Archive for 'Automotive technology' Category
Electronic Wedge Brakes Outperform Hydraulics
24 May 2007Electronic wedge brakes being developed by Siemens VDO were tested against similar cars equipped with hydraulic brakes and the electronic brakes consistently stopped in a shorter distance. We covered electronic wedge brakes in November of last year and discussed their development as part of the Siemens eCorner concept which combines the drivetrain, steering, shock absorbers [...]
ZF Develops New 8 Speed Automatic Transmission
2 May 2007How many speeds does an automatic transmission need? According to ZF, the answer is 8. Their aim was to minimize fuel consumption while maximizing performance and according to ZF, this new 8 speed delivers a 6 percent fuel saving over their 6 speed and 14 percent over a 5 speed. It requires no more installation [...]
Chrysler Planning Hemi Hybrids
1 May 2007Chrysler is about to make its first foray into hybrid vehicles with the introduction next year of the 2008 Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen SUVs. Unlike some hybrid vehicles, however, these will not have a little 4 cylinder engine or even a V6, instead, these will be equipped with the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8.
Overall fuel efficiency [...]
Performance and Economy - High Mileage Horsepower
16 April 2007The SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) 2007 World Congress will convene in Detroit this week with a theme of “Engineering for Global Sustainable Mobility — It’s Up to Us.” One of their tech sessions is titled “High Performance and Fuel Economy: Can We Have Both?”
Increasing fuel economy while maintaining or even increasing performance is something [...]
Gibbs Technologies High Speed Amphibians
3 April 2007One old cliché, “Jack of all trades, master of none” is a bit wobbly these days thanks to Gibbs Technologies. Amphibians, those multi purpose land/water vehicles that promise great things but too often perform poorly in both environments, have finally come of age. Gibbs created HSA (High Speed Amphibian) Technology, that enables high speed performance [...]
W9 Nine Cylinder E85 Engine Project
17 January 2007Thomas Johansson has been working toward a Master of Science degree in Engineering at the Lulea University of Technology in Sweden. Looking for an appropriate project for his thesis he decided to design and build a complete internal combustion engine from scratch to run on E85. Of course, he didn’t just build an inline 4 [...]