident situations on junctions or in the form of unlit, parked vehicles to be defused.

Reflective foils consist if a reflective base layer with tiny balls of glass. When a ray of light hits the foil, it is refracted by the glass balls, reflected by the base layer and refracted again on exiting. As a result, most of the light is reflected back in its original direction.

Belt Bag: a clever combination of a seat belt and airbag

The seat belt is regarded as one of the most important inventions of the 20th Century, and has saved countless lives. It has been further improved with belt tensioners and belt force limiters, but that is not the end of its development: an innovative extension to the width of the belt, known as a Belt Bag, is able to reduce the risk of injury even further in an accident.

When a seat belt limits the movement of its wearer’s torso as intended during a collision, it subjects the body to considerable forces. The Belt Bag, on whose development Mercedes-Benz is working intensively with the seat belt specialist Autoliv, practically doubles its width within fractions of a second during an accident. This increase in the width of the belt spreads the pressure over a wider area, thereby reducing the risk of injury. This is particularly beneficial for older passengers, whose ribcage is no longer so flexible.

As the name suggests, the Belt Bag is a combination of a seat belt and air-bag. When the crash sensors detect a serious impact, the airbag control unit activates the Belt Bag. A generator at the belt armature inflates the double-layered belt, which has Velcro seams. The volume of the Belt Bag is around four litres. The developers consider the Belt Bag to deliver the greatest benefits in the rear of the car, where conventional airbags cannot be installed. It is therefore conceivable that the Belt Bag could be used here by Mercedes-Benz in the foreseeable future.

Child Protect: safety and comfort for very small passengers

Mercedes engineers have thought about how children might travel even more safely in a car.

The two major advantages of the Mercedes concept study “Child Protect” over conventional child safety seats are an improved protective effect and greater comfort for the child. This is accompanied by a high level of quality and at-tractive visual integration of the seat into the interior of Mercedes models. This system jointly designed with the restraint system specialist Takata is suitable for children aged between three and 12 years (weight categories II and III). One special feature is its modular construction, as the height and width can be individually adapted to the child’s physical proportions.

“Child Protect” has a tubular frame construction. This design offers better support and greater rigidity than versions of moulded plastic during a side impact. The prominent side bolsters in the shoulder and head area keep the child in place and minimise body movement during an accident. At the same time they prevent the child from coming into contact with vehicle components penetrating into the interior, or with the passenger in the adjacent seat. This seat study, which is approved according to the ECE R44.04 standard, is also equipped with automatic, sensor-controlled airbag deactivation on the front passenger seat.

As an additional benefit, Mercedes engineers are considering the addition of a buggy subframe to the child seat. This would also ensure that children travel in comfort, style and safety outside the car.

PRE-SAFE 360°: full emergency braking before an impact

With the multiple award-winning PRE-SAFE® system, Mercedes-Benz has once again been underlining its role as a pioneer in the safety field since 2002: once the system recognises certain critical driving situa-tions, PRE-SAFE® activates occupant protection measures as a precaution. As a further development, PRE-SAFE 360° monitors not only the areas to the side, but also to the rear of the vehicle.

PRE-SAFE 360° uses short-range or multi-mode sensors to monitor the area behind the vehicle to a range of up to 60 metres. If the accident early-warning system registers that a collision is unavoidable, the brakes are ap-plied around 600 milliseconds before the impact. If the already stationary car is braked during a rear-end collision, this not only prevents secondary accidents where the car is e.g. uncontrollably shunted into a road junction or onto a pedestrian crossing. The severity of possible whiplash injuries to the occupants can also be reduced by application of the brakes, as the vehicle and therefore its occupants have less forward acceleration. The driver always has the final decision with PRE-SAFE 360°, however: if he accelerates because he is able to prevent the rear-end collision by moving forward, for example, the brakes are instantly released.

