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...

This is not a latest news, but we just found it out.

Last month, IIHS has also conducted the small overlap test on the 2014 E-Class. Please pay attention that the testing result only applies to the 2014 model build after Janurary 2014, not for all of the 2014 model.

The reason is that, starting Janurary 2014 production, Mercedes-Benz made structural enhancements to the E-Class, mainly in the footwell area of the occupant compartment. From the below image from IIHS, the improved E-Class did fairly well, there is no excessive deformation in the safety cage.

For all auto makers, since more recent new models are designe...

Today is the last day of June, from our website statistics, below are the most popular articles of this month.

– Fun Facts

Not All Gasoline Brands Are The Same
How Many People Lease Their Cars?
New Round of Horsepower Competition
The Plastic Trend in the Automobile Industry

– Tutorial Series

Car Suspension Design
Car Braking System Design (to be continued)

– Industry News and Analysis

BMW 2-Series Crash Test and Analysis
New Plans of the MINI Brand
Direct Sales Model: Good or Bad?
Toyota 10-Speed Automatic Transmission
New Mercedes-Benz C-Class vs. Old C-Class

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...

Today Lexus USA released some details about the 2015 model year of the brand’s compact sports sedan – the IS.

Generally speaking there is no major mechanical changes. New options are listed below:

– LED fog light;
– AWD models equipped with heated steering wheel;
– Siri eyes free system;
– Lexus Enform remote system (control some car functionalities from smartphone app)
– Upgraded backup camera (added dynamic grid lines);
– Enhanced heated/ventilated front seats available for the FSport model;
– Updated interior trim, with piano black on several areas such as the window switches;
– Stratus Gray interior color replaces the current Light Gray color.

Although the 2015 model ...