Weird automotive engineering solutions

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YSSMAN
Sticking with the GM thought for a moment, their clever engineers suck automatic light switches/sensors on pretty much all of their vehicles in the past 10 or more years. Its convenient, mainly because not only does it become a safety feature (lights on when necessary), but it also makes you not really have to worry about whether your lights are on or not.

As far as I know, GM is the only company doing it in the majority of their vehicles. I've never understood why this hasn't caught on.
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My 1987 MR2 would turn off the headlights when you opened the door with the car off. My father's 1992 Subaru SVX also did this, and pretty sure all Subaru's have auto off headlights in addition to DRL's. The SVX also had a valet key setup, and the MR-S also has a valet key setup. It is quite nice to have, actually.
 
High-Test
I have to say the Citroen DS wins hands down. It was recently voted the most beautiful automobile in history by a panel of auto designers.

Mercedes-Benz copied the hydropneumatic self-levelling rear suspension for many of their cars, albeit without the rear lowering when the car is shut off.
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Yeah, I recall that it was a feature on higher-end versions of cars like the 190 - I seem to remember the Cosworth had something like that.

And from what I've heard, Rolls Royce actually licenced the technology from Citroen at the time.

While we're on Citroen too, I've always quite liked this:



Apparently, it enables the shape of the airbag to be tailored to best operation like the passenger side normally is, as it's shape isn't affected by how much the wheel might be turned in an accident. It's why normal driver airbags have to be round, so they're the same however much the steering wheel is turned.

I don't think the Citroen C4 was the first car with the technology but it's one of very few (if any, apart from other Citroens) modern cars that use it.
 
Doesn't Honda's crankshafts all spin in the opposite direction to everyone else's or something? Just a stray thought I have in my head from somewhere, can't remember if it's even remotely close to true if someone else could answer it?
 
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Paulie
Doesn't Honda's crankshafts all spin in the opposite direction to everyone esle's or something? Just a stray thought I have in my head from somewhere, can't remember if it's even remotely close to true if someone else could answer it?
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You might be right, and you've got me wondering. What I do know is that in the BTCC Honda Accord I posted here they reversed the crank's rotation from the normal Honda direction to enable it to be mated to the sequential gearbox.

The gearbox needed a clockwise rotation, so I'm guessing maybe that Honda cranks spin anticlockwise?
 
I remember helping my father fit a 327 chev small block into a boat, the engine came out of another boat, we fitted it and I set the timing order up to the usual small block order. We then attempted to start the engine when it started backfiring through the carby (lovely flames) which is usually a sign of incorrect ignition timing and order so I checked the order and it was fine. After scratching my head for a bit I checked which way the distrubutor rotor rotated and it went the opposite direction to usual, I soon realised the engine was configured to run in a anticlockwise direction as some boat engines are setup to drive from the front rather than the back of the engine.

A quick camshaft and timing chain change and it was good to go. The oil pump was fine in both directions (water pump was external marine item)
 
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yet another oddity from the depths of Group B era. This monster would had powered the successor of Lancia Delta S4:

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ecv_4.jpg


1986%20Lancia%20ECV2_6.jpg


ecv_engine.jpg


ecv2eng2.jpg


The car originally produced over 600 horsepower (448 kW) from a 1759 cc twin-turbocharged engine. This engine, christened Triflux , was built in an unusual fashion; the valves where crossed (for each side of the cylinder there was an intake and an outtake), so that the two turbochargers could be fed with two separate manifolds. A single manifold carried the intake air (hence the name, from the three separate air ducts).
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High-Test
on driving lights: I've been driving a 2005 trailblazer for a month now, I could swear that I've turned off the driving lights by turning the knob all the way to the left and letting it click back. (124 among the living mid-may)
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I haven't been driving the Envoy or Avalanche enough, but I'm almost certain that they do the same thing. I'll have to fiddle with the Grand Prix, it uses the same setup. Although, I don't think the Pontiac uses DRL, but it has the automatic headlights.
 
