4 ROLE CALL
A note from the editor
Stopping making sense
›We love performance cars at Vehicle Dynamics International,
especially engineering marvels like Nissan’s GT-R, and even more so
when they are ‘turned up to 11’ like our Nismo cover star. However,
we are even keener on safety than performance, which is why braking
systems are a key theme of this issue, with many new technologies and
insights highlighted.
On p24 you can read an interview with Michael Lingg, who is something
of a star in the world of retardation, being in charge of braking systems at
Volkswagen. Few people, if any, know more about brakes than Lingg, who
in this exclusive interview with Guy Bird discusses the challenges facing
brake system developers in the near, mid and far-term, copper-free pads,
dry and friction-free solutions, and his current work on something that
may surprise you: drum brakes.
Motorsport is a key area of innovation that infl uences the next
generations of road vehicle technologies, so Lingg will have a keen interest
in the FIA Formula E championship, as the new second-generation electric
racing car features a friction braking system that works in conjunction
with regenerative braking from the powertrain. This carbon-carbon system
represented a major challenge for the developers at Brembo, as Graham
Heeps discovered when he met the team (see p30).
Brakes are also a key element of our story on next-generation ESC
systems, in which FCA shares its ideas for making electric brake booster
systems faster and more effective, while ZF discusses everything from
automatic emergency braking to the benefi ts of vacuum-less brake
technology, and Continental explains why brakes will constitute the
most important element of active safety systems in the future.
Theory and lab work are fascinating, and are a powerful indicator of the
future direction of braking technology, but in the spirit of carpe diem we
can fi nd joy in seeing fantastic technology in use today. Going back to our
cover star, there are few more exciting brake applications than the GT-R
Nismo project. Nissan’s legendary in-house motorsports engineers have
taken the already impressive MY2020 GT-R and applied kaizen principles of
improvement to every component, panel and system. Some improvements
are tiny, while others are rather larger, including the 410mm carbon
and silicon carbide brake rotors, but when added together, the result is
exhilirating. Such a holistic approach doesn’t come cheap, but the GT-R
Nismo is a compelling example of the benefi ts of kaizen.
We have something of a project underway at Vehicle Dynamics
International too. The magazine has been popular for 17 years now,
but it’s time for a little mild fettling. It’s going to be great fun applying
kaizen principles to the magazine, and we hope you enjoy the result.
Until next time…
Adam Gavine, editor
VehicleDynamicsInternational.com • November/December 2019
EDITORIAL
Editor Adam Gavine
adam.gavine@markallengroup.com
Contributors Guy Bird,
Kyle Fortune, Graham Heeps,
John Heider, Frank Millard,
Andrew Noakes, Marc Noordeloos,
Chris Pickering
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