Torotrak and Xtrac discuss specialised transmission technology required for energy recovery at Cleaner Racing Conference
Transmission technology specialists Torotrak and Xtrac have joined eminent motorsport personalities participating today in the 2nd International Cleaner Racing Conference, which precedes the opening of the Autosport International Show at the Birmingham NEC.
Organised by the Motorsport Industry Association the conference will explore with experts, not only the technical issues of energy efficient motorsport, but also the possibilities for transferring new and advanced motorsport technology to the automotive mainstream.
In their joint presentation to the conference, Chris Brockbank, business manager with Torotrak and Adrian Moore, technical director with Xtrac, will focus on their innovative continuously variable transmission design, which forms an essential part of a mechanical flywheel (KERS) Kinetic Energy Recovery System, which the FIA has permitted under its revised regulations for the 2009 F1 racing season.
In their presentation, Brockbank and Moore will pick up on important points made recently by FIA technical consultant Tony Purnell, who commented that ‘car manufacturers are already working flat out to develop optimal low-emission engines and there is little that engine development programmes in F1 will add to this effort. However, in five years or so, their attention will turn more and more to subsidiary devices incorporating energy recovery. By opening up this area now, F1 can make a real difference to this important facet of future car technology. The technical challenge is huge and there will be very little constraint on it.’
To meet this technical challenge Xtrac has used its motorsport honed skills to rapidly design and manufacture a CVT variable transmission to be used as the ancillary gearbox required for an F1 KERS system. The advanced traction drive technology incorporated in the variator is produced under license from Torotrak. It forms a critical part of the design, which provides for the all-important speed matching between the flywheel and main vehicle driveline.
“With rising fuel costs and the need to reduce CO2 emissions this highly efficient technology, developed initially for F1, is also particularly relevant to the automotive mainstream,” says Brockbank.
“A flywheel based mechanical KERS system which uses our CVT has a very good power density,” says Moore. “It avoids the use of exotic and expensive materials, and is significantly lighter and more compact than a battery electrical system, and yet offers the potential for excellent efficiency. It also offers low operating costs and long-life components. Moreover, for the mainstream automotive industry it is also scaleable to meet the different power and energy requirements of many different types of vehicle.”
Brockbank and Moore’s technical presentation will provide an overview of new F1 regulations and the sophisticated transmission design required for a mechanical based KERS system, which has been developed to recover and store braking energy in the most efficient manner possible.
For the F1 application, the Xtrac CVT variator can handle 90Nm of torque and weighs approximately 6kg. Xtrac’s first customer is Flybrid Systems, a motorsport company which very impressively has developed a complete KERS system, initially for use in F1, from concept to rig testing in less than 12 months.
Flybrid, Torotrak and Xtrac all see the potential for wider application of a mechanical flywheel-based KERS system beyond motorsport; particularly as a means of developing vehicles with reduced fuel consumption and CO2 levels. Applied to road cars the system supports the current motor industry trend for smaller powertrains; a lightweight kinetic energy recovery system ironically providing a means of boosting acceleration and overall performance, which could allow engine downsizing, as well as improving fuel economy.
Brockbank and Moore are participating in this high level conference alongside influential figures from the world of motorsport including Renault F1's engineering guru Pat Symonds, Audi engine legend Ulrich Baretzky, former head of GM Motorsport Herb Fishel, and top international racer and committed environmentalist David Brabham. They will each bring their particular expertise to bear on the subject of motorsport technologies playing a key role in the development of more energy efficient road vehicles and racing cars.
The conference has attracted an international audience of 150 motorsport leaders, key influencers, advanced engineers, R&D specialists and marketing executives together with trade and business media. The conference takes place today (Wednesday 9 January 2008) at the Birmingham NEC. It precedes the Autosport International Show, where Xtrac will be exhibiting a wide range of motorsport and high performance transmission systems.
10th January 2008
Xtrac
Apprentice of the Year Award
Last year Xtrac introduced the Darren Huttel Apprentice of the Year Award
in recognition of the efforts put in by the Apprentices. The assessment
is based on their conduct and performance both at work and college, NVQ
portfolios and overall performance and conduct.
The awards were handed out at the Donnington Valley Hotel on 15th December.3rd place this year went to Ben Clark, 2nd place to James O'Hagan (who was last year's winner) and in first place, Mark Rosier. Mark joined Xtrac in September 2006. He has impressed everyone he has come into contact with during his first 15 months with Xtrac, and in particular has distinguished himself due to his enthusiasm, maturity and confidence. Always happy, polite and inquisitive, he has shown interest in all the tasks he has been presented and uses his initiative to suggest good ides and looks beyond the immediate task.
The standard of this year's award is very high, so will be a hard one to beat in 2008.
December 21, 2007
Xtrac, the UK-based engineering design and manufacturing company, specialising in vehicle transmission and driveline technology, has received the “Most Innovative New Motorsport Product of the Year Award” for its pioneering work developing a state-of-the-art gearbox for race teams competing in the World Touring Car Championship and other touring car championships.
The unique capabilities of Xtrac were singled out by an international panel of high level motorsport engineers, who selected its innovative ‘516’ transmission system from a total of 23 worldwide entries nominated for the awards, which included new products from among the world’s leading high technology suppliers to the automotive and motorsport industries.
“The judging panel felt that Xtrac had clearly achieved its design objective of delivering a reliable, lightweight and cost-effective high performance gearbox for touring car racing,” commented William Kimberley editor of Bernoulli and Race Tech magazines, which organised the annual awards dinner held at Rhodes House in Oxford yesterday evening (Thursday 29 November 2007).
“It’s a real honour to receive this coveted award on behalf of the company,” said Adrian Moore technical director of Xtrac, who attended the awards ceremony. “There was tremendous teamwork involved in bringing this new product to market and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Xtrac for their significant contribution to this project. The award caps a highly successful debut year for the 516 gearbox and is a superb way of ending its first season on the highest possible note. I would also like to thank all of our customers who have supported this gearbox.”
The Xtrac 516 transmission has competed in all 30 rounds of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car championship races this year with no mechanical failures and achieved consistent success on the podium with cars equipped with the gearbox winning 15 races with 14 second places and 14 third places for a total of 43 podium finishes.
The championship winning VX Racing Vauxhall Vectra prepared by Triple Eight Racing Engineering was one of the cars utilizing the 516 transmission. Ian Harrison team principle of VX Racing and managing director of Triple Eight, which assisted Xtrac with initial prototype development, believes the transmission's performance and low weight contributed towards making the Vectra the package to beat in the championship.
The new gearbox applies Xtrac’s longstanding expertise with Formula One transmissions and adopts the same design principles to minimise its mass, size and inertia. Particular attention in the design was paid to improve gear-change response and feel, and differential performance..
The awards ceremony was the highlight of a two-day ‘World Motorsport Symposium’ for motorsport engineers, organised by Race Tech, Bernoulli and MotoTech magazines and held at Oxford Brookes University's new motorsport engineering building, built in the heart of the UK’s internationally renowned motorsport valley.
In addition to receiving the award, Moore was also a guest speaker at the conference where he described the company’s groundbreaking work to design and manufacture a continuously variable transmission (CVT) for a mechanical flywheel-based kinetic energy recovery system (KERS), which is permitted under new Formula One regulations for 2009. The system is rapidly gaining a lot of attention from automotive engineers interested in applying the technology to road cars because of its potential to significantly reduce vehicle CO2 emissions.
03-Dec-07
Xtrac Nominated for 'Most Innovative New Motorsport Product of the Year' Award
A new motorsport gearbox from transmission technology specialist Xtrac has been nominated for the “Most Innovative New Motorsport Product of the Year” award by an international panel of leading motorsport engineers.
The 516 transmission system from Xtrac is a high performance front wheel drive gearbox designed specifically for the World Touring Car Championship.
“We’re delighted that international peers from the highly competitive world of motorsport have decided to nominate our new 516 gearbox for this prestigious motorsport industry award, which is judged entirely by engineers,” said Adrian Moore technical director of Xtrac.
“The nomination helps put the spotlight on the excellent results achieved by this transmission in its debut season, which clearly show that we’ve achieved our design objective of delivering a reliable, lightweight and cost-effective gearbox solution. This is no easy design task given the tough duty cycle that a transmission sees in touring car racing, where the gear changes come fast and furious.”
