y.m.m.v

Musical Baton

Lightspeedchick passed me the baton. Hmm, let’s see.

Disk space on my computer taken up by music files:

^{It’s still tabulating … something over 80GB … EEP! … though I notice I may have some of my CDs in there multiple times in different quality}

Last CD I bought (given more like it):

Mark Knofpler’s Shangri-La

What’s playing right now:

Mongolian Chop Squad - Hit in the USA

Songs that are important to me these days:

• Thievery Corporation - lebanese blonde
• Jack Johnson - staple it together
• Mark Knopfler - all that matters
• Bic Runga - sway

Oh, and my batton is being passed to Gamera and “woe unto all” for his choices! If Benjira ever gets a blog … then the baton awaits.

Bus Free Day

In the UK, the ABD (I’m guessing A is for Automobile and D is for Drivers, but cannot find the acronym spelled out anywhere) has sent a letter to Greenpeace to have the declare a “Bus Free Day” in London. What they are tying to show is the level of carcinogenic emissions from buses is the greatest and worse overall.

Having been short of breath from diesel exhaust in London on my first visit, I can vouch that as they have not enforced stricter emission on those large, ancient diesel vehicles, then they are simply the most disgusting black soot belching machines. The hypocrisy of places like Oxford which ban cars is then made another notch higher.

If the buses, lorries, and such vehicles ran strict emissions, ran possibly on bio-diesel mix, then maybe they could claim some moral high-ground.

PistonHeads news clip with commentaries raises another tidbit. The much maligned, by car enthusiasts, Transport2000 has Michal Palin as chairman, a sad point summarised by one commentator as “I’m amazed a seemingly sensible chap like Palin has anything to do with these nutters, he must be either totally isolated from reality or being payed shed loads, shame really as I had him down as a gentleman not a freeloading hypocrite”.

Mini Holiday

I just passed on going Nevada, due to the costs when you total everything. Unlike some of my buddies, who are headed there for a stag party, I would have had no “default reason” and thus would have gone outside Sin City for some scenic enjoyment. And that would have made it a rather expensive journey.

Contrast that to this Mini Holiday idea that Mini USA had with partner Virgin Holidays: go to the UK, grab a Mini as well, and have some fun.

It’s not “Vegas Baby!”, but for the same price … it’s UK Baby!

MINI Motoring Holiday

Bruntel Environmental Engine

Keith Hall

Excerpt from Materials World

Another solution that is in the latter stages of prototype development is a novel engine from Bruntel Ltd. The Environmental Engine has a 1,100cc capacity, and at 35kg will be 50% smaller and lighter than comparable spark ignition engines, with a target power-to-weight ratio of 1kW to 1kg, exceeding current performance of gas engines that typically run at 70-80% of this capacity. The concept for the engine centres on Keith Hall’s return stroke induction process, meaning that the engine aspirates when the piston is on the return stroke and compressing the cylinder volume.

“Environmental aspects have driven the design from the word go,” explained Hall. “Engines can be made to perform more efficiently. At the heart of that is the expansion ratio – typically 1.5 times the compression ratio.” A low compression ratio means it is possible to use lower octane fuels, and the engine could run on 70 octane fuel, such as refined paraffin.

An innovative disc drive construction allows for a reduction in weight and cost, and the basic engine will also cost around 50% less than standard engines as it contains fewer, simpler parts than they do. As an added benefit, the engine’s decreased size is expected to improve pedestrian bonnet impact protection, as it removes hard points close to the bonnet. Hall expects a final prototype to be available for testing by 2006.

As well as reducing the weight and size of the engines to improve fuel efficiency, it is possible to reduce the overall weight of the vehicle.

From the nice SAE PDF

NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts), the organization that supports UK innovation, has invested in the Bruntel Environmental Engine (BEE) project that aims to match diesel-engine fuel efficiency with a lowemissions spark-ignition engine. Central feature of the Bruntel is the use of return stroke induction—the engine aspirating on the piston’s return stroke. “It is a twostroke engine with the problems of that
technology removed—notably oil contamination of the catalyst,” said its designer, Keith Hall, who previously has worked for major automobile companies including Ford, Jaguar, and Audi.

