For those who drive, what was your first vehicle?

[Hopeless_Aspie_Guy]

An underpowered (0-60............ eventually) Citroen Xsara LX 1.4. For you americans......citroen is a french car company many of you will not have heard of, but they do typically produce stylish cars and are of moderate reliability (as with all french car brands). Up hills I'd have to change down to very low gears.

But then (6 months later) I'd had enough of it, had it scrapped and upgraded to a suzuki swift sport of which I've worked hard on upgrading and kitting out. 0-60 in 6.5
The pic below is the citroen btw, not the suzuki I have now.

 

[clg114]

I have an electronic valvetrain design that uses solenoid type valves in combinations that will eliminate the parasitic friction losses from the valvetrain.Commonly used valve systems rob a lot of power from an engine.All of the mechanical valve action monkey-motion will be eliminated ,so it opens up design areas that will allow aiming the actual valves in nearly any configuration necessary. It will create variable valve timing,volume and speed limiting with multiple valves that will control combustion chamber swirl properties and promote efficient flame front propagation. A hemispherical combustion chamber would benefit from this addition and eliminate the side piston drag losses from a wedge style combustion chamber,so once again,performance will come up as longevity is added.

With this design,I can give an engine valving that will allow it to run at peak performance or make it restrictive when someone else gets a hold of the vehicle. Imagine a supercar that can be de-tuned so a novice first timer or valet driver only get a little bit of power.

I really like this idea of a electronic valve train. This could automatically adjust the valve timing to different rpm's and loads as you drive. Like you said, being able to set the performance level for different applications would be a valuable option. The question that I would have, do you have a controller to run this with? It would have to control both the valve timing and the ignition timing for maximum performance. Also, could the solenoids operate fast enough at high rpm's?

 

[Rayner]

BMW's valvetronic is so precise at low engine load (idle) that it can open the intake valves .5 MM. At Low engine RPM it doesn't open the valves much the reason for that is to keep the pressure of the air entering the cylinder high to better keep Air to fuel mixture balanced.

With that said I'm a fan of rally racing, VTEC and Valvetronic, formula 1, and my daily drives happen to be two American made trucks. I like to think of myself as the auto enthusiast without brand loyalty.

I really like this idea of a electronic valve train. This could automatically adjust the valve timing to different rpm's and loads as you drive. Like you said, being able to set the performance level for different applications would be a valuable option. The question that I would have, do you have a controller to run this with? It would have to control both the valve timing and the ignition timing for maximum performance. Also, could the solenoids operate fast enough at high rpm's?

 

[Nitro]

I really like this idea of a electronic valve train. This could automatically adjust the valve timing to different rpm's and loads as you drive. Like you said, being able to set the performance level for different applications would be a valuable option. The question that I would have, do you have a controller to run this with? It would have to control both the valve timing and the ignition timing for maximum performance. Also, could the solenoids operate fast enough at high rpm's?

This design,much like the BMW design will be geared towards higher low end torque as opposed to a higher RPM horsepower based units that both wastes fuel and have higher exhaust emissions.

With the present setups used for ignition and fuel injection,the electronics already exist.Mass airflow is pretty much down to a science now in a modern recip engine,so that has already been mapped out too.I found an outfit that offers engine control modules that will support up to twelve injectors in a DIY kit that are tuneable with a laptop computer.If they were to be used for valve actuation,they could be daisychained to add more flow as more valves were needed by changing the timing inputs piloted off the one before the next part of the event occurs.



I think that if I can keep the mass down on the valves by making them small enough they will be responsive. The valvesprings won't have to follow a mechanical camshaft to prevent valve float. Solenoids don't generally have much friction to overcome,so the springs can remain fairly light which may translate to fast. My design is pushed towards smaller valves either used singly or in combinations as the demand for flow rates rise. The use of smaller valves will increase the number of them in the design and aren't limited to designs around fixed valvetrain geometry. Most likely I will begin on a single cylinder engine for simplicity and move up if met with success. Nothing has been proven yet,but I will most likely use high pressure electronic diesel injectors as a basis for the valve actuators when I begin my trials.

 

[Rayner]

A soft Valve spring In my Mind would take less effort to open but they wouldn't close as fast like a stiffer spring would. I also believe that smaller valves but more of them per cylinder would be more efficient because you could get more air inside the cylinder in a shorter amount of time.

Now that I think about there is a YouTube channel you may like that talks about the engineering behind cars.
I forgot what's called, but when I remember I be sure to tell you about it.

This design,much like the BMW design will be geared towards higher low end torque as opposed to a higher RPM horsepower based units that both wastes fuel and have higher exhaust emissions.

