Autoblog

Hang around internet fora dedicated to increasing internal combustion performance long enough and you'll eventually run across this type of perpetual-motion misunderstanding. Seems a Vette 'boarder over at the GMModernMuscle Forum needs to study up on several principles before heading out half-cooked, wrench in hand. The brilliant idea that dawned above the poster's head like a 3-watt bulb was that instead of messing around with those ever so inefficient turbochargers, it'd be a simpler route to just run the exhaust back into the intake manifold to put the intake tract under positive pressure. Reading through the multitudinous pages of fodder, this is either someone with "issues" or just a jokester troll.

If he is serious, let's lay out a few simple things here. Firstly, there's not very much oxygen in the exhaust gas, which would make recombustion rather difficult. Second, it's tremendously hot. Third, his assumption that a turbocharger is driven by high-pressure exhaust gas pulses is incorrect. What drives a turbocharger is the expansion of the exhaust gas as it cools and depressurizes. It's the same way an air conditioner works, and it's really thermodynamic theory when you get right down to it. Sure, the exhaust gas is under pressure, but if you think that a turbine is an inefficient way to compress air, pistons are only more so. There's a lot of mass to swing around, and the poppet valves in an automotive cylinder don't improve airflow versus what a compressor housing of a turbo can do, either. Before you raise the EGR flag, let's note that exhaust gas recirculation is used to control combustion pressure and temperature, and since it takes up space that would otherwise be occupied by oxygen-rich intake charge, it's a performance detriment. Finally, how is the engine going to breathe when you've basically set up an infinite feedback loop? We're sure that these sticky engineering challenges are all easily worked out on a bar napkin, though. Why have automakers been denying us the pleasure of this simple high performance option for so long? They must be in cahoots with turbo manufacturers, that's all there is to it.

Thanks for the tip, Richard

[Source:GMModernMuscle]!

BMW has officially thrown its hat in the performance parts game here in the U.S., likely rivaling the products available from aftermarket firms and coming complete with a factory-backed warranty.

Beginning with the 3-series and Z4, BMW is offering a host of components, from brake upgrades to engine kits, that will boost performance and not cause owners to fear a trip to the dealer for service. Some of the parts include carbon fiber and aluminum strut braces, 3.07:1 performance diffs, lowering kits, performance exhausts and a engine package for three-liter models that includes new camshafts and a modified ECU that boosts output to 235 HP and 222 lb.-ft. or torque.

All of the wonderful tidbits can be procured after the jump, and we'd suspect good things to come from the Bimmer boys when they release packages designed for the 335i and the upcoming 135i.

[Source: BMW]

Legislators in Massachusetts are set to introduce a bill in October that will ban modified exhausts in the land of a certain tea party and the world's best baked beans. The pious patriots over at SEMA have been fighting this day for years, but the politicians have decided they've had enough with the Flowmasters, already. The proposed law doesn't make a whole lot of sense, as Massachusetts already has a noise ordinance in place, and the bill doesn't even have any clear standard for the law to enforce. Lawmakers want to specifically ban any "exhaust system which has been modified in a manner which will amplify or increase the noise emitted by the exhaust." While we're not all that excited about annoying exhausts that can wake a trauma victim out of a coma, we'd like to see this proposal go the way of the Boston Braves.

[Source: SEMA via Jalopnik]

Coming up on nearly twenty years old now, some would be mistaken to consider the legendary Ferrari F40 a bit of a dino – not because it was part of the series named after Enzo's dear departed son, rather because, as far as supercars go, the F40 seems is a bit of a relic, dating back to an age before modern developments like electronic stability control and paddle-shifted transmissions roamed the earth. And yet the F40 can still thoroughly devour almost anything and everything on the road today. What better way, then, to take in the brutal monstrosity of the dinosaur that is the Ferrari F40 than spooling up its turbos on a dyno. Better not let it loose....

This video, which has been floating around the internet, was shot after an F40 was fitted with a custom Tubi exhaust. Check it out after the jump.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Lotus, the company that made its name on "adding lightness" and clever engineering, is at it again. This time, it's the engineering wing of the Group Lotus concern. Lotus's efforts have been directed at banishing seperate exhaust manifolds. We groaned when we heard the news, and assumed it to be a very discouraging development. Then we got to thinking -- with this type of cylinder head, you'll never have leaky manifold gaskets again. That's a big plus for those of us who keep our cars forever and are persnickety about fixing all the little stuff that happens along the way. After a decade of heat cycling, mani gaskets are usually done for, and on today's tightly-packaged powerplants, removing the manifold is no treat. Add in the requesite broken studs and frozen fasteners, and you've got a veritable jamboree weekend. Looking further into it, the integrated manifold makes a good case for itself.