“Part of the funding will go towards a simulation study of Keith Hall’s theories,” said NESTA in a statement. The aim of the engine’s design is to achieve fuel consumption of 3.0 L/100 km or better, with associated low emissions. The engine has been designed to offer torque and power output similar to a comparable conventional engine.

“Cost of unit manufacture of a production engine would be half that of a current conventional engine, with size and weight also halved,” said Hall. He describes the engine as a low-pressure/low-temperature spark-ignition unit “that virtually eliminates NOx and particulates at source in lean-burn mode; it offers diesel economy without the particulates.”

The engine combines a high expansion ratio to increase thermal efficiency with a low compression ratio to increase mechanical efficiency. Engine speed is halved because a patented induction process creates an engine cycle each revolution whilst breathing via a conventional four-valve cylinder head. A low-energy electropneumatic valve actuator (patent granted) facilitates variable valve timing for optimization of engine efficiency at each speed, and a planetarymotion disc replaces the connecting rod in order to achieve dynamic symmetry and balance in a 90° vee configuration.

Hall hopes to see the project reach fruition in time to meet 2009 EU emission control requirements. “With energy consumption outstripping resources, it is important to come up with a solution that is economical and causes less pollution,” he said. “Fuel consumption of conventional engines is unacceptably inefficient. I found throttling at part load particularly unpalatable; the excuse that this was simply due to the thermodynamic limitation of physics was not convincing.” Hall said use of a planetary disc not only reduces engine vibration but “greatly simplifies” engine construction.

Stuart Birch
for SAE

Dishwasher (Un)Safe

A survey by The Daily Telegraph motoring section revealed that one cycle of a kitchen dishwasher releases about 765g of CO2 - more than double that produced by a short drive in the Range Rover Turbo Diesel, which releases 299g per kilometre.

This dishwasher has cause quite a ruckus. A news article in the Daily Telegraph coupled with a nice disection by the PistonHeads forum

Most telling is this graph:

Everyone should read the back-and-forth on this topic, it’s revealing.

Royal Merc SUV

So maybe the 1939 Mercedes G4 once owned by Franco is more then just an SUV. It is a rather iconic vehicle and a nice restoration gift to the Spanish Royals by Daimler Spain.

Serious Wheels Classic, Sports & Muscle Cars has many other great pictures of cars and stories that go with them.

Imprezif

Trying to decode an Impreza ? This won’t help…

Irreverent

SniffPetrol has just the right touch of irreverence towards the motor industry and motor sports.

I recomend it in small doses. Especially the archives.

Little bit of followup. Richard Porter, the anorak who is behind SniffPetrol, writes for the BBC’s Top Gear TV show and EVO car magazine. He is almost always “funny”, using the widest definition of the word.

He also penned this masterpiece

Das Batmobile!

Fulda & Maybach have co-operated on Das Projekt, a car built to demonstrate (and test?) a top-of-the-line tyre. In essence, the two German companies have revived a design partnership that had in 1938 built an Autobahn oriented supercar for road testing.

The end-result is very much a ‘Batmobile’

The whole project is worth a read though.

MGB Haven

Yesterday’s drive home was interupted by gaggle of MGBs parked near a local restaurant. But the real find was a Mini Miner hiding among the bigger modern cars in the parking lot.

Enjoy the pictures!

Smart Ornament

It looks to be “freak accident day”. Ananova brings this gem :

A lorry driver shunted a tiny Smart car two miles down a busy German motorway because he didn’t know it was wedged to his truck.

Lightning Strike

Gotta love the double meaning of sub-text on these images of the accident : “Breaking News” indeed. I’m glad she’s alright, but why did it go “through” her car ?

Citroen Defenders

A little bit of animation can be stunning. The flash below is a from the behind the scenes view of the full animation

Nicelly done! This animation spoofs the Citroen C4 advert

Sandrail

While at work, waiting for our tape library to spit out some information, I went on another “information scavenger hunt” and turned up : Sandrails

Almost everyone has heard of “Dune Buggies”, mostly converted VW Beetle’s parts in a light tubular frame chassis, loaping around the desert dunes in California. When the power output was cranked up a notch, the infamous Baja races came about.

