what's new in automotive technology?

16 SSGM December 2009 www.ssgm.com

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What’s New in Automotive Technology?

Although exceptional training is the cornerstone for any inde-pendent service centre, one

thing that is constantly changing is OE technology from automakers. Know-ing what to expect will not only ensure technicians will be prepared for the technology when it arrives in their shop’s bays, but it will also guarantee keeping a repair job that might be lost to a dealership service operation.

Spark Ignition Direct Injection (SIDI)In the wake of new environmental legislation from the U.S., new model vehicles released after 2011 will have to meet new, stringent fuel efficiency standards before they can be released into the market, somewhere around 45 miles per gallon. The move towards spark ignition direct injection (SIDI)

engines (also known as gasoline direct injection) has resulted in auto manu-facturers finding innovative ways to cut down on greenhouse gases and less energy waste.

“They’re squirting [fuel] right into the combustion chamber. With an internal combustion engine, they really waste a good portion of the thermal energy that’s available in gasoline,” says Dave Vollmer, a technical instructor for the Canadian Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) Council. “You’re looking at 13 per cent of that energy propelling that vehicle. However, the losses can range from 10 per cent for friction and 45 per cent for thermal dynamic loses. When you can use a smaller displacement engine, you can reduce these friction loses. So engine displacement is reduced by 30 per cent and the friction can be accrued, result-

ing in 10-15 per cent fuel efficiency.”SIDI injection injects fuel via a

common rail fuel line directly into the combustion chamber of each cylinder, as opposed to conventional multi-point fuel injection that happens in the intake tract, cylinder port. The petrol/gasoline is highly pressurised, and—in addition to more precise tim-ing from the vehicle’s ECU—SIDI can increase a fuel injector from 50-70 psi with conventional injection to 500-750 psi, allowing for drastically improved driveability, reduced pump-ing loses, better breathability in the engine (volumetric efficiency), and overall reduced emissions.

“I don’t know if it’s going to be [in all cars], but it’s definitely going to take place with certain manufacturers’ product lines. General Motors is saying that one in six vehicles they produce (over 40 per cent for the year 2010) is going to be equipped with a SIDI system,” continues Vollmer.

Expect to see these spark ignition direct injection systems in a wide range of vehicles, from low-end cars, like a 2.0-litre four cylinder in a Chevy Cobalt to a 3.6-litre four cylinder in a GMC Acadia.

Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT)Another popular technology techni-cians are already seeing in their shops is the use of Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT). Such vehicles as the Ford Focus, Toyota Highlander and various hybrid/imports vehicles have made the switch to CVT. These changes include a different CVT chain configuration as well as drives that

What technicians can expect from OEMs in the near futureBy David Halpert, Assistant Editor


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switch from low to high gear more eas-ily during engine operation.

“The whole idea behind it is sort of along the same lines as trying to meet emissions standards again by having a transmission that can have infinite gear ratios,” continues Vollmer.

There are two different designs uti-lized for this transmission, a variable diameter (sometimes referred to as a Reeves Drive) or a toroidal drive (sometimes referred to as a Roller Drive). By having infinite gear ratios you have an engine that does not have to work as hard to keep within a perfect optimum range. A CVT allows the vehicle’s drive shaft to maintain a constant angular velocity over a range of output velocities, which results in improved fuel economy with the added benefit of allowing the engine to run at its most efficient RPM over a range of speeds.

It sounds complicated, but much of the technology is being discussed in-depth online and a savvy technician can get up-to-speed on the techni-cal aspects of this technology pretty quickly.

Collision Avoidance SystemsThe increased use of camera technol-ogy in today’s vehicles has led to many breakthroughs when it comes to safety, and it’s likely these systems (dubbed ‘collision avoidance’ or ‘crash avoid-ance’) will become standard as more new model vehicles are released into the market.

Some of these new features include, but are not limited to, backup cameras, adaptive cruise control, infrared night vision, blind spot object detection, lane departure warning systems, automated parking systems, pre-crash systems, and adaptive high beam assist.

