Automotive Fleet, February 2016
AUTOMOTIVE FLEET I FEBRUARY 2016 18 I f theres one constant in todays technologically fueled world its change And for todays automobile that is particularly the case The past decade has seen transformative changes in both engine and transmission technology Among the advances are smaller displacement turbocharged gasoline engines and lightweighting Running parallel to the natural technological advances are the federal governments CAFE standards which mandate OEMs develop more fuel efficient vehicles that produce fewer emissions Following are some of the advances that are fueling the revolutionary changes in new powertrain technology Getting More Out of the Internal Combustion Engine For most fleets and consumers the gasoline powered internal combustion engine ICE is the ubiquitous engine type These engines are getting smaller more powerful and more efficient with some OEMs offering gasoline powered ICEs that can get as high as 42 or more mpg And while the gasoline powered ICE may be a mature technology Brandon Schoettle project manager for Sustainable Worldwide Transportation at the University of Michigans Transportation Research Institute UMTRI sees that it still has room to improve Theres still even more work being done on ICE technologies These newest systems use traditional gasoline but are more akin to diesel engines that use more compression than spark ignition This is very new stuff These new engines gain even better efficiency They can use cheaper gasoline so you have this increased efficiency and can go to a lower octane instead of some of these technologies that push things the other way and require higher octane higher quality fuels Schoettle and his research partner Michael Sivak Ph D director of UMTRIs Sustainable Worldwide Transportation SWT recently completed research into the way vehicle powertrain technologies have changed over the years and the attitudes consumers have about such technology as variable valve technology and stop start technology which Automotive powertrain technology continues to advance Among the noteworthy trends and advances Increased efficiency of the traditional gasoline internal combustion engine The use of turbocharging to make smaller displacement engines more powerful and efficient The addition of more gears to the gearbox The use of lightweight materials in both vehicle bodies and engines AT A GLANCE After several years of few new developments engines and transmissions are experiencing a period of renewed and transformative changes BY CHRIS WOLSKI POWERTRAIN ADVANCES
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