![Jcbdieselmax](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Jcbdieselmax.jpg)
The JCB Dieselmax is a
diesel-engined '
streamliner
A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating wikt:streamline, streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "High-speed rail, bullet trai ...
' car designed for the purpose of breaking the
land speed record
The land speed record (or absolute land speed record) is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C ("Special Vehicles") flying start regula ...
for a diesel-engined vehicle.
The car was built for
JCB, a British multinational equipment company. As of 2018, the car holds the world diesel-powered land speed record, having been driven to over by Wing Commander
Andy Green in 2006.
Design
The car is powered by two specially-tuned versions of the production JCB444
powerplant, developing up to each (over five times the power output of the production version with 90 psi (6 bar) of boost) and featuring four cylinders and 5 litres of displacement, accompanied by
two stage turbochargers,
intercooler
An intercooler is a heat exchanger used to cool a gas after compression. Often found in turbocharged engines, intercoolers are also used in air compressors, air conditioners, refrigeration and gas turbines.
Internal combustion engines
Mo ...
and
aftercooler. One of the dual engines drives the front wheels while the other drives the rear.
Each engine is rev-limited to 3800 rpm.
As the size of the car prohibited meaningful
wind tunnel
Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...
testing, the
streamlined
Streamlines, streaklines and pathlines are field lines in a fluid flow.
They differ only when the flow changes with time, that is, when the flow is not steady.
Considering a velocity vector field in three-dimensional space in the framework of ...
shape of the car was refined entirely through the use of
computational fluid dynamics
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical analysis and data structures to analyze and solve problems that involve fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the calculations required to simulate th ...
by
MIRA Ltd
HORIBA MIRA Ltd. (formerly the Motor Industry Research Association) is an automotive engineering and development consultancy company headquartered near Nuneaton in Warwickshire, United Kingdom. It provides product engineering, research, testing, ...
, which has enabled the car to obtain a very low
coefficient of drag
In fluid dynamics, the drag coefficient (commonly denoted as: c_\mathrm, c_x or c_) is a dimensionless quantity that is used to quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment, such as air or water. It is used in the drag e ...
of only 0.147 and a C
dA value (drag coefficient × frontal area) of only 0.129 m
2. The fuel tank, which holds only 9 litres (2.38 U.S. gallons), is located directly behind the carbon fiber cockpit. The fully laden weight of the vehicle, including fuel, oil, ice, water coolant and the driver, is slightly less than 2,700 kg.
The chassis was designed and built by Coventry-based engineering company
Visioneering for
JCB, with engine development undertaken by Sussex-based
Ricardo
Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname.
People Given name
*Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portugu ...
. The electrical system for the vehicle was supplied by
R&D Vehicle Systems Ltd under contract to Visioneering.
Ron Ayers
Ronald Ayers (born 1932) is an English engineer who was responsible for the aerodynamics of the land speed record-holding vehicles, ThrustSSC and JCB Dieselmax, and is chief Aerodynamicist for the Bloodhound SSC.
Early life and career
Born in Lo ...
led work on the aerodynamics, having previously worked on the
ThrustSSC
ThrustSSC, Thrust SSC or Thrust SuperSonic Car is a British jet car developed by Richard Noble, Glynne Bowsher, Ron Ayers, and Jeremy Bliss.
Thrust SSC holds the world land speed record, set on 15 October 1997, and driven by Andy Green, w ...
land speed record car.
During the 2006
Bonneville Speed Week
Bonneville Speedway (also known as the Bonneville Salt Flats Race Track) is an area of the Bonneville Salt Flats northeast of Wendover, Utah, that is marked out for motor sports. It is particularly noted as the venue for numerous land speed recor ...
and subsequent
FIA
FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used.
Fia or FIA may also refer to: People
* Fia Backst ...
record runs, the car was driven by
Andy Green, a serving
RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
Officer who previously broke, and still holds, the absolute land speed record with
ThrustSSC
ThrustSSC, Thrust SSC or Thrust SuperSonic Car is a British jet car developed by Richard Noble, Glynne Bowsher, Ron Ayers, and Jeremy Bliss.
