A feature article for SSGM magazine written in December 2009.

1. || NEW CAR TECH
What’s New in
Automotive Technology?
What technicians can expect from OEMs in the near future
By David Halpert, Assistant Editor
A
lthough exceptional training is engines (also known as gasoline direct ing in 10-15 per cent fuel efficiency.”
the cornerstone for any inde- injection) has resulted in auto manu- SIDI injection injects fuel via a
pendent service centre, one facturers finding innovative ways to common rail fuel line directly into the
thing that is constantly changing is OE cut down on greenhouse gases and less combustion chamber of each cylinder,
technology from automakers. Know- energy waste. as opposed to conventional multi-
ing what to expect will not only ensure “They’re squirting [fuel] right into point fuel injection that happens in
technicians will be prepared for the the combustion chamber. With an the intake tract, cylinder port. The
technology when it arrives in their internal combustion engine, they really petrol/gasoline is highly pressurised,
shop’s bays, but it will also guarantee waste a good portion of the thermal and—in addition to more precise tim-
keeping a repair job that might be lost energy that’s available in gasoline,” says ing from the vehicle’s ECU—SIDI
to a dealership service operation. Dave Vollmer, a technical instructor can increase a fuel injector from 50-70
for the Canadian Automotive Repair psi with conventional injection to
Spark Ignition Direct and Service (CARS) Council. “You’re 500-750 psi, allowing for drastically
Injection (SIDI) looking at 13 per cent of that energy improved driveability, reduced pump-
In the wake of new environmental propelling that vehicle. However, the ing loses, better breathability in the
legislation from the U.S., new model losses can range from 10 per cent for engine (volumetric efficiency), and
vehicles released after 2011 will have friction and 45 per cent for thermal overall reduced emissions.
to meet new, stringent fuel efficiency dynamic loses. When you can use a “I don’t know if it’s going to be
standards before they can be released smaller displacement engine, you can [in all cars], but it’s definitely going to
into the market, somewhere around reduce these friction loses. So engine take place with certain manufacturers’
45 miles per gallon. The move towards displacement is reduced by 30 per cent product lines. General Motors is saying
spark ignition direct injection (SIDI) and the friction can be accrued, result- that one in six vehicles they produce
(over 40 per cent for the year 2010)
is going to be equipped with a SIDI
system,” continues Vollmer.
Expect to see these spark ignition
direct injection systems in a wide range
of vehicles, from low-end cars, like
a 2.0-litre four cylinder in a Chevy
Cobalt to a 3.6-litre four cylinder in a
GMC Acadia.
Continuous Variable
Transmission (CVT)
Another popular technology techni-
cians are already seeing in their shops
is the use of Continuous Variable
Transmission (CVT). Such vehicles as
the Ford Focus, Toyota Highlander
and various hybrid/imports vehicles
have made the switch to CVT. These
changes include a different CVT chain
configuration as well as drives that
16 SSGM December 2009 www.ssgm.com

2. || NEW CAR TECH
switch from low to high gear more eas-
ily during engine operation.
“The whole idea behind it is sort of
Introducing a New Line along the same lines as trying to meet
of Premium Engine Oils emissions standards again by having a
transmission that can have infinite gear
ratios,” continues Vollmer.
There are two different designs uti-
Mobil Super 1000 lized for this transmission, a variable
Engineered to exceed
diameter (sometimes referred to as
OEM warranty a Reeves Drive) or a toroidal drive
requirements.
(sometimes referred to as a Roller
Drive). By having infinite gear ratios
you have an engine that does not
have to work as hard to keep within a
perfect optimum range. A CVT allows
the vehicle’s drive shaft to maintain a
constant angular velocity over a range
of output velocities, which results in
Engineered in Canada for the latest engine New cruise-control systems will use radar to
technology, Mobil Super 1000 exceeds OEM
improved fuel economy with the added
help make the ride not only smoother, but sup-
(Original Equipment Manufacturer) warranty benefit of allowing the engine to run
posedly safer by ensuring a safe distance is
for every major gasoline car and light-duty at its most efficient RPM over a range
maintained between vehicles.
truck manufacturer including turbo-charged of speeds.
engines. It sounds complicated, but much
of the technology is being discussed Lexus and other similar vehicles,” says
in-depth online and a savvy technician Vollmer. “I think most of this stuff
Mobil Super 2000 can get up-to-speed on the techni- is going to hit all vehicles from one
Engineered for high
cal aspects of this technology pretty end to the other. They can prevent
mileage vehicles and quickly. that statistically-proven 40 per cent
longer oil drain
intervals.
of accidents that happen while mak-
Collision Avoidance ing a lane change. If they can cut that
Systems down to 35 per cent, that would be a
The increased use of camera technol- huge step.”
ogy in today’s vehicles has led to many One of the more exciting systems
breakthroughs when it comes to safety, to come out of collision avoidance is
and it’s likely these systems (dubbed adaptive cruise control, designed so
‘collision avoidance’ or ‘crash avoid- a car owner can drive along and have
Engineered in Canada, Mobil Super 2000 is
ance’) will become standard as more a radar-based cruise control system
recommended for high mileage vehicles with
over 120,000 km and provides guaranteed oil new model vehicles are released into that’ll either keep a set distance or
drain protection for 10,000 km or 6 months, the market. timed interval from the car driving in
which ever comes first.* Some of these new features include, front. As a result, many systems such as
but are not limited to, backup cameras, the electronic throttle, anti-lock brakes
www.MobilOil.ca
adaptive cruise control, infrared night and stability/steering systems will be
vision, blind spot object detection, lane seamlessly integrated for a more effec-
departure warning systems, automated tive cruise control-based ride.
parking systems, pre-crash systems, and OEMs and technicians alike, how-
adaptive high beam assist. ever, are already seeing problems with
What technicians and shop owners some of these advanced systems on
are likely going to see is a trickle-down the road. For instance, lane detection
*Excludes severe service applications involving: racing and
commercial use; frequent towing or hauling; extremely dusty or
effect, where this technology will first systems don’t work well on gravel and
dirty conditions; or excessive idling. While under warranty change appear in higher-end cars but after snow-covered roads. Similarly, right/
oil at the manufacturer’s recommendation.
a time will migrate to a larger range left lane object detection and park
of commercial and more moderately- assist systems are more difficult to
Mobil, Mobil Super, Mobil 1 and the Pegasus design are
trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation or one of its subsidiaries.
priced vehicles. operate in Canadian winters where
Imperial Oil licensee. “It’s usually the higher-echelon snow mounds are an issue. It should
type vehicles, the upper-end ones that also be noted that the range or field of
see these luxury items first: Cadillac, these monitoring cameras varies from
18 SSGM December 2009 www.ssgm.com

