Tag:

electric supercharger

Borg Warner Leading The Way In 48 Volt Technology

Electric cars are coming. That much is sure, but a world with only battery electric cars is still decades away. In the interim, 48 volt electrical systems wil power many systems and sub-systems in conventional cars. Borg Warner is leading the way to the 48 volt future. Voltage is like water pressure in a pipe. The higher the pressure, the more work it can do. The obverse is that high pressures can make use of thinner pipes.

What can 48 volts systems do? They can power the electric steering and braking systems that are so critical to self driving cars. They can run air conditioning and heating systems at stop lights when a gasoline engine goes into shut down mode to boost fuel economy. They can zip windows up and down, open and close sunroofs, move power seats back and forth. In other words, they can relieve internal combustion engines from many of the chores that sap power and mileage from today’s cars.

June 28, 2017 3 comments

Ken Gillette Racing to Demonstrate Electric Supercharger

written by Sponsored Content

Duryea Technologies*, developer of high-efficiency brushless motors for hybrid vehicle applications, has announced a technical partnership with driver Ken Gillette, a hillclimb class champion and record holder from Ohio. During the 2016 racing season, Gillette will be demonstrating the Duryea Electric Supercharger in a modified car.

May 2, 2016 2 comments

New 2017 Volvo S90 Sedan is No Swedish Meatball

written by Steve Hanley

Volvo, once the stodgiest car company on the planet (that never happened- Ed.), is now revving things up with new models that are not just safe and sane, but downright exciting. Sales have taken a nice upward turn recently, especially since the all new, twin-engine XC90 7 passenger sport utility vehicle hit the market.

Volvo has been casting covetous glances at the success Mercedes, Audi and BMW have been having with their midsize luxury car offerings and decided it would like a piece of that pie for itself. Behold the S90, a sedan version of the XC90. It takes its design cues from the Volvo Concept Coupe that made the rounds on the auto show circuit in 2013. In fact, Volvo’s head designer told Jalopnik he tweaked the styling at the rear of the car because the Concept Coupe was so well received. Volvo has said that is will not do “plain vanilla” cars anymore. Apparently the S90 is a bold as things get in Gothenburg.

The S90 will be available in either front wheel drive or four wheel drive configurations. When it goes on sale in the US in June. buyers will be able to choose from the T5 Drive-E turbo engine, the T6 turbo engine with electric supercharger, of the T8 Twin Engine hybrid powertrain that brings 407 horsepower to the party. All engines will feed power to the wheels via Volvo’s bespoke 8 speed automatic transmission.

Inside, passengers will be cosseted in rich leather, deep pile carpets, and enough blond wood accents to make them think they are shopping at Ikea. A large central touchscreen — thank you, Tesla — dominates the center of the dash. A full array of semi-autonomous driving features will be standard, including a reindeer avoidance system that will brake automatically for animals larger than a Golden Retriever.

Volvo is not done, though. Not by a long shot. It recently purchased Polestar, an independent tuning house that specializes in making Volvos breath a little more deeply than normal. Volvo’s CEO Håkan Samuelsson says that taking on the likes of the BMW M cars, Audi’s S offerings, and Mercedes’ AMG models was the motivation behind Volvo buying Polestar.

Peter Mertens, Volvo’s head of R&D, says,“Polestar will still be sophisticated performance; it’s not just a case of doing a ‘boy racer’ by dropping a big engine in there. Hybrid power is the direction that Polestar will go in. In a way, Tesla has legitimised electric performance, although Polestar will be more sophisticated again. We want to be able to offer high performance without regrets.”

Could Volvo be planning a hotted up version of the S90 T8 Twin Engine sedan? (Yes!) We’ll know for sure once when the car is officially introduced to the world next month at the Detroit International Auto Show.

Photo credits: Jalopnik.

December 3, 2015 0 comment

Volvo XC90 T8 PHEV Priced For US, Starts At $68,100

written by Steve Hanley

The all new, updated Volvo XC90 T8 PHEV will go on sale in America in the fall. The entry level model, called the Mometum, is priced at $68,100. The sportier R-Design model lists for $70,000. There is a destination fee of $995 added to the price of both models.

