Talk of braais, sunny skies and batteries!

Many modern batteries claim to be completely maintenance free because the composition of the plates is different and/or because the “boiled off” water from the charging process is collected and re-deposited in the cells. 
A few such batteries are totally sealed so there’s nowt you can do about adding water but many “pretend” to be sealed although they do actually have removable lids or tops, whatever you want to call them. These tops are often covered with a thin strip of adhesive-backed plastic tape.  
If your car’s more than a couple of years old, it really does pay to peel off this covering strip  (you ca’t use it again) and remove the lids to inspect the water level.  The charging rate on some cars is set higher than others and if you use your car on long journeys, it is possible for the electrolyte level to drop below the plates.
Most batteries these days have plastic screw-in tops which feature a recessed cross-head indentation to facilitate removal. 
You’re meant to use a purpose-designed tool to fit these cross-head recesses, but the best substitute is a coin rather than a screwdriver, the majority of which are too narrow to fit the slot properly and damage the plastic. 
From experience, I can tell you that a UK 50p piece, which is hexagonal and therefore has straight edges, is made to measure but given that such a coin equates to  roughly 50 percent of Zimbabawe’s GDP, you might prefer to find a fattish coin of lower value.   For example, a 2p piece works but not quite as well!
If any plates are exposed to air, the battery output will be reduced as will its lifespan, but don’t be tempted to add too much de-ionised water in the belief that it will prolong the “maintenance-free” period. 
All you’re doing is reducing the specific gravity of the electrolyte below the ideal level and you’re encouraging unwanted “boil-overs” which will result in acid damage in the battery bay.  Allow for around 2 to 3 mils above the plates.
Applying technology
I’ve used these pages on many occasions to sing the praises of Audi’s racing sports cars which have never suffered a single engine failure over more than 10 years of endurance competition. 
Head of race engine technology and recipient of numerous awards, Ulrich Baretzky, has clearly got his head screwed on when it comes to engine development but I discovered the other day that he has  an extraordinary piece of equipment at his behest to help with that self-same development.
Most of you will be familiar with aircraft simulators which are used for pilot training and checking and which simulate the operational characteristics of specific aircraft in all forms of flight, including landing and take off at chosen airfields.
Well Audi has a simulator and dynamometer which is said to be the most advanced in Europe but this one stays on the ground and how?
The dyno can be set up to run the engine with clutch, gearbox and driveshafts in situ, to a pre-set programme of throttle positons, gear shifts, revs and load which precisely replicate the conditions prevailing at a given race track and which even allow for the driving styles of each team member! Further, temperature and atmospheric conditions can be adjusted to match what is expected at a given venue — altitude for example can seriously derail engine programmes — and lap timing can be replicated to an accuracy of one thousand of a second. 
The dyno has been used to run the mechanicals at race pace for the equivalent of no less than 48 hours and before every race, each engine is given a run to check that all systems are exactly to spec. 
When you take all this into account, you begin to understand why an Audi engine has powered every Le Mans winner this century but the testing doesn’t begin and end inside the factory. The racing team also believes in practical testing and has undertaken numerous 30 hour endurance runs just to make sure that nothing is left to chance.
The recently revealed R15 TDI which won first time out at the Sebring 12 Hours three weeks ago was denied much real world testing by lousy weather conditions in Europe, but despite this, is said to have racked up some 9500 miles on the road and who knows how many on the aforementioned dyno/simulator. 
Both cars were also run for a further twelve hours after the Sebring enduro but I haven’t yet managed to find out whether they survived the punishment unscathed.
On the Cruze
I’m no fan of badge engineering which sees a car purporting to be what it isn’t.  One of the best examples in RSA is that of Chevrolet, a brand once associated with braais, sunny skies and acres of chrome-laden metal. Now you’ll find Chevrolets in all sorts of diminutive guises for the simple reason that they are re-badged Daewoos. 
The latest incarnation is called the Chevrolet Cruze and isn’t scheduled for full scale production overseas (I’m unaware of plans for RSA) until July but pre-production examples have been exposed to the press. This one is rather more than an example of badge engineering though because it is the first production vehicle based on GM’s all-new global Delta platform out of Korea which will form the bones of the next generation Opel and Vauxhall Astras.  Because of this, a lot of prototype testing was conducted in Europe.
First reports speak of excellent value for money and very acceptable interior and exterior styling.  Initial engine options consist of reportedly mediocre 1,6 and 1,8 petrol burners and a much more pleasing 2,0 litre diesel variant. 
Launch versions will be in saloon configuration only but a hatchback is expected down the line.
My own guess is that it will find its way to South Africa but it remains to be seen whether it will carry an Opel or a Chevrolet badge.  Now what was that about badge engineering?
Stunted electrics
The widespread adoption of “electric” cars has been stunted by four fundamental problems all related to the source of power — the battery.  These problems are weight, volume, range and re-charging. To coin a phrase, batteries weigh a ton, they take up a lot of space which might otherwise be used for more practical applications, they discharge rather quickly compared with the contents of a liquid fuel tank and they need a charging source which in Zimbabwe could well be another problem altogether. The advantages are obvious and centre primarily around ultra low noise and pollutant levels.
Now comes news that new battery technology might just be on the way to say goodbye to the charging problem at least.  Boffins in America claim to have developed (small) lithium ion cells that recharge in a scant 15 seconds and the thought is that by combining all these cells into one large version with sufficient “ZESA” to power a vehicle, a full recharge could be effected in under an hour.  Further, acceleration characteristics would be improved because the lithium ion packs release energy at a higher speed than hitherto acheived.
Waning star?
Lewis Hamilton is quickly finding out what life can be like from the lower reaches of the grid just as he’s finding out that it’s rather easy to get sucked into the McLaren way of telling half truths, or so it seems.  
It’s only a few weeks ago that certain sections of the Brit press were predicting that he’d decimate all of Schumacher’s records without batting an eyelid.  Now, the same press isn’t too sure what to make of their hero’s involvement in the Melbourne overtaking scandal. None of this has stopped his father Anthony, who apparently acts as Lewis’s manager, from ensuring that he maximises his time in front of roving F1 TV cameras.
Problem for the old man though, is that those self-same cameras are more in evidence at the front of the grid and they’re concentrating rather more heavily and with great justification, on Brawn GP and Britain’s deservedly resurrected new hero, Jenson Button.