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In Reply to: RE: In real motor sports: Lewis Hamilton wins F1 Championship! nt posted by geoff on November 23, 2014 at 08:19:40
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Vettel at Ferrari. And Alonzo goes to ?
Wonder if Mercedes powered cars will still be dominate? Honda supplies engines, again.
it's going to affect its sales. I know I'm considering canceling my next one….
This is the first year of super-tech so they will get caught and passed soon enough.
No reason that Ferraris R&D should be that much smaller than Mercedes.
Ferrari is owned by Fiat Chrysler who also own Alfa-Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Abarth, Mopar, SRT, Maserati and Magneti Marelli.
Next year we all may want Hondas
Allonso to Mclaren?
I'll never forget being at Interlagos for the 1980 Brazilian GP, when Renault unveiled their turbcharged v6 in a sea of 8's, 10's, and 12's. My buddy and I thought that they sounded like shit indycar engines and hated them. They took the pole and the win and F1 ended up with v6 turbos for 10 years. I remember reading later that Renault designed the turbo with the African GP at Kyalami, which it won a week later, and Interlagos, both of which were at high altitudes. Thankfully they banned the turbos in 1990 and the v8's and 12's came back.
That stuff doen't seem to work on my ipad, but thanks.
the green weenies have taken over. The technology will be great as is shows up in our cars someday. I miss the v12's the most.
Ford is about to market the Shelby GT350 again. It will have a Unique version of the Ford V-8 with a SINGLE PLANE crank. This will have many effects, some of which are the ability to rev REAL high in good balance as well as a different, cadence, if you will, to the exhaust note.
The Non-turbo engine is projected to be 500hp and 5.2 liters. Redline will be in the 8000 rpm area, too, which is a FINE neighborhood.
Wanted a shreiking V-8? You got it.
Too much is never enough
topped out at 19,000 RPM. Do you realize how many times a second each piston stops, changes direction, stops again? Certainly the crowning achievement of modern a v~8 tech and development
Those are VERY short stroke motors. I remember F-1 when it was a 3.0 formula and BRM made an H-16 which was 2x 'flat' eights stacked……I don't think it made it, because of development problems. They are mechanically very complex.
If you look at a production car, the Honda S-2000 when it was a 2.0, and had the 9000 RPM redline, it had what might have been the highest PISTON SPEED of any production car, maybe ever.
I'll go with PISTON SPEED as being the 'true measure'
Modern motorcycles also have insane redlines. I do not know what the current limits are OR what are the limiting factors. Honda had a 450 years ago that had TORSION BAR valve springs and a redline of like 10,500. The Ducati AND the Mercedes straight 8 GP engine from the 50s both use 'Desmodromic' valves which have NO valve springs, but rather a cam that OPENS the valves and another to CLOSE the valves. The power saved is enough to make a difference, you have no valve float but need to REALLY keep an eye on valve clearance.
Too much is never enough
Fitted to a Lotus 43 the BRM H16 engine won one GP race in 1966 at Watkins Glen.
It had the potential to be quite powerful but was too heavy and overly complex and hence unreliable. It earned BRM the nickname British Racing Misery.
What limits revs these days is the finite speed of combustion itself.
Interesting idea, combustion rate limits rev rate.
Now I'll have to dovetail that into what else I know about Gasoline. Higher Octane fuels actually contain less energy and burn more slowly. High Octane fuel also burns cooler.
I wonder how fast White Gas would burn? this is basically Coleman fuel and has an octane rating of mid-50s.
I know my '73 VW needed high octane fuel, especially in the summer, or hot starts would be a real problem. I could FEEL the heat difference coming off the engine when using hi vs lo octance gas. The hotter running, 'regular' gas, also beat up the oil more.
Too much is never enough
Should have bought a '73 Porsche, they run fine on regular.
Diesel has a RON of only 15-25. Difficult to ignite though.
The ONE car I'm waiting for is the Mazda6 Diesel. It is already sold in Europe.
What a strange approach. The SKyactive GAS engine has what might be the highest compression ratio I've ever heard of at about 13:1 I don't know if it will run on Regular or demands the highest octane you can get. Electonics can adjust timing, mixture and a host of other parameters on the fly.
