FÓRMULA-1

2010: How the McLaren F-shaft worked 

The McLaren his new Formula 1 car for the 2010 season In Woking, it was hoped that an innovation would go unnoticed. Unfortunately, secrets in the premier-class paddock are not kept secret for long, and so the new F-shaft quickly became the focus of interest. The rumors with fans, the media and the other teams rolled over immediately.
The F-manhole, simply named after the letter in the sponsor Vodafone logo, which was located directly at the appropriate location on the chassis, was a new and complex way of reducing drag. The project, which ran internally under the name RW80, became an absolute must-have in 2010 before the FIA ​​banned the solution for the following years.
The system consisted of several channels that the driver could control on the straights themselves in order to reduce downforce and drag. The system can be divided into two sections. First, the channels with which the driver could interact and which are marked with (1), (2) and (3) on the title picture. On the other hand, channels (4), (5) and (6), which directed the air flow to the rear of the car.
The first group was used to control the system by covering or uncovering the hole in the cockpit (2). If the hole was open, the inlet (1) sucked air into the cockpit, while the air that came through the airbox flowed through the interface (5) and came out through the lower end of the normal engine cover (7).
However, if the driver covered the hole, the air taken in through the inlet (1) flowed past the chassis and was instead guided through the channel (3). This resulted in the merging with the air that was absorbed by the airbox (4). This was then deflected and directed to the rear wing (6). There the air came out again at an additional outlet.
McLaren revised the system several times during the season to get even more performance. The hole in the cockpit was initially at knee level. The channels were later relocated so that the driver could use his elbow to close it. The inlet design was also changed several times during the year.
Because the different routes in the calendar made different demands on downforce and the like, McLaren also used different versions of the system. In Monaco, where maximum downforce is necessary, the team opted for additional inlets and outlets. In Monza, where there is as little air resistance as possible, the F-shaft was completely missing.
McLaren revised the entire rear for Japan. The channels now led directly through the main plate of the rear wing and no longer through the upper flap. Therefore the outlet at the rear end of the wing had to be changed. The FIA ​​allowed further development, but there were some dubious solutions over the year.
For example, other teams that copied the system sometimes used versions in which the driver had to take a hand off the steering wheel to cover the hole. The system was subsequently banned for the following year. Instead, the Drag Reduction System (DRS) was introduced for the 2011 season, which is still available on Formula 1 cars to this day. 

Source: © Giorgio Piola

AUTONEWS

6 Easy Tips to Extend the Life of Your Car’s Battery 

Though the battery in your car or truck is something that’s rarely given much second thought, a little TLC can go a long way to extending its lifespan. This saves you money, reduces waste, and helps ensure your engine will start when you need it to, which is important in the winter and with the current mandate to limit non-essential travel.
Remember, showing your battery a little love can make the difference between it lasting two years or five years plus.
Here are six easy ways to extend the life of your car’s battery.

Clean the Corrosion
Over time, a salty-looking corrosion can start to form on your battery terminals, the part of your battery that connects it to the electrical system of your car.
Battery terminal corrosion is a natural phenomenon in many climates. It’s usually crystalline in appearance and may be brown, green, white, or blue in colour. The formation of this dry, crumbly substance is relatively normal, though it should be cleaned regularly.
The crud is semi-conductive, which means it can slowly drain your battery at all times, reducing its lifespan in the process.


Thankfully, removing battery corrosion is quick and easy. See your owner’s manual for the scoop or ask your technician to take a look next time you’re in for service. There’s a great DIY here that shows you how to safely clean the corrosion using baking soda, water, and a toothbrush.