Well, that may all be passe, today people drive Sandrails.

Much like the nice picture from C&G Performance shows, Sandrails seem to be 4 seater sand machines, with greater then 300 horsepower, in setups weighing much less then your average sedan.

They look like fun, with a bit of nostalgic technology link: VW’s air-cooled boxer motors are aped by the Subaru boxer, turbo-ed no less, in the latest power-hungry Sandrails.

“Dune Buggies” have evolved. I always wanted one as a kid, thankfully my little motorcycle did fill those shoes at “Sand Running”. When I wrote Sci-Fi games, there was plenty of sand as the main stage.

I guess I can add one-more thing to do when I retire.

Oh, and what lead me here ? Nice pictures to explain “What’s a closed deck?”

Nis de poule

I keep mostly to English when I run this weblog, but some things are very much local and worth reporting “in french”. The Radio-Canada article Les nids-de-poule, which translates to “Chicken Nests”, the local colloquial for potholes; is a great overview of the legal implications in this province if you get damages from said potholes.

In short, our laws prevent us from suing the cities and counties, yet you can and should take them to court and you can and will win.

It’s becoming obvious given the conditions of our streets and highways that make low-profile tyres and tuned suspension less then ideal.

What am I doing wrong … seems like I’m heading in the wrong direction with my car changes.

Oh well, maybe I should install armor plated under-carriage and raise the whole by 2 inches. Hmmm ….

Subaru’s are the bane of the tinkering types …

Initial D, the live action movie

There has never been a more famous tofu dellivery vehicle!

The latest animation series for Initial D, aka Project D, is almost over, with only two episodes left. But going beyond the original manga, the multiple anime series, PS2 games, arcade simulators and gobs of toys, the live action movie is bound to push the ubiquitous-ness of the name Initial D.

And of course, it all good for the sport of Drifting, the art of going sideways with a car!

I’m not going on and on about this, most of it will become well known anyway.

To me, the achievement really is the magical way the series transformed well know and loved car models into legendary icons:

AE86 Sprinter Trueno and Corolla Levin, aka Toyota Corolla from 16 years ago

RX-7 models FC and FD, aka Mazda RX-7 for some real Zoom-zoom

and the roadgoing “Rally Specials” :

Impreza STi V5, aka Subaru Impreza STi version 5

and

Lan EVO 3, 4 and 5 aka, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution

Other notable cars in the series:

S-13 & S-14 Silvia, aka Nissan SX-240
Type-R Civic
Suzuki Capuccino
Toyota Alteza, aka Lexus IS 300

Unsprung weight

Car junkies will often quote unsprung weight ^{( using a definition through by Wikipedia through Answers.com as per Typo Lou )} as the key information when describing a well handling vehicle.

My Subaru is indeed an all-wheel-drive car, with all independent suspension, to ensure that the least amount of weight is part of the “unsprung” category.

You can see why some big SUV lean so much, they’re unsprung weight is often greater then even commercial vans of the same size.

But it matters little if the suspension and road holding geometry of the car is less then ideal. My Subie is good, but it can be made much, much better.

And so I sprung ^{( bad pun )} for a set of JDM STi Wagon struts, shocks and all. These are “takeoff” with about 12.000 miles on the clock. Yes mum & dad, your son is ill-spending his hard-earned tax return. 6-8 weeks before it’s in my hands and then some additional parts: anti-sway bar, Group N top mounts and maybe an “anti-lift kit”.

Overall, I aim to make the tyres keep to the road more and the bounce to even less. It’s really all just money right ?

Right …

2006 Sonata

More good press for Hyundai’s 2006 Sonata. Korean ascendancy begins.

In my opinion, expect China to be in contention in 5 years.

An office with a view

Hmm, rainy day, but that is my office view … my own car (and Ikea in the backdrop).

May Day, May Day!

This is a simulated emergency … if this was a real emergency, there would be something to write about.