Archive for November, 2007

Audi is now poised to join the league of super cars such as Lamborghini and Ferrari, thanks to blatant advertising for its new Audi R8 in the Ironman movie.

The main character in the show, a rich and feted playboy, emerges from the vehicle to a flurry of paparazzi camera flashes.

Alright, so this is a supercar, and enginestartbutton is an automotive tuning site. Hey, comeon…with horsepower and torque this sinful, it deserves a mention on my site!

Sharp eyed enthusiasts say the Audi R8’s design looks too similar to the Lamborghini Gallardo.

They are not paranoid. Audi does own Lamborghini.

The R8 is powered by a 4.2 L V8 engine which forces out 420 bhp/7800 RPM. The V10 Gallardo churns out 520bhp / 8000 RPM.

No prizes for guessing which model wins the 0-100. However, the R8 is not built to be a competitor to the Gallardo, but to complement it. Let me explain.

The Gallardo was designed prior to conceiving the R8. Audi-owned Lamborghini had in mind an entry-level supercar that would not only be fitted with a powerful engine, but handling and chassis practical enough for street usage.

Thus the Gallardo was born. It however, was still too powerful and unrefined, and in the upper echelons of the supercar status. Audi then decided to come up with a coupe that was ‘civilized’, luxurious & refined, yet powerful.

Think the Porsche, BMW categories.

That’s where the Audi R8’s Quattro All wheel drivetrain comes in.

Normal AWD systems work this way: The torque-sensing centre differential delivers around 40% of torque to the front axle and 60% to the rear.

Audi’s new Quattro AWD is able to send part of this torque to the individual rear wheels almost instantly (less than 100 milliseconds) if it detects any loss of traction.

This, of course, results in excellent handling.

The R8 is also constructed using the Audi Space Frame (ASF) technique.

ASF is a high-strength aluminum frame structure into which the panels are integrated so that they also perform a load-bearing function.

In conjunction with high-strength aluminum sheet, the aluminum body is characterized by exceptional stiffness and above-average crash protection, yet at the same time by substantially lower weight.

Basically one is getting an Italian designed supercar with the exotic looks, flair and luxury but state of the art German engineering and technological advancement.

So who cares if it looks like the Gallardo?

When ‘dyno testing’ is mentioned, people straight away think of showing off one’s the torque or power of one’s car.

Actually that is only one purpose of dyno testing. A computerized engine dynamometer accurately measures torque and rpm and then can accurately calculate horsepower.

Knowing your horsepower and torque gives you a solid basis for making changes in the engine’s tuning or to the engine itself. How? Easy. If horsepower and torque go up the change was likely correct, if they go down you’ll need to make some changes.

The dynamometer applies various loads on the engine and measures the engine’s ability to move the load. The dynamometer may be connected to a computer which calculates the output of the engine. The engine is run from idle to its maximum rpm and the output is measured and plotted on a graph.

Dynometers are used to measure the factors such as : crankshaft torque, intake air and fuel consumption rates, air-fuel ratio for the intake mixture,environment pollutant concentrations in the exhaust gas and temperatures and gas pressures at several locations on the engine body such as engine oil temperature, spark plug temperature, exhaust gas temperature, intake manifold pressure.

To date dyno testing is the most accurate way to determine if the fuel saving device or the bolt on turbocharger your bought for your ride is effective.

Dyno testing will not come cheap, however, it is the price anyone who wants a 100% iron clad guarantee that the performance of his engine did improve upon fitting external devices.

Dear readers,

Once again engine start button apologises *bow*

My trusty Apple Macintosh of 4 years crashed on me, and i’m using a borrowed PC to blog now.

Till date apple computer has not given me any word about my mac’s repair, and it’s been close to 3 weeks since i submitted in the CPU for repair.

Sorry guys but once the apple is fixed (or screwed for a new PEE SEE) i will get back to regular blogging.

In the meantime, await more auto tips….

Regards,

Philip-san.