Volvo is now owned by Chinese manufacturer Geely, which has supervised the first full redesign of the popular XC90 since 2002. The top of the line Volvo SUV is offered in Europe with either a gasoline or diesel engine. Buyers can also order the advanced plug in hybrid version of the car. That powertrain, which Volvo calls its “Twin Engine” system, pumps out a respectable 390 horsepower from a 4 cylinder engine, an electric motor between the engine and the transmission, and a second electric motor powering the rear wheels. Using only the 80 hp rear motor, the XC90 can travel about 25 miles on electric power alone.

The gasoline engine is unique among production engines at the moment because it features not only a turbocharger but also an electric supercharger. A turbo operates best at higher engine speeds, which means it can take several seconds before it begins supplying boost to the engine. An electric supercharger spins up to speed in less than half a second, so it begins providing boost immediately when the car needs it most — such as moving forward from a dead stop. When engine revs rise, the supercharger shuts off and the turbo takes over. Thanks to modern electronics, this all happens seamlessly so the driver and passengers are never aware of the transition. All they feel is a rush of acceleration. Look for other manufacturers to use electric superchargers soon.

The diesel engine will not be offered in the US model and it may take a while before American buyers can get their hands on the PHEV version of the XC90. Demand for the plug in drivetrain has far exceeded Volvo’s expectations. They thought about 5% of buyers would go the plug in route, but demand in Europe has been four times that. As a result, the PHEV XC90 is on back order well into 2016. That’s a problem Volvo is happy to have.

When the new XC90 T8 PHEV finally gets here, it will be facing stiff competition from the BMW X5 xDrive 40e and the 2016 Mercedes-Benz GLE 550e, both of which are scheduled to go on sale in the US this fall. Maybe the long rumored Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV will arrive sometime this decade. Or at least by the next one for sure.

The marketplace is hungry for plug in hybrid SUV’s. But a fully optioned Volvo XC90 T8 PHEV will cost $80,000 or more and the offerings from BMW and Mercedes are not likely to cost much less. Is the market that hungry?

April 27, 2015 4 comments

Electric Superchargers Ready For Prime Time

written by Steve Hanley

After years of existing in the periphery of automotive performance tuning- and, quite literally, in the periphery of low-budget tuning magazines- electric superchargers are finally ready to hit the road for real under the hoods of Volkswagens, Audis, and Volvos.

A supercharger is a compressor that forces more air into the combustion chamber. The effect is like fanning the flames of a campfire to make it burn hotter. We get more ooomph from a supercharged engine when we press on the loud pedal. There is no free lunch, of course. It takes energy to spin a supercharger and connecting one to the engine through belts, or clutches can be an engineering nightmare. Exhaust driven turbochargers are more mechanically efficient, but they take time to build compression (or, “boost”). Most of us know this delay as “turbo lag”, the difference in time between when you mash the throttle and when the extra power kicks in.

Both Audi’s RS5 TDI and Volvo’s High Performance Drive-E use electric superchargers to supplement engines that are already turbocharged. The electric compressor can spin up from rest to 70,000 rpm in about a quarter of a second, providing instant boost on demand. Once engine revs rise, the electric supercharger shuts off and the turbo takes over. From the driver’s seat, the impression is of one long, continuous burst of power with no gaps. Using an electric supercharger also provides a significant boost to fuel economy because the engine can get more power out of a given amount of gasoline, as demonstrated by the HyBoost Ford Focus project.

Adding an electric supercharger is easy. All you need is a bracket to hang it from and an electric wire to the power source. And that’s where things get interesting. The true beauty of an electric supercharger is that it uses stored electricity harvested during normal driving. Because a regular battery is slow to charge and slow to release its energy, the key component is the supercapacitor – an energy storage device that charges and discharges almost instantaneously.

While it does not have the power density of a battery, it doesn’t need to, since the electric supercharger operates only for short intervals – usually 1 to 2 seconds -every once in a while. Supercapacitors cost more than a comparable battery at present, but prices are coming down rapidly, thanks in part to the use of graphene. Another key to using electric superchargers successfully is the software that controls the complex relationship between it and the turbocharger so the driver feels only a seamless flow of power.

