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Elfin MS8 Clubman
The Elfin MS8 Clubman is a sports car, successor to the Elfin MS7, a Repco-Holden V8 powered Group A Sports Car which won the 1975 Australian Sports Car Championship and the 1976 Australian Tourist Trophy. Sales started in July 2006 with the Streamliner selling for $119,990 and the Clubman for $98,990. Production will be approximately 100 per year between the two models. UK sales began in April 2007, with importing handled by Walkinshaw Performance. Design The Elfin MS8 Clubman model has been designed by Elfin Sports Cars and styled by the Holden Design team when Mike Simcoe was Styling Director. The cars were revealed at the 2004 Melbourne International Motor Show. Specification levels The Clubman comes in three specifications: Sportster, Roadster and Racer. All are open wheeled configuration. The Sportster is a road registered entry level model with small aeroscreen. The Roadster adds to the Sportster model a full windscreen, removable door panels and two-piece tonneau a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elfin Cars
Elfin Sports Cars Pty Ltd (formerly known as Elfin Sports Cars) is an Australian car manufacturer company that was founded by Garrie Cooper. It has been an Australian manufacturer of sports cars and motor racing cars since 1959. Elfin Sports Cars is currently owned by the estate of former British racing driver Tom Walkinshaw, through his company Walkinshaw Performance which also owns Holden Special Vehicles. It was previously owned by businessmen and historic racing enthusiasts Bill Hemming and Nick Kovatch (who remains as technical director) who purchased it in 1998. Elfin is the oldest continuous sports car maker in Australia and one of the most successful with 29 championships and major Grand Prix titles. The original factory was located at Conmurra Avenue, Edwardstown in suburban Adelaide, South Australia. The company is currently located at Braeside, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. History The company was founded in South Australia as Elfin Sports Cars in October 1959 b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limited Slip Differential
A limited-slip differential (LSD) is a type of differential that allows its two output shafts to rotate at different speeds but limits the maximum difference between the two shafts. Limited-slip differentials are often known by the generic trademark Positraction, a brand name owned by General Motors. In an automobile, such limited-slip differentials are sometimes used in place of a standard differential, where they convey certain dynamic advantages, at the expense of greater complexity. Early history In 1932, Ferdinand Porsche designed a Grand Prix racing car for the Auto Union company. The high power of the design caused one of the rear wheels to experience excessive wheel spin at any speed up to . In 1935, Porsche commissioned the engineering firm ZF to design a limited-slip differential to improve performance. The ZF "sliding pins and cams" became available, and one example was the Type B-70 used during the Second World War in the military VWs ( Kübelwagen and Schwimmwa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cars Of Australia
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as the birth year of the car, when German inventor Carl Benz patented his Benz Patent-Motorwagen. Cars became widely available during the 20th century. One of the first cars affordable by the masses was the 1908 Model T, an American car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. Cars were rapidly adopted in the US, where they replaced animal-drawn carriages and carts. In Europe and other parts of the world, demand for automobiles did not increase until after World War II. The car is considered an essential part of the developed economy. Cars have controls for driving, parking, passenger comfort, and a variety of lights. Over the decades, additional features and controls have been added to vehicles, making them progressively more complex. These i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brake Bias
The brake balance or brake bias of a vehicle is the distribution of brake force at the front and rear tires, and may be given as the percentage distributed to the front brakes (e.g. 52%) or as the ratio of front and rear percentages (e.g. 52/48). The braking balance affects the driving characteristics in terms of how fast the vehicle can brake, how the vehicle can take corners, and tire wear. The optimal brake balance can vary between circuits, weather conditions and driving styles. On race cars, the brake balance is often part of the racing setup, and in formula car racing it is regularly adjusted during the course of an entire lap. In some cases, the brake balance may be adjusted to match the traction (grip) of the vehicle during braking, which usually means distributing a greater braking force to the front (for example 55/45). In other cases, it may be desirable for the brake balance to be the more similar at the front and rear (e.g. 50/50) for the tires to last longer, which m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Disc Brakes
A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hold it stationary. The energy of motion is converted into waste heat which must be dispersed. Hydraulically actuated disc brakes are the most commonly used form of brake for motor vehicles, but the principles of a disc brake are applicable to almost any rotating shaft. The components include the disc, master cylinder, and caliper (which contains a cylinder and two brake pads) on both sides of the disc. Design The development of disc-type brakes began in England in the 1890s. In 1902, the Lanchester Motor Company designed brakes that looked and operated in a similar way to a modern disc-brake system even though the disc was thin and a cable activated the brake pad. Other designs were not practical or widely available in cars for another 6 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shock Absorbers
A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulic device designed to absorb and damp shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy (typically heat) which is then dissipated. Most shock absorbers are a form of dashpot (a damper which resists motion via viscous friction). Description Pneumatic and hydraulic shock absorbers are used in conjunction with cushions and springs. An automobile shock absorber contains spring-loaded check valves and orifices to control the flow of oil through an internal piston (see below). One design consideration, when designing or choosing a shock absorber, is where that energy will go. In most shock absorbers, energy is converted to heat inside the viscous fluid. In hydraulic cylinders, the hydraulic fluid heats up, while in air cylinders, the hot air is usually exhausted to the atmosphere. In other types of shock absorbers, such as electromagnetic types, the dissipated energy can be s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suspension (vehicle)