Contrary to the widely held opinion among drivers, it does not make sense to take one’s foot off the brake pedal before an impending rear-end collision. The correct action would be to apply the brakes as hard as possible, how-ever accident research findings show that the driver of a stationary vehicle impacted from the rear is moved backwards by up to 20 centimetres. This inevitably causes his feet to slip from the pedals.

The protective effect of PRE-SAFE 360° supports that of the NECK-PRO crash-responsive head restraints, which are already standard equipment in many Mercedes model series. If the sensor system detects a rear-end collision with a defined impact severity, it releases pre-tensioned springs inside the head restraints, causing the head restraints to move forward by about 40 millimetres and upwards by 30 millimetres within a matter of milliseconds. This means that the heads of the driver and front passenger are supported at an early stage than with conventional head restraints.

Size Adaptive Airbags: tailor-made airbags

The 1980 Mercedes S-Class (W 126) was the first series production car equipped with an airbag. In the meantime airbags have firmly established themselves across all vehicle segments. Airbags have saved many human lives and reduced the severity of injuries. Mercedes safety specialists are now working on a further improvement to their protective effect by developing airbags with a variable volume.

There are already adaptive airbags at Mercedes-Benz today, for in many model series the airbags are activated in two stages depending on the assessed severity of the impact. Future generations of this restraint system will not only take accident severity into account, but adapt themselves to the individual vehicle occupants: “Size Adaptive Airbags” automatically adjust their volume to the seating position and stature of the front passenger as recognised by the sensors. For whether a small front passenger is hunched up close to the dashboard or a tall front passenger has his seat moved well back is certainly a factor in the protective effect of the airbag. The weight of the front passenger, and therefore the forces acting on the airbag during an accident, are also important.

“Size Adaptive Airbags” enable occupant contact with the airbag to be optimally timed, whatever his weight and seating position. The restraint system can therefore dampen the impact to optimum effect. This Mercedes development varies the volume on the front passenger side between 90 and 150 litres. For purposes of comparison, conventional front passenger airbags have a volume of around 120 litres.

The system uses three retaining bands with which the airbag contours are adjusted to limit the volume. The retaining bands are fitted on electrically driven spools. When the airbag is activated, only as much band length is re-leased as the control unit has calculated on the basis of sensor data for the seating position and weight of the occupant.

Child Cam: keeping an eye on the kids

With the help of a small camera, drivers will in future be able to keep children traveling in the rear under control without taking their eyes off the road.

“Mum, Vanessa keeps pulling my hair!” “John’s seat belt isn’t properly fastened.” – Parents know that when the kids are on board, there is usually no shortage of action on the rear seats. But if the driver looks back to see what is going on, there is a risk of an accident. Accordingly Mercedes safety experts have developed “Child Cam”, a simple camera system that enables the kids to be observed without taking one’s eyes off the road.

A small camera is mounted on the roof lining behind the front seats. If re-quired its images can be transferred to the dashboard display – not in video form, but as sequences of stills to avoid distraction. The camera position provides a slight bird’s-eye view, which allows children in rear-facing child seats to be observed more easily.

“Child Cam” also shows rear areas that are not easy for the driver to ob-serve, e.g. the seat directly behind. And in the case of an estate car, SUV or van, it is also possible to monitor the luggage compartment. This is very useful if domestic pets are on board, for example.

Interseat Protection: don’t get too close to me

Danger not only comes from outside during an accident. In unfortunate cases even passengers wearing their seat belts can come into contact and injure each other. Interseat Protection in both seat rows helps to prevent this.

Mercedes safety specialists are presenting two proposed solutions in one with Interseat Protection: a protective system for the driver/front passenger and one for the rear-seat passengers. As a common feature of both, the occupants are physically separated from each other if the PRE-SAFE® system registers an accident. Within fractions of a second, a lattice-like airbag sup-port structure extends from between the front seats to keep the driver and front passenger apart. A seat-mounted solution like this has the advantage that the protective barrier adapts itself to the position of the front seats.