3. || NEW CAR TECH
one automaker to another.
The greater question from a
safety standpoint is will motor-
ists become more complacent
while driving on the road, opt-
ing for the computer, for exam-
ple, to check blind spots rather
than the driver looking over
their shoulder.
“It’s not going to take
the place of what we’ve been
trained to do,” said Vollmer.
“It’s like ABS and air bags,
all of the sudden people think
they’re invincible, but if we
drive that vehicle beyond its
limits we can still have a roll- Fuel injection systems are about to change radically in
over and we can still die in order to meet new fuel-efficiency standards to be adopted
the vehicle. The idea of all of by the U.S.
these safety components is to
take into consideration what we’ve thermal energy from the heat sink
been taught through drive training and which now becomes the cold side.
experience on the road. These are just When the electrical current is reversed
secondary devices here to assist us.” the electrons will move to a lower
energy state and will release the heat
Thermo Electric Devices to the heat sink, and so that becomes
(TEDs) the hot side.”
While heated and cooled seats, for As a result of the Peltier circuit, the
example, have been around for several back rest and bottom seat can work
years technicians might be surprised to independently temperature-wise, mak-
find out that many new model vehicles ing it possible to get a cool back-rest
are using the same technology plug-in and a hot bottom seat operating on the
coolers use to keep foods and drinks same seat. Also, since temperature is
cold in summer. delivered by electrical current, little to
“Each seat is going to have a heated no A/C lines or plumbing is required
or cooled ventilation module, a blower and only a small amount of power
motor, a temperature sensor, and the (7-10 amps) is needed to keep the unit
thermo-electrical device (TED) itself. operational.
What that consists of is two ceramic “[With the Peltier circuit] you
wafers and a bismuth-teluride semi- have to maintain a temperature range
conductor that is sandwiched between between 37 degrees centrigrade all the
the plates, so the ceramic wafers act way up to 65 degrees centigrade. It’s a
as a heat sink,” Vollmer added. “The lot smaller, it is cheaper to design, and
Peltier circuit is a series of P-type and it’s more compact. I think the systems
N-type semiconductors and they’re all work fantastic in what they’re expected
connected in series. So all we do now to do. It’s very easy to achieve with
is apply current to that TED on one something so small.”
side and allow it to release that energy Keep in mind, these technologies
as heat while the other side will absorb represent a partial list of what’s com-
energy and get cold. ing out of OE in the near future. In
CALL TODAY: “By reversing the polarity of the fact, CARS-Council is uploading 60
1-888-224-3834 current, the hot and cold sides are new courses for the coming 2009-
reversed. It all has to do with elec- 2010 covering these and other new
trons moving from positive to nega- technologies, so be sure to also check
tive. Through that electrical conduc- their website for the upcoming training
Funded in part by the Government of tor the electrons will jump to the schedules (www.cars-council.ca).
Canada's Sector Council Program higher energy state and will absorb SSGM
20 SSGM December 2009 www.ssgm.com