OTOH, the DIESEL Mazda has a very LOW compression Ratio. It is a TWINturbo charged engine which would get combustion pressures BACK where they should be. TWO turbos, one larger and one small, spool up more quickly than a single large one. Popular Science tells me 14:1, which is Very low, indeed.
I wish they'd bring this to market, already, I'd probably buy one. The wife LIKES the look of the car which is about 75% of the 'battle'. The near-hybrid economy, somewhat larger car and what I'm hoping works out to a longer lasting / less fix-it prone car is very attractive. I think that boils down to lower cost of ownership. And after the end of the world, you could run it on French Fry Oil or even many PLANT oils.
Too much is never enough
Not surprised that they already sell it in Europe because in '13 55% of all new cars were diesels, 42% petrol (gasoline) 2% LPG and 1% hybrids. That said Mazdas market share in Europe is only 1.2% and most of them are MX5s.
Currently the Europe-wide average fuel consumption for new cars is 62mpg (US gallons, combined cycle).
They are getting close to their intended target. About 30 years ago a friend of mine started University studying for a masters degree in Vehicle Technology and at that point they were aiming at designing cars which return about 67mpg (3.5L per 100km). Probably next year...
A friend of mine RENTED an Audi Diesel when on European Holiday WITH his family. It was fast and stable, a real Audi. The family slept and he averaged about 100mph for a couple HOURS and arrived in fine style. Bless the Autobon. If his wife knew how fast he was driving, he'd 'a been history!
The 'Top Gear' test where they included the Mazda SUV w/the 2.2 Diesel was an eyeopener and the preferred vehicle. That's what put me on the track.
I think plant biologists and genetic types need to begin the engineering of a hi-oil output plant which will fuel diesels. Maybe somekind of seaweed or kelp? Rapeseed? Some kind of nut oil? Could a YEAST be persuaded to make an oil rather than alcohol?
The idea of a 65mpg car scares me. The compromises which would be made? Comfort / Size? Acceleration? Handling? Reliability?
I just don't know. My Brothers BIG V-8 truck has cylinder deactivation! On the highway at a steady 60mph, I think it is actually a V-4.
Too much is never enough
You don't have to make that many compromises.
The current BMW 320d ED returns 59mpg and does 0-62 in 8 sec.
If you like something sportier it will use more fuel but an Alpina D3 is quicker than an M3, costs £10 000 less and returns 5.3L/100km (45mpg) compared to the M3s 26mpg.
The Porsche 918 hybrid is rated at 3.8L per 100km although I think they may have fiddled that a wee bit.
Money is a constraint and NO hybrids allowed.
The additional complexity spells Trouble, as far as I'm concerned.
BMW, Frankly, Scares me. A few years ago they had real problems with transmissions and a quick scan of BMW posting sites shows some Other weird issues. Some even report problems with warranty stuff and recurring problmes. I KNOW that can happen to anyone and any car, but this gives me pause. The trannys in question were the ZF 5 speeds.
Also, some of the models you mention are NOT available in the US. Alpina? Last of those I saw was the mid-70s 2002! I tried to talk my dad into a 1970 2002 which THAN sold for about 3000$, but it was No Sale.
Too much is never enough
Difficult to avoid ZF boxes these days.
Besides the german manufacturers they also supply Ford USA and Chrysler.
They recently bought TRW Automotive for $13billion. Not bad for a company that is owned by a charitable foundation which in turn is managed by small german city council.
Bosch, purveyors of excellent fuel systems etc, is also 93% owned by a charitable foundation btw.
I suppose that it is mostly the diesel models you can't get stateside.
Shame really because here you can get a M-B E-class TD estate that returns 4.5-4.8L/100km (around 50mpg), an Audi A6 TD that does 4.4L or a Jaguar XF TD at 4.9L.
I quite like diesels because they accelerate faster than an equally powerful petrol, use a lot less fuel, are more reliable and have a higher resale value. At least in Europe...
