Dec 20
Although they may not be hugely popular at this point in time, Twin-Charged Engines have made their presence felt in the past and are about to have a bit of a resurgence in the modern car scene.
A Twin-charged engine is an engine which utilises both a supercharger and a turbocharger. Historically, they have been used in everything from the tiny little Nissan March up to Industrial Mining Trucks.
Dec 19
Mazda recently introduced it’s SkyActiv technology to the North American market and it’s gaining big recognition from the automotive press. The SkyActiv G engine runs on an amazing 14.1 compression ratio and the Mazda 3’s new SkyActiv 2.0L engine runs on a 12.1 ratio which is good for 40mpg on the highway. City driving is rated at 28mpg for a combined rating of 33 mpgs, which is not too shabby.
The SkyActiv engine features a 4-2-1 header, multi hole injectors, cavity pistons, and other design features that keep the weight of the rotating assembly down. The intake has been reworked and the car has what Mazda is calling a dual sequential valve timing to aid flow at all RPMs. This leads to a 10% increase in torque compared to their gas engine at high RPMs. It will be interesting to see where this technology leads as Mazda proves you don’t need a gimmicky hybrid to get great economy.
The new SkyActive engine just recently made Ward’s ten best list. For more info on Mazda’s SkyActiv technology you can head on over to their website.
Dec 19
If you are here reading this, then I’m guessing you are like us and love a great sounding car. Today’s random clip comes from youtube and is of a very nice sounding cammed Corvette. yum!
Dec 18
If, like me, you’ve spent years honing your heel-toe technique on mountain passes and tight roads, you’ll know the pain that I do of getting into a manual car with someone who is having a real hard go and ignoring heel-toe on downshifts.
It just feels wrong and regardless of how much you might trust this person’s driving, it brings out the irresistible urge to tell them to take the passenger seat instead.
Nissan may have come to the rescue on this one, with a system called Synchro-Rev, which is standard equipment in manual 370Zs.
