CarsDampers and tuning

In 1978, Mercury was looking to sell 200,000 new cars in six weeks, and that meant their “Personal Car” was needed to lead the way. We’re not quite sure what’s so personal about it, but it’s boldly styled with a handsome new grille! Sure, it’s a little more, uh, substantial than its 60s forebears, but those small Cougars were a little too impersonal for car buyers’ tastes. Keep watching when the ad is done, because you get a bonus Old Milwaukee Beer ad, complete with Louis Armstrong impersonator and general Malaise-y goodness all around.

Filed under: Coupes, Sports/GTs, Supercars, Audi

The phrase “580-HP twin-turbo V10″ is hot enough to raise the temperature of any sports car enthusiast. And as sad photos of flambeed Audis have attested, without glacial cooling it’s also hot enough to turn Audi RS8 test mules into fireworks.

When we first wrote about the burned out Audi R8 in the picture above, we mentioned scuttlebutt saying it was a test mule. Now, Quattro GmbH director Werner Frowein reveals that it was indeed an RS8 test mule, and that the problem was specifically due to the turbos of its V10 powerplant getting too hot in the mid-engined layout. Based on the best translation we can find of the Dutch article, Frowein says (or at least we think he says) that putting the twin-turbo V10 in the R8 is out of the question, and that they are instead working on a normally-aspirated V10 with a little more than 500 HP.

[Source: Paul Tan]

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Provider of new and pre-owned Chevrolet vehicles, Karl Chevrolet, is now looking at the lucrative GM Performance Parts business.

“We have always stocked GM Performance Parts, but the opportunity has presented itself to pursue these parts sales more vigorously with all that is going on in the Performance, Custom Car, Hot Rod and Racing Industries,” said Fixed Operations Manager, Bob Massey.

Jason Roach, Parts Manager even said that it wasn’t long before owner, Carl Moyer enters the Performance Parts business. “Carl has always been an avid race fan, fierce competitor, and all around car enthusiast. It only makes sense that he wants to become a leader in the sales of GM Performance Parts.”

Moyer also hired Chuck Stowe, who is tasked to “promote and raise the awareness of the over-the-counter, cost-effective crate engines and performance parts that are available at the dealership.” Stowe will be using his experience in competition, marketing, and public relations related to circle track racing, to inform high performance customers and competitors regarding the benefits of the products from Karl Chevrolet and GM Performance Parts. Stowe will be involved in increasing knowledge of the benefits of GM Performance Parts in the Custom Car, Street Rod, and Hot Rod communities.

Soon, Stowe will represent Karl Chevrolet at various events, such as, IMCA National Awards Banquet, 35th Annual RPM Promoter Work Shops and the 20th Performance Racing Industry Trade Show.

News from: http://www.whowon.com/sResults.asp?SanctionID=721&StoryID=236574

Performance parts are great upgrades any motorists can do to his/her car, but pairing them with a reliable transmission is even better. In line with this, BorgWarner is building a better DSG or direct-shift gearbox, as reported by Autloblog.

BorgWarner has been providing Volkswagen and Audi vehicles with its dual-clutch DSG transmission systems since 2003.This system has two clutches that select gears smoothly. Capable of handling virtually instant gear changes and has a control logic that pre-selects the next required gear, the clutches are electro-hydraulically activated. Already offers greater fuel-efficiency than traditional automatic transmissions, BorgWarner’s original DSG design still needs improvement. Due to its wet-clutch system design, the clutches need to operate in a bath of oil to keep temperatures down and eliminate wear along with using large pumps to keep the oil flowing. This can cause problems such as hydraulic drag, which greatly affects its efficiency.

According to Autoblog, BorgWarner recently announced a new dual-clutch transmission set to be introduced in the upcoming Nissan GT-R and BMW M3. Instead of a wet-clutch system, the new DSG will be incorporating a moist-clutch system that requires less amount of lubrication, meaning a smaller oil pump. A small oil pump also means hydraulic drag is reduces as well as drivetrain losses. Materials used to construct the clutch are also improved to be more durable against heat transfer and wear properties.

Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/13/borgwarner-builds-a-better-dsg/

What makes a car so amazing is its performance parts which highly contributes to the vehicle’s operation. The new Porsche GT2, for example, can credit its suspension and braking system for the impressive performance. Autoblog recently had the opportunity to know the specifics of the systems from GT2 Product Engineer Carsten Schebsdat and Porsche Motorsports head Hartmut Kristen.

Developed at Porsche Motorsport, the GT2 has a rear suspension that features a multi-link control arm configuration connected to a pair of cast-aluminum abutments. Meanwhile, the two sides are joined together by an aluminum crossmember. Autoblog also reports, “Camber gain totals about 3 degrees over the GT2’s rear suspension travel of 120mm, with about half of this travel is used for compression, while the other half provides droop. A small amount of toe-in - about 1.5 degrees - is added as the suspension compresses; this decreases the slip angle of the rear tires and thus adds stability at the limit. Static adjustments of camber and toe are handled via a pair of eccentric bushings on each side.” The upper coils of the rear spring, on the other hand, are tasked to give a bit of preload when the suspension is at full droop. Meanwhile, the electroplating or the noticeable blue color is attached to resist corrosion. It is also included to prevent problems regarding the use of steel fasteners in aluminum castings.

In the front suspension, a McPherson strut is used along with the same camber gain in the rear. A front damper is also included, but this can increase the unsprung weight. It was also reported that, “The spring perch is threaded to change the ride height; there is a second ring that establishes the clamping height of the damper in the upright, but this is not intended to be used as an additional adjustment.”