In its first season the Xtrac 516 transmission has competed in all 30 races with no mechanical failures and achieved a remarkable success on the podium with cars equipped with the gearbox winning 15 races, while taking 14 second places and 14 third places for a total of 43 podium finishes
The main benefits of Xtrac’s new transmission system for teams competing in the World Touring Car Championship include a light, positive gear-change, an easily removable cluster for ratio changes and, similarly, an easily removable limited slip differential – which also features an externally adjustable pre-load. The internally driven oil pump has also been optimised for providing the correct oil flow, whilst consuming the minimum amount of power.
The 516 gearbox features an Xtrac ratchet and pawl gear-change assembly, incorporating the latest ‘polynomial barrel track’ design with a bell crank actuated low inertia rack, with the design improving how the gear-change feels to the driver and how the transmission responds to driver inputs.
The lightweight gearbox weighs less than 31kg (68lb) but has a 300Nm (221lbf ft) input torque capacity. To minimise size, mass and inertia it makes use of reduced centre-distance gear ratios derived from engineering principles employed in Formula 1 transmission design. The F1-style gear cluster is positioned low down within the gearbox, so it’s convenient for servicing and can be swiftly removed; even from a front-wheel drive transmission position underneath the vehicle.
The design of the gearbox has also lowered its centre of gravity, which is always an important consideration for vehicle handling. Once removed, the gear cluster is fully exposed for ease of inspection and rapid changes of different ratio gears.
The limited slip differential is an Xtrac cassette-type plate unit offering a choice of ramp angles, plate, disc and preload settings. For fine tuning of race settings, the pre-load of the differential is externally adjustable while installed in the gearbox.
The final results of the judging panel will be announced at an awards dinner to be held this week (Thursday 29 November 2007) at Rhodes House in Oxford. The ceremony is the highlight of a two-day ‘World Motorsport Symposium’ for motorsport engineers, organised by the publisher of Race Tech, Bernoulli and Moto Tech magazines. The high-level symposium is being held at Oxford Brookes University's recently completed £8 million engineering building, built in the heart of the UK’s internationally renowned motorsport valley.
28-Nov-07
Xtrac and Flybrid to reveal technical details at global conference ....
Martin Halley, chief engineer with transmission technology specialist Xtrac and Jon Hilton, managing partner of Flybrid Systems, a new company taking a fresh look at hybrid vehicle technology, will describe the technical innovations behind their groundbreaking mechanical flywheel ‘kinetic energy recovery system’ (KERS) - which also incorporates advanced traction drive technology from Torotrak - at a forthcoming high-level motorsport industry conference.
“The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) regulatory body, which governs motorsport, has recognised that motor racing provides a unique opportunity to demonstrate new technologies which could be relevant to the automotive mainstream,” said Halley, whose presentation will provide an overview of new F1 regulations and the technology and materials required to develop the sophisticated transmission system required for a mechanical based KERS system.
“The new rules being drawn up for F1 will stimulate the development of new and exciting technologies, within a competitive environment, which may otherwise not have occurred. This means rapid product development is required right here and right now,” commented Hilton, whose technical paper will discuss the recovery and storage of braking energy in a mechanical-based flywheel system.
Flybrid has already secured one unnamed F1 team as a customer and is confident others will follow given the benefits of a fast-acting flywheel system, which offers up to twice the efficiency, half the mass and more rapid transfer of energy compared with hybrid battery electrical systems. The company is also well on its way to bench testing a flywheel KERS system adapted for road car applications using a Chevrolet V8 engine.
Flybrid’s brake regenerative system uses advanced gearbox technology provided by transmission specialists Torotrak and Xtrac. The system employs a small and sophisticated ancillary gearbox manufactured by Xtrac incorporating a continuously variable transmission (CVT) design licensed from Torotrak. Torotrak’s patented traction drive technology is being developed for motorsport applications by Xtrac under an exclusive licensing agreement. Xtrac can sub-license the CVT ‘variator’ technology to Flybrid and other motorsport teams who may wish to design and build their own flywheel.
The role played by Xtrac, Flybrid and Torotrak iin designing a mechanical KERS solution for F1 could be instrumental in developing this pioneering vehicle technology for more fuel efficient road cars without resorting to the expense and complexity of battery systems. Compared with hybrid electric vehicles, which use batteries for energy storage, a mechanical KERS system utilises flywheel technology as a highly efficient alternative to recover and store a moving vehicle’s kinetic energy.
The combination of gearbox-variator and flywheel would form part of the driveline assembly. The kinetic energy is stored during a braking manoeuvre and is then released back into the driveline as the vehicle accelerates. Flybrid, Torotrak and Xtrac claim that compared to the alternative of battery systems, a mechanical KERS system can provide a more compact, lighter and environmentally-friendly solution.
Torotrak’s patented technology is a vital element in a mechanical system as it provides a continuously variable connection between the flywheel and the vehicle driveline. Xtrac’s exclusive licence and development of the system for motorsport applications allows it to design, manufacture, assemble and distribute complete variator systems and discrete components to F1 and other motorsport customers.
For F1 applications, the variator and flywheel each weigh less than 5kg in a system with a total mass not exceeding 25kg. This relatively low mass is a major advantage both for race and road cars. The high level of mechanical efficiency combined with the variator’s ability to change ratio very rapidly helps to optimise flywheel performance. The transmission system selects the appropriate ratio depending on the torque demand and can change its 6-to-1 ratio within one revolution.
“Performance calculations show we can go from zero to full power in 50ms,” says Hilton. “This is faster than the driver can apply the brake pedal.”
Flybrid, Torotrak and Xtrac all see the potential for wider application beyond motorsport – initially on high-performance road cars – both as an aid to performance and as a means of developing vehicles with reduced fuel consumption and CO2 levels. Applied to road cars the system supports the current motor industry trend for smaller powertrains; a lightweight kinetic energy recovery system providing a means of boosting acceleration and overall performance and economy independently of the vehicle’s internal combustion engine.
An ancillary flywheel is particularly suited to stop-start driving situations when real-world fuel economy is often at its worst. In these conditions, the variator can assist the launch of a vehicle which has slowed down or come to a standstill. In heavily congested traffic, where a car is frequently stopped and restarted, the system can help alleviate the heavy fuel consumption and emissions of greenhouse gasses normally associated with these conditions. However, unlike hybrid electric vehicles, a mechanical KERS system continues to provide the benefits of kinetic energy recovery throughout the speed range, and its benefits are maintained on the open road.
“This is a major plus point for a mechanically-based kinetic energy recovery system,” says Halley, “in which the variator can also handle energy flows a lot faster than an electric vehicle.”
“On a directly comparable basis, a flywheel system offers up to twice the efficiency of a kinetic energy recovery system that stores its energy in a battery,” adds Hilton. “The overall in-out efficiency of a mechanical drivetrain feeding energy into a flywheel and back out to the vehicle again via an ancillary transmission system is approximately 65-70 per cent compared with 35-45 per cent for a hybrid battery-electric system. Fundamentally, this is because a purely mechanical system doesn’t have to convert the kinetic energy into electrical and chemical energy as with a battery system.”
“What this means is that with a flywheel each time
the brakes are applied at least 65 per cent of the energy is available
to re-accelerate the vehicle,” explains Hilton, “whereas
the best that can be achieved with existing battery technology is 45
per cent.”
Flybrid has filed various technical patents to tackle the key engineering
issues of safety and noise. The flywheel is made from high-strength
steel and composite material and has been designed with a high factor
of safety in which the maximum stresses are significantly less than in
the con-rod of a conventional internal combustion engine.
“The flywheel also runs in a vacuum which is a natural barrier to noise,” says Hilton. “For optimum refinement in a road car the engineering effort would be focussed on the transmission system and bearings - which provides the only noise path - it’s exactly the same test and development process in other words as for a normal powertrain.”
Halley and Hilton will join other influential figures from the automotive and motorsport industries attending the Global Motorsports Congress being held in Cologne on 5-6 November 2007 - where the hot topic of conversation is expected to be the future eco-friendliness of motorsport and the ‘green revolution’ in F1 envisaged by FIA president Max Mosley. This leading global industry event takes place the same week and in the same location as the Professional MotorSport World Expo, where Xtrac will be exhibiting a wide range of transmission systems alongside other leading motorsport manufacturers.
Later this year Chris Brockbank business development manager Torotrak will present a paper describing the sophisticated variator traction drive technology, which is a key part of the mechanical KERS system, at the CTi Transmission Symposium on 4/5 Dec 2007 in Berlin.
Adrian Moore, technical director, Xtrac, will similarly present a technical paper describing the technology behind the KERS system at the World Motorsport Symposium, which takes place on 29/30 November at Oxford Brooks University’s brand new engineering centre. He joins other senior engineers who will be bringing their particular expertise to bear on subjects that are of special relevance to the growing demand that motorsport technologies should be of more relevance to the road car of tomorrow.
