--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EG^00033 Date: 12/30/97 From: ALAN MORRISON Time: 02:25pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Active Handling Active Handling: A Preliminary Look by Hib Halverson About half way through the 98 model year, the Corvette gets a new option called "Active Handling". The new Corvette Quarterly went out last week to subscribers and it contains an article on the system, so if you read that story, there is nothing new here. But, Chevy gives CQ such a big jump on the rest of the press, if you don't read Quarterly, then you have yet to hear about Active Handling. Magazines like Vette will have in-depth stories on it later this winter. What follows is a preliminary look at Active Handling. Active Handling is a safety-related system that combines with traction control to further enhance the driver's control of the vehicle in aggressive or hazard avoidance maneuvers. Right now, the car uses rear brake intervention to control some extreme cases of rear wheel spin. Active Handling takes brake intervention one-step further by using selective, single caliper brake applications to control gross oversteer or understeer situations in which the driver is liable to have trouble maintaining control of the vehicle. The C5's Active Handling is the first application in the world of this type of system to a sports car. Previously it has only been used on expensive luxury sedans such as Lexus, BMW or Mercedes-Benz. Additionally, it is the first stability enhancement system that is a performance driving enhancement *as well as* a safety enhancement. Lastly, it is the first of these systems that is switchable between normal (full-featured) mode, "competitive driving" (traction control disabled) mode and system full-disabled mode. During an oversteer situation, Active Handling may apply the outside front brake to apply a yaw torque to the car, opposite the direction of rotation. During an understeer situation, Active Handling may apply the inside rear brake to apply an opposite yaw torque. In early December, Chevrolet invited several automotive writers to visit the GM Milford Proving Ground and test the Active Handling system. These tests were run on Milford's Vehicle Dynamics Test Area AKA the famous "Black Lake". Black Lake is a huge expanse of flat blacktop intended for handling test work. The closest thing I can use for description would be a large sports stadium parking lot with no light standards, planters, parking space blocks or marks. At Milford there were a number of specific demonstrations GM engineers had set up. 1. A 45mph lane change across two different surfaces. The lane change began on dry asphalt but finished on jenite, a kind of very slick-coated concrete, that had been wetted down. 2. A 25mph slalom on wet jenite. 3. A 50 mph double lane change 4. A 65mph "sudden avoidance" lane change. 5. A 55 mph slalom and 6. the Corvette "Challenge" course, a sort of long duration, medium speed autocross course. The first two were on wet surfaces, the rest on dry pavement. To a driver of average skill level, the enhancement Active Handling offers in inclement weather, on poor road surfaces or in high-speed emergency avoidance maneuvers is significant and obvious. To a driver with advanced performance driving skills, Active Handling can have that person meeting aggressive driving challenges in a more relaxed and smooth manner. Additionally, there are some avoidance situations were no measure of driving skill can maintain control of the vehicle, but the addition of Active Handling makes the maneuver possible. This is because, with the system off, the driver has steering, throttle and brakes with which to control but he/she cannot apply differential braking. The Active Handling system adds differential braking. A great demonstration of that was the 65 mph evasive lane change which imitates a situation such as a concrete block or piece of pipe falling off a truck in the freeway or a deer running out on a highway at night. In this situation, braking was not a viable option. This was a case of turn hard or die ... Continued... ... --- Blue Wave/386 v2.20 [NR] * Origin: River Canyon Rd. BBS Chattanooga, Tn (1:362/627) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EG^00034 Date: 12/30/97 From: ALAN MORRISON Time: 02:25pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Active Handling 2/2 ... Active Handling Continues... I accelerated to 65 mph and approached an "obstacle" imitated by a four-foot wide line of traffic cones perpendicular to the direction of travel. I could not go straight but could turn hard right or left into adjacent "lanes". To add to the challenge, the GM person riding with me, (happened to be a buddy of mine, Brake Development Engineer, Jack Gillis) would tell me which way to go by shouting "left" or "right" just before I would "hit" the barrier. Each time I tried this with Active Handling turned off, I made the turn-in part of the lane change but then lost it on and "wrecked" ending up in a cloud of rubber smoke, surrounded