Mounted in front of the axle centerline, is the steering which was positioned in such a way to create more room for the front seat footwells and pedals.

In order to improve the responsiveness and road feel of the GT2, the front and rear subframes are installed with metallic bushings. The sway bars, on the other hand, have adjustable roll rate through a trio of endlink mounted locations.

For braking, the GT2 is equipped with 15″ ceramic-composite front rotors are clamped with radial-mounted one-piece forged six-piston calipers. To achieve less deflection between the two components during braking, the calipers are mounted upright or radial orientation. Made with anti-corrosion coating, the rotors come with holes and directional cooling vanes.

News from: http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/12/2008-porsche-911-gt2-introduction-suspension-technology/

Audi R8 represents a big rival for Porsche, Ferrari and Bentley. (…)

I love to see a Mercedes-Benz, but I prefer to see one after it was modified by a tuning firm. So, for this I have a question: What company you should use to create a perfect tuned Mercedes-Benz? (…)

By Ian

Friday night, the M4 rush hour was nearing the end of its peak and my girlfriend and I were heading to Wales to see her folks. As usual the majority of motorists were seeking refuge in the ‘overtaking’ lane, which is fine when the road is packed but by the time we passed Reading the two inside lanes were empty. Now normally at this point you expect those cars that want to drive slowly to move over and let the faster people through. Not the thoughts of one Vauxhall Vectra driver who remained firmly stuck in the outside lane, doing about 60mph, with the car in front half a mile away and no one in the nearside lanes.

So I gave him a gentle flash of the full beam to persuade him to shift it - either forward or sideways. Only instead of moving over, Vectra man gives me a demonstration of just how sharp the Vauxhall’s brakes are, and I had to switch lanes to avoid a meeting of bumpers. Idiot! (I’ve left a word out this time). Clearly miffed that he had been outsmarted, he then drove for the next 30mins with his full beam on, occasionally flashing like someone with ‘issues’ and dipping the lights only when I moved lanes (while he remained firmly glued to the third one). His dawdling eventually meant he got left behind but we did consider calling the police and Kelly managed to fire off a couple of pictures as evidence. But it shook us up and reminded me just how unpredictable - and potentially dangerous - life on the road is. Has anyone else any road rage horror stories to share?

Original post by MSN Cars Space

By Ross Chainey, MSN Health & Fitness Ed

As a Londoner who doesn’t own a car, it’s a great pleasure to be able to get my hands on one every so often and flee the capital for a weekend’s R and R in the countryside. So when my good friends on the cars desk offered me the keys to a Skoda Fabia last weekend, I I nearly bit their proverbial hand off.

Friday’s end of play couldn’t come soon enough, and after nipping back to my flat to pick up my weekend bag (not forgetting the missus), it was off to the Cotswolds, just a two-hour drive from our digs in South West London. We didn’t have much luggage but the storage space was pretty impressive.

Our first stop was Wyckhillhouse in Stow-on-the-Wold, a grand old hotel and spa in glorious surroundings. And the Skoda? I’m always happy just to get to drive a car, but the journey was great fun. It’s not the best looking car, but it’s a nippy wee beastie and the diesel engine offers fantastic fuel economy.

The size and mobility of the Fabia lends itself well to zooming over country roads and through picture-postcard villages, though I did think the engine was a bit noisy – I don’t think the cows liked us very much. After a night at The George Hotel in Shipston, which I can highly recommend, the heavy rain convinced us to head back to London earlier than planned on Monday. Thankfully the roads were quiet and I was able to put my foot down a bit and again I could find very few faults with the cars performance.

I also couldn’t help thinking that Skoda deserves some sort of award for reinventing itself. People used to turn their noses up at this eastern European manufacturer, but when I told friends and family what I was driving for the weekend, they all responded with the same words: “good cars.” Can’t argue with that.

Original post by MSN Cars Space

It’s always a delight when you get to meet a true motor industry petrolhead. And better still when you’ve got a few hours to kill and nothing better to do than talk cars.

Rolf Hartge is one of those kind of guys. While you may have heard the name connected with race tuned BMWs that’s actually Rolf’s brother. Rolf is a Merc man and since 1989 has run tuning house Carlsson, named after Swedish driving ace Ingvar Carlsson whose cars the Hartges ran back in the day.

Hartge’s racing background translates to some seriously handy road cars, based around his mantra of form follows function. Buy a hot Merc from Carlsson and you won’t get fake vents or a bonkers bhp V12 just because it happens to fit under the bonnet. Everything is fit for purpose and has a functional benefit. Sure, Carlsson does blinging wheels. But they’re super light, reducing unsprung weight and letting the suspension work better.

He’s a serious guy and passionate about his craft. But that doesn’t mean he and his colleagues don’t know how to have a bit of fun. “We once made a Mercedes 300E with the engine and manual gearbox from a BMW M5,” he says casually, as if it were within the abilities of anyone handy with the spanners and with an afternoon to spare. “The Mercedes had the best chassis at that time – years ahead of anything else - and the BMW had the best engine,” he says with a laugh. “It was a stupid idea … but it was a wonderful car!”

Stolen and then recovered, the current owner bought it for a song off the insurance company. “Does he realise what he’s got?” I asked. “Oh yes, he is a very lucky guy – he still loves to drive it,” says Rolf. I like the idea that somewhere in Germany there is a bog standard looking 80s Merc ragging about with the engine and gearbox from one of the best sporting saloons of all time. The lucky owner must have thought all his Christmases had come at once when he stumbled across that one. Makes you wonder what other wonders are out there…

Dan

*So secret they didn’t even know about it…

Original post by MSN Cars Space