Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: AutoNotes #3
From: dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us (Dave Williams) 
Date: 26 Jul 92 14:42:00 GMT
Reply-To: dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us (Dave Williams) 
Distribution: world
Organization: The Courts of Chaos * Jacksonville AR USA * 501-985-0059


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AutoNotes #3, 07/26/92                   copr. 1992, Dave Williams
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  BIX: 'dave2'      RIME at ->CHAOS    dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us
  CIS: 72571,3542   The Courts of Chaos BBS, (501)985-0059
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 Porsche's new 968 uses a 3 liter (180 cubic inch) four with variable
cam timing.  The Porsche system twiddles slack in the timing chain to
change cam phasing.  Claimed power output is 240bhp. I'm getting
suspicious of some of these new bhp claims - are we heading toward a
new "advertised horsepower" age, like the 1960s?  1.33 hp/cube from a
normally aspirated, '92-smog-legal 180-inch four crowds the edges of my
bogosity sensor.  The six-speed manual trans may be a tip that the
powerband is crowded up to the top of the curve, though Porsche claims
the engine has "massive torque", whatever that is... The 968's 0-60 of
6.9 seconds isn't very impressive for 240bhp, though they claim a top
speed of 156mph.  EPA fuel consumption is 22.8 mpg, also nothing to brag
about, particularly with variable valve timing and modern engine
management systems.

 Toyota is playing with ultrasonic vibrating mirrors.  They're supposed
to clear themselves of raindrops in 15 seconds.  They're also
electrically heated for wintertime.

 Coates International of NJ has dreams of getting automakers to replace
their poppet valves with Coates' improved rotary valve design.  <sigh>
The exploded view of their prototype head for a Mercedes six shows
two gear driven overhead rotary valve shafts, twelve actual valves,
twelve bushings, twenty-four assorted seals, four ball bearings, a
reasonably complex two-piece head which probably requires special
hobbing equipment to machine for the rotary valve pockets, and assorted
bric-a-brac.  Their valve system requires the intake and exhaust air
streams to make two right-angle bends instead of the one of a poppet
system. Coates also claims their converted M-B engine meets emissions
without a catalytic convertor, requires oil changes at 50,000 miles,
requires less oil because none is needed at the top end of the engine
(what about those bushings and bearings?), 10% less valve friction than
poppets, 18% better fuel economy, idle speeds of 250 RPM, and greatly
reduced octane requirements.  And if you believe all that, I have a nice
bridge for sale...

 BMW is building a new assembly plant in Spartanburg, SC.  Why?  Even
UAW's goons will work cheaper than German labor, though you'd think
millions of ex-East-Germans would work cheap.  Kinda reminds me of
VW's attempt at US assembly back in the '70s.

 General Motors Acceptance Corp (GM's financing arm) got shafted for
a $436 million fraud involving a NY Buick dealer who financed a bunch
of vans that didn't exist.  GM disciplined, transferred, retired, or
demoted much of GMAC's management, but claims no GMAC employees were
conspirators in the "alleged" fraud.  Ri-ight.  Hey, can I finance
that bridge?....

 25% of all Chevrolet Caprices are sold as police cars.

 It's positively Orbital:  Jaguar is one of the latest to jump on the
Orbital two-stroke bandwagon.  They're talking about replacing the
V12 with a blower-scavenged 2-stroke V6.  But wait!  The Orbital
doesn't use blower scavenging, right?  Right!  This confused me for
some time, until I realized a majority of the companies claiming
Orbital licensing are only interested in Orbital's oddball pneumatic
fuel injection system, not their overall design.

 V10 Again:  Ford is now talking about expanding their modular V8
(that's the 4.6 SOHC) to a 7-liter V10 for use in E and F series
trucks and vans.  My, that's quite a displacement jump for just two
cylinders.  Why are they doing this?  Ford claims it's to ward off
competition from - (fanfare) Toyota's new T100 line of pickups.

 The V10 is an idiotic layout for an engine.  It can't be balanced
without Lanchester-type shafts.  If you're going to go more than
eight cylinders, the only reasonable step is twelve, which is in
perfect balance no matter what the cylinder bank angle.  Alas, it
seems to be a fad, much like the five cylinder craze that went around
when Audi stretched their four.  In Audi's case, it made sense - they
couldn't justify an all-new engine, and they'd already bored and
stroked the old one as far as it would go.  They bit the bullet and
tacked on an extra cylinder.  BTW, Audi has finally phased out the
5 except for one model, and will soon have everything converted to
their new V6.

 Opel's new V6 has a 55 degree cylinder bank angle instead of the
"proper" 60 degrees.  I doubt anyone would notice, considering the
number of 90 degree V6s in the market.  The Opel will be a DOHC, four
valve, all-aluminum unit of 2.5 liters.

 Ford's Sierra (known in the US as the Merkur XR4Ti) bites the dust
next year.  It will be replaced by a new FWD platform that looks
something like an obese Probe.  The platform will be shared with the
Tempo/Topaz in the US. The now-defunct British magazine Auto
Performance called the Sierra "vaguely amphibious," which is about
as kind as could be expected.

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