Mind the Smart Keys
A common cause of battery drain and poor battery lifespan has to do with the remote “smart keys” used with modern vehicles.
Mind the Smart Keys
A common cause of battery drain and poor battery lifespan has to do with the remote “smart keys” used with modern vehicles.
The smart key allows drivers to access the vehicle and start the engine with a simple touch, thanks to a communication field that’s generated between the smart key and the vehicle, provided both are in close proximity.
If you store your smart key too close to your vehicle, however, the communication field between the two may never turn off, causing battery drain to set in. Over time, this can shorten the life of the battery. For many drivers, storing the smart key(s) far away from the vehicle when it’s not in use has solved numerous battery-related problems.
The communication range is limited, so there’s no need to store the keys on the other side of the house, but avoiding storing them on a shelf next to the car in the garage or close to where the vehicle is parked can make all the difference.

Use a Trickle Charger
If you have an occasional-use vehicle or one used commonly for shorter trips, a trickle charger is another means of fending off pAll you have to do is plug the trickle charger into an outlet, then hook the two leads up to the terminals of the battery. Once connected, the trickle charger recharges, conditions and maintains the battery, even when you’re not driving the vehicle.
Many trickle chargers can be purchased for under $50 and can typically be installed in half a minute or less. Hook one up whenever your car will be parked for more than a few days and your battery will thank you.

Unplug your MP3 Player
If you plug music into your vehicle via an MP3 player or other USB-connected storage device, consider unplugging it when it’s not in use. Though somewhat rare, there are reports of these devices causing unintended battery drain if they’re left connected while the vehicle is off.
In some cases, incompatibilities between your vehicle and your MP3 player may cause the in-car entertainment system to stay active in the background for hours on end, which will drain the battery.
For best results and longer battery life, unplug that music player or USB key when you park your car.

Go for a Long Drive
One significant cause of early battery failure has less to do with the battery and more to do with how the vehicle is used.
If your car is frequently used on short trips or used infrequently, it could suffer an earlier-than-intended death. Long periods of sitting, combined with frequent short-distance drives, may drain the battery faster than the alternator is able to recharge it.
Over time, this type of driving can degrade the performance and lifespan of the battery.
This one has a simple solution. Take your car or truck for a longer drive a few times a month. A highway is best, but anywhere that you can cruise steadily for a few minutes or more will work just fine. Not only will this help top off the battery and extend its lifespan, it can help keep your engine running in tip-top shape, too. Although non-essential travel is currently not advised in many parts of the world, when things get back to normal, it will be a great excuse to go out for a long drive.

Software Updates
Automakers often release software updates that technicians load into your vehicle as a means to correct or improve the operation of one or more of its systems. There are literally thousands of problems that can be remedied by software updates like this, in modern cars. One of these is unwanted battery drain, and the associated implications on battery lifespan.
When you shut your ignition off, software controls when and how certain electronic components will be shut down. Many systems in modern cars stay active for some length of time after the ignition is switched off, and bad software can mess this up – possibly failing to cut the power to one or more systems, and killing your battery in the process.
Talk to your dealer service advisor to see which (if any) software updates might be available for what you drive. One or more of these updates could have a dramatic effect on the life of your battery.

© Provided by autoTRADER

© Provided by autoTRADERSource: https://pressfrom.info/ca/autos/news/-208644-6-easy-tips-to-extend-the-life-of-your-car-s-battery.html

AUTONEWS

Coronavirus kicks younger car buyers into gear as thoughts on ride sharing sours 

Younger generations have, historically, been slightly less inclined to purchase a car and take part in vehicle ownership than older generations. Public transportation and the advent of ride sharing helped shape their thoughts, but it appears the coronavirus pandemic is starting to make the age group have second thoughts.
According to a new study from Capgemini that looked at populations in major countries around the world, those under age 35 are now seriously considering buying a car. The shift in thinking comes as they correlate health and safety risks associated with shared transportation, like Uber, Lyft or even a local bus network. A whopping 75% of those surveyed said buying their own car will give them greater control of hygiene.
Diving into the numbers (keep in mind this is a global picture that encompasses the US, Europe and Asia), 79% of those aged 25 to 35 have historically not owned a vehicle, but 45% of those under age 35 are now interested in owning one. Of those aged 18 to 24 that do own a car, 30% of them now plan to make their vehicle the main form of transportation to replace public transportation and ride-sharing services. A large portion, 44%, said they plan to curb ride-sharing use due to health concerns. For all age groups, 46% plan to use their cars more often and think less about grabbing a bus, train or subway. Continuing the hygiene trend, a whopping 59% said they'd pay a premium for features like germ filters.

