SAE report

["Graydon D. Stuckey" <graydon@apollo.kettering.edu>]

Guys,

	I went to the big SAE show in Detroit yesterday.   This is one of 
the greatest trade shows around, as there is always a huge representation 
of the latest technology from some of the most innovative companies in 
America (and the world to some extent)

	I saw lots of aluminum (Aluminium for our British buddys, and 
Gross) brake rotors, some neat race car technology (using belleville 
washers actuated by cams for the main suspension spring!) and a few new 
things.

	One thing that was kind of interesting was a new brake rotor out
of Quebec that has a very large diameter, and friction materials around
the entire circumference of the rotor.  As a consequence, the friction
surface was a very short annulus, but at a large diameter.  They used a
drum with hooks on it to pull on the outer pad, and there was an airbag
inside the hub to press the inner pad against the rotor and outer pad.  The
rotor free-floated.  The main advantage here is that you can get a much
large rotor into the same size wheel, and all of the friction surface is
at nearly the same radius from the centre of the wheel.   Such a funky 
brake system, I would expect to see it on an Audi!  :-)

	I saw some new spark plug coil technology that is probably going 
to be in an Audi in the next couple years.   The supplier wouldn't say 
for sure, but there were enough 2s to put together...   Looks like a 
transformer above the spark plug which continues to spark the plug as 
long as you put voltage to it... AC voltage  :-)   This is multi-spark to 
the extreme.

	If you have specific questions, fire away...

Later,--------------------------- -   -   -   -
Graydon D. Stuckey		 / \ / \ / \ / \
graydon@apollo.kettering.edu	|Mr. Muffler... |
810 733 0255			 \ / \ / \ / \ /
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