Cadillac L62 V8-6-4 Ignition system.

wikipedia
The technology, first experimented with multiple cylinder engines during WWII,[3] was pioneered in 1981 on Cadillac's ill-fated L62 "V8-6-4" engine. The technology was made a standard feature on all Cadillac models except Seville. Cadillac, in conjunction with Eaton Corporation, developed the innovative V-8-6-4 system which used the industry's first ECU to switch the engine from 8- to 6- to 4-cylinder operation depending on the amount of power needed.[3] The original multi-displacement system turned off opposite pairs of cylinders, allowing the engine to have three different configurations and displacements. But the system was troublesome and a rash of unpredictable failures led to the technology being quickly retired.
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Plus, even when it worked, it switched between cylinder counts so much that it really didn't save any gas.
 
On the subject of the Chevrolet Trailblazer, how about the dolt who decided the front CV axles should journey through the engine oil pan?
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Really? I've never noticed that before. Likely because I've yet to have to climb under the Envoy. Dumb design idea indeed, almost as bad as the battery placement in the Grand Prix.
 
Or the fact that to facilitate removal of the air filter on the Trailblazer it takes four screws, two bolts, a bar, and a cover.

A MERCEDES takes the flipping of four clips.

The trailblazer was designed by monkeys.


Oh, another thing I learned today: the M104 oil pan has two types of bolts holding it in. the front six are removed by inserting an allen key in them, the other thirty-two are removed with a 10mm spanner socket. at first, I was thinking "wtf" then I figured out why.. there's no room where they placed the allen key bolts for a fullsized spanner to fit.

Crazy Germans...

I always thought it was uniform the kind of bolt holding in an oil pan.
 
It's actually pretty common to have a bunch of larger bolts in the corners with tons of smaller ones in between holding sump/oil pans and gasket on tight, and yeah it is usually in tight spots where allen key heads are used, some engines use large internal hex/allen key for headbolts.
 
High-Test
Or the fact that to facilitate removal of the air filter on the Trailblazer it takes four screws, two bolts, a bar, and a cover.

A MERCEDES takes the flipping of four clips.
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Like a Honda, or any other reasonably designed car. When i tried to replace the air filter in my mom's G6 I needed 3 different tools--a wrench, a screwdriver, and my fingers for the clips.
 
High-Test
Or the fact that to facilitate removal of the air filter on the Trailblazer it takes four screws, two bolts, a bar, and a cover.

A MERCEDES takes the flipping of four clips.

The trailblazer was designed by monkeys.
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Nearly every GM vehicle i've worked on has been designed to not be worked on and therefore I will likely never buy one.
 
How about the 4WS system on the original Honda Prelude back in the late 80's?

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The first production 4WS for the average American automotive consumer was offered 20 years ago on the 1988 Honda Prelude. This system was entirely self contained, automatic, and mechanical; no electronics, no speed sensors, no computers, no hydraulics; just two racks and a rod between them.

A simple tube runs from a secondary pinion on the front steering rack, transferring 1:1 steering wheel motion to the rear rack. That rear rack eccentrically transferred that rotational motion to a lateral motion.

During the first ~180 degrees (from center) of steering wheel rotation, the rear wheels are gradually steered in the same direction about 3 degrees, creating a slight under steer situation, improving straight line stability.

During the second ~180 degrees of steering wheel rotation, the rear wheels are gradually straightened back out.

From ~360 to full lock (~450), the rear wheels are gradually steered in the opposite direction about 5 degrees, creating a significant overseer situation, improving parking lot maneuverability.

The 1988-1991 Prelude stands alone as the only automatic stand alone all mechanical four wheel steer system. Everything else is subject to computers and hydraulic pumps, neither of which are known for their bulletproof nature.
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The Cobalt SS.


Who decided that underneath the supercharger was a good place to have an oil filter? Especially when it needs to be unscrewed with a socket from up top, and then somehow fished out from underneath all the wiring that runs around there.

Not to mention the engine is still hot since it just came in for the oil change....