The seat position does not need to be taken into account in the rear, there-fore a protective pad located above the centre armrest is used when an accident is detected. This pad helps to prevent the two passengers in the rear from impacting each other. When the pad is at rest it can be activated as part of PRE-SAFE®. Within fractions of a second, the seat divider emerges and the two head supports are deployed.

Mercedes accident research has shown that during a side impact, and also during a rollover, the heads of the passengers move along different paths: around 50 milliseconds after the accident, the head of the person facing the impact changes the direction of its evasive movement towards the centre of the vehicle – impelled by the sidebag and head airbag. A second important finding from these analyses is that a collision between the passengers can only be avoided if the torso is supported. The protective pad of the Interseat Protection system is dimensioned accordingly.

In normal cases the protective pad in the rear is more of an innovative com-fort feature: the pad is designed to be extended by the passengers at the touch of a button, when it can be used as a head and shoulder support for a comfortable sleeping position. It would also be conceivable to use the space for stowage or a cooler box, or an entertainment console.

Hybrid Battery Shield: seven-stage safety system

A drive train with hybrid technology lowers fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. At the same time this introduces high-voltage electricity and sophisticated battery systems into passenger car engineering, how-ever. Thanks to their long experience with fuel cell technology, Mercedes development engineers are extremely well prepared for the new challenges this presents. A comprehensive, seven-stage safety con-cept is the result.

The challenge lay in not only complying with all the worldwide and in-house crash test requirements, but also in ensuring the greatest possible safety for the electrical components. This safety system already applies in production, includes workshop personnel during servicing and maintenance, and also takes the emergency services into account when passengers need to be re-covered following an accident. The seven-stage concept in detail:

1. In the first stage all the wiring is colour-coded to eliminate confusion, and all components are marked with safety instructions. This makes the regular technical inspections easier to carry out.

2. The second stage comprises comprehensive contact protection for the entire system by means of generous insulation and newly developed, dedicated connectors.

3. As part of the third stage, the lithium-ion battery has been given a whole package of carefully coordinated safety measures. This innovative battery is accommodated in a high-strength steel housing, and also secured in place. Bedding the battery cells in a special gel effectively dampens any jolts and knocks. There is also a blow-off vent with a rupture disc and a separate cooling circuit. An internal electronic controller continuously monitors the safety requirements and immediately signals any malfunctions.

4. The fourth stage of the safety concept includes separation of the battery terminals, individual safety-wiring for all high-voltage components and continuous monitoring by multiple interlock switches. This means that all high-voltage components are connected by an electric loop. In the event of a malfunction the high-voltage system is automatically switched off.

5. Active discharging of the high-voltage system as soon as the ignition is switched to “Off”, or in the event of a malfunction, is part of the fifth stage.

6. During an accident, the high-voltage system is completely switched off within fractions of a second.

7. As the seventh and last stage, the system is continuously monitored for short circuits.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

Mercedes-Benz has taken the new W221 Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid and modified it with experimental safety features. The new testbed is called the ESF 2009 Experimental Safety Vehicle.

The features are quite interesting – inflatable metal structures consisting of side impact bars that can be blown to pressure of between 10 to 20 bar, an “airbag brake” which is located below the car and inflates to create friction with the road to help reduce speed and raise the car up by 80mm to compensate for brake dive, seat bolsters that shift the passengers 50mm into the center of the cabin to reduce injuries from side impacts, and even seatbelts installed inside the airbags.

These are just a preview – the full press release has yet to be unveiled by Daimler. Stay tuned for full details on these experimental safety features.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

BMW’s Emergency Stop Assistant project is part of The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research’s SmartSenior program, which aims to develop intelligent services to make the lives of senior citizens easier and safer. BMW’s system is of course designed to make it safer for senior citizens to drive.

As you know, as we get older more and more health problems start to appear. Some older people may develop intermittent cardiovascular problems, and this may also apply to young people if they are unlucky or live an unhealthy lifestyle. What if you get a heart attack while driving, something that really might just happen considering the kind of traffic and bandits you have to deal with on Malaysian roads on a daily basis.

