AUTO MANIA: by Dr. Iain Corness [email protected]

Indian GP this weekend

 Buddh International Circuit.

India unveiled its $400 million Buddh International Circuit two years ago. (For all those who are hoping for a Thailand GP, the cost of $400 million is about 12 billion baht, so dig deep! And that does not include removable barriers and lighting.)
The track has 16 largely medium speed corners where F1 cars lap at an average speed of 210 km/h. The back straight will let F1 cars reach 320 km/h making it one of the fastest tracks in the world. The lap record is 1 minute 27.2 seconds, held by Vettel. The grandstand with a capacity of 13,000 overlooks turn 10 and turn 11 giving the F1 fans an opportunity to be a part of the action.
For the future of F1 in India, let us hope this second one is a success. The owners of the four year old circuit built for the Korean GP are already making noises that they need the annual fee reduced, as they are losing too much money. However, I doubt if Bernie will be answering the phone.
I will be watching from my usual perch at Jameson’s Irish Pub, Soi AR, next to Nova Park for the Grand Prix. We will be gazing at the huge screen, with the dedicated F1 channel for coverage and no breaks for adverts. Now, important - with the time differential between here and India, the race on Sunday starts at 4.30 p.m. Thai time. Qualifying on the Saturday is 3.30 p.m. Join us for lunch and a couple of jars before the red lights go out, and stay for the post-race discussions and try the Sunday specials.

Had a bump recently?

TTI workshop.

A local ex-pat Matt Bowles has taken the position as General Manager of a body shop called TTI-Global located at Bang Na.
TTI Global provides automotive training all over the world and also has the only Volvo approved body repair shop in Thailand which is also a training center for many other large brands.
The facility is certainly large and ‘Euro’ standard with five paint booths and Car-O-Liner body aligner, which is equipment not seen very often in Thailand.
Matt says they work with many insurance companies and can repair all brands and can also carry out servicing and mechanical repairs.
TTi Global is at 1739/1 Soi Poonsin, Sukhumvit 66/1 Rd., Bangjak, Prakanong, Bangkok 10260, Thailand. Contact +66 2 744 7760 ext.: 214 l, +668 2468 8064 l, [email protected]

Audi A8 technocar

Audi are going for new technology with their latest A8. New MatrixBeam LED headlights will be offered on some A8 models. Of particular interest to the gadget lovers, the futuristic new MatrixBeam headlights and dynamic indicators which become standard equipment for some new generation A8 models.
The 25 individual LEDs in each MatrixBeam headlamp unit can be switched on and off or dimmed individually depending on the situation, meaning that the on-board computer can mask specific sections of the high beam by dimming or deactivating individual diodes when it detects other vehicles travelling ahead in either direction.
The lighting system in the A8 also uses predictive route data from the navigation system to adjust the distribution of light in response to the current driving situation, and can recognize and act on route data, such as corners and road classifications.
The dynamic indicators comprise blocks of LEDs arranged in a strip which are sequentially illuminated at 20 millisecond intervals, from the inside outwards, in the desired turning direction. This ‘sweeping function’ makes it even clearer to surrounding road users that the A8 is about to turn.
And I wonder how much that will set you back, A8 drivers?

Your opportunity to go racing

Racing Integra.

Racing Subaru.

Thomas Raldorf is selling his Honda Integra DC-5 with full body-kit and 100 percent newly renovated.
Some technical details:
The car is fitted with Motec M800 wiring.
The Seat is an FIA approved Race seat “Racetech”.
The roll cage has been approved by FIA for when it raced in Macau before.
The fuel tank is a brand new ATL safety fuel tank.
The steering rack and all bushings, wheel bearings and hubs and wishbones are all brand new.
The Race engine is made in the US and assembled in Thailand.
The suspension is a Moton 2-way race suspension.
The wheels are 17x9.
There is a full set of spares for the car with extra doors, extra wishbones, extra driveshafts and front lights, tail lights and extra radiator and a whole heap of extra stuff which can be include in the sale.
There are also two extra gearboxes and a lot of extra engine parts.
Make Thomas a good offer for the car, and he will find a solution that works for everyone.
Thomas Raldorf is also selling his Subaru Impreza race car. It is in race ready condition with many spare tires and wheels. The car is fully registered and has proper documents.
The engine is 2.4 liter and built by Khun Tawee and has 697 WHP at 1.85 Bar boost, and close to 700 Nm of Torque and the engine has been just overhauled by Khun Tawee as well.
The car is fitted with racing type limited slip differential both front and rear and a racing clutch.
The Turbo is a Hybrid Turbo for Forced Performance FP HTA GT3586R (Turbo has only done three race events).
6 Speed Dogbox + 6 speed standard gearbox.
Project Mu Brake system with 355 mm discs.
KW 3-way race suspension.
Car is fitted with Racetech FIA approved race seat.
The car will be delivered with eight additional wheels, plus 20 extra tyres of which some are new and others only used for a few laps.
This car has been running in the Supercar Series for 2013. Genuine reason for sale and Thomas is looking for offers around 2 million baht. Contact can be made by email [email protected]  or phone 081-377-1553 for details on one or both of these race cars.