Suspension is the system of tires, tire air, springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels and allows relative motion between the two. Suspension systems must support both road holding/ handling and ride quality, which are at odds with each other. The tuning of suspensions involves finding the right compromise. It is important for the suspension to keep the road wheel in contact with the road surface as much as possible, because all the road or ground forces acting on the vehicle do so through the contact patches of the tires. The suspension also protects the vehicle itself and any cargo or luggage from damage and wear. The design of front and rear suspension of a car may be different. History An early form of suspension on ox-drawn carts had the platform swing on iron chains attached to the wheeled frame of the carriage. This system remained the basis for most suspension systems until the turn of the 19th century, although the iron cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cruise Control
Cruise control (also known as speed control, cruise command, autocruise, or tempomat) is a system that automatically controls the speed of a motor vehicle. The system is a servomechanism that takes over the throttle of the car to maintain a steady speed as set by the driver. History Speed control existed in early automobiles such as the Wilson-Pilcher in the early 1900s. They had a lever on the steering column that could be used to set the speed to be maintained by the engine. In 1908, the Peerless included a governor to maintain the speed of the engine through an extra throttle lever on the steering wheel. Peerless successfully used a flyball governor. They advertised their system as being able to "maintain speed whether uphill or down". A governor was used by James Watt and Matthew Boulton in 1788 to control steam engines, but the use of governors dates at least back to the 17th century. On an engine, the governor uses centrifugal force to adjust throttle position to ada ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anti-lock Braking System
An anti-lock braking system (ABS) is a safety anti-skid braking system used on aircraft and on land vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. ABS operates by preventing the wheels from locking up during braking, thereby maintaining tractive contact with the road surface and allowing the driver to maintain more control over the vehicle. ABS is an automated system that uses the principles of threshold braking and cadence braking, techniques which were once practiced by skillful drivers before ABS was widespread. ABS operates at a much faster rate and more effectively than most drivers could manage. Although ABS generally offers improved vehicle control and decreases stopping distances on dry and some slippery surfaces, on loose gravel or snow-covered surfaces ABS may significantly increase braking distance, while still improving steering control. Since ABS was introduced in production vehicles, such systems have become increasingly sophisticated and effective. Mode ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traction Control System
A traction control system (TCS), also known as ASR (from german: Antriebsschlupfregelung, lit=drive slippage regulation), is typically (but not necessarily) a secondary function of the electronic stability control (ESC) on production motor vehicles, designed to prevent loss of traction (i.e., wheelspin) of the driven road wheels. TCS is activated when throttle input and engine power and torque transfer are mismatched to the road surface conditions. The intervention consists of one or more of the following: *Brake force applied to one or more wheels *Reduction or suppression of spark sequence to one or more cylinders *Reduction of fuel supply to one or more cylinders *Closing the throttle, if the vehicle is fitted with drive by wire throttle *In turbocharged vehicles, a boost control solenoid is actuated to reduce boost and therefore engine power. Typically, traction control systems share the electrohydraulic brake actuator (which does not use the conventional master cylinder and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gearbox
Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differential, and final drive shafts. In the United States the term is sometimes used in casual speech to refer more specifically to the gearbox alone, and detailed usage differs. The transmission reduces the higher engine speed to the slower wheel speed, increasing torque in the process. Transmissions are also used on pedal bicycles, fixed machines, and where different rotational speeds and torques are adapted. Often, a transmission has multiple gear ratios (or simply "gears") with the ability to switch between them as the speed varies. This switching may be done manually (by the operator) or automatically (by a control unit). Directional (forward and reverse) control may also be provided. Single-ratio transmissions also exist, which simply chan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GM LS Engine
"LS engine" is the colloquial name given to the third and fourth generation small-block V8 gasoline engine used in General Motors' vehicles. The name evolved from the need to differentiate the Gen 3/Gen 4 small blocks from the original Gen 1/Gen 2 small blocks released in 1954, which are commonly referred to as "Small Block Chevrolets". The "LS" name originates from the engine RPO code of the first Gen 3 small block, the LS1, introduced in the 1997 Corvette. The term "LS engine" is used to describe any Gen 3 or Gen 4 Small Block Chevrolet, including those that do not specifically include "LS" as part of their RPO code. Sometimes referred to as an "LSx", with the lower case "x" standing in for one of the many RPO code variations of the motor, the term can cause confusion since GM now sells an aftermarket LS cylinder block named "LSX" with a capital "X". The original RPO code "LS1" is still sometimes used, if not confusingly, to describe the entire Gen 3/Gen 4 engine family. LS ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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