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

 


Racing at Bira this weekend

 Two-wheeling Escort

The Nitto 3K people have scheduled a meeting at Bira this weekend. As always with this promoter there will be many classes competing, including the Retro Cars, in which my BBX/Acorn Gastropub Mk1 Ford Escort competes. Main event is for the Isuzu pick-ups.
The Bira Circuit is on Highway 36 about three km past the Regent’s School, heading towards Sattahip.
We will be having our hospitality tent there and you are invited to join us for hamburgers and hot dogs by saying the magic words “Saw it in the Pattaya Mail!” To find the hospitality tent you have to come in the back entrance to the circuit, which is about 50 meters before the main entrance when coming from Sattahip. Go through the tunnel and then turn immediately right and go up the hill 20 meters and you will see the red gazebo.


Killed by the anti-social media

‘Gadget overload’ is making driving riskier, says new research from Zurich Insurance. Motor manufacturers may have made cars safer, but more than four out of five UK motorists say distractions from gadgets including Sat Navs, iPods, mobile phones and DVD players is now making driving riskier.
Nearly half of the motorists admitted to being distracted by phone calls and texts while driving, with 22 percent checking social media accounts behind the wheel.
The research also found that a rise in the number of cyclists on Britain’s roads is contributing to drivers feeling at risk, with almost a third of motorists blaming them as the number one distraction ‘outside of their control.’ (They would have a nervous breakdown dealing with our motorcycle maniacs!)
The top 10 road risks today versus 10 years ago:
1. More people using mobile phones (68%)
2. More cars on road (67%)
3. More reckless drivers (61%)
4. More urgency to get to destination (44%)
5. More people using sat navs (39%)
6. The number of vans/lorries on the road (30%)
7. More speed cameras (29%)
8. More cyclists (29%)
9. More signs on the road (27%)
10. More motorcyclists on the road (16%)
 


The new F1 regulations

There are many changes for 2014, so Adrian Newey will have to really sharpen his pencil.
The 2014 season will see the introduction of a new engine formula, with the return of turbocharged engines for the first time since 1988. The new engines will be a 1.6 litre V6 format with an 8-speed semi automatic gearbox. The rules dictate the use of a ninety-degree engine bank, with fixed crankshaft axis and mounting points for the chassis, while the engines will be limited to 15,000 rpm. Individual engine units under the 2014 specifications must last for at least 4,000 km before being replaced, in comparison to the pre-2014 engines, which were required to last for just 2,000 km.
The Kinetic Energy Recovery System (known from 2009 to 2013 as KERS, and renamed from 2014 as ERS-K) will be incorporated into the design of the engine and its usage increased; its function as a supplementary power source will be taken by the introduction of the heat-based Energy Recovery System (ERS). The ERS unit captures waste heat as it is dispelled from the exhaust turbocharger, using an electrical device known as a Heat Motor Generator Unit. This waste heat is stored as an electrical charge until it is utilized by a complementary system called the Kinetic Motor Generator Unit. This device is connected directly to the drive train to deliver the additional power in the most direct and efficient way. In combination with the ERS-K it will give drivers an additional 161 bhp (120 kW) for thirty-three seconds per lap, compared to the KERS units used prior to 2014, which gave drivers 80 bhp (60 kW) for six seconds per lap.
Teams will be able to use electronic braking devices to manage the braking of the rear wheels as the increased power output of the ERS-K units will make regulating the brake bias much harder than previously.
Drivers will only be able to use five engines over the course of a season in 2014, down from eight in 2013. Drivers who use a sixth engine will start the race from pit lane, as opposed to the ten-place grid penalty handed down for going over the engine quota in previous season. In the event that individual elements of the engine unit - including the turbocharger, ERS unit or KERS battery - are replaced, drivers will incur a ten-place grid penalty.
The pit lane speed limit will be reduced from 100 km/h to 80 km/h.
There are other changes, but mainly relate to the bodywork and exhaust placement.


Some very interesting history

A regular reader, Kevin Maguire contacted me with the following:
Seeing the picture of the lovely little Jowett Jupiter in this week’s Autotrivia quiz made me think a little.
You will, I am sure, know that Jowett Cars started life in the town of Bradford, before moving, still in the environs of Bradford, to Idle (the home of the ‘famous’ Idle Working Men’s Club). But did you know that Jowett also built the very first few Scott motorcycles. This year is in fact the 100th anniversary of the move of the Scott factory to Shipley. The two stroke, water cooled twin was a lovely thing to ride (although I did learn a salutary lesson once, when after leaving town and getting on the open road, I had forgotten to open up the Pilgrim oil pump and had the engine ‘nip’ under me!).
Not many miles away on the other side of Bradford, Cleckheaton, was the home of another well known motorcycle manufacturer Phelon & Moore, who built the Panther (no - nothing to do with Bob Jankel’s Panther Cars). Panther motorcycles were built from 1904 until 1967, the most famous models being based around the big single cylinder ‘Sloper’ engines ranging from 500cc up to 654cc. I well remember a hot Summer’s day, shirt off, as a 16 year old, full of bravado, persuading a friend to let me have a ‘go’ on his Panther outfit. This sadly ended up with me, who had never handled a motorcycle combination before, let alone a heavy Panther, coupled to a double adult Busmar sidecar, put the thing into a ditch, which just happened to be full of stinging nettles! Ouch!
Thanks Kevin. It is a wonder we all lived through our early motoring/motorcycling years!


