It's fascinating to listen the +Audi International flywheel as the R18 e-tron makes its way around the track. Oddly the the whistle-like sound goes down in pitch as the flywheel spins up during braking while it goes up during the acceleration discharge.
#lemans24h #lemans #audir18etronquattro
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90 minutes in and it looks like the +Nissan DeltaWing is having issues with its gearbox actuation system.
Meanwhile the four hybrids lead the way with the Audis ahead of the Toyotas and Aston Martin, Corvette, Porsche and Ferrari battling it out in GT
#lemans
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It' looks like the Audis may have a very important advantage over the Toyotas at Le Mans today. As the cars were doing their second round of pit stops Johnny Mowlem mentioned that the gas-hybrid electric Toyotas were running 10 laps per tank while the diesel diesel-hybrid Audis were able to go 11 laps.
At a race like Le Mans where the track is 8.5 miles long, going an extra lap between stops can make a huge difference over 24 hours. When the cars are being fueled, no other work like tire changes can be done until the fueling is finished. The longer they can run between stops, the better the odds of victory. This has been a critical part of Audis success over the past decade.
#lemans #audi #toyota #fuelefficiency
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Before the start of the race in France today, +Mazda USA announced that it would be offering a racing version of its new SkyActive-D diesel engine for use at the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Until now only +Audi International and +Peugeot have raced diesels at Le Mans and only in the top LMP1 class. These have all been dedicated racing engines in factory built cars.
As it has so often in the past, Mazda is taking a different path. Its new diesel will be conform to the lates LMP2 rules that require less expensive production-based engines. If this engine is successful we could see quite a few more diesels at the French enduro next year.
I'll be curious to see if Dyson Racing switches over to the Mazda diesel next year for its ALMS machines. For the past several years, Dyson has run Mazda-powered Lola coupes running on biobutanol.
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Unfortunately +Highcroft Racing isn't posting anything here about the progress of the +Nissan DeltaWing but they are tweeting from the track at https://twitter.com/#!/highcroftracing.
Nissan – 24 Hour of Le Mans
June 2012
Photo: Drew Gibson / Nissan
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On the Le Mans Live feed, Johnny Mowlem is doing the English commentary right now. I had a chance to interview Johnnny back in 2009 when he was driving for Corsa Motorsports in the American Le Mans Series. At the time Corsa was getting ready for its first race with a hybrid LMP1 car.
The hybrid electric system was developed by Zytek, a UK-based engineering firm with a long history of developing hybrid drive systems.
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Green Fuels Forecast
Green Fuels Forecast, web-based coverage of the alternative fuel automotive sector including batteries, electric and hybrid drive, diesel, hydrogen and biofuels
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The 24 Hours of Le Mans is underway and you can follow the live timing and video stream from the cars at the official website.
After 25 minutes, three of the +Audi USA R18s are up front with the #1 hybrid leading the way. The +TOYOTA TS030s are 4th and 5th with the last Audi rounding out the top six. In GT, the Aston Martin Vantage is in a close battle with Oliver Gavin's Corvette with a Ferrari 458 in 3rd.
At this point, the +Highcroft Racing +Nissan DeltaWing is running 30th overall.
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ALMS Official · Aston Martin · Audi Sport · Corvette Racing · Dunlop · Flying Lizard · History · JMB Racing · JRM · Krohn Racing · Level 5 Motorsport · Michelin · Nissan · OAK Racing · Oreca · Pescaro…
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I suggest we ban all Republican men from legislating on anything to do with women's health
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Unless something goes catastrophically wrong, odds are that either an +Audi International R18 or a +TOYOTA TS030 will be first across the finish line on Sunday afternoon at Le Mans. The Audis and Toyotas occupy the first six slots in the starting order with the 7th place Strakka Racing Honda more than 3 seconds back.
The electro-mechanical flywheel hybrid system has been proven to be reliable in the Porsche 911 GT3R hybrid http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/alternative-fuel/hybrids/porsche-911-gt3r-hybrid-flywheel
over the past two years and with Audi's experience and expert preparation, I wouldn't expect them to fall short mechanically. Accidents of course are another situation but they can't be foreseen.
The big question mark is the Toyotas. Over the previous five years, the Peugeot 908 diesels consistently had more outright speed than the Audis but they only managed to win once at Le Mans, often falling victim to some mechanical or electrical malady. Toyota had similar issues during their last Le Mans effort in the 1990s. Only 48 hours left until we find out if they have turned things around.
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Why lock into a solution that only works with Apple devices when there is a whole wide world of other phones (notably +Android and to a much less degree Windows phone and Blackberry) out there?
The whole point of SYNC was to provide a connectivity platform that can be adapted and extended to new technologies from multiple vendors as they arrive.
#ford #siri
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Toyota (NYSE: TM), Honda (NYSE: HMC) and General Motors (NYSE: GM) are among several automakers that are embracing Apple's voice-activated technology. But Ford (NYSE: F), which already has an exclusiv…
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