The BMW Emergency Stop Assistant system automatically activates an autonomous driving mode when it detects that the driver has a serious medical problem (through the use of driver vital sensors), and carries out a controlled emergency stop. It uses sensors around the car to detect the traffic around it to maneuver carefully to the outer edge of the road with the hazard lights on before stopping. BMW ConnectedDrive then performs and emergency call for medical and traffic assistance.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

BMW’s new N55 engine family’s 306 horsepower and 400Nm power and torque output figures reminds us of the original moment when BMW first announced it was bringing back forced induction into the BMW engine line-up. The N54 engine was factory rated to put out that exact same amount, and it did that via the use of gasoline direct injection and two turbochargers running together, fed gas from three cylinders each.

Three years later, we still have 306 horsepower and 400Nm of torque, but BMW has achieved it using only one turbocharger instead of two. The new N55B30 engine also churns out peak boost and torque faster than the N54, with 400Nm hit at the 1,200rpm point instead of the N54B30’s 1,3000rpm mark.

The single turbocharger uses twin scroll technology. A twin scroll turbine housing uses dual side by side exhaust gas inlets into the housing, fed by two sources of exhaust pulses. A single path is also not able to take advantage of all the exhaust gas pulses effectively. Since there are two passages, each has a smaller overall volume than a single scroll turbo path, thus the exhaust velocity of each pulse can be maintained.

The N55B30 is not the first BMW engine to use a twin scroll turbocharger, as the BMW Prince engine in the MINI Cooper S also uses one. In the Cooper S, the turbocharger’s twin-scroll principle is fed by two sets of two cylinders each, while in this N55 inline-6 engine it is two groups of 3 cylinders each.

The N54 did not feature Valvetronic because in a turbocharged engine, throttle losses can be countered by the positive pressure of the turbocharged air being blown into the engine. But the main reason there was no Valvetronic is because the complexity of designing a cylinder head that could fit Valvetronic mechanisms as well as direct injection. It is because of this reason that the N53 normally aspirated direct injection engines also do not feature Valvetronic.

BMW engineers probably finally managed to cram all that technology into the engine and make it possible for them to work all together. The new N55B30 has both a new generation Valvetronic variable valve management system and High Pressure Injection (direct injection at up to 200 bar). Valvetronic replaces the throttle butterfly functions with a control unit infinitely varying the valve stroke on the intake valves. This means the intake is not obstructed by a partially closed throttle during low load operations. The new N55 also features a map-controlled oil pump which takes up less energy, which BMW says is a first in a turbocharged engine.

One of the variations of the Volkswagen EA888 engine also features variable valve management combined with direct injection but the EA888’s valvelift system is only fitted on the exhaust valves of the engine and works in two stages – a high cam and a low cam, unlike Valvetronic which is continuously variable.

Fitted in the newly unveiled BMW 535i GT, the new N55B30 engine takes the machine from 0 to 100km/h in just 6.3 seconds, up to a top speed of 250km/h.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

GM OnStar is a subscription-bsaed information service for GM cars that provide communications, vehicle security, GPS turn-by-turn navigation and various other features in the US and Canada. You can say it’s similiar to BMW’s BMW Assist and BMW ConnectedDrive.

The OnStar service will reportedly soon add the ability to update your Twitter status from inside your car via a voice to text conversion feature. You can also listen for responses to your tweet via a text to voice feature.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

In a car crash we have side airbags for side impacts but in cases where there are two or more passengers in the rear, they can end up hitting each other. Toyota’s solution for this is a new rear-seat center airbag which deploys between the rear passenger seats. It is fitted in a fixed rear-seat center console, and will debut in a production Toyota soon. Another first in the world of airbags for Toyota recently was the Toyota iQ’s rear curtain airbag, necessary because the rear passengers are so near the rear window.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

Fiat has revealed a new engine technology called the MultiAir technology which significantly reduces emissions, while improving fuel economy and power delivery. This rather complicated electro-hydraulic variable valve actuation technology is implemented to the intake system. A piston is connected to the intake valve via a hydraulic chamber, which is controlled by a solenoid valve. The movement of this piston is controlled by a mechanical intake camshaft.