Turbochargers are already standard equipment on many cars today. As manufacturers struggle to meet ever tightening fuel economy standards around the world, look for electric superchargers to find their way under the hood of more and more mainstream automobiles.

Source | Images: Road & Track, via Popular Mechanics.

November 2, 2014 5 comments

New Mazda RX-7 And RX-9 Coming?

written by Steve Hanley

An artist rendering of what the new RX-7 might look like.

The Mazda Cosmo Sport first appeared in 1967, and it was the first volume production car to feature a Wankel rotary engine. According to Australia’s Motoring magazine, sources within the company suggest that a reborn RX-7 sports coupe could be in the offing for 2017 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of that milestone. Then in 2020, Mazda will celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary, which will coincide with the Olympic Games in Tokyo, and those same sources say Mazda will introduce an all new, range topping sports car in honor of both occasions.

We do know that Mazda has registered the names RX-7 and RX-9 with the Japanese trademark office, adding credibility to the rumors. Mazda reported record profits of nearly $2 billion dollars for the last fiscal year, so there is money available for creating new models.

The new RX-7 is rumored to use the 300 hp 16X rotary engine Mazda has under development. Add an electric turbocharger to the 16X, and you have a potent new motor for an RX-9 “halo car”. The RX-9 may also come with a hybrid powertrain to stay competitive with offerings from other manufacturers. Asked about all these rumors recently, Mazda global sales and marketing chief Yasuhiro Aoyama was enigmatic, saying only that a new rotary powered RX-7 for 2017 would be a “fantastic idea”.

Mazda has devoted more than five decades to perfecting the Wankel rotary engine, primarily because it produces good power from a unit that is smaller and lighter than any other internal combustion engine. Because there are no pistons going up and down thousands of times a minute, the rotary is also very smooth compared to its rivals. Unfortunately, it tends to be fairly thirsty, and has been bedeviled by longevity issues with the apex seals that are critical to making the engine work. Mazda’s latest rotary engine car, the RX-8, suffered from poor fuel economy and disappointing reliability, which led to it being withdrawn from the marketplace after a relatively short production run and low sales.

If Mazda can duplicate the reputation for bullet proof reliability enjoyed by the Miata (itself debuting a new model next month) and wrap the new cars in styling that excites the eye, these two new models should be enthusiastically received by potential buyers. But the folks at Jalopnik say the new RX-7 is a recurring internet myth that gets folks riled up every few years. We should know the truth in about two years time, so buckle up Mazda fans.

It could be a bumpy ride.

August 28, 2014 1 comment

Audi Pioneers Use Of Electric Turbochargers

written by Steve Hanley

Audi has just unveiled prototypes of its A6 and RS5 that feature an electric turbocharger working in conjunction with standard turbocharging to improve power and efficiency by 15% to 20%. The electric turbo takes less than a quarter of a second to spool up to full speed, and provides immediate engine boost until the regular turbocharger comes up to full boost. In other words, the dreaded “turbo lag” associated with turbocharged engines is completely eliminated.

Autoblog got to talk to Audi at length about the benefits of electric turbocharging. Take for example the TDI engine Audi currently used in the A6, which produces 240 hp and 428 lb-ft of torque. The prototype TDI engine with electric supercharger puts out 326 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque, an improve of 86 horsepower 51 lb-ft of torque. Meanwhile the prototype RS5 TDI engine with twin turbos and electric turbocharger pumps out an even more impressive 385 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque. With the enhanced engine, both cars are capable to 0 – 100 KPH/ 0 to 62 MPH sprints in about 4 seconds.

Those are impressive numbers. So why haven’t electric superchargers been used before? Quite simply, the electricity they require is beyond the capacity of a typical 12 volt electrical system. Both Audi prototypes utilize a 48 volt system that is compatible with the higher voltages found in today’s hybrid and electric vehicles. Audi decided to use 48 volt systems to save weight, reduce complexity, and insure passenger safety.

Steve McKinley, Honeywell Turbo Technology’s vice president of engineering, told Autoblog:

“We’ve been in pre-development for more than ten years. It was a matter of waiting for that electric infrastructure to develop on the vehicles. You have to have a fair amount of power going into the supercharger, But when you have other parts of the vehicle being electrified, it becomes possible to use some of that power for the turbo.”