With the present setups used for ignition and fuel injection,the electronics already exist.Mass airflow is pretty much down to a science now in a modern recip engine,so that has already been mapped out too.I found an outfit that offers engine control modules that will support up to twelve injectors in a DIY kit that are tuneable with a laptop computer.If they were to be used for valve actuation,they could be daisychained to add more flow as more valves were needed by changing the timing inputs piloted off the one before the next part of the event occurs.



I think that if I can keep the mass down on the valves by making them small enough they will be responsive. The valvesprings won't have to follow a mechanical camshaft to prevent valve float. Solenoids don't generally have much friction to overcome,so the springs can remain fairly light which may translate to fast. My design is pushed towards smaller valves either used singly or in combinations as the demand for flow rated rise. The use of smaller valves will increase the number of them in the design and aren't limited to designs around fixed valvetrain geometry. Most likely I will begin on a single cylinder engine for simplicity and move up if met with success. Nothing has been proven yet,but I will most likely use high pressure electronic diesel injectors as a basis for the valve actuators when I begin my trials.

 

[Nitro]

BMW's valvetronic is so precise at low engine load (idle) that it can open the intake valves .5 MM. At Low engine RPM it doesn't open the valves much the reason for that is to keep the pressure of the air entering the cylinder high to better keep Air to fuel mixture balanced.

With that said I'm a fan of rally racing, VTEC and Valvetronic, formula 1, and my daily drives happen to be two American made trucks. I like to think of myself as the auto enthusiast without brand loyalty.

The BMW setups are cool,but a bit too complicated to manufacture for lower priced vehicles.

My brand loyalties only lie in who is making the best product for each application. Reliability as well as cost enters into the high performance realm I love to play in.

I know Sportster and I don't agree on Ford product,but give us each the same budget for making performance,and the first thing he will learn from it is what my tail lights look like

 

[Rayner]

It's funny you mention that. I own two trucks. Ones a Chevy the others a Ford, that's exactly right the best product for the best application. I use my K2500 as my work truck and I use my Ranger as my grocery getter, for obvious reasons the engine displacement of the ranger is less than half what the Chevy is even it's original state.

The math I use to justify owning two trucks is simple 9.3-4.0=5.3. It's better for me to own two vehicles that can do each of their jobs well, Than one truck that just barely the job done. Now granted the math is flawed in that technically it would be 10.3-4.0=6.3.

It would be next two impossible the move my camper around with the ranger, that's why I've got granddaddy's pick up. My granddad was GM man through and through it wasn't That he had a problem with fords. It's just that's the nearest ford dealership was farther away the GM dealership and he's already got 99 problems being a farmer.

my granddaddy got some new wheels not to long ago, now he's rolling in style in his 2015 Chevy high Country silverado. It's got everything an old guy like him would need.

The BMW setups are cool,but a bit too complicated to manufacture for lower priced vehicles.

My brand loyalties only lie in who is making the best product for each application. Reliability as well as cost enters into the high performance realm I love to play in.

I know Sportster and I don't agree on Ford product,but give us each the same budget for making performance,and the first thing he will learn from it is what my tail lights look like

 

[wyverary]

'93 Toyota Camry Wagon, V6. Bought it for $800 at 331k miles, went all the way to 355 when the engine literally started falling out. Air conditioner didn't work but otherwise it was surprisingly low-maintenance, unlike the '93 Accord I'm driving now, which has had some problems (but it's at 360k and going strong!).

I'm turning into Tommy Magliozzi...I like old clunkers!

 

[Nitro]

'93 Toyota Camry Wagon, V6. Bought it for $800 at 331k miles, went all the way to 355 when the engine literally started falling out. Air conditioner didn't work but otherwise it was surprisingly low-maintenance, unlike the '93 Accord I'm driving now, which has had some problems (but it's at 360k and going strong!).

I'm turning into Tommy Magliozzi...I like old clunkers!

Was he click,or clack?

 

[wyverary]

Was he click,or clack?

I'm pretty sure that issue was never settled

 

[Nitro]

I'm pretty sure that issue was never settled

I had a husband and wife team that used to bring their POS cars to my automotive electronics repair shop. After a careful diagnosis using state of the art diagnostic equipment and telling them what needed to be repaired,the guy used to say that he wouldn't move forward with the repair until he consulted Click and Clack

 

[Judge]

I had a husband and wife team that used to bring their POS cars to my automotive electronics repair shop. After a careful diagnosis using state of the art diagnostic equipment and telling them what needed to be repaired,the guy used to say that he wouldn't move forward with the repair until he consulted Click and Clack

How do you feel about dealers who won't tell you a component is or has outright failed, but simply "suggest" replacing it? They are likely covering their own liability, but in the process are they truly being honest, or simply scavenging for unnecessary and often expensive repairs?

(My cousin seems to be told to replace her Toyota water pumps on a shockingly routine basis.)