[Source: Lotus via Paul Tan]

Enormous sums of money went into the development of the epically fast and extraordinarily powerful Bugatti Veyron. The engineers managed to squeeze out a thousand horses from eight liters, sixteen cylinders, sixty-four valves and four turbochargers. But someone out there thinks there's still more power to be tapped, and that someone is Hennessey.

Hennessey Performance is the monster tuning house that specializes in giving more venom to the Dodge Viper, a car with an engine displacement slightly larger than the Bugatti's, but in stock form, only manages to produce half as much power. So while the Viper is a monstrously fast car, there was plenty more power to be massaged out of its enormous V10, and Hennessey has managed to crank it up past 900 horsepower. But the Bugatti's powerplant is a different story entirely, already the most powerful engine in production.

The company's head honcho, John Hennessey, in correspondence with Autoblog, tells us an American client approached him with the daunting task of improving on his Veyron with a custom exhaust system "to improve the power and sound along with possibly saving some weight". That's a pretty tall order, but Hennessey reckons they're up for the task.

The customer's Bugatti is scheduled to arrive in the workshop this winter, with the new exhaust completed by the spring. At that point Hennessey says they'll have all the numbers along with some multimedia clips for our enjoyment. And we can hardly wait.

[Source: Hennessey Performance]

Here's a caption challenge for you...

Evidently, some fool in Japan is so excited about Hello Kitty that s/he (?) fabricated an exhaust pipe after the fair cat. And we thought excessive tin foil spoilers and shoddily-done window tint was bad.

Here's my caption:

"Sometimes girls embarrass me. Truly."

[Source: BoingBoing via Jalopnik and other various sites]

If the Audi A8's stock wheels do nothing for you, or if the ride height as delivered from the factory still makes you think of a pickup truck, Project Khan has the fix. The British/Italian tuner starts with its 21" RS-X wheels (9.5" wide in the front and 11" out back), and then fits the vehicle with its TUV-approved electronic lowering module to drop the big sedan by 1.5". Privacy tint is applied to the glass, and to top off the modifications, a bespoke exhaust system with twin bazooka-sized machined 90mm tips is installed. There's no word on what effect the changes have to the performance of Audi's flagship, but we think that the modifications achieve subtle but very pleasing visual results. We also can't speak to the pricing of the package, but you know what they say about having to ask...

There are a couple more shots of the black bullet posted after the jump.

[Source: Project Kahn; a tip of the hat to Fourtitude]

Beyond sensual sheetmetal and generous performance envelopes, traditionally one of the best things about exotic supercars has been their melliflous engine rumblings and sonorous exhaust notes. For many a gearhead, the piercing shriek of a fine Italian V-12 is auditory mechanized sex.

But the importance of the sounds that a vehicle makes - be it an engine's song, tire thrum, or wind noise has become increasingly critical as manufacturers look to further distinguish their vehicles from competitors.

MSNBC's Roland Jones examines the growing importance of 'sound engineering' in the modern automobile, and how automakers are going to great lengths to create compelling sonic experiences.

What do you think... how important is the way a vehicle sounds in determining how you feel about it?  Make a bit of noise yourself by leaving a note in the 'Comments.'

[Sources: MSNBC; Autodrome-Cannes.com]

Pop quiz - when someone says the term "exhaust system", what are the first words that pop into your head? If they happen to be anything like "Flowmaster 40 Series" or "Dynomax Bullet" (the straight-through muffler that makes Cherry Bombs sound civilized in comparison), you may not like the new ticketing system developed by Acoustic Research Laboratories. Using an onboard sound meter, the device detect snoise events that exceed a predetermined sound pressure level. A 10-second audio/video recording is made of the incident, and an onboard hard drive stores the data for future retrieval and prosecution. As the system records other noise events as well, don't go boomin' your twin fifteens past one of their systems and expect to get away with it.

Since certain individuals here at Autoblog have received several "amplified sound" tickets in their younger days and have occasionally taken to the street with open pipes (hey, no one really knows how easy it is to remove the baffles from a Yoshi system until they try), we'll defer commentary on this device to those who can be a bit more objective. With the number of import cars, diesel pickups, and motorcycles on the road sporting sewer-sized exhausts seemingly increasing every day, it would come as no surprise to find a lot of support for such a system -- at least outside of enthusiasts' circles.

Related: Minneapolis judge orders 'lights out' for traffic signal cameras

(Hat tip - Engadget)

[Source: TheNewspaper.com]