© Provided by Roadshow

AUTONEWS

Investors in oil giants should accept 1trillion coup and focus on dividends

LONDON / HOUSTON (Reuters) - Investors who are already preparing for poor results for the biggest oil and gas companies in the first quarter of this year will focus on how executives at these companies plan to save money and the possibility of dividend cuts after the collapse in oil prices.
The five largest companies in the United States and Europe, known as "Oil Majors", announced spending cuts of an average of 23%, in a rapid response to the free fall in demand for oil in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and the 65% decline commodity prices.
With the probable continuation of this trajectory for months, the pressure on the balance sheets remains extreme, since very few oil companies make money from the current fossil fuel prices, 20 dollars per barrel.
"This business environment remains brutal," BP Chief Executive Bernard Looney said on Thursday.
From Exxon Mobil to Shell, companies have suspended projects, cut production in shale fields (unconventional oil) in the U.S. and reduced operations at refineries to deal with the "double hit" of falling demand and oversupply.
But more measures are likely to be needed, and investors will be closely watching changes in production estimates and the ways companies plan to manage dividends, the most important incentive for shareholders who, together, last year totaled more than 40 billions of dollars.
"Looking back at what was a weak first quarter seems almost irrelevant. The game plan to deal with the next three months and the next 18 months is what will be the focus," said Jason Gammel, an analyst at Jefferies.
BP will be the first of the "Oil Majors" to release its first quarter results on Tuesday. Shell comes next on Thursday. Exxon and Chevron present balance sheets on Friday, and France's Total on May 5.
Italian company Eni reported on Friday a 94% drop in net profit and reduced its projections of spending and pumping, while Norwegian Equinor will release results on May 7.
Oil service providers, such as Halliburton, Schlumberger and Baker Hughes, also took a hard hit on profits in the first quarter.

(Additional reporting by Felix Bate, Paris)

FERRARI

1962 police Ferrari is on sale in Europe

Although supercars transformed into vehicles still impress many people, it is not today that sports models are used by the police forces of the world. But they rarely end up playing as active a role as this 1962 Ferrari 250 GTE 2 + 2 with a 3999 chassis, which is advertised for sale on a European website.
According to the announcement, the sports car, equipped with a 3.0 hp V12 engine with 240 hp, was one of two produced to order by the police of Rome (Italy) for use in high-speed pursuits. Only four policemen were trained at Ferrari to drive the sports cars, but one of the cars was lost a few weeks after delivery. The 3999 chassis car ended up being the only remaining Ferrari in the fleet, remaining in operation between 1963 and 1968.





Auctioned in 1972, the sports car had a peaceful life after retirement, spending its days in a private collection and in the police museum. Also according to the announcement, this Ferrari is the only "civilian" car authorized to run in Italy with its colors and equipment from the times of police vehicle.
Along with the car, the buyer takes all the technical documentation of the factory and the times with the police, in addition to period images and a certificate proving the authenticity of the sports car, issued by Ferrari itself in 2014. 



The car appears with a mysterious warning of “ price on request". But just to give you an idea, a copy of the same color, year and version was sold at an auction in 2017 for 460 thousand euros (about R$ 2.7 million in current values-Brazil currency).