Moore will also discuss the mechanical KERS system with mainstream automotive engineers and technical experts attending the Global Powertrain Congress being held in Vaals in the Netherlands in June 2008.
On 18th September 2007, Xtrac picked up the 'Large Employer Award' at the Annual Employer Awards Ceremony run by the West Berkshire Education Business Partnership. The award is given for the week long work experience placements Xtrac offer annually to 15-16 year olds from local schools and Xtrac was up against tough competition against the likes of Vodafone in Newbury. The award was given due to Xtrac's welcome and friendly approach to the students, the varied and structured placement and the feedback given to the schools after the placement.
Xtrac offer 6 such placements every year and during their week long placement, students gain experience in many departments including Engineering, R&D, Inspection, Heat Treatment, Fitting Shop and Stores. One of Xtrac's past work experience students went on to complete his apprenticeship this month and was awarded Apprentice of the Year in December 2006.
The 'Large Employer Award' was presented by the Mayor of Thatcham to Xtrac's HR Manager Jane Gilham. Also attending the ceremony was Newbury MP Richard Benyon, who himself visited Xtrac last year.
Torotrak announces first application of mechanical ‘kinetic energy recovery system’ with major Formula 1 team
On the 5th June 2007 Torotrak Plc announced a licence agreement with
Xtrac Ltd to use Torotrak’s traction drive technology to develop
highly efficient and compact continuously variable transmissions (CVTs)
for application in a new mechanical kinetic energy recovery systems (KERS)
proposed for Formula 1 (F1) motor racing.
Further to this, Torotrak Plc is pleased to confirm that a major F1 racing
team has become the first customer for the mechanical KERS system. This
F1 team will be supplied with KERS technology through Silverstone based
Flybrid Systems LLP, an innovative engineering company focused on
research and development of hybrid vehicle technology, who will source
Torotrak’s full-toroidal CVTs used in their KERS systems directly
from Xtrac Ltd.
Dick Elsy, chief executive at Torotrak, stated: “the rapid movement
from concept to application with a significant F1 racing team highlights
the benefits of the mechanical KERS system and its ability to contribute
to improved performance. This is also a significant step towards acceptance
of Torotrak’s technology for use in mainstream road cars to provide
improvements in performance, fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions.”
This development demonstrates the level of interest and confidence within F1 in the mechanical KERS system based upon Torotrak’s full-toroidal traction drive technology. Furthermore, it highlights the benefits of using Torotrak’s technology to meet the requirement outlined by FIA president Max Moseley – of developing technology directly relevant to improving fuel efficiency in road cars – by recovering energy from the vehicle under braking and subsequently re-using that energy to accelerate and drive the vehicle.
Speaking about the agreement, Adrian Moore technical director Xtrac, said: “We are delighted to be working with Flybrid, which has an important role to play in the development of an energy efficient KERS system for F1. It is also exciting to be involved in the development of this new technology, which ultimately has the prospect of helping road cars to be more fuel efficient."
The mechanical KERS system utilises flywheel technology developed by Flybrid Systems to recover and store a moving vehicle’s kinetic energy which is otherwise wasted when the vehicle is decelerated. The energy is received from the driveline through the Torotrak CVT, engineered and supplied by Xtrac, as the vehicle decelerates, and is subsequently released back into the driveline, again through the CVT, as the vehicle accelerates. The FIA has defined the amount of energy recovery for the 2009 season as 400kJ per lap giving the driver an extra 80hp over a period of 6.67 seconds.
Compared to the alternative of electrical-battery systems, the mechanical KERS system provides a significantly more compact, efficient, lighter and environmentally-friendly solution.
Jon Hilton, Flybrid’s managing partner, states: “We believe the Torotrak solution offers the smallest and lightest package for the power output required and that the inherent torque controlled nature of the device ideally suits our application.”
IRL Championship / Britcar 24 Hours / FIA GT
On the 9th September 2007, Dario Franchitti won the IndyCar Series' championship at the Chicagoland speedway after starting an eventful race from pole position. The result was by no means a forgone conclusion as he took the lead on the final lap of this final race of the season, for a full report follow http://www.indycar.com/news/story.php?story_id=9906 .
Xtrac have been the sole approved transmission supplier for the IndyCar Series since 2000 and the championship sanctioning body, Indy Racing League (IRL) have now confirmed that this supply approval will continue for an additional two years until the end of the 2010 season. Xtrac have enjoyed working with the IRL and are looking forward to next year when the transmissions will be supplemented with an all new paddle shift system.
Also on the same day as Franchitti’s win, the BMW Z4M Coupé entered by Duller Motorsport and driven by Britain Jamie Campbell-Walter and team mates Dieter Quester, Dirk Werner and Johannes Stuck won the Britcar 24 hour race at Silverstone. Duller won this same event in 2006 with their then new Xtrac transmission Duller Motorsport and again this year our unit helped them run through this endurance event and win with a comfortable 2 lap advantage to the 2nd placed car.
A third victory was added to the Xtrac honour list as Jetalliance Racing took victory in the FIA GT night race at Adria on the 8th September. The Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9 driven by Karl Wendlinger and Ryan Sharp put on a dominant display at the Italian track over the weekend, leading the majority of the laps after starting from pole.
The victory marks yet another win for Xtracs’ DBR9 gearbox in the 2007 season, following on from wins at the FIA GT round at Monza and GT1 class victory in the Le Mans 24hrs.
Xtrac would like to congratulate, Dario Franchitti, Andretti Green Racing, the entire Duller MotorSport team and the Jetalliance team on their respective victories
Xtrac technical chief discusses competencies required to transfer energy efficient motorsport solutions to everyday cars
Adrian Moore, technical director at Xtrac, a vehicle transmission specialist, presented two case studies last week to professional automotive engineers and technical experts attending the Global Powertrain Congress held this year in Berlin.
The case studies focused on the technical challenge and competencies required to develop new and advanced transmission systems for hybrid and electric vehicles – in this instance by citing an all-electric powered high performance sports car and a ‘dual mode’ hybrid small family saloon.
The ‘dual mode’ gearbox has been developed for the world's first commercially viable diesel-electric drivetrain developed by the automotive engineering consultancy Zytek; a company which also presented a paper at the conference. Its low-cost energy-efficient system has been prepared for assessment by car manufacturers in a vehicle that fully meets the requirements of the UK government’s Ultra Low Carbon Car Challenge (ULCCC).
The gearbox case studies revealed by Moore clearly demonstrate the crossover
between motorsport and road vehicle transmission engineering ...and the
potential for the motorsport industry in general to transfer its technology
and technical solutions for the benefit of making the next generation
of cars more energy efficient.
“New transmission systems are essential to help vehicle manufacturers
produce cars with far more efficient powertrains emitting significantly lower
CO2 emissions,” said Moore, “an issue which has become the number
one imperative for the motor industry.”
Moore told the conference that Xtrac’s core business is the design of high performance transmissions manufactured cost-effectively and in small volumes for the motorsport industry and closely-related engineering sectors such as the aerospace, defence and marine industries. This discipline, honed over almost 25 years, has resulted in the development of design tools and the manufacturing capability to rapidly and cost-effectively produce highly sophisticated prototype transmissions in the low volumes necessary to build pre-production electric or hybrid cars for test and development and for their assessment by high volume manufacturers.
This is not the first time that Xtrac’s credentials have allowed the company to participate in a top level conference for mainstream automotive powertrain managers. Moore presented a separate technical paper at a similar three-day conference held last year in Detroit attended by international delegates. The company has a wealth of experience in designing transmission systems and is the world’s leading supplier of engine gears, gearboxes and differentials for the motorsport industry; where race teams demand the highest level of powertrain mechanical efficiency in order to be as competitive as possible.
“This means being as energy efficient as possible,” says Moore. “In motorsport there is nowhere to hide any inefficiency, so if you want to stay in front in this business you simply have to improve - and incessantly so - in order to produce the most efficient systems possible; and for Xtrac this means developing the most efficient research and development tools and the most efficient design and manufacturing processes, which is where we concentrate our financial investments. The good news is that these processes are transferable to the mainstream automotive industry.”
Moore illustrated the dramatic continual improvements achieved in motorsport with reference to a typical Formula One gearbox which 20 years ago weighed 50kg in order to handle 500bhp at 11,000rpm. Today, the equivalent gearbox weighs 30kg yet can handle significantly higher engine power outputs of 900bhp at 19,000rpm.