At present, the electric turbocharger and exhaust turbocharger are two separate units because electric motors do not tolerate the heat found in exhaust gasses. Eventually, the two may be combined into one unit connected to the electric motor by a shaft running through the V of the engine. Interestingly, this is precisely the solution Mercedes has adopted for its 2014 Formula One engines. A side benefit is that a generator can also be connected to the same shaft to help meet the car’s electrical needs.

As environmental concerns and government regulations have put pressure on conventional internal combustion engines, the automotive world has embraced turbochargers as a way of making engines more efficient without sacrificing power. Ford has led the way with its EcoBoost family of engines, and now Audi is showing that compound turbocharging using electric turbochargers can significantly increase performance and efficiency even more.

This new technology will likely be applied first to high performance, top of the line models. In fact, Volkswagen Group technical chief Ulrich Hackenberg tells Autocar magazine that Audi will release an SQ7 equipped with electric turbocharger technology in 2016,making it the world’s first production vehicle equipped with an electric turbo.

Industry analysts expect it will take 5 to 10 years for electric superchargers to become common in mainstream vehicles. In the meantime, Audi is leading the way into the future.

August 11, 2014 0 comment

BMW Working On Electric-Assisted Turbocharger

written by Christopher DeMorro

Many automakers are dropping huge sums of money into turbocharger research. Leading the pack is Ford, whose EcoBoost line of turbo engines have already met with better-than-expected commercial success. But don’t count ze Germans out; a recent patent filing by BMW reveals their work on electronically-assisted turbochargers, which eliminates turbo lag while providing excellent engine response and fuel efficiency.Turbo + Electric = No Lag

The basic concept of a turbocharger is simple; exhaust gases are cycled through a turbine, linked via an axle to another turbine connected to the air intake system. This crams more air into the engine, allowing smaller engines to make more horsepower. And smaller engines generally equate to better fuel efficiency.

But turbochargers on small engines do have their drawbacks, namely turbo lag. This is the time between stepping on the gas pedal, and actual engine response. In effect you have to wait for the horsepower to kick in…kind of annoying if you’re a speed freak like me.

Faster And More Efficient

BMW is taking a different approach to turbochargers though. Rather than have both the exhaust and intake turbines on the same axle, a pair of clutches allows them to detach from each other. When the gas pedal is depressed, the already-spinning electric generator attaches to the intake-side of the turbine, immediately spooling it up and virtually eliminating turbo lag. Once the exhaust-side reaches a certain speed, it takes over for the electric motor.

Now here’s where things get really cool. Once the electric motor has disengaged from the turbo and it is being spun solely on exhaust gases, the turbo sends electricity back to the generator, which sends the excess electricity to the battery. BMW seems to be plotting a tri-turbo system of sorts, but I think the natural fit of this system would be a plug-in hybrid. Imagine recharging your Bimmer’s batteries by stomping the gas. Sends shivers right up my spine it does. I highly recommend checking out F30post’s more technical explanation of just what BMW is planning here (though I think I summed it up nicely.)

Of course this is all just based on a patent filing. BMW is also working on waste heat-recapturing technology to improve engine efficiency as well. Will these two technologies mesh, be mutually exclusive, or end up in the circular file like so many other great ideas?

Source: F30post via Jalopnik | Image: Boost Gauge via Shutterstock

November 3, 2011 8 comments

Lower Emissions and More Power From An Electric Supercharger That Really Works

written by Christopher DeMorro

[social_buttons]

I’ve spent a lot of time around the car hobby, and I’ve seen some pretty stupid people do some pretty stupid things. My favorite story involves a V6 Mustang and a leafblower strapped to the air intake, approximating a cobbled together stand-alone supercharger of sorts. Alas, no one ever explained to this man-child that if you add more air, you also need to add more fuel. His engine did not last too long.

But a UK company may be on the right track with an electric supercharger that actually works. Not only does it provide a 40-50% bump in power and torque, but also a 20% decrease in CO2 emissions.

October 1, 2009 22 comments