Transonic Supercritical Fuel Injection is another technical advancement for the internal combustion engine that shows rather startling gains in efficiency, 50 to 75 percent! "A test vehicle the size and weight of a Toyota Prius (but without hybrid propulsion) showed 64 miles per gallon for highway driving." That beats the hybrid. Transonic Combustion, the company working on … [Read more...]
Ilmor 5 Stroke Engine – 700cc Turbo 3 Cylinder – 130 bhp, Better Mileage, Less Weight
Ilmor Engineering, the firm made famous for its work with Indy Cars and Formula One, as well as Triumph Motorcycles and Harley Davidson plus GM, Honda and Mercedes have built an engine that will make you think for a bit, it's a 700cc, 3 cylinder, 130 horsepower turbocharged 5 stroke. Did they say 5 stroke? The 2 outboard cylinders are the high pressure (HP) fired cylinders … [Read more...]
Titanium Hydride Dramatically Lowers Manufacturing Cost of Titanium Parts
Finished titanium parts can be manufactured for $25 per pound compared to $213 per pound, using a technique based on titanium hydride (TiH2) powder. The technology was developed under a Department of Energy Global Initiative for Proliferation Prevention (DOE/GIPP) project performed in the Ukraine. By reducing the cost of titanium and the associated processing the performance … [Read more...]
AMA eGrandPrix at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days
If you needed any more reasons to attend the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days at Mid Ohio, here's a good one, you'll get a chance to see the electric race bikes running at speed on exhibition laps of the track. This is their first appearance in the US. The AMA eGrandPrix Introduction will showcase a number of teams, racers and machines taking part in the inaugural TTXGP … [Read more...]
Free Piston Engine as Efficient as Fuel Cells
There's a lot of heavy duty R&D going on these days to reinvent the engine or replace the engines we're using altogether. The free piston engine, though invented in the 1920s, is getting more attention because it is less expensive than fuel cells for generating electricity while potentially just as efficient. The free piston engine has a straight rod that moves back and … [Read more...]
Titanium and Carbon Fiber Costs Coming Down
Look at your average MotoGP bike and you'll see lots of titanium and carbon fiber pieces, same goes for high end bikes like the Ducati Desmosedici or any motorcycle needing the strongest and lightest materials. Unfortunately, all of those exotic bits mean high prices, but, we could see more of those materials used in the not too distant future due to advances being made which … [Read more...]