|
Ron Stygar Carl Buckland Dale Beuning Forums Help
From digest.v7.n1289 Thu Mar 12 09:09:56 1998 BMW has introduced very significant new technology at the Geneva autoshow. I was privileged enough to read a copy of a "special edition" BMW Magazine printed for the Geneva show. CSG stands for crankshaft start generator. It replaces both the starter and the alternator/generator. Mounted between the gearbox and the engine, CSG produces three times more current than a conventional "generator" and operates with far less energy loss. If I understand the article well, it could also be used as an "electrical counterbalance shaft" to improve smoothness from rotating masses. "The result is that the engine runs as smoothly and evenly as a turbine". As a starter, BMW claims torque figures of "some 180 to 400 Newton-meters" cranking the engine up to 600 RPM in just two to four tenths of a second, depending of the engine type. It works so well that they figure they can cut the engine out completely if you're let's say stopped at a red light and start-it up automatically as you press on the accelerator. City fuel consumption would be reduced by as much as 20%!!! This innovation is expected to go into production at the start of the next decade. Now here's a twist for the for you digesters: In a few years' time, new technologies will make it possible to store excess energy generated. This energy could be used "as a drive unit, boosting power to the crankshaft". Engine torque would be nearly DOUBLED as a result!!!! Didn't we just finish a thread on electric superchargers?
J Propane |