 

[Destination Unknown]

'93 Toyota Camry Wagon, V6. Bought it for $800 at 331k miles, went all the way to 355 when the engine literally started falling out. Air conditioner didn't work but otherwise it was surprisingly low-maintenance, unlike the '93 Accord I'm driving now, which has had some problems (but it's at 360k and going strong!).

I'm turning into Tommy Magliozzi...I like old clunkers!

Sounds like my former Accord, and now my Corolla. Lots of little things little things going wrong, but none of them keep it from going down the road.

 

[Nitro]

How do you feel about dealers who won't tell you a component is or has outright failed, but simply "suggest" replacing it? They are likely covering their own liability, but in the process are they truly being honest, or simply scavenging for unnecessary and often expensive repairs?

(My cousin seems to be told to replace her Toyota water pumps on a shockingly routine basis.)

The dealerships are hurting now because most of the time they only get warranty work and they feel they have to up the profits any way possible. Too bad it is the customer that has to bear that cross.

A suggested sale in my shop consisted of offering to change a component such as a water pump when changing a timing belt. Either pay me labor once or take your chances on it. In an independent shop,an crook will get outed really fast,where if you do a job properly,the customer will tell his friends. If not,they will broadcast to the county
One of the best business models I chose was to carefully explain the entire repair in a language that was readily understood without a lot of technical babble.That drove the trust up with female customers who would recommend my place to their friends who felt that other places were running a scam on them.

Another service I offered was free replacement of turn signal or marker lamp bulbs. When the wife was sent to have it taken care of,instead of having to be the bearer of bad news after we handled that small chore for nothing,it gained the business respect and brought return business as a result of spending a couple dollars worth of time and a $.50 part.

 

[Judge]

The dealerships are hurting now because most of the time they only get warranty work and they feel they have to up the profits any way possible. Too bad it is the customer that has to bear that cross.

A suggested sale in my shop consisted of offering to change a component such as a water pump when changing a timing belt. Either pay me labor once or take your chances on it. In an independent shop,an crook will get outed really fast,where if you do a job properly,the customer will tell his friends. If not,they will broadcast to the county
One of the best business models I chose was to carefully explain the entire repair in a language that was readily understood without a lot of technical babble.That drove the trust up with female customers who would recommend my place to their friends who felt that other places were running a scam on them.

Another service I offered was free replacement of turn signal or marker lamp bulbs. When the wife was sent to have it taken care of,instead of having to be the bearer of bad news after we handled that small chore for nothing,it gained the business respect and brought return business as a result of spending a couple dollars worth of time and a $.50 part.

It just irks me. I know when a water pump is going. You hear it. You see the water leaking. It doesn't help when the brand itself is considerably more reliable than their competitors. Yet indeed, the dealer can't make it on car sales alone. And in this case they not only change the pump, but the belt and belt tensioner too. It adds up. Hard to trust the dealer...

 

[Turanga Veela]

An '81 Dodge Omni (in 1993? I think?). For $500. Spent a lot of time sliding around the roads of the frozen north in that thing.

 

[wyverary]

It just irks me. I know when a water pump is going. You hear it. You see the water leaking. It doesn't help when the brand itself is considerably more reliable than their competitors. Yet indeed, the dealer can't make it on car sales alone. And in this case they not only change the pump, but the belt and belt tensioner too. It adds up. Hard to trust the dealer...

I suppose that, for me, is one of the benefits of living in a small town...there are many mechanics shops around, but I've found one that I like, that is honest, that I can trust. And of course, when I can make my own diagnoses, I do so, so even when I can't fix it myself, I know with confidence I can go into the local shop, describe the problem, and they do what they can, without any extra s*** on the side.

 

[Rayner]

I've been told those cars are so heavy. All four tires could be on ice As you press the accelerator
The tires wouldn't spin. Granted you may not make anywhere but at least the tires won't spin.

An '81 Dodge Omni (in 1993? I think?). For $500. Spent a lot of time sliding around the roads of the frozen north in that thing.

View attachment 27186

 

[Turanga Veela]

I've been told those cars are so heavy. All four tires could be on ice As you press the accelerator
The tires wouldn't spin. Granted you may not make anywhere but at least the tires won't spin.

Tell that to the snowbanks of Upper Michigan!

I'm sure my tires were always inadequate. As were my driving teachers!

 

[Rayner]

I've driven on ice and snow a hand full of times. It doesn't snow that often in Texas,but icey roads are fairly common in the wintertime. As a last resort on icy roads, I'll put on my snow chains. In my experience snow chains make getting traction on ice much easier at the expense of your tires. Because snow chains will chew up rubber tires like its nothing.

Tell that to the snowbanks of Upper Michigan!

I'm sure my tires were always inadequate. As were my driving teachers!