When the solenoid valve is closed, the oil in the hydraulic chamber behaves like a solid body and transmits the lift schedule to the intake valves. The lift schedule is imposed by the mechanical intake camshaft. When the solenoid valve is open on the other hand, the hydraulic chamber and the intake valves are de-coupled; the intake valves do not follow the intake camshaft anymore and close under the valve spring action.

The final part of the valve closing stroke is controlled by a dedicated hydraulic brake, to ensure a soft and regular landing phase in any engine operating conditions. Through solenoid valve opening and closing time control, a wide range of optimum intake valve opening schedules can be easily obtained. Continue reading to view more images and to watch a video.

To help improve power, the solenoid valve is always closed and full valve opening is achieved following completely the mechanical camshaft, which is specifically designed to maximize power at high engine speed (long opening time). For low rpm torque, the solenoid valve is opened near the end of the camshaft profile, leading to early intake valve closing. This eliminates unwanted backflow into the manifold and maximizes the air mass trapped in the cylinders.

In engine part-load, the solenoid valve is opened earlier, causing partial valve openings to control the trapped air mass as a function of the required torque. Alternatively the intake valves can be partially opened by closing the solenoid valve once the mechanical camshaft action has already started. In this case the air stream into the cylinder is faster and results in higher in-cylinder turbulence.

The last two actuation modes can be combined in the same intake stroke, generating a so-called Multilift mode that enhances turbulence and combustion rate at very low loads. To help you understand this very complicated system, there is a video to assist you. Overall, benefits include; 10% increase in power, 15% improvement in low rpm torque, 10% reduction in fuel consumption and emissions output for naturally aspirated engines, 25% improvement in fuel efficiency for turbocharged engines and between 40% – 60% reduction in emissions output during cold starts and warm up.

This new technology can also be adapted to all types of internal combustion engines including diesel. Fiat will first offer the MultiAir technology with the 16-valve 1.4 liter engine family, in both naturally aspirated and turbocharged forms. The first vehicle to carry the system would be the Alfa Romeo MiTo by end of this year.

VIDEO: Fiat Multi-Air

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

Lotus has revealed some details about the Lotus Omnivore engine concept that it will be unveiling at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. The Omnivore runs on a two-stroke operating cycle that Lotus says is more suited to flex-fuel operations than conventional 4-stroke engines. It also has direct fuel injection, a system called Orbital FlexDI that allows fine-tuning the injection spray to help with HCCI (sparkless ignition) control. The engine uses a monoblock design that combines the block and head, thus eliminating the cylinder head gasket. This improves durability and reduces weight. The exhaust port has a charge trapping valve that allows assymetrical exhaust flow timing and a continuously variable exhaust opening point. A puck at the top of the combustion chamber moves up and down to alter the geometric compression, thus achieving variable compression ratio.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

The next time you plan a holiday in Europe, you may want to rent a BMW and make it a road trip holiday. BMW’s new BMW Routes feature (currently still in testing and might be offered on BMW Online services soon) has 25 routes in 5 European countries, designed to run over the course of multiple days with detailed information including photos and even the opening hours of the various stops for interesting sights or food etc you can make along the way. It’s an online portal where you can choose your route and have it sent to your BMW’s iDrive system via ConnectedDrive.

Future plans for BMW include the ability for customers to define their own routes and even share them with other BMW Routes users. This will be useful not only for great sightseeing trips but I can see people mapping out their favourite twisty B-roads for others to have a fun go at. I can’t wait for features such as BMW ConnectedDrive to come to BMWs in Malaysia, but as it is a telco dependant service BMW Malaysia is still in discussions with potential mobile telcos on implementation.

It’s all pretty neat, check out the video after the jump!