Tuk-Tuks to lose their characteristic exhaust note?

Panther Motorcycle and sidecar.

Australian company Star 8 has developed a solar-powered electric Tuk-Tuk which they have called the SolarTuk.
Star 8 managing director Jacob Maimon came up with the idea of an electric Tuk-Tuk following a trip to SE Asia.
“I had taken a ride in a conventional one and when I got out I saw the driver putting only a small amount of petrol into the tank,” Maimon says. “I asked him why he didn’t fill it up and he said the cost of fuel was prohibitive and he could barely cover his daily expenses with the amount of work he picked up. It was then that I envisaged a solar-driven Tuk-Tuk which cost next to nothing to run.”
The solar cells are used as a flexible roof which houses an array of mono-crystalline solar collectors to generate power for the vehicle.
The Tuk-Tuks have a maximum speed of 50 km/h, and can cover 120 kilometers on a charge. There will be three power outputs available, and can be recharged by plugging into a domestic power point or use the sun’s rays.
Unfortunately, the Star 8 people look like building these in Cambodia, but they say they are already in contact with China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, the Philippines, South Africa and Nigeria.
Most of Thailand’s Tuk-Tuks are LPG powered, and whilst the solar concept will satisfy the greenies, I cannot see it being welcomed by our local Tuk-Tuk drivers.


Hydrogen Fuel Cell Kia coming

Kia’s first hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle will begin production in 2015, starting with a small run of around 1,000 units, in line with the present lack of refueling infrastructure, according to an engineer.
The carmaker is developing a portfolio of electrically powered vehicles, including hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery-electric models, but sees hydrogen fuel cells as its eventual goal, with mass production expected to begin in 2020 once the refueling infrastructure has expanded.
The Hydrogen fuel cell technology is being shared with Hyundai, which recently began series production of 1,000 ix35 FCEVs now being leased to fleets across Europe.
Kia is also preparing to launch its first electric vehicle sold outside Korea. The Soul EV will go on sale globally in the second half of 2014 and a version is being developed for European customers.
This offers a LEAF-rivalling 109 bhp and a range of over 180 km on a single charge, but will be available with either a new Combined Charging Standard plug in Europe, or CHAdeMo plug for Asian markets, allowing a full charge in 25 minutes.
Volumes are expected to be very small as Kia investigates demand. Just 30 Soul EVs will be brought to the UK at the end of next year, and Kia has yet to decide whether it will offer a leasing option for the batteries in the UK.


New 441 kW Nismo GT-R on the way

Nismo GT-R

The Nismo version of Nissan’s GT-R supercar with 441 kW and 652 Nm is coming with a revised 3.8 liter twin-turbo V6 (up from 404 kW/628 Nm).
The Nismo GT-R’s uprated performance comes through the use of new high-flow, large-capacity turbochargers, as used in GT3 racing, while optimized individual ignition timing control for each cylinder and an upgraded fuel pump are said to improve combustion.
The zero to 100 km/h figures are yet to be released by Nismo, though the previous model had acceleration figures of 0-100 km/h in 2.7 seconds. Almost F1 times!
Nissan Motor Co have said officially that the Nismo version has lapped the Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany in just 7:8.679 minutes, which is claimed to be a record time for volume production car. (The Porsche 918 has gone under the seven second time, but is not a volume production vehicle.)
The new Nismo GT-R, has specially tuned springs and custom-developed Bilstein DampTronic dampers in the front and rear suspension, and the adoption of a 17.3mm hollow rear anti-roll bar designed to raise roll stiffness while reducing weight.
Three suspension modes can be selected - comfort, normal and R (the latter for circuit applications) - while exclusive Dunlop tyres are fitted, 255/50 ZRF20s at the front and 285/35 ZRF20s at the rear.
A revised Nismo exterior improves on the aerodynamics of the standard car. There is also an optional aero package that further reduces drag, while giving the car a “menacing and muscular appearance” says Nissan.
The standard GT-R also picks up a host of running changes for MY14, headlined by minor styling changes (including new high-intensity multi-LED headlights with adaptive lighting technology), recalibrated suspension (aiming for smoother ride comfort and more refinement), and revised interior color and trim options.


Natter Nosh and Noggin

The Pattaya car club meets at Jameson’s Irish Pub on Soi AR next to Nova Park. The next meeting is on Monday December 9 at Jameson’s at 7 p.m. A totally informal meeting of like-minded souls to discuss their pet motoring (and motorcycling) loves and hates (plus lies and outright exaggerations). Come along and meet the guys who have a common interest in cars and bikes, and enjoy the Jameson’s specials, washed down with a few beers. A couple of the members were scrutineers at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, so they may have some scuttlebutt about the F1 scene. Always a fun night. Be prepared to laugh a lot at some of the antics of the members (when they were younger)! The Car Club nights are always on the second Monday of the month (not every second Monday)!


Autotrivia Quiz

TLast week I mentioned that a Dame of the British Empire was a great competitor in V8 Fords, lived to be 90 and was involved with the world’s first enclosed motor track. I asked who was she? It was Dame Ethel Locke King who developed Brooklands after her husband died.
So to this week. What is the connection between the Bugatti Atlantic and the Lunar Roving Vehicle? And I mean construction, not the fact that men rode in them.
For the Automania free beer this week, be the first correct answer to email [email protected].


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