Introduction

Introduction

With the expertise and creativity of our engineers, we help our clients develop exciting and market leading products. Our Technical Centre offers advanced facilities for a range of research and development projects within our core business areas.

Engine development

The best designed engines need rigorous testing and development. This is why we have invested in our own first class engine test cell facility using the latest performance monitoring software. It is a superb test-bed for either developing our own race engines or firms who need to find out if their technologies are sustainable in high speed, high temperature, high power and high stress level environments when pushing an engine to its absolute limit.

Our engine dynamometer can run over long periods at 10,000 rpm and develop up to 800 bhp. It is a facility we can use to develop engine management systems and investigate engine performance characteristics under varying conditions.

We pioneered the research and development of a race engine using 100 per cent biodiesel fuel in recent years. So we are quickly building a reputation for low carbon technologies, and producing green race engines including the one used in the world's first eco-friendly F3 car (more about this in the Motor Sport section).
 

Fuel testing

We have built up a reputation for researching and testing the performance of fuels using our engine dynamometer. This has led to us provide testing and technical services to fuel companies wishing to assess and develop the performance of their products. We measure actual engine performance on different fuel blends and help companies to gain a better understanding of the in-cylinder combustion characteristics of their fuels.

Typical tests include:

  • full or part throttle engine power and torque measurement
  • fuel economy testing
  • real time in-cylinder pressure measurements
  • engine temperature measurements
  • acceleration tests

These tests can be carried out under steady state conditions, a sweep through the full operating range of a engine or using customised test cycles.

We have a wealth of experience in researching the performance of biodiesel in particular, as a result of the development of our own biodiesel race engine. This puts us in a unique position to tackle the problems associated with different types of biodiesel and aid performance related biodiesel development.

We routinely operate under strict confidential agreements and if requested will not disclose either our clients' names or their test results.

Consultancy services

While our focus is very much on motor sport and green technologies, clients can also access technical consultancy services in the specialist areas of our senior engineers. The range of services is reflected in diversity of the engineering team.

These include:

  • Digital electronics design
  • Control systems design and development
  • Software engineering for embedded systems
  • Aerodynamics testing
  • Wind tunnel engineering
  • Vehicle dynamic simulation and design

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