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

The 2009 Mercedes-Benz S-Class will debut an enhancement to the vehicle’s COMAND navigation and entertainment system called SPLITVIEW. Yes, you got it right, it’s going to appear in a production car. Basically, the COMAND 8 inch LCD screen at the front will be able to display two different screens depending on the angle you are viewing it from.

For example, the driver sitting on the left (in a left hand drive car) will be able to view a screen displaying GPS navigation maps and instructions while the front passenger viewing the screen from the right will be able to watch a DVD. To prevent distracting the driver, the passenger can use a supplied pair of headphones for the DVD’s audio.

This is achieved by a technique that places pixels adjacent to each other, then using a filter that divides the image in such a way that only certain pixels can be seen depending on the viewing angle.

What about the rear passengers you say? Won’t they be looking at something a little jumbled up when viewing straight on? Well, I suppose SPLITVIEW is going to be a high-end specification and in cars that will have it available, the rear passengers could most likely have their own COMAND display integrated into the backs of the front passenger seats.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

Hanyang University of Korea’s Professor Cho Jae-Phil claims his research team have discovered a way to produce lithium ion batteries that have 8 times more battery life than existing lithium ion batteries!

Now if this were a gadget blog you’d immediately think longer battery life for laptops, but since this is an automotive blog I’m pretty sure you’re thinking what I’m thinking – could this finally seal the fate of electric cars as the new mode of propulsion of the future?

It seems that the lithium ion batteries of today, while still superior to nickel batteries, are limited by the ability of its graphite cathode to store lithium ions. By applying a three-dimensional porous silicon, Professor Cho’s research team claims to be able to store up to 8 times the amount of lithium ions compared to current battery technology.

In another related news story earlier this year, a Stamford University research team discovered a (similiar?) way to improve lithium ion batteries to hold as much as 10 times more charge. It also involved replacing the graphite with a “forest” of silicon nanowires which can store much more lithium compared to graphite.

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BMW confirms plans to build electric city car
BMW unveils the MINI E electric car
Pininfarina B0 Electric Car Concept

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

Between 30% to 50% of the world’s platinum output is used in automobile catalytic converters, and automobile-based usage are set to become even higher of fuel cell cars become more popular in the future, as platinum catalysts are also used in fuel cells.

Platinum is called a precious metal for a reason. Some keywords found in the definition of a precious metal include rare, and high in economic value. Thus it would make sense for an automaker to try to reduce the usage of such precious metals in their vehicles.

Nissan has developed a new ultra-low precious metal catalyst that will debut on the new Nissan Cube, set to be launched this week on the 19th of November 2008. They claim it uses half the amount of precious metals (rhodium and platinum) compared with regular catalysts – 1.3 grams versus 0.65 grams.

In regular catalysts, the high exhaust gas temperatures cause the precious metals to cluster together, thus reducing exposed metal surface. To counter this, catalysts typically contain more precious metals. Nissan’s catalyst adds a “wall” which prevents the clustering of the precious metals.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

At first sight you’ll recognise the wheel above as the Michelin Tweel. The Tweel was a concept wheel which used flexible spokes which deform to absorb shock. It does not need air pressure. It also had the ability to be “tuned” to have different vertical and lateral stiffness. This way, vertical stiffness can be reduced to improve ride comfort while lateral stiffness can be increased to improve handling and cornering ability. This allows one tweel to have the best of both worlds!

The Tweel has undergone more R&D and will in the future be used as a lunar wheel for NASA moon rovers. Michelin already supplies NASA with tyres for its space shuttles for more than 20 years now. According to Michelin, the new Tweel-based lunar wheel maintains flexibility and constant ground contact pressure even at very low temperatures to enable moon rovers to navigate loose soil and lunar craters with ease. It has a lower mass with a higher load capacity that is 3.3 times more efficient than the original Apollo Lunar Rover wheels.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

Nissan has partnered up with the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) to develop a new neutron imaging system which can be used to precisely visualize oil flow in an engine operating at high speed, allowing the car manufacturer to study the behaviour of lubricant in an engine and pin-point precisely where frictional losses are happening so that fuel consumption and CO2 emissions can be reduced. This is a project under the Nissan Green Program 2010.

