>This upcoming weekend will be chock full of racing. MotoGP visits the renovated Silverstone circuit. Formula 1 is in Canada. There’s probably a NASCAR race somewhere. But to top all of those is the endurance race by which all endurance races are measured against, Le 24 Heure Du Mans or the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
To get everyone up to pace, here’s a very concise yet still entertaining documentary. Enjoy!
>The United Parcel Service, or UPS, recently released video of a new big brown truck in its prototype testing phase. At first glance, the truck in the video looks like any other UPS delivery truck. However, the defining characteristic isn’t in the aesthetics but in the material makeup. The new truck is about 1,000 lbs lighter than the aluminum bodied truck due to its extensive use of ABS plastic. By shedding that weight, The Big Brown Machine can use a smaller motor and be a whopping 40% more efficient. This got us thinking about past environmental initiatives enacted by UPS.
Although in existence since 1913, 1989 would seem to be the turning point in the modern era for the United Parcel Service. By taking a look at alternative fuels for their iconic trucks, UPS set a precedent for its future as an innovator of fleet driven businesses. Their experimentation with compressed natural gas, CNG, has led to over 1300 of its current vehicles to be powered by the efficient fuel. It’s usage account for a 20% drop in emissions and a 10% increase in efficiency compared to the standard diesel truck.
While many consider electric hybrid technology as cutting edge, UPS has been experimenting with it since 1998 and ordered trucks in 2001 with the system. They had the experience of billions of miles to recognize that hybrid systems are highly beneficial for the stop-and-go type of driving they do. The money that has been saved on fuel by this hybrid system has also been reinvested by the company to further push the abilities of the technology. Recent orders for electric hybrids have made use of lithium-ion batteries to further cut weight and improve fuel economy. These types of batteries have only recently made it to the consumer market.
UPS also employs the use of hydraulic hybrid technology which isn’t used by the consumer market. First put into the field in 2008, this system is good solely for stop-and-go driving situations. Here’s a quick rundown on how they work. Regenerative braking powers a pump that pushed nitrogen from a low pressure vessel to a high pressure accumulator when the truck slows down or comes to a stop. When the need to accelerate occurs, the pump reverses its flow and send the nitrogen back to the low pressure reservoir via the mechanical driveshaft.
By thinking outside the box, UPS improved on the efficiency of its more conventional delivery trucks as well. In 2004, the company changed all of its delivery routes to make 90% of their turns right turns. This reduced the time that the truck sat idle while waiting for cars to clear before making a left turn. This tiny change paid huge dividends in the long run. The right turn strategy equates to a savings of over 28.5 million miles and 3 million gallons of fuel every year.
UPS maintains a working fleet of close to 100,000 vehicles, 20% of which use alternative forms of energy. They have shown that a company can be environmentally conscious and serve its customers without sacrificing quality. It would seem that brown is the new green.
>Aside from the tornadoes hitting western Massachusetts, there has been some lovely riding weather lately. In addition to the splendid temperatures, a friend of mine is in the market for a new motorcycle and he’s very much into bobbers. Add in the Danny Choy factor of sharing a love for cafe racers and we have a perfect storm brewing. Thankfully we found this video and it supplies a much needed old school motorcycle fix while keeping us out of debt.
Big thanks to Oscar of the Squadra Sutge motorcycle group in Spain for these beautiful shots!
>While everyone is celebrating their right to drink, grill, and have an extra day off on this Memorial Day weekend, FPH would like to thank those that have served this country. Thank you for protecting our freedoms and way of life. This being an automotive blog, we thought it prudent to showcase some military hardware that have also served this country well.
Happy Memorial Day! Have fun, be safe, and buy a serviceman a drink.
>In a totally and completely unexpected turn of events, the F1 has decided that it will soon ban the most innovative break through in F1 technology. Wait a second. This isn’t unexpected at all! This is the status quo considering the “double diffuser” and “F-duct” were banned after only a single season of use. Keep reading to see what I’m on about.
At the beginning of the season, this car, Renault’s R31, appeared in full view of the public bearing nothing that resembled a conventional exhaust outlet. The general public as well as the international media were more than just a little baffled by this. In testing, the truth became very clear that Renault had an ace up its sleeve with a forward facing exhaust that is mounted just below the sidepod opening. Look closely and the split pipe arrangement can be seen above the R in Rover.
Conventional wisdom would say that this makes no sense. Expelling hot exhaust gas in front of an opening reserved for cooling electronics and radiators is a stupid idea. In addition, Formula 1 cars laugh in the face of conventional wisdom and Newtonian physics.
Seriously though, the front facing exhausts make a lot of sense. By introducing hot exhaust gas in front of the diffuser the flow is accelerated more than by just having a diffuser by itself. As the flow and velocity increase, so does the amount of downforce on the chassis.
