Computer Designed Car Sets Speed Record

amcdiarmid writes "Several sources are reporting that the first entirely computer designed car, the JCB Dieselmax, has broken the diesel speed record of 236MPH at a speed of 328MPH. From the article: 'The record attempt came after a string of trial runs on the runways at the airbase. But while testing went well, the team endured a troubled time in the US. The combination of the altitude (4,000ft) and the higher air temperatures affected the performance of the second engine, which was generating insufficient turbo boost pressure and led to days of work for the small team of engineering experts.'"

Comments

FYI

[hurfy]

Since it was the 1st thought i had......

Gas-powered seems to be at 410mph

No idea why that record held so long for diesel at what seems a low number (236 vs 410)

Re:FYI

[StikyPad]

I'm not sure, but I suspect diesel burns slower. Diesels are also more difficult to build because the compression is much higher, and the fuel is injected at the top of the stroke when the air is already compressed. I imagine both of these could cause problems creating high-RPMs, which is how most standard gasoline racing engines generate their enormous torque.

I'm not an engineer, but that's just my (un)educated guess.

Re:FYI

[BLKMGK]

Diesel gives more torque partly because as a fuel it contains more BTUs per gallon than gas - it has more energy. Compression ignition is also more effeciently (apparently) which results in better MPG. Part of the reason why that Audi did so well was because it didn't have to refuel nearly as often as it's competitors - I believe it was allowed to run the same size fuel tank as the others. As for weight - diesels generally have heavier engines as they stick to iron and don't use aluminum. The compression loads are a great deal higher and the aluminum apparently cannot handle it.

Personally I cannot wait for someone to build a diesel hybrid. Now that ought to get some good MPG!

Re:Come on, 'entirely computer designed' ?

[Anonymous Coward]

From TFA,

To facilitate visualisation of the overall car, Piper's team generated a highly detailed 2D electronic computer model of the car, revealing all of its components to help to identify the fit and practicality of each in relation to the others. A fullsize mock-up was then built for final verification of all aspects of the concept before work started on the real car.

That seems to be all. The whole thing is written in the usual "ripping yarns" style of promational race car enthusiasts.

They're quite welcome to their fun, but I'm not seeing an innovative use of computers here, nor any mention of what other technical achievement they may have made that would make this all that interesting to science.

Does anyone know better? I just see money + latest tech + enthusiasts = faster-than-last-time. That's not a big surprise. What's the story that makes this more than a feature in a Sunday Sports edition?

Re:Sure that's fast...

[Tarquin Sidebottom]

Interestingly enough, as well as a common driver (as pointed out in the post above), both vehicles had their aerodynamics designed by Ron Ayers.

http://www.jcbdieselmax.com/html/team.php?team_id= 5

Brilliant!

[Anonymous Coward]

FTA:

The team has also had to alter the GPS software which measures the car's speed, after it kept cutting out at 223 mph because it thought that was too fast ... So if you have had that speed monitoring software installed in your vehicle just drive real fast and leave them wondering :)

Why care?

[bjackson1]

This is a serious question. Why should I care how fast we can get a diesel engine based car to go? Last time I checked the fastest I drive is around 80mph. I'd be much more interested to see more efficent engines, than more powerful. However, could this technology trickle down to produce more efficent engines? Is there any practical application to this, besides pure speed?

Re:Why care?

[donaldm]

Surprisingly people do base their car purchase on how fast a car can go and the brand that can do this.

I just recently brought a VW Passat 2.0 TDi with Direct shift gearbox and there are a few words that describe it. Excellent performance, economical (approx 5.5l/100km (approx 42 US mpg) to 7.0l/100km), comfortable seating (5), large boot, luxury mod cons and cheaper then its petrol equivalent. Granted there are some petrol cars that can beat it off the lights (if you are into this) but it seems strange that in normal Drive (there is sports and tiptronic as well) I still leave most cars behind and I am not even trying. On the open road I can easily keep up with the traffic and the engine is very quiet although there is a little bit of diesel rattle at idle. That's not bad for a engine that is rated at 103kW (138hp) with 320NM torque and there are better engines coming (with about the same fuel economy) within a few months.

Modern diesel cars are very competitive in price between their petrol equivalent. It must also be noted that 50% of cars sold in Europe are diesel although in the US and in Australia it is nowhere near that but it is increasing.

Before anyone buys a diesel car please do some homework taking into account the price difference between the diesel and its equivalent petrol engine (the VW Passat was cheaper but some other diesel cars are not) also work out how far you are going to travel in a year and the cost in fuel to to this. In addition work out the difference in servicing costs (diesel should be cheaper but be careful). Just about all other things such as tyres, registration and insurance should be the same.

Use Google to search on diesel, bio-diesel, comparison between petrol as well as other fuels such as hydrogen, alcohol ... etc and it gets very interesting.

Re:The Speed of /.

[Waffle Iron]

I often find myself with a feeling of deja vu when I'm on Slashdot, as I've no doubt read the clippings elsewhere a few days prior.

Does that really matter in the big scheme of things? When I was a kid, I found out about stuff like this in places like Popular Science magazine. Most all the tech news I read was already at least a couple of months old by the time I saw it, but despite that I seem to have turned out OK.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Deisel motors

[arivanov]

The only way not to see smoke ever is to do additional injection of propane into the fuel mix which is known as gas-diesel, eco-diesel or white diesel (depending on the country). It is quite common in European public transport. In some places (Milan, other Italian cities, parts of Germany, etc) most of public transport runs on this and it is great. No smoke whatsoever. Unfortunately (as most things invented by Germans on the continent) it is not allowed for cars and trucks in the UK. You can have it on a boat or on a stationary diesel generator, but you cannot have it on a car (at least officially).

Considering the quality of air in London and the fact that all London buses and all London cabs are diesel this is not just stupid. This is outright criminal.