“This represents real and significant progress in the development of stronger and lighter materials and more efficient gearbox designs,” said Moore.
Xtrac’s advanced transmission development centre is based in the UK at the company’s purpose built factory at Thatcham in Berkshire, where it employs approximately 260 staff including more than 50 professional engineers and technicians in its engineering design and research departments.
A published copy of the Xtrac paper and other conference proceedings is available from the International Council for Powertrain Engineering and Management (ICPEM), a non-profit organisation. Information is available at www.gpc-icpem.org.
The Global Powertrain Congress (GPC), now approaching its 10th anniversary, was launched in 1998 and has established itself as an international event focused exclusively on the needs of the powertrain community. The event is sponsored by IPCEM to help advance knowledge of science, engineering and safety related to powertrain technologies.
The 16th & 17th June saw the 75th running of the classic Le Mans 24 hour endurance race. This race is unquestionably one of the worlds toughest motorsport events and is the perfect proving ground for developing the type of endurance products which have become the hallmark of Xtrac ever since our 1-2-3 finish in 1993 with Peugeot when they ran the 905 Evo 1B.
Yet again Xtrac have improved on our previous results at Le Mans where this year 54 cars started, 29 finished and of those 29 finishers 19 were using an Xtrac transmission. Xtrac’s involvement is not just limited to gearboxes, other cars which finished were fitted with our differentials, engine timing gears or suspension components highlighting the benefits of selecting Xtrac as a total solution provider.
Our range of gearboxes for endurance racing continues to increase and Xtrac are now able to offer an LMP2 version of our 529 gearbox which notably was the only customer gearbox to reach the podium in third place along with the great success achieved by Audi who scored their second successive outright victory in the R10 TDI using a bespoke transmission manufactured by Xtrac. In addition to this Xtrac are continuing to develop our range of differentials for all categories of Sportscars.
Torotrak and Xtrac transmission expertise will help F1 teams develop highly efficient kinetic energy recovery systems
Toroidal traction drive specialist Torotrak plc and vehicle transmission design and manufacturing company Xtrac Ltd are pleased to announce that on 4 June 2007 they entered into a licence agreement to enable Xtrac to develop highly efficient and compact continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) for use in the new kinetic energy recovery systems (KERS) proposed for Formula One (“F1”) motor racing.
In 2009, F1 is introducing new rules that will lower the environmental impact of the sport. Part of this is to recover deceleration energy that can be stored for acceleration. Xtrac will exploit Torotrak’s full-toroidal traction drive technology, for use in kinetic energy recovery systems within the motorsport industry, to assist its customers in meeting these new obligations.
Commenting on the co-operation between the two companies, Peter Digby, managing director of Xtrac, said: “The transfer of world-class transmission technology from Torotrak, combined with the added value of Xtrac’s expertise in the design and manufacture of transmissions for motorsport – and with clear potential to feed the resulting technical solution back into mainstream automotive use – is a good example of what I believe FIA president Max Mosley had in mind when he announced that Formula One should embrace an energy efficient future and open up the world of motorsport to new manufacturers.”
Dick Elsy, chief executive at Torotrak, added: “We are delighted to be working with Xtrac on this exciting new application of our transmission technology, to provide a highly efficient KERS solution for initial application in motorsport, but with a clear opportunity to apply the system in mainstream road cars to provide performance, economy and greenhouse gas emission benefits.”
For more information, click here.
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Xtrac develops new Super 2000 rally gearbox and differential
Vehicle transmission specialist Xtrac - which specialises in transmission technology for the aerospace, automotive, defence, marine and motorsport sectors - has introduced an all-new six-speed sequential transmission and rear differential for four wheel drive rally cars complying with the FIA Super 2000 regulations. The ‘532’ transmission has been designed specifically to fulfil the FIA technical and commercial regulations.
“The gearbox specification is tailored to suit the recent changes to the Super 2000 regulations which have allowed homologated transmissions from more than one supplier,” said Adrian Moore technical director at Xtrac. “To meet FIA requirements we have put a lot of effort into achieving the lowest possible costs, whilst ensuring that technically we have a reliable and lightweight transmission solution built to our normal industry-leading quality level. There has been a very high level of engineering effort into this project, which also has several other uses outside of Super 2000 rally.”
The design for the new gearbox was undertaken at the company’s technical centre at Thatcham in Berkshire, where the gearbox and differential will be manufactured and assembled.
“Xtrac’s manufacturing resources comprise all that’s necessary to build a complete transmission system,” said Peter Digby managing director at Xtrac. “This latest gearbox from Xtrac is strongly underpinned by major investments in state-of-the-art manufacturing processes, which means we can compete globally with all our transmission systems to meet the exacting standards of the motorsport industry.”
Super 2000 rally cars typically deliver power and torque figures of circa 280bhp and 250Nm. To handle this level of output Xtrac has ensured that all the steel for the rotating parts in its new transmission is produced to its own specification. Strict quality control procedures are carried out at every manufacturing stage and every unit is tested dynamically prior to dispatch.
“We have an efficient design process that combines expertise in the key areas of product design and production engineering,” added Moore. “Our advanced research and development facilities have given us a real edge with this new transmission in its design, sub-system behaviour, gear technology, rotating dynamics and metallurgy.”
The main benefits of Xtrac’s latest transmission system to the rally engineer include easily removable gear clusters for ratio changes and differentials with external adjustment for the front, centre and rear. The main benefit for the rally driver is a light and positive sequential gearbox and high performance differentials, which fulfil the FIA mandated minimum weight of 90kg for the whole transmission.
Technical details of the transverse transmission system include the drive, which is taken from the clutch directly into the cluster with six forward gears; the output driving into the bevel gear ‘Salisbury’ type centre differential with a 50/50 torque split. A spool is offered as an option. The output from the centre differential is to the front differential and to the rear drive bevel gear set. There is a hydraulically operated rear drive disconnect unit integrated into the rear differential, which does not require any additional costly and complex auxiliary pumps to operate. The gearbox spur final drive gears are ‘full form ground’, the gearbox output and rear differential final drive bevel gears are manufactured using the Klingelnberg cyclo-palloid hard cutting process for accuracy, durability and enhanced life.
A range of up to 25 homologated gear ratios is available, with the critical gearbox components being able to fulfil the mandated FIA life of a minimum of 2,000km of extreme use. Full and comprehensive technical support documentation is provided with each transmission, as is access to Xtrac provided technician training and spare part sales from stock.
The centre differential is a bevel gear ‘Salisbury’ type with a Belleville spring to provide a positive pre-load that is externally adjustable through a simple drive. The friction discs are molybdenum coated steel; the friction plates are carburised steel lapped to size. A range of different differential ramp and cross pin angles is available to provide different locking characteristics.
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In the week running up to the American Le Mans Series 12-hour race at
Sebring on 17th March, Xtrac's managing director Peter Digby presented
at the inaugural Energy Efficient Motorsport Conference. This MIA event
(Thursday 15 March) was supported by the Society of Automotive Engineers
(SAE), Shell, UK Trade & Investment and Xtrac.
The main messages in Peter Digby's keynote speech were that the motorsport
industry is uniquely placed to help develop and transfer its advanced
concepts into normal road going cars. As an international entertainment
industry, with millions of fans globally, it also has the potential to
inform and educate worldwide audiences regarding energy efficient technologies
and green issues facing the automotive sector.
"With depleting oil reserves and climate change top of the political agenda,
energy efficiency is hugely important," says Digby. "If we don't do anything
about these issues our society will change significantly. Turning to Xtrac's
own area of expertise - transmission technology - Digby says motor racing had
rapidly accelerated gear design, manufacture and materials development with
more efficient, compact and lightweight transmissions able to handle much higher
levels of power and torque.
Alternative fuels are just one area where motorsport is proving beneficial
to mainstream automotive manufacturers, a point displayed to good effect
by Audi who won the 12 hour race for the second consecutive year with
the R10 diesel LMP1 car. The transmission for this car was designed to
be capable of handling the immense torque levels of the racing diesel
engine but also to be as light as a conventional gearbox for a gasoline
powered car.
If reinforcement was needed to display the efficiency of Xtrac's transmission
design then the record books for the Sebring weekend will show the 1-2-3
finish for Mazda and Acura in the SCCA touring car race and the class
wins in both LMP1 and GT1 in the 12 hour race itself."
On Saturday 17th February, in San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium, Ryan Villopoto stormed to his 6th win of the season from 7 races in the AMA Supercross Lites West series. In doing so, he sealed another title for the Monster Pro Circuit Kawasaki Team using Xtrac's 547 kit.