The system uses neutron radiography and high-speed imaging to look at the oil flow through the engine block to each component, oil splash from the crankshaft and oil delivery to the final drive gear.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

It uses an electronically controlled variable geometry turbocharger and a third generation commonrail system with piezo-electric injectors injecting fuel pressurized at 1,800 bar. It is driven by an internal steel silent timing chain, and also has a lower balance shaft encased in a stiffened ladder frame for increased rigidity. These measures helps reduce vibration.

The new R-Engine family will go into production in 2009 and will first appear in new SUVs and large saloons. The Hyundai ix55 and the new Kia Sorento will probably be one of the first few Hyundai vehicles to feature this engine.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

Real life usage can be found in AT&T stores. It’s essentially a system running Windows Vista which uses 5 cameras to record infrared light from human fingertips on the “surface”, as well as specially tagged objects.

The BMW car configurator is appropriately called the BMW Konfigurator, and although it is currently still in prototype form we may see it a regular feature in BMW showrooms soon. Basically you have a 30 inch touch screen display on a table which you are able to interact with to configure your BMW car.

For example, you can change colours of the exterior and interior, change the wheel design, and add other accessories. At the end of your selections the system will quote you a price. You can also view photos and videos on the car.

You can look after the jump for a video I recorded of the BMW Konfigurator being used to configure the latest F01 BMW 7-Series.

Video: BMW Konfigurator for the F01 BMW 7-Series

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

Twin clutch and single clutch automated manual transmissions are catching up in terms of smoothness of shifting but the torque converter is also making progress when it comes to shift speed and fuel efficiency. ZF Sachs recently celebrated the 20 millionth torque converter to roll off its Schweinfurt plant.

The latest in ZF’s torque converter technology is the use of twin torsional dampers in the torque converter to allow the lock-up clutch to close at an earlier point in time. This results in faster shift times and better fuel efficiency due to the fact that the mechanical linkage thanks to the lock-up clutch is active more often rather than having power transferred through the oil. This quick-shifting gearboxes have appeared in some higher end BMW vehicles such as the BMW X5.

So yes, conventional automatics apparently aren’t going to disappear anytime soon, with ZF Sachs recently investing another 80 million Euros at its Schweinfurt plant to expand capacity. The plant will also be making ZF’s new 8-speed automatic transmission, that’s said to be making a production appearance on an upcoming V12 760i version of the F01 7-Series and a future Rolls Royce.

Though ZF appears to be committed to improving and pushing the limits of how far the conventional auto can go, ZF will also be venturing into the world of dual clutch transmissions. Two twin clutch boxes are said to be in the works – the 7DCT50 and the 7DCT70 which seems to indicate 7-speed units. Too bad it missed the M DCT boat – BMW’s 7-speed twin clutch box is sourced from Getrag, which traditionally supplies manual boxes to Munich.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

Honda has added a new safety feature to its Vehicle Stability Assist system called Motion Adaptive Electric Power Steering (Motion Adaptive EPS). Currently only available with the newly launched Honda Legend, it will be added to the Japanese-market Honda Accord (not the same as our Accord as it is known as the Honda Inspire there) and the next generation Honda Odyssey.

Motion Adaptive EPS provides steering wheel feedback to the driver during an unstable slippery corner to prompt the driver’s action in steering the wheel the right way as sometimes drivers tend to over-correct the steering angle. It can also correct steering input when braking on a surface which causes uneven traction between the left and right side wheels of the car.

While it remains a premium feature for now, like all technologies Motion Adaptive EPS should slowly trickle down to the rest of the Honda range. The only question is how long?