Autonews

AUTONEWS

Linking self-driving cars to traffic signals might help pedestrians give them the green light

Automated vehicles don't have human operators to communicate their driving intentions to pedestrians at intersections. My team's research on pedestrians' perceptions of safety shows their trust of traffic lights tends to override their fear of self-driving cars. This suggests one way to help pedestrians trust and safely interact with autonomous vehicles may be to link the cars' driving behavior to traffic lights.
In a recent study by my team at the University of Michigan, we focused on communication via a vehicle's driving behavior to study how people might react to self-driving cars in different situations. We set up a virtual-reality simulator that let people experience street intersections and make choices about whether to cross the street. In different simulations, self-driving cars acted either more or less like an aggressive driver. In some cases there was a traffic light controlling the intersection.
In the more aggressive mode, the car would stop abruptly at the last possible second to let the pedestrian cross. In the less aggressive mode, it would begin braking earlier, indicating to pedestrians that it would stop for them. Aggressive driving reduced pedestrians' trust in the autonomous vehicle and made them less likely to cross the street.
However, this was true only when there was no traffic light. When there was a light, pedestrians focused on the traffic light and usually crossed the street regardless whether the car was driving aggressively. This indicates that pedestrians' trust of traffic lights outweighs any concerns about how self-driving cars behave.
Introducing autonomous vehicles might be one way to make roads more safe. Drivers and pedestrians often use nonverbal communication to negotiate safe passage at crosswalks, though, and cars without drivers can't communicate in the same way. This could in turn make pedestrians and other road users less safe, especially since autonomous vehicles aren't yet designed to communicate with systems that make streets safer, such as traffic lights. 

Other research being done in the field
Some researchers have tried to find ways for self-driving cars to communicate with pedestrians. They have tried to use parts that cars already have, such as headlights, or add new ones, such as LED signs on the vehicle.
However, unless every car does it the same way, this strategy won't work. For example, unless automakers agreed on how headlights should communicate certain messages or the government set rules, it would be impossible to make sure pedestrians understood the message. The same holds for new technology like LED message boards on cars. There would need to be a standard set of messages all pedestrians could understand without learning multiple systems.
Even if the vehicles communicated in the same way, several cars approaching an intersection and making independent decisions about stopping could cause confusion. Imagine three to five autonomous vehicles approaching a crosswalk, each displaying its own message. The pedestrian would need to read each of these messages, on moving cars, before deciding whether to cross.

What's next
Our results suggest a better approach would be to have the car communicate directly with the traffic signal, for two reasons.
First, pedestrians already look to and understand current traffic lights.
Second, a car can tell what a traffic light is doing much sooner by checking in over a wireless network than by waiting until its camera can see the light.
This technology is still being developed, and scholars at Michigan's Mcity mobility research center and elsewhere are studying problems like how to send and prioritize messages between cars and signals. It might effectively put self-driving cars under traffic lights' control, with ways to adapt to current conditions. For example, a traffic light might tell approaching cars that it was about to turn red, giving them more time to stop. On a slippery road, a car might ask the light to stay green a few seconds longer so an abrupt stop isn't necessary.
To make this real, engineers and policymakers would need to work together on developing technologies and setting rules. Each would have to better understand what the other does. At the same time, they would need to understand that not every solution works in every region or society. For example, the best way for traffic lights and self-driving cars to communicate in Detroit might not work in Mumbai, where roads and driving practices are far different.

Provided by The Conversation

AUTONEWS

Study shows senior drivers prefer watching videos to learn driver assistance Technologies

