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FE ATURESmaller engines please!One of the major challenges facing the automotive industry for the future is how to make car enginessmaller and more environmentally friendly, while providing the power and driveability that motorists havecome to expect from smaller cars. The progress of E-Mobility (the fancy term for electric cars) is steadilymoving forward, but it will be several years yet before fuel powered engines are in any way superseded.While making engine capacities and physical sizes smaller and smaller may seem simple enough, whenyou factor in all the challenges faced by the automotive engineers of today and tomorrow, several majortechnological obstacles need to be overcome.This hasn’t been as simple as simply downsizing engine designs. In order to achieve the levels of powerand comfort required from modern compact cars, things such as variable valve control systems, smallbut incredibly effective turbo chargers and super chargers, along with complex thermal managementsystems, vibration damping solutions and friction reduction technologies have needed to be found andperfected for both the engine and the drive train components mated to it. This is technical jargon forthe need to be able to change the real time air and fuel mix an engine requires relating to the drivingconditions (valves), the ability to boost air into an engine so it runs faster on less fuel (turbo), the ability tokeep the engine at its best operating temperature (thermal) and the ability to keep engine movement orshaking to a minimum (damping) along being able to match this with the clutch, gearbox and differentialcomponents (drivetrain).FE ATUREFirstly and most obviously, smaller engines mean less capacity or power and fewer cylinders, which canalso translate to less comfort through vibration and harsh engine response, leading to inferior vehicledynamics. The best way to describe this is like riding a two stroke trail bike. They can be either veryslow or incredible loud and fast in a neck flinging instant. The automotive markets of Europe, Asia andAustralia demand smaller engines but they still want things like six speed automatic transmissions, powersteering, air-conditioning and the smooth driving characteristics that they have become accustomed toby driving the now normal four, six and largely unwanted eight cylinder larger family cars.The developments made with four cylinder engines over the decades have been extraordinary, withmany compact cars achieving more than respectable levels of performance, reliability, driveability andcomfort. To meet the ever increasing market demands for more fuel efficient cars, three and even twocylinder engines are being increasingly used in compact vehicles around the world. Engine capacities ofone litre and smaller are also in constant development overseas. These are mated with turbo chargersand all manner of light weight and friction resistant componentry to meet motorist expectations.Another challenge facing engine engineers is the limited amount of space being made available toaccommodate engines by the manufacturers of modern compact cars. You may have noticed the enginebays of cars becoming smaller and smaller, requiring engineers to take this into account. Space can havea dramatic effect to an engine’s operating efficiency and it also requires the assembly of these enginesto be more modular in order to fit within the space required.So the next time you get into a compact car and cruise along the freeway at 100kph with minimal noiseand in comfort, getting outstanding fuel economy, have a think about the work that has gone intomaking that a reality, from an engine that in some cases is small enough for you to fit in your luggage!Now think about what could be ahead tomorrow as e-mobility comes to the fore, then you will be readingabout the challenges to extend battery life…12 CAPRICORN IGNITION APRIL 2013