Earlier in the season at the Phoenix, Az the team set another precedent with a clean sweep of the podium. Their riders Christoph Pourcel, Ruan Villopoto and Chris Gosselar finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Xtrac's 2007 season has taken off with a perfect hat-trick and all in just over three weeks. The Lisbon-Dakar started on the 6th January and saw Stéphane Petehansel as the first to cross the finish line in his Mitsubishi Pajero EVO nearly 8,000km later on the 21st January and represents his seventh successive victory at this even for Mitsubishi whilst using Xtrac differential components. Over 16 cars were equipped with Xtrac gearboxes or differentials in this legendary event. Of these, 8 cars finished in the top ten and a total of 14 were in the top 20 once again underlining Xtrac's ability to provide reliable transmissions for the world's most arduous events.
The 27th & 28th January saw the Rolex 24 Hour Grand Am at Daytona. For the past three years, this event has been dominated by cars using Xtrac components, this years race being no exception with 29 cars electing to use our approved ‘386’ transmission and driveline. All three podium positions at every Gram Am race since and including the 24 hours in 2005 have been awarded to Xtrac runners and we are very proud to be able to support our customers in this prestigious series.
Commenting on the award, Peter Digby managing director of Xtrac said:
“It was an honour sharing the platform with other award winners
such as Ferrari, Renault and Bosch, high calibre engineers of the stature
of Ulrich Baretzky of Audi Sport and team principal Marc Van Dalen
of Kronos Racing. It was also a real privilege to receive this award
on behalf of Xtrac, and I would like to thank in particular the efforts
of our research and development team who helped achieve this world-class
breakthrough in testing technology.” Peter Digby accepted the
award accompanied by Xtrac technical director Adrian Moore whose inspiration
led to the development of the new test rig. The award was received
at a gala dinner in front of an invited audience of 600 motor sport
professionals, engineers, team principals and race car companies.
“I know the whole company will be delighted to receive this new
award as it reflects our innovation and technology focus,” said
Moore. “Our differential test rig is the first ever to be able
to characterise passive mechanical type limited-slip differentials
- as distinct from active differentials. This has obvious benefits
in motorsport, but also broader safety implications for car handling
generally, which clearly has been recognised by the judges.”
Xtrac’s new test rig is an all-new facility designed specifically
to provide automotive clients with accurate test data on passive differentials.
Despite being simpler than active differentials, because they are purely
mechanical devices that avoid complex control systems and actuators,
passive differentials have until now proved almost impossible to measure
because of their transient behaviour. The new rig can characterise
both speed and torque sensing limited-slip differentials as well as
open differentials and complements Xtrac’s longstanding ability
to measure viscous as well as electronically-controlled hydraulically-actuated
differentials, thereby providing the company with the ability to evaluate
any type of differential system.
“We designed and commissioned the test rig to support our differential
design and predictive modelling capabilities,” Moore added. “It
represents a significant investment and will help increase our understanding
and calibration of mechanical plate differentials. The new rig is already
being used for research into new friction materials and for confidential
client projects.”
Peter Digby receiving the MIA's Award for Export Achievement
from Gavin Brown, MD of
Haymarket Exhibitions
Xtrac Develops Gearbox for Zytek's Low Cost Next Generation Hybrid
Transmission technology specialist Xtrac, in partnership with automotive engineering consultancy Zytek, has designed a new gearbox fully integrated into the world's first commercially viable next generation diesel-electric drivetrain developed for a small family car.
Commenting on Xtrac’s partnership in the programme, Business Development Manager Robin Price said: “Our experience of designing high-performance motorsport transmissions has resulted in a compact and efficient gearbox that is not only robust and reliable, but also meets the programme’s low cost requirement for high volume series production.
“Achieving the packaging requirements was a particular challenge, given the space available for the installation, but we were able to meet Zytek’s specification and performance targets by applying sophisticated computer-aided engineering analysis. We also specified high performance steels developed for motorsport applications through our advanced materials research programme, which enabled us to supply the gearbox with small lightweight gears and internal components.
“Key elements of the design were verified through separate research projects and the work was validated through laboratory tests. To ensure the gearbox fulfilled its specification we applied budget and timescale disciplines which are typical of the motorsport sector but unusual in the automotive industry. This allowed us to develop and deliver a transmission very quickly and to work within the funds available.”
“The design philosophy behind this product is one of close attention to detail,” said Senior Design Engineer Paul Pomfret. “Our objective was to optimise packaging, weight and efficiency without resorting to expensive and time-consuming exotic materials and processes.”
Xtrac Technical Director Adrian Moore added: “Zytek’s achievement with this new hybrid illustrates how the motorsport industry can apply its technology and technical skills to help vehicle manufacturers build more environmentally friendly road cars by delivering energy-efficient solutions. We applied our knowledge and the latest design tools to help turn this transmission concept into reality. It’s the culmination of many years of experience.”
“We’re delighted to have been involved in this project and equally delighted with the outcome, which is a real showcase of new and innovative driveline technology,” said Xtrac Managing Director Peter Digby. “Xtrac is involved increasingly in mainstream projects of this nature, working closely with vehicle manufacturers, specialist suppliers and system integrators, and applying its transmission and driveline know-how to help develop the next generation of road vehicles.
“Our motorsport experience means we can apply technical solutions learnt on the track to enhance vehicle handling and driveline efficiency on the road; and there can be no doubt that vehicle safety and carbon emissions are the two main legislated drivers in vehicle development today.”
Zytek’s novel solution is a dual-mode hybrid that combines the high efficiency of series hybrids at low vehicle speeds and the high efficiency of parallel hybrids at high vehicle speeds. It eliminates the compromises of other dual-mode hybrids by using sophisticated control strategies to replace clutches and complex epicyclic gearsets. The gearbox design and electronic controls allow each motor to be optimised for its function within the drivetrain.
The low-cost energy-efficient drivetrain has been prepared for assessment by car manufacturers in a demonstration vehicle that fully meets the requirements of the Ultra Low Carbon Car Challenge. This Department for Transport and Energy Saving Trust initiative is aimed at producing a prototype small family car with exceptionally low CO2 emissions of under 100g/km, measured on a well to wheels basis, which is equivalent to a fuel consumption of at least 75mpg (3.8l/100km).
The Zytek prototype does so without compromising the driveability, performance, comfort, features and safety expected from a car in this segment. It also meets Euro IV emissions standards. The novel dual-mode technology offers a realistic alternative to expensive proprietary systems and can be quickly implemented within the packaging constraints of compact European passenger cars.
Emphasisng the affordability of its new drivetrain, Zytek launched the hybrid at the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders) London headquarters to an invited audience of industry VIPs and media. The vehicle unveiling was attended by Dr Stephen Ladyman, Minister of State for Transport and Tim Curtis, Head of Operations at the Energy Saving Trust.
Continual Investment in R&D Test Facility
Following the success of the award-winning QT-DTR differential test rig introduced in early 2006, Xtrac have now implemented an additional investment phase into R&D laboratory test and validation equipment and facility. Two purpose designed sound proof "Envirosound" laboratories have been installed with complete remote control operation, automated shut down capability and extensive fume extraction and environment control.
Room One houses the well established '4 Square Rig' which is used to test gear pair test coupons to destruction to generate:
- Fatigue Data
- Materials Comparison Data
- Process Comparison Data
By housing the rig in a sound proof room with remote shut down, it will be able to run 24 hours a day and so generate a significant increase in the amount of test data gathered, thus reducing development time. The '4 Square Rig' has also been updated with a state of the art Ansible Design control system, similar to that used on the QT-DTR rig.
Room 2 houses the NVH (Noise Vibration and Harshness) rig, which is being used to develop an appropriate eccelerometer based system for noise evaluation and passenger comfort assessment, ideally suited to some of the Automotive based transmission projects which are being carried out at Xtrac. The rig will be used to:-
- Validate transmissions
- Compare design philosophies
- Better assessment of passenter comfort
More people, more machines, more investment.
Xtrac has now reached a total of 262 employees, its largest number ever. In 2006 there has been an expansion of the engineering section in addition to a lot more factory personnel, especially in the gear production, gear grinding and quality areas. There has also been an expansion to the award winning Apprentice Training Scheme which now has 13 apprentices undergoing an intensive course which includes college attendance.
On the machining front, The new Klingelnberg G27 spiral bevel gear grinding machine has now been in and working for 7 months and is extremely busy producing a large range of products. By optimising the tooth design with the Klingelnberg KIMoS software that Xtrac have in-house, the machine is able to produce smaller, lighter, stronger bevel sets for F1, WRC and Sportscar applications. It has also allowed us to introduce a high range of high hypoid crown wheel and pinions for off-road and Nascar applications.