by scattered cones. Gillis told me that no one, even GM ride and handling development engineers, had been getting through that maneuver with the system turned off. Each time with the system on, the lane change was accomplished - with a pretty outrageous slide and lots of steering -but, nevertheless, accomplished and with very few cones giving their lives. Let me emphasize, here, that in this situation few humans are capable of controlling a car. You cannot compete with a computer's speed nor can you apply differential front braking. The other four tests I was able to accomplish with either the system off or on, but it was obvious, particularly in the high-to-low coefficient lane change that Active Handling enhances safety and control of the vehicle. The Corvette Challenge course is a "test track," marked with cones, Development engineers set up on Black Lake to evaluate the performance ride, handling and braking characteristics of Corvettes and other cars. I had driven C4s on this course several times in the last ten years but never had been on it with a C5. In this situation, you set Active Handling in the Competitive Mode by bringing the car to a full stop then pressing and holding the traction control button for 5 or more seconds. In this mode, TCS is disabled, allowing you to use throttle to steer the car, but Active Handling's brake intervention remains available. Unfortunately, timing equipment was not available, so my judgments as to lap time are subjective. I took a few easy laps on the Challenge course with the system off to kind of remind myself what it was like. Then, I took a several hard laps, again with the system off, to set my baseline impression. Next, I put the system in "Competitive" and ran hard again. There is no question in my mind that with the system on, I got through the Challenge course just as fast but more smoothly and, on the last two or three passes, I may even have been quicker around the course. Bottom line: in a motorsports application that emphasizes handling, especially autocross, Active Handing in the Competitive Mode allows you to drive smoother and perhaps a measure quicker. Once autocross sanctioning bodies begin to classify C5s, I wonder how they will address the issue of Active Handing on some cars and not on others. Again, the system works by adding to the ABS/TCS modulator the ability to selectively enable the front brakes. All this is, of course, computer- controlled. The ABS/TCS computer equipment gets two more channels (for the two front brakes) some additional computer hardware and, obviously, a significant software upgrade. Besides the computer enhancements three additional sensors are on an Active Handling car, a yaw sensor, a lateral g-sensor and a brake pressure sensor. With the system fully enabled you have a very powerful combination of ABS, TCS and differential front braking. I had read the Corvette Quarterly article on Active Handling before I made the trip back to Milford, so I had an understanding and some expectations of the system before I tested it. My expectations of the system's performance were met when I finally drove it. What I did not expect was how seamless its operation was. Only in the most extreme instances of brake intervention did I really feel the system working. This seamlessness was very appropriate for a performance car. Other systems of this type, such as Cadillac's two-channel "StabiliTrack" option or those on foreign luxury sedans are designed (perhaps figuring that drivers of those cars can easily get over their heads) to rapidly slow the vehicle with ABS as well as control yaw angles. The Corvette system controls yaw better than any two-channel system but does not attempt to slow the car's forward velocity as rapidly. Active Handling is just another sign that, as John Cafaro said during C5 introduction video tape, "It's a great car with a great future." If I was buying a C5, it would have no options other than: Z51, the six-speed and Active Handling. --- Blue Wave/386 v2.20 [NR] * Origin: River Canyon Rd. BBS Chattanooga, Tn (1:362/627) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EG^00035 Date: 12/30/97 From: ALAN MORRISON Time: 02:36pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Motor Trend takes bribes? For those that think Motot Trend gives an unfair break to some companies here is a count of ads I found in a recent issue, by manufacturer. Nissan - 8 pages of advertisements. Chrysler - 5 pages Ford - 3 pages Honda - 2 pages BMW - 2 pages Chevrolet - page Toyota - 1 page Subaru - 1 page Mazda - 1 page Oldsmobile - 1 page Suzuki - 1 page Saab - 1 page Pontiac - 1 page So who should be given preference in the COY nominations? --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: River Canyon Rd. BBS Chattanooga, Tn (1:362/627) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EG^00036 Date: 12/30/97 From: MARK LOGSDON Time: 05:58pm \/To: ROY J. TELLASON (Read 0 times) Subj: Laser stops cars RJ> ML> I was involved in an early automotive engine control program RJ> ML> where the