VOLVO TEACHES PUPILS ROAD SAFETY
December 6, 2018
WHEELS
Hello Alwyn, Your article on electric motors inspired me to try once again to interest the automobile moguls in my engine design. Hybrid and pure electric cars still comprise only about two percent of total car sales worldwide, so we can expect to see the internal combustion engine powering our vehicles for many a year yet. But its continued use requires that we improve the electronic ignition plus the very complex system of electronic fuel injection. I propose a rotary valve system built into the cylinder head, be they of lightweight metal or ceramic construction, sealed by ceramic seals and driven by stepper motors controlled by the engine management computer. This frees the engine designer to exactly control valve timing to match demand and affords higher compression ratios as well as revolutions. As there is a simple port through the rotary valve it will be opened twice for every revolution and consequently it has to rotate at half the speed of the conventional camshaft, making the drive motors speed and duty easier. This invention will be known as the EVA-lution engine for Electronic Valve actuation. Apart from half the parts, benefits include: Compression ratios of much higher values are possible. • Much higher peak rev limits with no possibility of valve float. • Cleaner combustion chamber. No valves intruding into it. • Lower overall engine profile and mass. • Cylinder number selection is simple. • There will be a much greater potential for engine tuning . State of tune could be selected by the driver and a new graphic gauge be added to the instrument array for real time information on performance & economy. • No possibility of valve to piston contact in the event of a broken cambelt or camchain.
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Tough new Roof Virgin trails around Ramabanta on ‘back-to-roots’ Motul Roof of Africa ALWYN VILJOEN THE iconic Motul Roof of Africa started today, to finish on Saturday. After a recce of the 2018 route, crosscountry specialist Kenny Gilbert said Gold Class riders who found the 2017 route “too easy” will not have similar complaints for the 51st edition. “This is how the Roof used to be, and should be! Everything is ridable, but you’re going to sweat from start to finish,” said Gilbert on Tuesday. The majority of this year’s route will consist of virgin trails in and around Ramabanta — an area of Lesotho that Gilbert described as “every enduro rider’s paradise”. “It was exciting to head into the unknown — there was single track I’ve never experienced before, and a lot of wild, overgrown terrain to navigate through. The new climbs are tricky because there isn’t always a clear line to follow, so I just stuck to what my GPS was telling me and kept moving. I wasn’t surprised by anything — the Roof of Africa is all about navigating, and I always knew it was going to be
WORLD’S STRONGEST BAKKIE
The 600 workers at Rivian, an electric vehicle start-up with deep pockets based in Plymouth, Michigan, have finally launched the much anticipated R1T, an all-electric, luxury five-seat bakkie at the LA Auto Show, where it promptly stole the show — and no wonder. With a range of over 640 km, a wading depth of 1 metre, and a 147 kW quad-motor with precise torque vectoring of the 3,500 Nm of grounded torque per wheel (14 000 Nm of total torque for the full vehicle), the R1T does the 0-100 km/h dash in less than four seconds and reaches 160 km/h in less than seven seconds. It can work too, able to pull 4,9 tons, with the momentum of such an extraheavy trailer just adding to the vehicle’s power regeneration. Three battery sizes are planned, with the 180 kWh and 135 kWh available at launch and a 105 kWh being made available by June. Pricing for the R1T starts at $61 500 after Federal Tax credit in the U.S. (R843 481 in SA before any import taxes). CV Joint To compare, Ford’s F-150, which is the bestspeCialists selling vehicle overall in the States, has a base price of $27 705. for CV joints, ball joints, Rivian said it plans to deliver the first R1T late tie rod ends, wheel bearings. in 2020 and is taking $1 000 deposits for the 341 GReYlinG stReet bakkie and its sibling, the R1S, seve-seat SUV, Pmb. 033 342 9174/75 which is built on the same skateboard platform.