Most vehicles today come with their fair share of bells and whistles, ranging from adaptive cruise-control features to back-up cameras. These advanced driver-assistance systems, or ADAS, are in place to make driving easier and safer. However, increasing evidence shows that older seniors, who are also an age group at higher risk for motor vehicle crashes, do not use many of these driver-assistance technologies.
In a new study, research partners from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute and Texas A&M University have found that older adults are more likely to use ADAS if they are taught how to use these technologies through interactive videos rather than through manuals or live demonstrations. They also reported that once ADAS-trained, older adults find it easier to access and use driver-assistance technologies without compromising their attention on the road.
"Older adults have a higher rate of vehicle crashes because of degradations in physical, mental and motor capabilities," said Maryam Zahabi, assistant professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and director of the human-system interaction (HSI) laboratory. "With ADAS, some of the mental workload related to driving can be taken off, and we've shown that instructional videos are the best way to introduce ADAS to seniors. We hope that this insight will lead to better video-based training materials for this age group so that senior safety while driving is enhanced."
Their findings were published in the January issue of the journal Applied Ergonomics.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2016, 18% of all motor vehicle crashes involved people 65 years and older. With the population of seniors expected to increase in the decades to come, the number of people vulnerable to vehicle crashes is also estimated to increase proportionately.
"Think of the risk for motor crashes as a U-shaped curve," Zahabi said. "Following the shape of the letter 'U', the chances of crashes among younger adults and teens is very high. Then with age, the risk for crashes lowers and remains at a small, relatively constant value until about 60 years, after which it shoots up once again."
Risk of a vehicle crash among seniors is largely related to the fact that they find it difficult to perform multiple activities while driving, for example, starting the adaptive cruise control while still paying attention to the road and looking up to see what is the acceptable speed limit. While ADAS is designed to relieve some of the driving-related tasks, these technologies need to be introduced to seniors in a manner that is conducive to learning at their age, Zahabi said.
Ashley Shortz, a graduate student researcher from the NeuroErgonomics Laboratory at Texas A&M, narrowed down four main ways to provide ADAS instructions—manuals, videos, driving simulators and live demonstrations from an instructor, based on prior research and existing training best practices. However, little is known about which one of these methods best fit seniors.
"More importantly, while there is substantial evidence that men and women adopt different learning strategies, research on ADAS design and training delivery methods have largely overlooked such gender differences," saidRanjana Mehta, associate professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and director of the NeuroErgonomics Laboratory.
To address this, the researchers included 10 male and 10 female drivers, ages 58-68 for their study. For this age group, the team concentrated on video-based and demonstration-based ADAS training rather than manuals or driving simulators. Their choice was guided by prior studies showing that drivers don't read detailed instructions from manuals or have easy access to driving simulators.
After receiving training for either adaptive cruise control or the lane-keeping assist system, which are both popular ADAS technologies, the participants' driving performance was evaluated in a laboratory-housed driving simulator that provided an immersive experience of driving along a roadway.
Then, while the drivers switched between ADAS and manual control, the researchers kept track of where the drivers directed their gaze and the activity in the part of the brain that regulates attention and mental workload, among other things.
The team found that for both male and female drivers, video-based training was more effective than demonstration-based training for introducing ADAS technologies to seniors. However, the researchers also found some subtle gender differences.
"We were surprised to find that while male drivers were faster at activating ADAS, they were also the most distracted by it," Zahabi said. "So, from a neurological standpoint, older female drivers were more efficient at using ADAS technologies and reducing their mental workload after video-based traThe researchers noted that more comprehensive studies involving a larger number of older adults, a broader age range of participants and a wider option of driving scenarios still need to be done. They said that these studies might shed light on other gender-based differences that may have not been uncovered in their present study.
"This finding is important as it not only emphasizes how training methods impact different groups of people, but also provides the foundation to develop more equitable, and thus more effective, training paradigms" Mehta said.
But even if preliminary, Zahabi said that their results still indicate why videos work best for teaching ADAS to seniors.
"Videos, we think, are effective because they can be paused, rewound and reviewed multiple times, giving seniors a sense of control over what they are learning and at what pace," Zahabi said. "Our work does not diminish the importance of manuals and other forms of instructional materials, instead our results challenge the way we normally think about communicating ADAS technology-related information to seniors."
The results of their work have important real-world implications.
"These results and others from the project have already been shared with driver education and training agencies throughout the United States and abroad to aid in the design of curriculum for all ages. This was a great opportunity for work conducted at Texas A&M to impact driver safety," said Michael Manser, senior research scientist for the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. 

Provided by Texas A&M University