The concept of using exhaust gasses as an integral part in the aerodynamics of an F1 car is not a new concept. It was used in the 80s and made a comeback with the banned “double diffusers” of 2009 and the single “blown diffuser” introduced in 2010 on the Red Bulls of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel.
The key difference is the location of where the exhaust gasses are introduced. By having front facing exhausts, all the exhaust gasses are introduced to the front of the diffuser and used to accelerate air flow and downforce. By applying the exhaust gasses over the top of the diffuser element like on the RB6 in 2010, the flow of air through the diffuser is simply aided by the exhaust flow and is not as efficient.
Critically, in 2010 all the top tier teams saw how effective the blown diffuser was and copied the concept from Red Bull for their own cars. This would make people wonder why the teams, especially struggling Ferrari, wouldn’t copy this year’s Renault design. The most obvious reason is that, while Renault is faster than expected, they are not constantly on the top step of the podium like Red Bull was last year. Additionally, rerouting an exhaust system down a few inches and heat shielding components isn’t the hardest task whereas redesigning a whole car to work around forward facing exhaust requires more than a couple weeks in between grand prix weekends.
So, what’s the big deal? Recently, Colin Kolles, boss of HRT, has brought to the attention of FIA technical delegate Charlie Whiting and FIA President Jean Todt the issue of both of these components being illegal as they are adjustable pieces of aerodynamics. Taken very lightly the aerodynamic component in question would be the rear diffuser, which doesn’t move at all. The argument that is being made by the underfunded and underachieving Kolles is that the exhaust is a by-product of the motor that has moving parts like pistons, valves, etc. Controlling that motor and how it expels its exhaust is the driver’s right foot. This is his long-winded way of saying the adjustable aerodynamics are driver controlled and therefore should be banned from competition.
Really, this all seems like a case of sour grapes. HRT is the lowest on the F1 totem pole in both championship standings as well as financial backing. They failed to qualify for the Australian GP because they couldn’t run a competitive lap time within the 107% rule. Without a competitive car or driver to start with and lacking funds to develop their own blown diffuser like every other team, the logical step is to whine about the rules and make everyone take a step back as opposed to progressing their own program.
Lucky for HRT, Formula 1 is looking to push a green initiative and blown aerodynamic elements need a bit more fuel than a “normal” car. While blowing hot exhaust gasses over the elements creates additional downforce, the flow of gasses is not a constant. As stated before, the amount of gas exiting the pipe varies with the application of throttle. Considering that throttle application does not correlate favorably to the ability to turn, engineers needed to find a way to have a constant flow of exhaust gas even when the driver is off the throttle. For them it was just a matter of programming the ECU. This extra fuel that is still being burned throughout each turn equates to about a 10% increase over race distance according to Renault. Considering the size of the fuel tank is already mandated by the FIA, what’s the problem? Being innovative and developing a more efficient motor in order to save fuel to use for the diffuser doesn’t seem like an issue. Even with a ban on blown elements, the teams will push the balance between power and fuel efficiency to finish a race with nothing left in the tank.
Regardless, the FIA had already decided to ban the aerodynamic aids prior to this past week’s Spanish GP. The problem arose when no course of action could be settled upon and the ban was subsequently postponed. After all this blows over, it’s guaranteed every team’s lap times will be negatively affected. Some say the loss of downforce will account for a half second per lap. Though, this isn’t a huge set back. Somebody will push the envelope a bit further next year and gain back that half second and then some. After all, Formula 1 cars do laugh in the face of conventional wisdom
>There are a lot of things that annoy me about what people do when they have a car. I’m not quite sure if this is because I’m an auto enthusiast, an engineer, or just a neurotic putz. Regardless, here are the top five things that my girlfriend says I complain about most.
First up is the Prius owner. It’s not just any old Prius owner though. It’s the specific Prius owner who puts a cargo carrier on top of the car like the one pictured above. Now, I don’t have any problem with the carrier itself. I have a huge problem with the fact that these things are very rarely taken off of the car once installed. Nevermind that the Prius was designed to be as slippery as possible to cut right through the air to achieve its fuel efficient numbers.
The Prius had long ago become a status symbol and by owning one you are telling the world that you are saving it regardless of the fact that a bigger midsize car would suit your size needs more adequately and for a lower sticker price to boot.
Recently I noticed that a lot of people like to ask me if I’ve raced anybody. I don’t know if this is a local phenomenon or if all car guys get asked this. Yes, I know my car has decent power ratings and it is classified as a tuner car. That doesn’t mean that “I live my life a quarter mile at a time.” Street racing is a pretty stupid game since the Fast and the Furious franchise made it so mainstream. Chancing life, limb, finances and the law isn’t my cup of tea. “Street cred” is not worth it!
