Slashdot Mirror
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.'"
broken the diesel speed record of 236MPH at a speed of 328MPH.
But they could probably top 350 MPH if they'd ditch the CB antenna and Yosemite Sam "Back Off" mudflaps.
this thing gets some real looks at the Sapp Bros.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
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.
..and it will help those computers find Sarah Connor just that much more quickly.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
a diesel computer designed car going 328 MPH filled with hard drives.
...on the next day of testing, it again bested the record. This time it was 350.092 MPH. http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?t ype=topNews&storyID=2006-08-23T151359Z_01_L2331696 1_RTRUKOC_0_UK-TRANSPORT-DIESEL-RECORD.xml
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
But while testing went well, the team endured a troubled time in the US.
Sources said the motor had been making an unbelievably loud clunking sound, as well as spewing black smoke. Only later did they figure out that was the way the engine was supposed to sound.
(/RM101, the not-so-proud one-time owner of a Diesel Mercedes Benz, the loudest, most embarrassing-to-drive car he's ever owned)
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
a diesel computer designed car going 328 MPH filled with hard drives.
An information super highway, here?
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/23/diesel-powered- car-edges-on-half-the-speed-of-sound/
Apparently Slashdot isn't as fast as it used to be. That car has already hit 360+ mph. 320+ mph is now old hat.
As an aside, all these smaller blogs seem to be able to keep up with the news much better than slashdot these days. 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.
Ah, the problems inherent in scale.
The connotation is that someone signed onto a machine somewhere and at the command prompt, typed "design_car -fast -diesel", and poof, there's the design.
It's a human-designed car, designed by humans using computers (as they have for decades), and no pencils this time. TFA goes on and on about all the people on the team and the work they did, and that's great. So, what's with the headline and summary?
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
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)
...the ping times are a bitch.
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
You're full of it. The article is 100% true.
This post was designed by a computer.
Send email from the afterlife! Write your e-will at Dead Man's Switch.
and was surprised to see that this thing really runs on 440 AA batteries. Quite the misleading article. Diesel indeed.
If I understand Dirac correctly, his meaning is this: there is no God, and Dirac is his Prophet. -Pauli
Ford has announced that they will begin testing a prototype computer built entirely by a car. The car used to design the computer is actually a Beowolf cluster of recalled Explorers and Expeditions from the Firestone debacle of some years ago.
"We think we can use the characteristics of our best-selling cars to build huge, powerful computers with more space than anyone else", said a Ford spokesperson. "Our latest prototype model already has eight CPU cores in a V shape. It can seat seven hard drives (two of which are situated at the front of the enclosure, visible through the glass front bezel of the machine) and we're making lots of strides in how we can build tires on to the thing so we can drive it around the office while we download our emails and pick up our kids from soccer practice."
Chevrolet declined to comment on whether or not they were working on something similar. All they said is that they think Fords suck and tried to sell us on a new Corvette. "It's an American Revolution", said the salesman we interviewed at the local Chevrolet dealership.
I found a pic of it here.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
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.
Don't they know that K.I.T.T. can only use the Turbo Boost once per episode?
#naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
Interestingly enough, as well as a common driver (as pointed out in the post above), both vehicles had their aerodynamics designed by Ron Ayers.
= 5
http://www.jcbdieselmax.com/html/team.php?team_id
I RTFA and visited the site but exactly how is this car "designed entirely by computers"? More likely is that the computers optimized each component through simulations based on human input. Can anyone fill us in to how exactly the computers helped design the car?
I believe the fastest gasoline powered vehicle; was a single engined vehicle. This diesel is a twin engine. Aerodynamics play a HUGE HUGE factor in top speeds. It takes an enormous amount of horsepower just to increase the top speed by a small amount. Same reason why bikes suck so bad on the top end. Their power to weight ratios on paper show ridiculously fast acceleration numbers possible at higher speeds. But in reality; they are beaten by lower power/weight cars for higher speed runs; solely because of aerodynamics. That and power/weight means much less at higherspeeds. Its more about horsepower and gearing. Ok I'm talking to much now. PS. Ever seen a diesel drag racing vid of a semi-fast one? They blow huge columns of thick black smoke.
...."we need ludicrous speed".
Today's show is brought to you by the number 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0: 25
One of the design factors for the original engine was to function as a backhoe counterweight. This made the engine block and other components so robust that the engine could easily survive the 2-stage turbocharging.
They used 200 liters of ice for cooling, had diesel particulate filters on the exhaust, and got 4 miles to the gallon. The car had only 2 gallons of fuel to start. They used a tractor with the same engine, untweaked, as a push vehicle.
Hey, Mom! Is it beer, yet?
For the more metrically inclined among us, 236 M/h equals 379 Km/h (105 m/s) and 328 M/h is 527 Km/h (142 m/s). While the imperial system does have its merits, 527 Km/h looks so much faster than 328 M/h :P
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?
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Joke all you like, but it's very difficult to make an engine that leaks oil continuously yet never actually falls apart.
Forget thrust, drag, lift and weight. Airplanes fly because of money.
Oh please. That thing's slow to accelerate (compared to several production cars, let alone production motorbikes) and adding another engine will massively damage its weight. Its top speed is practically pedestrian - my French family saloon can go as fast.
Incidentally, how do you define a 'right hand turn'? Not that turning matters on a straight-line speed record (although keeping the thing in a straight line becomes interesting - Andy Green had the wheel turned to full lock trying to keep in a straight line on the land speed record run).
...but does it have a Flux Capacitor?
THIS IS THE INTERNET. PLEASE PICK UP YOUR SERIOUS BUSINESS SUIT AT THE FRONT COUNTER.
Looked up this "bike" (3 wheels). Nice! but many bikes can beat most cars from a standing start, however some diesel cars (keeping on-topic) can actually go much faster than 140mph but there are very few places in the world that you can do this legally much less safely. I had a Subaru WRX (there are many cars that can beat this) that could easily reach this speed but you needed to go to a track to do it. Get caught by the cops and its by-by license and "watch your fingers" as the cell door closes.
Anyway back on topic.
A jet or rocket engine could easily beat any road vehicle in a straight line but what we are looking at here is a diesel powered car with mechanical linkage from engine to road wheels. I tried a Google search and this is definitely a first although they say they are going to try for 400mph. Should be interesting since to win as the fastest internal combustion engine car they have to beat the following.
For petrol internal combustion engine so far (note the date):
When: November 13, 1965
Where: Bonneville Salt Flats, USA
Who: Bob Summers USA
Car Name: Goldenrod
Speed: 409.277mph, 658.526kph (over 1 mile)
All other cars after this have been jet(turbo fan) or rocket. Then again none of them are street legal.
There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
Ford makes its European Diesel engines in Dagenham, and Honda makes advanced cars successfully in the West Country. Give us some decent (i.e. foreign) management and sales to support our engineering efforts, and we are up there with the best.
Pining for the fjords