What technicians and shop owners are likely going to see is a trickle-down effect, where this technology will first appear in higher-end cars but after a time will migrate to a larger range of commercial and more moderately-priced vehicles.

“It’s usually the higher-echelon type vehicles, the upper-end ones that see these luxury items first: Cadillac,

Lexus and other similar vehicles,” says Vollmer. “I think most of this stuff is going to hit all vehicles from one end to the other. They can prevent that statistically-proven 40 per cent of accidents that happen while mak-ing a lane change. If they can cut that down to 35 per cent, that would be a huge step.”

One of the more exciting systems to come out of collision avoidance is adaptive cruise control, designed so a car owner can drive along and have a radar-based cruise control system that’ll either keep a set distance or timed interval from the car driving in front. As a result, many systems such as the electronic throttle, anti-lock brakes and stability/steering systems will be seamlessly integrated for a more effec-tive cruise control-based ride.

OEMs and technicians alike, how-ever, are already seeing problems with some of these advanced systems on the road. For instance, lane detection systems don’t work well on gravel and snow-covered roads. Similarly, right/left lane object detection and park assist systems are more difficult to operate in Canadian winters where snow mounds are an issue. It should also be noted that the range or field of these monitoring cameras varies from

New cruise-control systems will use radar to help make the ride not only smoother, but sup-posedly safer by ensuring a safe distance is maintained between vehicles.


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one automaker to another.The greater question from a

safety standpoint is will motor-ists become more complacent while driving on the road, opt-ing for the computer, for exam-ple, to check blind spots rather than the driver looking over their shoulder.

“It’s not going to take the place of what we’ve been trained to do,” said Vollmer. “It’s like ABS and air bags, all of the sudden people think they’re invincible, but if we drive that vehicle beyond its limits we can still have a roll-over and we can still die in the vehicle. The idea of all of these safety components is to take into consideration what we’ve been taught through drive training and experience on the road. These are just secondary devices here to assist us.”

Thermo Electric Devices (TEDs)While heated and cooled seats, for example, have been around for several years technicians might be surprised to find out that many new model vehicles are using the same technology plug-in coolers use to keep foods and drinks cold in summer.

“Each seat is going to have a heated or cooled ventilation module, a blower motor, a temperature sensor, and the thermo-electrical device (TED) itself. What that consists of is two ceramic wafers and a bismuth-teluride semi-conductor that is sandwiched between the plates, so the ceramic wafers act as a heat sink,” Vollmer added. “The Peltier circuit is a series of P-type and N-type semiconductors and they’re all connected in series. So all we do now is apply current to that TED on one side and allow it to release that energy as heat while the other side will absorb energy and get cold.

“By reversing the polarity of the current, the hot and cold sides are reversed. It all has to do with elec-trons moving from positive to nega-tive. Through that electrical conduc-tor the electrons will jump to the higher energy state and will absorb

thermal energy from the heat sink which now becomes the cold side. When the electrical current is reversed the electrons will move to a lower energy state and will release the heat to the heat sink, and so that becomes the hot side.”

As a result of the Peltier circuit, the back rest and bottom seat can work independently temperature-wise, mak-ing it possible to get a cool back-rest and a hot bottom seat operating on the same seat. Also, since temperature is delivered by electrical current, little to no A/C lines or plumbing is required and only a small amount of power (7-10 amps) is needed to keep the unit operational.

“[With the Peltier circuit] you have to maintain a temperature range between 37 degrees centrigrade all the way up to 65 degrees centigrade. It’s a lot smaller, it is cheaper to design, and it’s more compact. I think the systems work fantastic in what they’re expected to do. It’s very easy to achieve with something so small.”

Keep in mind, these technologies represent a partial list of what’s com-ing out of OE in the near future. In fact, CARS-Council is uploading 60 new courses for the coming 2009-2010 covering these and other new technologies, so be sure to also check their website for the upcoming training schedules (www.cars-council.ca).

SSGM

Fuel injection systems are about to change radically in order to meet new fuel-efficiency standards to be adopted by the U.S.