The “drives itself” car is getting closer

Just a few years ago the only course of action for a driver faced with a pedestrian in his path would be to stamp on the footbrake, wrench the steering wheel and hope for the best.
Successive advances in braking technology, such as ABS, emergency braking and brakeforce distribution have increased the chances of avoiding impact. While these have become standard features of today’s mainstream cars, Toyota achieved a step-change in preventive safety with the introduction of its Pre-Collision System. This uses radar detection to spot pedestrians and other hazards, by and day by night, and initiate alerts and automatic braking to cut the risk of an accident.
Toyota has now added an extra dimension to this technology with automatic steering, a feature it believes will help prevent collisions in cases where automatic braking alone is insufficient, for example when the vehicle is moving too fast, or a pedestrian steps suddenly into its path.
PCS uses an on-board sensor to detect a pedestrian in the vehicle’s path. If it determines there is a collision risk, it triggers a warning light on the dashboard, immediately in front of the driver; if the likelihood of an impact increases, it sounds an alarm to warn the driver to take avoiding action and initiates pre-collision braking force and automatic braking.
If the system detects that a collision cannot be avoided by braking alone, and there is sufficient room for avoidance, it activates steer assist to direct the vehicle away from the pedestrian.
In 2012 Toyota introduced the system with increased pre-collision braking force and automatic braking in the Lexus LS 600h. It aims to make the technology more affordable and more widely available in its model ranges by 2015, prior to bringing the PCS with Pedestrian-avoidance Steer Assist to the market.
Toyota has also developed a next-generation advanced driving support system - Automated Highway Driving Assist (AHDA) - designed to support safer highway/motorway driving.
The system links two driving technologies to help secure safer driving and reduce the workload on the driver: Co-operative-adaptive Cruise Control, which communicates wirelessly with vehicles ahead to maintain a safe distance; and Lane Trace Control, which helps steer the vehicle on an optimal driving line within a traffic lane.
Toyota recognizes that it is important for the driver to be in ultimate control of a vehicle, so its intention is to introduce AHDA and other advanced driving support systems with which the driver remains in command, and there is no compromise in driving pleasure. It proposes to market AHDA from the mid-2010s together with other systems that can make driving safer and more secure.
Toyota presented its new technology at the Intelligent Transport Systems World Congress in Tokyo, and began road trials on Japan’s Shuto Expressway from 15 October.
Co-operative Adaptive Cruise Control: unlike standard radar cruise control which uses millimeter-wave radar to detect other vehicles, Co-operative Adaptive Cruise Control uses 700-Mhz band vehicle-to-vehicle ITS communications to acquire acceleration and deceleration data from the vehicle ahead. This allows the speed of the following vehicle to be adjusted accordingly and better maintain an appropriate distance. By reducing unnecessary acceleration and deceleration, it improves fuel efficiency and helps reduce traffic congestions.
Lane Trace Control: Lane Trace Control features brand new Toyota automated driving technologies. It uses high-performance cameras, millimeter-wave radar and control software to keep an optimum, smooth driving line within a traffic lane at all speeds, adjusting the vehicle’s steering angle, driving torque and braking force when needed.

Autotrivia Quiz

Last week I asked which British WW1 aero engines were actually copies of a German GP engine? It was the Rolls-Royce Eagle. Based initially on the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost engine, and drawing also on the design of a Grand Prix Mercedes 35 hp, the power was increased by doubling the number of cylinders to twelve and increasing their stroke to 6.5 inches, although their bore remained at 4.5 inches. The engine was also run faster, and an epicyclic reduction gear was designed to keep the propeller speed below 1,100 rpm. To reduce inertia and improve performance the valve gear was changed from side valves to an overhead camshaft design.
So to this week. Which car, still in production, has been the greatest money loser for the manufacturer in the past 10 years?
For the Automania free beer this week, be the first correct answer to email [email protected].