obstacles for the riders. Favourite is Wade Young, holder of the 2017 Roof of Africa title and winner of the Red Bull Romaniacs win earlier this season. Competitors like Travis Teasdale, Kyle Flanagan, Altus de Wet and Scott Bouverie will, however, make Young work for every minute in the lead. Teasdale narrowly missed the top step last year and Bouverie has had two podium finishes at the Roof before. Other riders on the Roof of Africa radar include the young and upcoming Matt Green and William Oosthuizen. After Oosthuizen’s solid National Enduro performance this year and Green’s fifth place at the renowned Red Bull Sea to Sky, both athletes certainly have the potential to cause an upset. This year, the Bronze entry has the newly-wed pair of Victoria Harcy and Matthew Caraway racing. Entering the Roof was on the top of the bucket list of these Americans. “Africa is a pretty exotic and exciting location, and very few people we know have raced the Roof before!” said Caraway.
Bikers kick-started the Motul Roof of Africa in Lesotho yesterday, with the organisers promising a tougher challenge on new routes and paths not ridden for eight years in the 51st edition. tough …” said Gilbert. Route director Peter Luck said the hard enduro this year has a new start and finish at St Andrews School in Ha Raboletsi, approximately 55 km from Maseru. An impressive 65% of the event will comprise trails that have not been used in the event before, and the
remainder of the route will take riders to sections of Lesotho that have not been ridden in the past eight years. Another change set to shake the Roof of Africa is a break away from the traditional Round the Houses start, which will be held mostly on dirt, with more viewing points for the fans and
Morgado wins 5th world champ title STUART JOHNSTON DURBAN’s veteran kart racer Cristiano Morgado (39) won the 2018 Rotax DD2 Masters Grand Final world championship in Conde-Paraiba, Brazil on Saturday, December 1, 2018. He was hounded all the way to the flag of the 20-lap final, initially by fellow South African Michael Stephen of Port Elizabeth, and then by Antti Ollik-
ainen of Finland and Fraser Hart of New Zealand. Stephen finished in a close fifth place behind Mathew Hamilton of New Zealand and the top five were covered by just five seconds. Morgado’s win was a record-making fifth World Championship karting title in the annual Rotax Grand Finals, which were first held in Puerto Rico in 2000. That event was won by another South African, Gavin Cronje, and Mor-
gado’s latest win brings the victory tally of South Africans in this international series to 13. More Rotax karting results on www.kart.co.za. Cristiano Morgado and his dad, Rui are all smiles after the Durban karter won a record fifth World Championship karting title in the annual Rotax Grand Finals.
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Reader moots a rotary valve system
Witness
(From left) Volvo parts manager Afzal Sindhi and Chelsea Chetty from M Padavatan Primary School with Volvo marketing director Valentia Hobbs. Chelsea’s colouring and drawing skills last month won an excursion for her classmates and teacher to visit the Volvo Production Plant in Umbogintwini. Her school was one of eight schools in KwaZulu-Natal that took part in Volvo’s Stop, Look and Wave initiative to teach road safety. “We want to help children understand how to act safely in traffic by teaching them three magical words: Stop, Look, and Wave. “This message can make a life-saving difference,” said Valentia Hobbs, marketing director at Volvo Trucks Southern Africa.She said an estimated 40% of road deaths in South Africa last year were pedestrian deaths, while 20,8% of the pedestrians killed in vehicle accidents were children 14 years or younger. The campaign was launched in South Africa in 2015 and regained momentum with the help of staff from Volvo truck centres and head office who went to local schools in their areas and did the training with the pupils. “We also offer the training material as a free download on our website and would like to encourage parents and community leaders alike to help us empower the nation’s children and save their lives,” said Hobbs. The training material has been specially developed to facilitate dialogues with the children in a fun and interactive manner through various song and dance activities. “As one of the country’s leading vehicle manufacturers, we believe it is our obligation and privilege to campaign for more awareness around road safety, especially when it comes to children,” she said, adding the Stop, Look and Wave has so far we have reached 11 453 children. — WR. .
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