KARLOVAČKA GIMNAZIJA SREMSKI KARLOVCI MATURSKI RAD IZ ENGLESKOG JEZIKA American cars that have changed the automobile industry Mentor: Učenik: Nebojša Pajić Aleksandar Poštić Sremski Karlovci, maj 2010. Contents Contents ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ 1 1. Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 3 2. The HEMI engine ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 4 3. The V8 engine ................................ ................................ ................................ ................... 5 4. Fresh from the assembly line ................................ ................................ .............................. 6 4.1. Basic information: ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 6 4.2. History: ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 6 4. 3. Design:................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 6 4.4. Characteristics: ................................ ................................ ................................ ............ 7 4.5. Ford model T today: ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 7 3. US police force's finest ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 8 5.1. Basic information: ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 8 5.2. History: ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 8 5.3. Design:................................ ................................ ................................ ........................ 8 5.4. Characteristics: ................................ ................................ ................................ ............ 9 5.5. Impala SS today: ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 9 6. Chevrolet's wing ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 10 6.1. Basic information: ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 10 6.2. History: ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................... 10 6.3. Design:................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... 10 6.4. Characteristics: ................................ ................................ ................................ .......... 11 6.5. Corvette Stingray today: ................................ ................................ ............................ 11 7. Bigger is always better ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 12 7.1. Basic information: ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 12 7.2. History: ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................... 12 7.3. Design:................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... 12 7.4. Characteristics: ................................ ................................ ................................ .......... 13 7.5. Dodge Charger today: ................................ ................................ ............................... 13 8. The wild mustang ................................ ................................ ................................ ............ 14 8.1. Basic information: ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 14 1 8.2. History: ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................... 14 8.3. Design:................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... 14 8.4. Characteristics: ................................ ................................ ................................ .......... 15 8.5. Ford Mustang today: ................................ ................................ ................................ 15 9. Literature ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................... 16 2 1. Introduction When we talk about the advance in the automobile industry, then we have to remember the 30's and 60's. The problem in the 20's was to make the car easier to control. The Ford T was controlled mostly by handles.. The gas pedal didn't existed, there was a lever like on a tractor. The brake that we know today didn't existed either. There was a pedal that activated the engine brake similar to engine brakes that have buses and trucks today. This problem was solved very quickly by installing pedals. When this problem was solved, many car manufactures started to produce faster cars. "Speed and reliability" was the tag-line. 3 2. The HEMI engine The HEM engine was born in the 50's. The first car with a hemi engine was a Jaguar, but it was a 6 - cylinder engine and it was the platform for the Chryslers V-8 HEM that deli ered 180 horsepower. 180 horsepower was a huge amount of power in the 50's, even some people never thought that they would see a 180 HP (horsepower) car in their lifetime. The first one was called the " 1 HEM " because it had a 331 cubic inch engine. So, where comes this huge power from? First, there is one thing to explain. The most important thing is to use all the power we can get from an engine stroke. There are few thing that needs to be improved. - all the gas in the cylinder has to be burned, so any unburned gas is unused energy - the peek pressure should be at the right angle of the crankshaft so the maximum amount of energy is used - for a greater explosion more air and fuel has to be sucked in the combustion chamber - heat creates higher pressure, so the loss of heat Picture 1. - head overview on the chamber walls means loss of power The HEM engine has all of these advantages, but there are disadvantages too. The HEM engine can have only 2 valves, but why? The name "HEM " can explain it all. "HEM " stands for its hemispherical design of the combustion chamber. So to put in a HEM 4 valves would be very difficult and expensive. Some interesting fact: NASCAR uses cars with HEM engines with 2 valves. The only problem is the rule that says: only HEM s can be used with 2 valves. Now the question is: How are we going to put 4 valves into a HEM engine? And here is the answer! A redesign of the HEM engine. The new modified engine has a pent roof design of the combustion chamber. This design has the same advantages as the hemispheric HEM and it can have 4 valves. From now on we have the open road for some modifications and improving the engines. Later on in the HEM engines were put 2 spark plugs so the whole gas is burned in the combustion chamber. 4 3. The V8 engine As mentioned the Chrysler V-8 HEM engine was over the limit. The confusing fact is what stands the "V" for in the name? The engine has 8 cylinders but not in a row, one after another, then the cylinders are positioned in a "V" shape. The "V" shape consumes less room so the cars were lighter and smaller. When the car is lighter that means... it can go faster. That's the tag-line: Speed and reliability! Let us see what advantages a V-engine can give to us. Rolls-Royce Legalimit was the first car in the history that had a V8 engine and was made in 1904. The engine was so unreliable so it didn't last for long. Cadillac took the idea to improve it a little bit and to make it more reliable. The Cadillac L-head was born. It was created in 1914 and handmade. It was really unreliable but it did its job. There were also attempts and everyone failed! Till 1949. Ford made the first successful V8 engine, the only problem was the flathead design. And the same look and concept are used today. Two years later Chrysler answered to Ford. They build the 331 HEMI V8 that we had discussed earlier. From 1951 the V8 had a bright future. Now let's see the heart of a V8. There are two types of a V8 engine. The first type is with the flat plane crankshaft, and the second with a cross plane crankshaft. The first ones had a flat plane crankshaft like a 4 piston engine. The first V8 with a cross plane crankshaft came up in 1929 (Cadillac). There is a thing that is very important for a V8 engine. The first order and second order balance. If an engine has an imbalance the engine would tear itself apart if the vibrations are to strong. The first order balance is, the rocking moment that one piston would cause is directly cancelled by another at the other end of the engine. The second order imbalance, at any given instant, the velocities of the pistons traveling upward does not equal the negative velocities of the cylinders traveling downward. The net velocity of all eight cylinders is Picture 2. - Exhaust sound