Speaking of “street cred,” I get really frustrated when people decide to rebadge their cars into something that it isn’t. This can include a whole myriad of things like putting “type R” paraphernalia on a Camry or even keeping within one marque and putting M3 badges on a 328i. This type of behavior only attracts real car guys and doesn’t gain you any “street cred.” The real cars guys are the ones that care about things like type R, AMG, M division, etc and they will know that you are a poser. The worst of the worst can be seen in the video above.
I’m sure you’ve all seen this hanging in the most ill-suited cars to transport a child. I think it’s a slap in the face to all the drivers around it. To me it says “drive extra careful because you are around my child who will one day discover a vaccine for death.” It’s almost as if that proud parent thinks everyone else drives horribly and needs a reminder about how to operate a vehicle. This especially irritates me when the owner of this placard can’t stay in their own lane and is chain smoking. It’s ok though! They have a baby on board that is very distracting and stress-inducing.
This last one infuriates me. It doesn’t matter whether the passenger or driver is doing this. It’s equally stupid, dangerous, and terrifying. Let’s count the reasons.
>With the summer travel season approaching, many people are keeping track of how much a barrel of oil costs. Having just paid $4.25 for a gallon of premium, worry is definitely settling in about how much fuel will cost after Memorial Day. However, crude oil prices don’t just affect fuel costs but also the life blood of our cars’ engines, motor oil.
Being a good auto enthusiast, I run full synthetic and change it every 5000 miles which means I’m due for my tenth change very soon. Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of debate about this. Some still change at 3000 mile intervals, as was taught for ages. Others, like myself, follow their car’s manual. Better still, the new breed of car can tell the owner when to change their oil based on algorithms that take into account temperature and rpm amongst other things.
A company called Lubricheck is looking to change all this guesswork and maybe put an end to all the heated debates. It’s as simple as checking your oil which you should be doing anyways. I’ll let them tell you how it works.
If they can get this to market for $30 as they say, it would pay for itself in a very short time period. Using my car as an example (2008 Mazdaspeed 3), it would only take about 2500 miles of extra oil life to cover the cost of the Lubricheck device. Here’s how it breaks down:
That extra 2500 miles is definitely achievable over the life of a car. For instance, I just attended the wedding of FPH’s very own Kyle Swift.(Congrats!) That trip to Philly in addition to day trips to Cape Cod and New Hampshire covered about 900 miles with air temperature ranging between 50 and 70 degrees. The interstates had the tachometer between 2500 and 3000 rpm in top gear. This is hardly straining the motor.
The only problem that might arise would be the ability to reuse the device. How can the old oil be cleaned off to allow for a proper reading of the next sample? If a new test strip needs to be inserted like a blood glucose meter, how much would these strips cost? If these questions can be solved with a cost effective solution, Lubricheck will definitely have a winner on its hands.
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sources: f1fanatic.co.uk, n4g.com, mitsubishi-motors.co.jp, motorcyclenews.com, inventaria.wordpress.com, niall-mackenzie.com, 2stroker.createforumhosting.com, autoconcept-reviews.com, oldracingcars.com
>FPH is very much based on the east coast with Choy in New York and me in Boston. So we drool at a lot of things from the left coast. Sometimes they are a glimpse into what’s headed in our direction. Other times it’s a look at an altogether different way of life.
This video represents the latter. The sub-culture that consists of hot rods, rat rods, and lead sleds lives just under the radar… and we love them!
>There are always pros and cons when two cultures come together. On the positive side, there is a melding of food and traditions that often end up being better than the sum of their parts. Conversely, past stereotypes and misconceptions are hard to forget. When talking about Italians and Americans, the situation is no different. Starting with the bad news, Italians in America have given us things like The Olive Garden and the cast of Jersey Shore. However, that is a small price to pay for the goodness that the automotive world received in the form of the De Tomaso Pantera.
Like any good Italian mother knows, quality ingredients are the key to a good meal and the Pantera doesn’t disappoint mama. It starts with a steel monocoque held up by independent suspension all around. This gives the Italian precise handling and a low weight of less than 3200 pounds. Just to make sure nobody goes home hungry, a good helping of power is infused into the sauce.
A Ford sourced 351 Cleveland V8 is mounted right behind the front seats for optimal weight distribution. Its 5.8 liters provide 330 horsepower to propel the Italian panther to sixty miles per hour in five and a half seconds with the quarter mile passing in fourteen seconds. A stopping distance from 60 mph of 112 feet and a top speed of around 150 mph (depending on source) isn’t bad for a 40 year old car.
With the warm weather approaching, affordable supercars are getting harder to find. The Pantera is no different. While a good clean example could be had for under forty large in the winter, Ebay lists two cars under that magic number but the auctions still have some time left. Finding the right example will probably take some time and patience but it will still cost less than a house on the Jersey Shore.