vehicle would literally shut down when it was driven RJ> ML> near the Voice of America broadcast towers in Ohio. RJ> RJ> But if you wanted to device something that would stop a car's engine, RJ> would you go about it? Or, on the other hand, if you wanted an engin RJ> couldn't be stopped this way, how could you ensure that? I don't have a circuit to do it, nor a bandaid or magic filter to stop it. However, I'll make some comments if that would be helpful. Obviously the best way to stop a vehicle's engine would be to build a radio receiver into the engine control system to allow the engine to be disabled by a remote transmitter. If that option isn't available (as would be the case in older vehicles), then you would need a very high powered transmitter that had the capability of penetrating its electromagnetic field (EMF) into the engine compartment (under the hood). The idea here is to couple the EMF into engine harnesses and cables so that high currents or high voltages can deleteriously affect the engine control system. Two effects are possible. The first effect would be a temporary upset of the engine control system so that the engine would either operate in a manner that would degrade its performance. One example would be influencing the intake air pressure (or temperature) signal being sent to the engine computer. Another example would be influencing the throttle body position signal. The second effect would a permanent damage to the engine control computer or one of its sensors. In this case, the high powered signal enters the control system and conducts sufficient power to damage a sensitive component (usually a semiconductor or a sensor). Many semiconductors and sensors will fail if they experience a very high voltage or current for a sufficient period of time. Perhaps the engine will come to a complete stop or it will be forced into a a "limp home" mode. Either case is undesirable for the driver of the vehicle. Now, how you do you get a high powered EMF signal into engine control system so that it is of sufficient magnitude to effect susceptibility? That proves to be a challenge. One possibility would be to place a transmitting antenna on the road surface and somehow get it underneath the engine compartment where there is little shielding (no metal hood below). Perhaps the car would run over the antenna from the front or perhaps the antenna could have its own propulsion system to get it under the target vehicle. The latter sounds more like Buck Rogers. :) Another way of getting a signal into the engine compartment would be the brute force method of radiating a high powered EMF at the hood. Some signal at some frequency will penetrate the hood. If you're familiar with "slot" antennas, you know that discontinuities in a current-carrying conductive surface can cause the radiation of a signal. This particularly true if the discontinuity (such as the outside of the hood) is near a multiple fraction of the resonant frequency of the current. The current, of course, would come from a nearby transmitter. As I said, this is the brute force method, but since it is possible I thought I'd mention it. Here is a word on generating the high powered signal. If the intent was to create permanent damage to the engine control system, then the EMF signal would presumably be a very high powered pulse. In other words, it would have a very high peak power for a very short period of time. On the other hand, if the intent was to affect engine performance, then the EMF would be either continuous wave or a repetitive series of pulses. How do you protect against such effects? You'd use the typical approach of shielding and bonding of harnesses, sensors, and enclosures. That can be expensive and labor intensive, but it must be done correctly. The other approach would be to prevent against damage or susceptibility after the EMF signal does enter the harnesses or enclosures. This would entail the use of transient protection devices or filters. The above information is well known to the military and aerospace community. There has been a lot of research into the effects and protecting against electromangetic pulse (EMP) and high intensity radiated fields (HIRF), and some of the specific details are classified. There is also an issue of HERO or hazards of electromagnetic radiation to ordnance. Ordnance are explosives. No military pilot wants his weapons to activate or a fuse to ignite when his aircraft is bombarded with EMF. There is also the possibility of a fuel tank being ignited due to high currents. This is called HERF or hazards of electromagnetic radiation to fuel. This is not only a concern with lightning but also with radiated fields as the name suggests. Wouldn't the law enforcement agency have egg on its face if it's "pulse weapon" exploded a fuel tank rather than simply disabling the engine of a fleeing vehicle? I'm not saying it's likely, but if it happens, then momma call out the lawyers! --- QScan/PCB v1.19b / 01-0232 * Origin: IBMNet Connection - Indpls, IN - 317-882-5575 28.8 USR (1:231/1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EG^00037 Date: 12/30/97 From: MARK LOGSDON Time: 06:29pm \/To: PETER HARLE (Read 0 times) Subj: Electrical loads, battery PH> From personal experience I must admit I've yet to find a working, PH> general purpose automotive alternator that won't "self-excite", ev PH> after many months of non-use. PH> PH> Simple tests also tend to support the positive aspects of using th PH> "warning light current" to "pre-excite" the rotor. The alternator PH> begins charging as soon as the engine reaches around 600 rpm. Usua PH> immediately after starting an engine without extra revving. PH> PH> Disconnecting the warning light circuit generally means the engine PH> needs to be revved to at least around 1500 to 2000 rpm before the PH> alternator begins to "kick in" and charge normally. If the warning light circuit is open, then presumably there is no significant current to pre-excite the rotor. Where does the rotor get its excitation at 2000 rpm as you stated in the last paragraph? Is it from some residual magnetism in the magnetic material or is it from reverse leakage from the battery through the diodes? --- QScan/PCB v1.19b / 01-0232 * Origin: IBMNet Connection - Indpls, IN - 317-882-5575 28.8 USR (1:231/1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EG^00038 Date: 12/30/97 From: BILL MITCHELL Time: 07:58pm \/To: JOHN FAERBER (Read 0 times) Subj: Which Transmission????? TH>> Can somebody here tell me which damned transmission i have in TH>> my car? GS>> It's most likely a 200-4R. JF> Sure hope you are not saying it is the TH200 which was JF> notorious for failing early on? Their pan gasket isn't square, also those 200 duds say METRIC on the pan. --- * Origin: The Right Place, Fort Lee, NJ USA(201)947-8231 (1:2604/539.11) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EG^00039 Date: 12/30/97 From: SEAN DUNBAR Time: 06:52pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Alrighty. Welp... started setting money aside to do some MUCH needed repairs, and basically just restore this truck back to factory condition. Started picking up little things today; I now have both headlights working again, an actual rearview mirror on the windshield, a working choke on the carb (well, I will tomorrow when I put the pulloff on), and lots of other odds and ends (mostly to help with cold start problems for now). Also going to put it on a diet of 10W-40 oil for now. Next.. anybody know of any AFFORDABLE transmission and body shops in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metro area? Going to rebuild the tranny next, then get it painted. --- Telegard v3.09.g1/mL * Origin: tos * 972-818-0339 - dallas texas (1:124/6630) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EG^00040 Date: 12/30/97 From: SEAN DUNBAR Time: 06:53pm \/To: GARY HALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Re: Oil pump? GH> Sounds like a pluged screen or to high a viscosity. On a cold GH> Dallas morning 40 is way to thick drop to a 20 or 10-40. Oh by GH> the way the cheep oil dont clean fix the leaks. *nod* I switched to 20W-50 and it starts much easier now, and gets pressure immediatly. Going to get the leak fixed when I get the transmission fixed. Going to just go ahead and throw a couple of paychecks at this thing and get it fixed up nicely. --- Telegard v3.09.g1/mL * Origin: tos * 972-818-0339 - dallas texas (1:124/6630) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EG^00041 Date: 12/30/97 From: SEAN DUNBAR Time: 06:59pm \/To: JASON WEDEHASE (Read 0 times) Subj: Re: Oil pump? SD> 5W-30? That stuff would pour out faster than I could pour it in :-/ JW> BWAHAHAHA!! HOHOHOHO!! err... sucks to be you? Heh. Yup. Anyway, gonna throw some money into it and just fix EVERYTHING on it. I've let it go for way too long.. going to cost me some bucks to even put it back in the shape it was in about a year ago. Things at the top of my "to do" list: Power brake booster (vacuum leak from hell) - $100 and about an hour of work Power steering hose (leaks) - $20 tops and about half an hour Heater core (leaks) - $50 and a couple of hours Windshield trim (rattles) - $5 and a tube of silicone Then come the BIG things; transmission and oil leak ($500-$600 I think), then get it painted. Then the interior (carpet and upholstery are both torn in a couple of spots.. not badly, but it still looks bad). JW> That might do something... hmm... I still say go with 5 quarts JW> of motor honey =). BTW, on a different topic, do you have a web BWAHAHA. And have to have a 200000 gigaamp battery to turn it over :) And no, no web page right now. --- Telegard v3.09.g1/mL * Origin: tos * 972-818-0339 - dallas texas (1:124/6630) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EG^00042 Date: 12/30/97 From: SEAN DUNBAR Time: 06:59pm \/To: C.A. KLINGEL (Read 0 times) Subj: Re: Oil pump? CK> How about meeting me in the middle and trying 10W-40? Actually, I picked up a case of that tonight while I was at Pep Boys :) --- Telegard v3.09.g1/mL * Origin: tos * 972-818-0339 - dallas texas (1:124/6630)