Xtrac also took delivery of its 4th Kapp VuS55P full form gear grinding machine in September to further expand the capacity of its high level gear manufacture. Having developed a very reliable process, the first machine was introduced only for engine applications and long distance endurance races, but now virtually all of Xtrac's products can be specified with gear ground gears if required. The additional machine has allowed earlier machines to have a series of £100,000 upgrades to improve their accuracy and will also allow lead times to reduce.
Xtrac has introduced recently a new range of specially developed lubricants. Working closely with the Neo Synthetic Oil Company, Xtrac has helped develop specific oils and greases from this American supplier tailored to meet the requirements of Xtrac’s high performance transmissions, limited slip differentials, driveshaft assemblies and hypoid axles.
The new XL1 synthetic oil is rated SAE 75W-90 and includes a newly developed additive to extend gear life and improve gearbox efficiency by reducing sliding friction, oil temperature and the impact of shock loads. The oil’s characteristics include excellent low temperature viscosity and high temperature stability.
The new XG1 synthetic grease similarly minimises the impact of high shock loads typified by the high torque reversals and large speed variations generated by constant velocity and tripod joints in motorsport applications. The grease also has bearing applications and is specified for uses involving high rolling contact.
New Sportscar & Touring Car Gearboxes
Xtrac’s new 529 series gearbox, which is suitable for LMP1, LMP2
and GT1 class vehicles, recently entered production at its UK facility
at Thatcham in Berkshire in readiness for the 2007 race season.
“Our new gearbox for endurance sports car racing is based on our Le Mans
winning 229 transverse design, which has been one of the most reliable and
successful gearboxes to be produced by Xtrac,” said development director
Cliff Hawkins. “In developing the new 529 gearbox, we deliberately specified
a significant number of well proven carryover parts for optimum reliability,
combined with technical improvements in a number of key areas.”
The 529 gearbox is 3.4kg (7.5lb) lighter than its predecessor and its development has lead to a narrower lightweight cluster, a revised gear-change rack & pneumatic actuator, improved oil feed galleries and, for ease of maintenance, a side mounted alternator and rear mounted starter. The new gearbox can fit inside the minimum diffuser size permitted by the latest Le Mans Prototype regulations without any modifications, and the narrow viscous-coupling plate differential permits longer driveshafts. Options include a low loss bevel bearing for increased mechanical efficiency.
Another state-of-the-art racecar transmission is Xtrac’s ‘516’ front wheel drive gearbox developed for the World Touring Car Championship and other touring car championships.
The new gearbox makes use of reduced centre distance F1 derived gear ratios to minimise its mass, size and inertia. The gear-change system incorporates the latest polynomial barrel track design and a low inertia rack to improve gear-change response and driver feel. The low positioning of the gear cluster lowers the centre of gravity and enables easy removal from the car under the chassis rail. The gear cluster is fully exposed when removed from the gearbox allowing quick inspection and ease of access for ratio changes.
Further demonstrating that the motorsport industry can work to very short timescales, Xtrac has already responded to feedback from customers attending the recent Professional Motorsport World Expo in Cologne, with a new production ready endurance kit for its 406 gearbox. Designed primarily for use in front wheel drive touring car applications, this transverse six-speed sequential racing gearbox is being used increasingly for longer races such as the VLN series in Germany. The endurance kit upgrade helps preserve the 406 transmission's renowned durability for these longer races, while maintaining its ease of servicing; ratio changes are accomplished on the bench after the ratio cluster has been removed as one unit on its cluster plate. Value engineered to meet strict cost constraints, this gearbox offers the highest quality at a cost effective price.
To reflect Xtrac's expanding markets both inside and outside of motorsport, a new brochure has been produced. Please visit the on line brochure page on our website www.xtrac.com
Xtrac Apprentice Presented with Outstanding Learner Award
On the 18th December 2006, James Peddle attended a graduation ceremony at Newbury College where he was awarded an HND in Mechanical Engineering. James, who has recently completed his Advanced Apprenticeship with Xtrac, was also presented with the Outstanding Learner Award by Sir Terence Conran on behalf of Newbury College.
It was a busy month for our apprentices, as James O'Hagan was presented with the first Darren Huttel Apprentice of the Year Award in memory of one of our members of staff Darren, who passed away so suddenly in September 2005 aged only 35. The award will be given each year to those that have demonstrated a high standard of work, and the ability to work as part of a team.
Another highlight of the Xtrac displayat Autosport was the transmission system developed for the 350mph record breaking performance of the JCB DIESELMAX project, which smashed the diesel land speed record at Bonneville in August last year. Xtrac supplied both gearboxes and differentials specified for the vehicle, which features two complete powertrain systems, one driving the front wheels and another driving the rear wheels.
“Within the demanding timescale for this project we took a derivative of our existing 427 sportscar transmission, packaged the automated clutch system from the JCB Fastrac vehicle and designed a bespoke differential assembly,” said technical director Adrian Moore. “It was true concurrent engineering between Xtrac, Visioneering and JCB utilising our Unigraphics NX4 CAD system, without our motorsport approach I doubt the project could have been completed to schedule.
“As you can imagine, there was significant development work involved
in synchronising the automated clutch and gear changes, which clearly
had to occur simultaneously and with absolute precision,” said
Moore.
“Any error whatsoever could have resulted in the gearboxes being
in different gears, with potentially catastrophic consequences. Our laboratory
test rigs were fully deployed beforehand running both transmissions and
control systems simultaneously to prove the system’s integrity
before venturing onto the airfield and subsequently the salt flats, thereby
ensuring the safest possible passage for driver Andy Green.”
By choosing not to send out traditional Christmas cards and by holding some staff raffles, Xtrac and its staff have been able to make charitable donations to Naomi House Childrens Hospice and the Motorsport Foundation.
Naomi House is a local charity which provides respite, palliative, terminal and bereavement care to children and their families in central Southern England - www.naomihouse.org.uk
The Motorsport Foundation was funded by the MIA to provide funds that support good causes within the motorsport industry and the sport. - www.the-mia.co.uk
New
'6012' Road Car Gearbox
Xtrac launched its ultra high specification 6 speed transverse
transaxle transmission at the Autosport International Show held
at the NEC in January.
The new gearbox represents an important commercial development for the company; building on our expertise in specialist race car transmissions the road-going '6012' variant extends Xtrac's business into low volume driveline projects for the mainstream automotive industry. Designed to meet the needs of vehicle manufacturers producing high performance vehicles, the transmission can handle an impressive 1,100 Nm of torque.
The key benefit to makers of exclusive supercars requiring such transmissions is access to an affordable 'off-the-shelf' system, thereby avoiding the need for expensive upfront engineering development of a bespoke design.
Enhancing Technologies for Transmissions Systems
Steve Vanes, Xtrac's Chief Metallurgist presented a paper at the 'Performing Enhancing Technologies for Transmission Systems' seminar which took place at TRW Conekt in Solihull on 28th September.
Recent years have brought a spectacular increase in the range of materials and processes available to the designer of mechanical transmissions. These include a vast range of new surface engineering techniques applied to various materials including advanced composites currently used in transmission systems. Rigorous evaluation and exploitation of this new technology has become a huge task which struggles to keep pace with the scale of innovation.
Attending the seminar were delegates from aerospace industries including Rolls Royce, Smiths Aerospace, Goodrich Actuation System, steel making including Corus and bearings which included Timken and SKF.
Adding to a fantastic debut win at this year's Le Mans 24hrs for the diesel powered Audi R10, Audi have also won the American Le Mans Series Championship with Dindo Capello and Allan McNish driving, after they captured a record equalling 6 wins in a season.
The Championship was achieved following a fine drive to first place in the Grand Prix of Mosport in Canada.
The Audi R10 diesel powered car uses an Xtrac gearbox that has proved
to be remarkably trouble free throughout the season’s races, despite
the special demands placed on it by the high torque V12 diesel engine.
Sam Hornish wins Indy Racing League Championship for Penske
Sam Hornish Jr added to his excellent Indianapolis 500 win in May, byclinching the Championship by the smallest of margins on Sunday 10th September at Chicagoland Speedway.
Sam finished 3rd in the race, which meant he was equal on points with last year’s winner Dan Wheldon, but was awarded the Championship due to a greater number of wins. This was Sam’s 3rd title win. However, it is the first IRL championship win for Roger Penske the team owner, and one of Xtrac’s original customers dating back to 1984. During this time, Xtrac have supplied parts for all of the Penske race cars.
