Category Car Chat

Following the news that BMW will manufacture 3 more models in China, BMW also announced they are setting up a research and development center in Shengyang, China.

BMW’s Shenyang R&D center is focusing on new energy source vehicles and its new brand: Zinoro, which is dedicated to the Chinese market.

I bet you have never heard the name of “Zinoro”. Here is some background information: Zinoro is a brand that BMW created solely for the China market. It is dedicated to electric vehicles at this moment, and it has already released their first product: the Zinoro 1E.

You see it right, it looks like the BMW X1 – because it is actually the X1, but with electric motor and battery ...

Yesterday’s news that Mazda is planning a 449hp rotary engine for the RX-9 attracts many attention.

Now let us take a look at some interesting facts about the rotary engine.

Advantages about the rotary engine

1. Because there is no crankshaft, valves, pistons etc., the rotary engine is lighter, runs with less vibration;

2. Longer strokes, less prone to knocking and less pumping loss, which is more suitable for turbocharging, direct injection and lean burning;

3. Quicker throttle response;

4. Less moving parts such as pistons, valves, so rotary engine has less probability of sudden failures when compared to other traditional internal combustion piston engines.

Below is an ...

In the previous sections, we examine one type of factor that determines the location of a car’s brake calipers.

We may have several questions:

1. Is the design of the suspension solely determines the location of the brake caliper?
2. Is one type of the brake layout better than another, from the performance aspect?

Before we diving into these questions, let me first introduce a key concept: the roll center. In this article series the term is for each wheel, it does not mean the roll center of the whole car. Below I am going to explain what the roll center of a car’s wheel is.

For each wheel of a car, it is linked to the car body by the suspension system...

Nowadays, plastic is not something unfamiliar in our daily commute cars. We see them in the interior trims, body panels, cowls and even some brackets inside the engine compartment.

Previously we can never think of using plastics in some critical parts which are subject to high loads, excessive heat and demanding stress. But the usage of engineering plastics continues to expand in the auto industry.

One example is the BMW N20 4-cylider turbo engine. For some F30 3-series, the N20 engine comes with a plastic engine oil pan, as shown in the below image. The engine oil pan seals the underside of the engine and holds all of its lubrication oil.

Recently Mercedes-Benz go anoth...

In this section, we will examine the rear wheel braking system.

Similar to the front wheel, one factor that affects the location of the brake caliper is the geometry design of the car’s rear suspension.

For some cars, there are control arm that connects to the rear part of the wheel hub, which takes up places that can fit the brake, therefore the brake caliper must be located in front of the rear wheel axle. For example the Lexus GS350 with rear wheel steering option, the control arm is located behind the wheel hub, therefore the brake must be placed on the other side.

For some other cars, the rear suspension control arms are in front of the wheel axle, therefore the bra...