Or the handbrake. It can only be operated if you first flip up the armrest/storage area, which then places it right behind your elbow, causing you to scrape your elbow on cheap GM textured plastic when you give it a yank.
 
As far as I recall, the Honda engines no longer spin "backward."

Their CVCC engine was pretty clever back when; negated the use of a catalytic converter. Real smart.
 
buickgnx88
How about the 4WS system on the original Honda Prelude back in the late 80's?
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That was pretty clever, and I'd also be inclined to trust the mechanical system in the 3rd gen Prelude like the one you posted, rather than the electrically actuated system in the later models.
 
Paulie
Was there any reason to it?
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Is there any reason not to spin backwards?

You could have your screws and bolts run backwards, except that as you're buying screws and bolts from common suppliers, it'd be hard to find some of your backwards screws, when you need them... but if you're not expecting to share engines with anyone else, or don't actually need to mate your engines to other manufacturers' gearboxes, then there's no reason not to spin the engine any which way you like.

Sucks for your racing teams, though... as mentioned above.

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One clever, but rare, touch is the swinging air vents on my old 626. It's something which I've never seen anywhere else.

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(sucky pic, but it's the best I could find on short notice)

Nowadays, you can buy a $200 air-conditioner with swinging air vents... why can't you get those on a $20,000 car? :indiff:

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Weird gearbox orientations seem to be coming back... did you know the Toyota iQ has its differential in front of the engine instead of behind? This allows the car to have shorter overhangs, and moves the engine behind the front axle... if only everyone else were to do the same for their front drivers...

30_stock-toyota-iq_450op.jpg
 
niky
Is there any reason not to spin backwards?
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Especially not if it's a 2-stroke. 2-strokes run either way with zero problems. I used to know a guy with an old SAAB 2-stroke. One time he left it at my friend's place to get detailed. They push-started it in reverse, then drove it around the building to him still in reverse (but of course, moving forward because the engine was running backward), and left it running. It took him a minute to figure out why he had only 1 forward gear but 4 reverses...
 
niky
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One clever, but rare, touch is the swinging air vents on my old 626. It's something which I've never seen anywhere else.

32322610003_large.jpg

(sucky pic, but it's the best I could find on short notice)

Nowadays, you can buy a $200 air-conditioner with swinging air vents... why can't you get those on a $20,000 car? :indiff:

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I can't tell what's unique about those air vents......:confused:
 
I was wondering the same thing. Maybe they automatically swing from side to side rather than the manual action of moving them to point one way or the other?
 
Yeah, I think he means the horizontal fins have a swing/swivel/oscillate function like most home aircond's, though the picture included doesn't seem to show anything to support that as far as I can see.
 
YSSMAN
Sticking with the GM thought for a moment, their clever engineers suck automatic light switches/sensors on pretty much all of their vehicles in the past 10 or more years. Its convenient, mainly because not only does it become a safety feature (lights on when necessary), but it also makes you not really have to worry about whether your lights are on or not.

As far as I know, GM is the only company doing it in the majority of their vehicles. I've never understood why this hasn't caught on.

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I was also thinking about the longitudinal layout that VW has used in the Passat forever and ever, despite being FWD, but I've yet to figure out if that is a completely weird design choice or not.
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This is also why we haven't seen a GM police car in ages.
Police often cruise at night in "stealth" mode, with out lights.
If you can't turn out the headlights, you can't be "stealthy".

And while we are on GM, what is the deal with the high beams on GM cars?
GM is the only manufacturer I know of that has the low beams turn off when the high-beams turn on.
It is a feature I find very annoying on all my GM vehicles. Consequently, if I'm going someplace that is likely to be DARK, dark in the evening I will take ANY of the other cars over the GM's because I like having the extra lumens provided by having the high beams ADDED to the lowbeams, rather than INSTEAD of the lowbeams.

Did they just do it so they could sell the kits to make them work like NORMAL cars?

And as for rotating the light knob to turn off the DRL's.
It took GM till now to retask a feature that the old-timers among us would use to turn ON all the interior lights...
 
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