Xtrac has been the exclusive supplier of gearboxes to the IRL since 2000 and now supplies the excellent ‘295’ series gearbox which is mated to the Honda engine and Dallara chassis.
Winning Debut for Duller Motorsport
On Sunday 10th September, the BMW Z4M Coupé entered by Duller Motorsport and driven by Britain Jamie Campbell-Walter and team mates T. Mullen, D. Werner and D. Quester won the Britcar 24 hour race at Silverstone. This was the first race for the new BMW Z4M which uses Xtrac's 6 speed sequential '427' gearbox.
The timescale from agreeing the project to the first race win was only seven weeks and that includes an extensive car testing programme following the supply of the first test gearbox in only 3 weeks! The second gearbox was supplied directly to the Silverstone race. A BMW spokesman said it was "a perfect example of Just in Time manufacture - the 2nd gearbox arrived at the circuit and was immediately fitted to the car after qualifying". There were no gearbox problems and the car won the race with a 16 lap margin.
The car will now complete the remainder of the VLN series races. Everybody at Xtrac wishes BMW the best of luck with this exciting project.
Xtrac Open Day a Resounding Success
Over 300 people attended the Xtrac Open Day last Saturday (September 9th), with the visitors declaring the day “fascinating, informative and enjoyable”. Guests to the 88,000 sq. ft. facility were welcomed by the sight of Bentley’s 2003 Le Mans winning Speed 8 Race car, as well as the Ford Escort Rallycross car that features Xtrac’s first ever gearbox and which was raced by the company’s founder Mike Endean.
The day provided entertainment for all the family, with the tours and displays being supported by a children’s treasure quiz and a bouncy castle. A highlight of the tour was the 2005 world championship winning Renault R25 which was on display with a member of Renault F1 on hand to answer questions.
The Mayor of Thatcham, Councillor Alexander Payton also visited during the day, and was shown around the factory by Adrian Moore, the company’s Technical Director. After the tour the Adrian commented: “It is great to hold an open day like this and showcase our company to our friends in our local community. Everybody seemed to really enjoy themselves and it is very nice to be able to interact with people in such a positive way. It is important that our friends in government and fellow Thatcham businesses have a better understanding of what we do, so we can co-operate better together and I feel that we’ve made a very positive step today.”
The day also saw a raffle being organised in aid of Naomi House Hospice and the Motorsport Foundation, with tickets proving especially popular. As Peter Digby, Xtrac’s Managing Director explains: “We feel it is very important to give something back to the community and to support worthwhile causes like Naomi House Hospice and the Motorsport Foundation. I am delighted that we have managed to raise nearly £1,000 for these charities. I hope that everybody who attended today enjoyed themselves and learned more about our company. Our award-winning apprenticeship programme attracted a lot of interest as well and we look forward to welcoming more talented people to our ever-expanding workforce”.
“We received a lot of interest and already have numerous people wishing to attend a future open day, so hopefully this is something that we can establish as an on-going tradition.”
The winner of the first prize in the raffle was Mr Alan Jones from Newbury.
JCB broke the land speed record for a diesel powered car on 23rd August 2006, posting a speed of 328.7mph at Bonneville. This was an official FIA approved run where the vehicle was turned around in less than an hour as required. Although JCB had hoped to achieve 300mph, this being the conservative figure quoted to the press, the car is designed to potentially go faster as it has done. The previous record was 237mph.
Then, the following day, the team achieved a stunning 350mph to break its own land speed record for diesel-powered cars. After two passes in opposite directions within one hour, the first run achieved 365.779mph and the second run 335.695 which gave the average of 350mph. Project Director Tim Leverton said "350mph is a fantastic speed for a diesel-powered car. To have built the world's fastest diesel in such a short timescale is a wonderful achievement. Once again we have demonstrated the engineering and team effort that has gone into creating this extraordinary car".
Xtrac are extremely proud to be associated with this project in the supply of gearboxes and differentials that performed perfectly. JCB's Product Engineering Manager David Hoyle had this to say, "I write to express my thanks on behalf of the JCB Dieselmax Team for the help and support Xtrac provided to our land speed record project".
2nd September saw the Volvo S60R in a dominating win at the SPEED World Challenge GT Race at Mosport in Canada. Turning fast lap after fast lap, the At Speed entry was never threatened and won by well over one minute, lapping the entire field except for the second place finisher.
Xtrac are delighted to have assisted in this historic first win for the Volvo. Although Volvo has a long history of winning in Touring Car series around the world, this is the first time that a Volvo has won a GT class race.
Super
Heavy Duty Differential
Xtrac has added the '522' Super Heavy Duty Differential to their product
range during the of Summer of 2006. The '522' is an independent unit designed
for either front and/or rear drive applications, typically for Cross Country,
Rallye Raid vehicles or Sportscars for applications which deliver more
torque than the existing Rally Raid proven '247' unit was designed for.
Universal mountings allow units to be mounted for all shaft rotations and positions (front and rear). The oil system has been designed to operate in all possible orientations. These features combined with the unit's high quality, low cost attributes make this product ideal for a wide variety of endurance type events.
Specification
- 4,000Nm (2,950lbft) maximum output torque*
- Cast aluminium L169 alloy casing and side cover
- Universal mounting points
- Plate differential with ZF008 type internals
- Crown wheel & pinion with hard cut gear tooth form for greater strength & life
- Full form ground spur final drive
- Many different ratios available
- Differential mounted on heavy duty taper roller bearings
- Recirculating wet sump oil system
- Oil pump, eccentric 9mm-rotor type
- Internal filter, with internal magnet
- Prop shaft flange options: Ø 100mm Lobro or Universal Joint
- Output flanges to suit Lobro AV125 joints (Ø 128mm)
- Input and output flange lip seals with additional dust shields
- Differential weight is approximately 52kg (114lb) – including
VCP
The differential offers the following benefits:
- Universal orientation mounting
- Proven Dakar credentials
- Cost effective, reliable solution
- Optimised across flange differential width to maximize driveshaft length, across flanges is approximately 305.0mm
- Optimised package for ground clearance, approximate dimension of the bottom of the unit to the differential output is 128.0mm
Options Summary
- Epicyclic Viscous Limited Slip Differential
- Different ratings of viscous coupling are available
- Front axle installation kit, half shaft and support casting
- Magnesium castings
- Large selection of ramp options
- Various final drive ratios
- Xtremed polished final drive
- Oil pump performance to suit applications
- Medium duty '407' and Heavy Duty '247' differential also available
- CW&P with full form gear ground tooth form
Following the recent intake of graduate engineers and a major expansion in factory personnel, Xtrac's total workforce now exceeds 260 people. This includes the 12 engineers and technicians based in Indianapolis. The company's engineering department now boasts over 60 engineers all working on project design, gear design, finite element analysis, stressing, production engineering, quality engineering and research & development.
For the list of current vacancies, please access the Vacancies section of our website.
The factory expansion has included additional grinding and milling machines, but also includes a big expansion to the Kapp gear grinding capacity, which will shortly have a 4th machine and better shift coverage.
Last but not least, Xtrac has recently installed the very latest Klingelnberg CNC bevel gear grinder and inspection machine. A substantial investment that will allow Xtrac to produce accurate bevel sets in house - thus ensuring our normal quality and delivery targets are achieved.
Peter Digby, Managing Director, celebrates 20 years service at Xtrac in July 2006.
Peter joined Xtrac in 1986 as only the 5th employee at the time, having previously been at the Williams Grand Prix team as their Production Manager, and then briefly in a similar role for Team Haas. He took over the running of Xtrac, leaving Mike Endean to dedicate his time to the design projects.
Xtrac moved to a new site in Finchampstead in March 1987 and started the commitment to purchasing the latest machine tools, that continues today. Over the next 13 years, the company acquired a total of five factories on the estate before undertaking the move to its purpose built 90,000 sq ft factory in Thatcham.
In early 1996, Peter led a management buyout of the company with two of the Directors. As part of this arrangement, an Employee Shareholding Trust was established with a 49% shareholding in Xtrac, so that employees could benefit from the future success of the company. This has been very successful and as a recognition of this, Xtrac won a prestigious Pro-Share award in 1998.
The Trust continues today, even though Montagu Private Equity took a 25% stake in the company in 2000, and Peter attributes a lot of Xtrac’s success to the employees owning a part of the company.
“I am a very lucky man to be involved with so many close friends at Xtrac and amongst our customers and suppliers. I thoroughly enjoy my work and look forward to many more happy years at Xtrac and being involved in the industry I love. Being paid for a hobby has to be everyone’s dream!”
