[DR-JEKL]

I'm always reading various car mags from around the globe watching video's etc and sometimes see things which arent worthy of their own thread so thought I would create this thread to share random automotive 'stuff' with some fellow petrolheads!

#1

Its been rumoured for a few years now that future ///M cars could feature AWD tech as the engineers are reaching the traction limits of RWD as the HP wars increase with each new model release...

Purists will rage but the vast majority of ///M owners probably would never do any 'drifting' per se and would appreciate the quicker acceleration times



#2

On a recent M2 review they actually found the M2 to be quicker than its big brother M4!!



Reviews like this can be taken with a grain of salt (perhaps the M4 had worn tyres?)

#3

Genius oil change idea, will be interesting to see if this tech gets taken up by the automotive manufacturers

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-as...0T81QH20151119



#4

Polishing technology I heard from a mate who is building a 1000HP+ barra motor that a local shop now offers this tech which involves submerging the components into a series of polishing stones with brilliant results.

The video is damn impressive

[Socket]

#5 Cryogenic treatment of engine parts for durability

[EB89]

How does that oil change work, it wouldn't get all of the oil if it's at the top of the engine bay... The article didn't elaborate

[DR-JEKL]

Cyro treatment is done to promote the growth/formation of martensite and this process is generally used for tool steels (high carbon) and high alloy steels which have a relatively high level of retained austenite after Heat treatment.

We used it in our steelmaking facility for the manufacture of large cold mill rolls (think of a large rolling pin thats say 6 metres long and 800mm in dia) as it helps with wear resistance through increased surface hardness albeit it can also effectively reduce the toughness (martensite is the term used for the microstructure of the steel which is visible when viewed under a microscope at high magnification)

This is effectively what the microstructure behaves during the treatment process as it undergoes the transformation:

[DR-JEKL]

Originally Posted by EB89

How does that oil change work, it wouldn't get all of the oil if it's at the top of the engine bay... The article didn't elaborate

Hmm yes I would imagine there would have to be some of the 'old' residual oil left remaining in the engine crankcase/valvetrain etc

[EB89]

Originally Posted by DR-JEKL

Hmm yes I would imagine there would have to be some of the 'old' residual oil left remaining in the engine crankcase/valvetrain etc

It's a perfect idea if the box was underneath and easy to remove.

[DR-JEKL]

Originally Posted by EB89

It's a perfect idea if the box was underneath and easy to remove.

When the gearbox oil is done on a car, the servicing tech can use an autologic tool to run the pump and effectively pump the residual fluid out of the tranny.

Perhaps with this oil cell technology, such a system would also be used i.e before an oil change they use the crankcase oil pump to pump any residual fluid into the oil cell.

[bradsm87]

Originally Posted by DR-JEKL

Its been rumoured for a few years now that future ///M cars could feature AWD tech as the engineers are reaching the traction limits of RWD as the HP wars increase with each new model release...

Purists will rage but the vast majority of ///M owners probably would never do any 'drifting' per se and would appreciate the quicker acceleration times

ALL BMW sedan/wagon/coupe AWD models have only ever been available in LHD due to packaging limitations. Unfortunately, I don't think that will change with the next-gen M cars.

[bradsm87]

Originally Posted by EB89

How does that oil change work, it wouldn't get all of the oil if it's at the top of the engine bay... The article didn't elaborate

It's for a dry sumped race car. The oil gets pumped up into the box all the time. It would come in handy for endurance racing being able to change it mid-race.

[DR-JEKL]

Originally Posted by bradsm87

It's for a dry sumped race car. The oil gets pumped up into the box all the time. It would come in handy for endurance racing being able to change it mid-race.

I first read about this about 18 months ago (since then it looks like castrol have swooped in and became a partner or bought out the tech) and the initial concept AFAIK was for general passenger car use to reduce oil change times at the dealerships and of course the obvious enviro reasons (much cleaner to recycle the oil and the cell can be re-used)

Also in the link you can see they demonstrate it in a ford focus, which isnt a dry sumped race car like the vulcan essentially is

[DR-JEKL]

Originally Posted by bradsm87

ALL BMW sedan/wagon/coupe AWD models have only ever been available in LHD due to packaging limitations. Unfortunately, I don't think that will change with the next-gen M cars.

Nah AFAIK in the UK you can buy a range of AWD XDrive BMW's e.g you can buy say a 330D xdrive wagon (or an estate as what the poms call em!) or even a 2 or a 7 series xdrive

https://www.bmw.co.uk/en/index.html

Most likely they havent brought them to Australia due to the limited projected sales volume?

Previous gen AMG's have been the same (packaging limitations) but I've heard the new models may potentially be offered in australia in future (E63 etc)

[rooks335]

Found a short article on the N54 engine.

Forged crankshaft and rods from the factory!

http://www.carbuzz.com/news/2016/5/2...ngine-7733074/

[bradsm87]

Originally Posted by DR-JEKL

Nah AFAIK in the UK you can buy a range of AWD XDrive BMW's e.g you can buy say a 330D xdrive wagon (or an estate as what the poms call em!) or even a 2 or a 7 series xdrive

https://www.bmw.co.uk/en/index.html

Most likely they havent brought them to Australia due to the limited projected sales volume?

Previous gen AMG's have been the same (packaging limitations) but I've heard the new models may potentially be offered in australia in future (E63 etc)

Aha interesting. They must have made changes in the latest chassis generations. The F1x 5 series still can't do any RHD AWD models, but I guess the new G3x series will to bring it in line with the others. That's why multiple sources say the M550D Xdrive can't be done in RHD.

[bradsm87]

Originally Posted by rooks335

Found a short article on the N54 engine.

Forged crankshaft and rods from the factory!

http://www.carbuzz.com/news/2016/5/2...ngine-7733074/

"At low engine speeds one turbo builds pressure while the other stays idle, so as to reduce the amount of time it takes for the turbo to act"

Oh dear...

[rooks335]

^^ haha does that mean our turbos are sequential ?

[DR-JEKL]

Originally Posted by rooks335

^^ haha does that mean our turbos are sequential ?

Lol nup, brad has obviously spotted a rather major error that would indicate the person/s writing the piece has NFI

[rooks335]

Originally Posted by DR-JEKL

Lol nup, brad has obviously spotted a rather major error that would indicate the person/s writing the piece has NFI

I see, so its 3 cylinders 1 turbo ratio then.

...Ok the forge internals bit could be bullocks as well then.

[DR-JEKL]

Originally Posted by rooks335

I see, so its 3 cylinders 1 turbo ratio then.

...Ok the forge internals bit could be bullocks as well then.

AFAIK it's largely subjective regarding the internals in the N54's.

I believe the crank and rods are forged and cast mahle pistons.

There was some conjecture whether some N54's also had forged pistons?

[rooks335]

Originally Posted by DR-JEKL

AFAIK it's largely subjective regarding the internals in the N54's.

I believe the crank and rods are forged and cast mahle pistons.

There was some conjecture whether some N54's also had forged pistons?

Perhaps the 335iS would unfortunately not commonplace here in oz.

[DR-JEKL]

Originally Posted by rooks335

Perhaps the 335iS would unfortunately not commonplace here in oz.

If any model definitely had them it may have been the early build N54's (BMW cut costs on a fair few components such as welded diff and then developed the N55 which was also cheaper to manufacture) or later model N54 in the 1M (most ///M models have bespoke drivelines for to sustain the endurance of their intended use of track days/motorsports)

[DR-JEKL]

I would have assumed the owner of Schmiedmann would have had an M3 or M5 but having said that his 335i looks pretty sweet!

[DR-JEKL]

Nulon lifetime coolant