VW has a COMPLETE line of TDI models here in the states. All use the same 150hp / 240 or so ft/lb 4cyl engine. I don't know if they also sell the 6cyl TDI, which I know Audi uses.
Audi uses that same powerplant in the A3 which is just NOW becoming more available. For the last few years, the 6cyl TDI in upmarket A6 level has also been sold here. The A3 sedan MAY be on my list, but probably only comes with a leather interior, which puts it OFF the list.
The one I wanted? VW made the Phaeton with a V-10 Diesel of 5.0 capacity and 'only' 300+hp with some gigantic amount of twist.
I know somebody with a Big Dodge that has the ZF 8-spd. This tranny has Chrysler/Fiat mods which they are obligated to share in some fashion back to ZF.
Me? I think the kinks have been worked out of the VW/Audi 6spd. Dual Clutch. I'm still NOT onboard with the CVT, which I understand to be widely available in Europe while Honda has adopted it nearly across the line. Now I know WHY they didn't update the 5spd auto when everyone else was. They already KNEW they were going to the CVT!
Other choices of tranny exist for 'primes'. Getrag is used in Mini and the Asians are fond of the Aisin, which finds favor in Toyota autos and many others.
When I was a kid, we had the Muncie 4spd and the Ford 'TopLoader', both as OEM in the performance lines.
Too much is never enough
Over here VW offers 3 versions of the 2.0 TDi 4pot with 150, 190 and 240HP.
The 240HP/369ftlb twin turbo comes with a 7speed dual clutch box and seems to be only available in some Passat models so far. It returns 5.3L (44mpg) and does 0-62 in 6.1sec.Shame you can't get Skoda in North America. They use the same floorpans and drivetrains as VW/Audi but are cheaper and better built.
I completely forgot about Getrag. Don't know why...
Edits: 11/25/14
I hope VW eventually brings the GTd to the States. It would be a ground breaker that even if it sold say…..4,000 units, would get EVERYBODY thinking. The current GTI is selling at an annual rate of about 6700 units.
The 190hp version would do nicely, thank you very much.Skoda? I know the name but nothing else. I remember the STIRLING, which in the Very Early days of Acura, was sold in the US. It was a ROVER product from the UK but simply NEVER took off. I think it lasted maybe 4 years. tops. Some components shared with the Legend. Early quality problems improved year over year until they simply didn't sell enough to continue.
FIAT has been to the US maybe 3 or 4 times. I'd rather see Puegeot return. We had a pair of 504 diesels in the family when that was a new model. I still remember the battery that looked like it was out of a Submarine. Some other Euro stuff MAY sell in this country.
I'm kind of hoping for the Trabant to make an appearance. The provided link has an AUDIO file of the Engine running. What Power! What Revs! Amazing Performer!
Too much is never enough
Edits: 11/25/14
Having grown up in West Berlin I've had more than my fill of Trabants! ;-)
Sometime later I've stripped a few of them for U2 to use as part of their stage set.
Horrid little smelly things with their tiny 500cc two-stroke engines. The bodies were made out of some strange cardboard-based plastic that would not rot. These were a real environmental nightmare after the german re-unification as they were very difficult to dispose of safely.
Hard to believe that they had a 7 year waiting list in the old GDR (ten years if you wanted a colour other than grey).
Skoda is a czech company which was bought by VW after the Iron Curtain came down. These days they are being hampered a bit as VW won't let them use the top-range motors. For example the 150HP TD is detuned to 140 and the 190 to 170.
Probably a good idea for VW because Skoda has taken a lot of their sales here in the UK.
A few years ago Top Gear gave them Car Of The Year honours in 4 categories and in last years JD Powers survey Skoda took the top two places.
The link is a little comparison between a Skoda Superb and a much more expensive M-B E class.
The Rover story is long and ultimately sad. Rover were bought by BMW and then sold to the management who just stripped assets to feather their pension pots and sold the remaining Rover and MG brand names to the chinese.
IMO F1 would be a lot more interesting if instead of engine size they'd limit downforce.
Alonzo to Williams, maybe? Only cars which were competitive with the Mercedes-AMG works team, this year.
Edits: 11/23/14
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