Filed under: Coupes, Videos, Supercars, Porsche
VIDEO: Porsche engine runs the 'Ring, virtually

Thanks to media outlets like YouTube and Autoblog, a good lap time in on the Nurburgring will get you plenty of positive press. The grueling track has become the yardstick by which any performance vehicle is measured, and if you can post a record time, people want to know about it. The engineering geniuses at Porsche have designed a special moving dyno to test g-loads in a virtual 'Ring. The system was used to test the upgraded dry sump oil system for the new 3.6- and 3.8-liter boxer engines powering the 2009 911 Carrera and Carrera S. The dry sump system now has a variable-flow pressure pump that needed to be tested extensively at the 'Ring, but the new system can perform the same task whenever engineers want, and at a fraction of the cost.
Engineers were able to get a near perfect reproduction of a lap on the 'Ring by recording the g-force and engine load during a live lap of the Nordschleife, and then feeding the data into the contorting contraption. Hit the jump to view video of the moving dyno in action. It's pretty radical, and it gives you a better idea of how crazy the 'Ring really is.
[Source: Inside Line]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
John Doe 6:33PM (6/27/2008)
Music to my ears.
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paul34 6:33PM (6/27/2008)
I don't know why, but that scared me a little bit.
Nonethless, very cool.
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MemphisNET 6:38PM (6/27/2008)
My thoughts exactly... it looks freaking PISSED.
Love the song it makes tho.
Soul Shinobi 1:07AM (6/28/2008)
Scared me too, that's some powerful machinery being tossed around like it's alive.
red914 6:40PM (6/27/2008)
That is really cool!
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tuna 6:45PM (6/27/2008)
Schwing!
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why not the LS2LS7? 6:48PM (6/27/2008)
A device like this cannot actually create sustained loads over 1G, it'd be essentially useless for testing side-loading as in corners.
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tuna 7:08PM (6/27/2008)
Yah... the Porsche engineers know nothing. You soooo smart.
MikeW 7:46PM (6/27/2008)
The germans have developed a machine, and positioned it under this one, to alter the local gravitational field.
That is how they are able to simulate 2g peak lateral acceleration.
This does look like a cool apparatus for a bucking bronco rig :)
R 9:06PM (6/30/2008)
Actually, LS2 isn't that far off the mark. This is supposed to be a cheap alternative, not a complete replacement for running the ring. Obviously once they've perfected on this device, they're gonna trial it on the track. Please don't believe that this device is so good that they wouldn't even bother to do that. If it's any consolation, though, I don't think there are too many sustained g turns on the ring, maybe the two carousels and one of the beginning hairpins.
meshies 8:28PM (6/27/2008)
HAHA thank you tuna. I'm so sick of people thinking they know every single thing.
Joe 8:40PM (6/27/2008)
The point of this rig is to test the oil pump which will need to work despite all of the oil sloshing around when the car is experiencing g-loads. The rig doesn't simulate the acceleration seen by the engine, instead it tilts the engine to slosh the oil the same direction and amount as would the corresponding corner/braking/forward acceleration.
ultima GT-R 8:43PM (6/27/2008)
@R
Read the article. This machine is made primarily to test oil conditions under g.. hardly something to replicate the laps around the ring.
Joe 8:45PM (6/27/2008)
This device does not put the engine under any substantial g-loads. It is designed to test the oil pump to make sure it works while all the oil is sloshing around due to those g-loads. What this rig does is tilt the engine the correct amount to get the same amount of slosh in the same direction as would be seen if the engine was actually driving on the track.
why not the LS2LS7? 9:18PM (6/27/2008)
All you people are hilarious. Why don't you look up the tech on something like this.
The only way to create sustained g loading in any direction is to either use gravity to do it for you or to accelerate the item in question at 9.8m/sec^2 in the opposite direction want the apparent force to come from. The first is easy, but the earth only generates 1G, and you can only have it in one direction, no 1G this way and 0.5G another (as you would see cornering in a car).
The second has in inherent problem. This acceleration rapidly turns into velocity (with the integral) which of course turns into translation (movement) (with the integral again).
So, if you want to create 1G side loading for 4 seconds, you have to accelerate to 21.92 miles per hour smoothly over 4 seconds. Also, the item under test would have moved 257 feet during the test (and is still moving at the end, as you cannot return it to not moving without applying another apparent force to it in the opposite direction).
But hey, you guys are on the internet, you don't need to do math or physics or nothing to ridicule me.
Joe:
Yes, that's correct. But as I said, you can't go past 1G by tilting. And when tilting, you accidentally add in additional incorrect forces to any particle that isn't at the axis of rotation. In fact, since all movements on a track have the 1G component of downward gravity plus an additional side load, you can't really simulate the movements properly at all. I'm sure it's good for something. It's not terribly good for testing how the oil will actually move on the track.
Joe 11:36PM (6/27/2008)
Why Not: You don't need to go past 1G. The effects of the acceleration on the mechanical components of the oil sump system is negligible. The only important piece is how the oil sloshes around within the system. This rig models that sloshing accurately enough to ensure that the sump system will function properly on the track. While it is true the motion will not be exactly the same as actual track conditions, the rig could account for that by simple making the sloshing more extreme than would ever be seen by the vehicle, and if the system still functioned properly it would pass the test.
Also, sorry about the double post above. My comment didn't show up immediately like it usually does so I thought it didn't take.
Caz 6:49PM (6/27/2008)
i think i just... yep, wet myself
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Paul P. 7:04PM (6/27/2008)
What was the engine's time? ;-)
Pretty cool stuff.
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Franz 7:16PM (6/27/2008)
I dunno, but it looks like it's definitely in the 7:20s. ;)
Mbuku Kanyau Mbithuka 7:07PM (6/27/2008)
As in, Porsche engine did not run the ring
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