Thrust SSC holds the world land speed record, set on 15 October 1997, and driven by Andy Green, w ...
.
Performance
The car began initial testing on 20 July 2006 on the runway at
RAF Wittering
Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford, Lincolnshire, Sta ...
with the lower-power version of the JCB444 engine, the team slowly ramping up the speed to prove the chassis and engines. They eventually achieved a speed of over on 30 July 2006. Two days later, the car was disassembled ready to be flown to
Wendover Airport
Wendover Airport is a county-owned, public-use airport located one nautical mile (2 km) southeast of the central business district of Wendover, city on the western edge of Tooele County, Utah, United States.
Description
The air ...
,
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, on the 8th of August. On 13 August 2006, after re-assembling and re-testing the car, the Dieselmax made its first official run on the
Bonneville Salt Flats
The Bonneville Salt Flats are a densely packed salt pan in Tooele County in northwestern Utah. A remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, it is the largest of many salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake. It is public land managed by the Bur ...
as part of
Speed Week
Bonneville Speedway (also known as the Bonneville Salt Flats Race Track) is an area of the Bonneville Salt Flats northeast of Wendover, Utah, that is marked out for motor sports. It is particularly noted as the venue for numerous land speed recor ...
, eventually attaining an average speed of to take the SCTA-BNI event record for an 'AA/DS' Diesel Streamliner.
On 22 August 2006, after being re-fitted with 'LSR' versions of the JCB444 engines,
the JCB Dieselmax car broke the official FIA diesel engine land speed record, attaining a speed of 328.767 mph (529 km/h). 24 hours later the JCB Dieselmax car broke its own record, achieving a speed of 350.092 mph (563.418 km/h) over a distance of 1 mile on 23 August 2006.
Before attaining these speeds, the Dieselmax was pushed from behind, by a
JCB Fastrac
The JCB Fastrac is a high-speed agricultural tractor series manufactured by JCB Landpower, part of the JCB group.
Production began in 1991, with continual development to the present day. Generally the maximum speed of most models is , but sl ...
, until it hit where it engaged first gear.
Before the JCB Dieselmax records, the diesel land speed record was 235.756 mph (380 km/h), set by American Virgil Snyder, in the Thermo King streamliner on 25 August 1973.
Future
In a live interview from Utah on
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
, Green said that the car was not running at its full potential, due to problems finding suitable tires and that this speed was achieved while the car was still in fifth gear (the car has six). He also reported that the vehicle traveled 11 miles (18 km) on about a U.S. gallon (3.8 L) of fuel. The fuel tank holds just 9 L while the ice tank, used for cooling, holds 180 L.
In 2016 a ten-year anniversary celebration was held, where Lord Bamford expressed regret that the record had not been beaten and indicated that a fresh attempt could be made if the JCB record was broken.
Although JCB have not made any official statements on the subject of a return to Bonneville, JCB Group Engineering Director Tim Leverton has hinted that they are currently studying the development of tires that would allow them to overcome the nominal 'safety limit' they had placed upon their current Goodyear units.
See also
*
RAF High Speed Flight
The RAF High Speed Flight, sometimes known as '' 'The Flight' '', was a small flight of the Royal Air Force (RAF) formed for the purpose of competing in the Schneider Trophy contest for racing seaplanes during the 1920s. The flight was together ...
*
List of vehicle speed records
The following is a list of speed records for various types of vehicles. This list only presents the single greatest speed achieved in each broad record category; for more information on records under variations of test conditions, see the specific ...
References
External links
JCB Dieselmax Official Website*
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
,
Dieselmax breaks diesel speed record'
The engineering behind Dieselmax, ''Ingenia'' Magazine September 2007
RDVS - Dieselmax electrical system supplier
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jcb Dieselmax
Wheel-driven land speed record cars
JCB (company)
Streamliner cars