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

BMW’s Director of Functional Integration Dirk Hacker talks about the various technologies and driver aids in the new F01 BMW 7-Series such as the Integral Active Steering (rear wheel steering), Driving Dynamic Control, Integrated Chassis Management and other technologies. An apt job for someone with a surname Hacker.

Look at the video after the jump.

VIDEO: BMW 7-Series Technology 1

VIDEO: BMW 7-Series Technology 2

Related Posts:
New BMW 7-Series specifications and photos
New BMW 7-Series – A Collection Of Videos

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

How often do we use our high beams? Many of us barely use them, in fact whenever I turn on my high beams in areas where there is no oncoming traffic and no cars in front of me, I’ve gotten remarks from passengers that using the high beam is unethical. This seems to be the opinion of quite a few motorists, which surprises me.

Apparently according to auto parts supplier Gentex Corporation, automakers and other parties in the auto industry are actually trying to encourage higher use of a car’s high beams. Studies have shown that the very low usage of a car’s high beams are due to a various reasons including forgetfulness, complacency and the fear of not being able to react to oncoming traffic and turning them off fast enough, resulting in other motorists getting dazzled or annoyed.

Gentex says even at speeds of up to 56km/h, a car’s low beams will not allow you to see far enough head to detect and react to a potential hazard. This is the whole point of high beams but in situations where high beams should by right be used, studies have found that high beams were only used less than 25% of the time.

Gentex’s solution to this is their SmartBeam system, which BMW has put in its cars and called High-Beam Assist. The High-Beam Assist system uses a tiny camera-on-a-chip combined with computer algorithms to automatically determine when to turn on and off the vehicle’s high beams depending on traffic conditions.

The camera is located on the interior’s rear view mirror and faces forward. When the system detects that it is dark and no other vehicles are present, the high beams are automatically turned on. When traffic in front is detected, they are automatically turned off. A manual override for the driver is also provided.

The BMW High-Beam Assist system is available in the BMW 5, 6, 7, and X6 models. It is also available in Malaysia on various models including the BMW 523i SE.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

Electric cars or hybrid cars running on fully electric mode can pose a risk to pedestrians as there could be some people, especially those with hearing impairments or the blind, who are not aware of an approaching vehicle because they are just so silent. In fact, there was a bill in the US recently to require a minimum level of sound for vehicles sold in the US.

As an engineering consulting company and component designer/supplier, Lotus is tackling this issue with its new “Safe and Sound” Hybrid demo car. Lotus used a Toyota Prius as a demonstrator vehicle and applied its new Sound Synthesis system to it. The new technology combines Active Road Noise Cancellation, Engine Order Cancellation and Sound Synthesis.

A road speed signal is obtained from the vehicle and a waterproof speaker is positioned near the radiator to emit a realistic sound based on the throttle and speed of the car, projected towards the front of the car. The sound was designed to be instantly recognisable by the human brain, allowing it taking into account pitch and frequency and process it to enable us to identify vehicle speed and distance. The synthesized sound automatically stops if the hybrid car’s combustion engine kicks in.

The sound can be configured to sound like various types of engines. For example, you could drive a fully electric Tesla Roadster and enjoy the lovely rumbling sound of a flat-6 or a V8. Look after the jump for a video of the new technology.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

Most manufacturers encourage fuel efficient driving behaviour by rewarding the driver with a little indicator whenever the driver is driving in a fuel efficient manner. Honda uses a little green ECO light, and BMW has the classic real time fuel consumption analog meter to show how much fuel you’re using.

Nissan Motor Co is taking this one step further by developing an “ECO pedal”, which is an accelerator pedal that will push back the driver’s foot when it senses excess pressure according to driving conditions that could lead to poor fuel economy. This may annoy the driver if he is really in a hurry to go somewhere so this ECO pedal feature will have an option to turn it off.

According to Nissan, the ECO pedal combined with a real time fuel consumption display on the instrument cluster could reduce fuel consumption by between 5 to 10 percent depending on driving conditions, purely by encouraging better driving habits.

Source

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

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

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

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.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.

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.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:01:48 +0800.