At a presentation for all the staff, Peter was given a plinth by Technical
Director Adrian Moore, containing many of Xtrac’s most notable and
successful gears including those from the 2005 F1 Driver and Constructers
Championships, plus victories at Le Mans and World Rally, Dakar and Touring
Car Championships.
Enhancing Technologies for Transmissions Systems
Steve Vanes, Xtrac's Chief Metallurgist presented a paper at the 'Performing Enhancing Technologies for Transmission Systems' seminar which took place at TRW Conekt in Solihull on 28th September.
Recent years have brought a spectacular increase in the range of materials and processes available to the designer of mechanical transmissions. These include a vast range of new surface engineering techniques applied to various materials including advanced composites currently used in transmission systems. Rigorous evaluation and exploitation of this new technology has become a huge task which struggles to keep pace with the scale of innovation.
Attending the seminar were delegates from aerospace industries including Rolls Royce, Smiths Aerospace, Goodrich Actuation System, steel making including Corus and bearings which included Timken and SKF.
11 out of the first 12 finishers use Xtrac transmissions.
Xtrac enjoyed its best result ever at the 2006 Le Mans race, the 74th running of one of the world's toughest endurance races. Xtrac is extremely proud to be associated with the first win by a Diesel car by Audi with their R10 which finished first (Biela, Pirro, Werner) and third (McNish, Capello, Kristensen).
Special mention must also go to Pescarolo Sport finishing 2nd and 5th, and to Corvette Racing for their cars finishing 4th (and first in the LMGT1 class), 7th with the Alphand Adventures team and 12th.
Aston Martin also had three cars in the top 10 (6th, 9th and 10th).
The Acemco Motorsports Saleen completed the run of top results with 11th place.
Managing Director Peter Digby said "It really has been a great weekend for Xtrac and all of our customers, and I would like to congratulate them all for the excellent results. Just finishing at Le Mans is a great result on its own. I would also like to thank all those at the factory, and those who were on hand at the race itself for all their efforts. A lot of hard work goes into our products and it is fantastic to see results like these. We are all very proud".
Another double win
for Xtrac at Nurburgring 1000km
July 13th-15th, saw yet another victory for Xtrac supplied cars at the
Nurburgring 1000km. Overall victory for the Pescarolo team, along with
a GT1 class win for the Larbre Aston Martin DBR9 saw Xtrac's winning record
in sportscar extended.
The podium after the race emphasised the quality of Xtrac's latest sports
prototype product with both cars running Xtrac's gearbox finishing on
the podium with the Racing for Holland Dome joining the Pescarolo on the
rostrum in 3rd place after narrowly losing out in a hard-fought battle
for second place.
Also in the GT1 category Xtrac's products proved popular; all cars in
the class sported Xtrac gearboxes and put on an entertaining battle for
the race win, with Luc Alphand Aventures and Convers Team Menx completing
the podium for the class.
For further information about Xtrac's range of sportscar products, please
contact pim_vanbaarsen@xtrac.com.
More People
Xtrac's total headcount has now exceeded 240 people
worldwide and still continues to grow with more than another dozen vacancies
still to fill. Managing Director Peter Digby says "Xtrac's biggest
asset is its loyal workforce and we are pleased to continue our expansion
programme, especially after a few quiet years. In the last 12 months we
have doubled our workforce in Indianapolis and look to increase the level
of workshop personnel by nearly 20% over that of 2 years ago. We are also
committed to expand our excellent graduate and apprenticeship schemes
that have proved so successful.
James Thompson in his Seat Leon qualified on pole position for the first of the 3 races at Croft this weekend with Tom Chilton beside him in the VX Racing Vauxhall Astra in second position.
The race was lead from the start by James Thompson with Tom Chilton close behind until Chilton suffered rear suspension damage which lost him several places.
Race 1 saw an exciting battle between Matt Neal (Team Halfords Honda), Colin Turkington and Rob Collard (both Team RAC MG) as they tried to pass each other through the corners.
The race was won by Jason Plato with team mate James Thompson in second place.
Race 2 was won by Matt Neal in his 300th BTCC race.
Neal took the lead from Jason Plato, who had led from the start, on the penultimate lap to take the victory.
Team RAC’s Colin Turkington and Team Halfords Gordon Sheddon took third and fourth after passing James Thompson in the Seat Leon on the final lap.
Race 3 was started with Gavin Smith in pole position with the race 2’s winner Matt Neal starting in 7th position.
The race was won by James Thompson for Seat.
Thompson surged past Gavin Smith to gain a comfortable lead and his subsequent victory.
Smith spun his VX Astra down the field as Colin Turkington came through to finish 2nd in his Team RAC MG ZS while Mat Neal in the Honda Integra forced his car past Jason Plato in the Seat to finish 3rd place.
Gordon Sheddon, who was challenging for 2nd for much of the race suffered with a puncture, set the races fastest lap time.
Throughout all 3 races none of the cars using Xtrac ‘406’ FWD gearbox suffered any failures or problems.
In the last months there have been some major changes in the layout of Xtrac's manufacturing facility. This has been to accommodate some new machines and to enhance the efficiency of the existing machines with multi machine operating cells.
CNC grinding capacity has been substantially increased with the purchase of two new Studer CNC machines. A Studer S21 and an S31 which also has C-axis capability.
In the Milling department, Xtrac have purchased its largest
milling machine to date that is a Matsuura MAM72-25V with 10 pallet loading
and 240 tool positions. This will allow
The final machine to be installed is the Klingelnberg P40 measuring centre. This represents the latest technology in closed loop gear measurement capability and has been acquired ahead of the latest Klingelnberg G27 state of the art spiral bevel gear grinding machine that is due to be installed in April. This will enable Xtrac to offer full form ground bevels in addition to the existing Klingelnberg KNC hard cutting process and further increases our capability to offer high hypoid offset crown wheel and pinions.
Xtrac Increases Capacity
Due to an increased demand for all its products, Xtrac is carrying out
a large investment programme that will include a lot of new machinery
and an expansion in personnel. Managing Director, Peter Digby says "Some
parts of the industry have been a little quieter in recent years, but
now things have picked up, we need to ensure we have all the people and
machinery in place to meet our customer needs. We are expanding virtually
every area of the factory but particular attention is being given to milling,
gear cutting and grinding. We are also expanding our workforce with 20
vacancies to be filled".
Bothwell Motorsports Claim Championship
Bothwell Motorsports continue to dominate the NHRA Xplod Series Hot Rod class this year. With Ron Lummus driving, the team has amassed a series-leading seven no. 1 qualifying awards and a category best five event victories. That's enough to have clinched the title with two rounds remaining.
In addition to this, they continue to push the limits for the class and establish new world records for both speed and E.T. Most recently during qualifying at Englishtown, New Jersey they reset the record to a blistering 7.77 seconds and a 187.68mph. They went on to win another final round there.
Throughout their season, the Xtrac transmission has proved flawless, and has been a major contributor to their success.
The Monster Energy/ProCircuit/Kawasaki Motocross team this year achieved an unprecedented clean sweep of the AMA Motocross and Supercross Championships. Riders Grand Langston and Ivan Tadesco won the 125cc East and West Coast Supercross titles respectively. Tadesco then followed up his Supercross title by clinching the AMA 125cc National Motocross number 1 plate in October. This is the first time in the history of the AMA that one team has won all the titles in the same year.
The icing on the cake for the team must have been to have Ivan chosen to represent the United States on their team for the 2005 Motocross des Nations. This even took place in France the weekend of the 24th / 25th September, and the USA team and Pro Circuit triumphed once more.
All races and championships won by the Pro Circuit team were with the aid of the performance and reliability of the Xtrac transmissions fitted in their bikes.
Daytona 1-2-3 for Second Consecutive Year
The weekend of 28th - 29th January 2006 saw Xtrac customers cover 50,000 trouble free miles in the Rolex Daytona 24 hour race. With 26 of the starters using Xtrac transmissions or differentials, this level of reliability has made Xtrac the number one choice for the world's leading manufacturers and sanctioning bodies.
2006 again saw all three positions on the podium occupied by drivers whose teams had chosen Xtrac to take them to victory. The 2005 season saw 41 of the possible 42 podium positions occupied by Xtrac customers. The result at Daytona shows that we have not changed our ethos of continuous development in search of even better reliability.
Everyone at Xtrac would like to congratulate the Ganassi team and Riley technologies on their achievement of winning the Rolex Daytona 24 hours and we look forward to an exciting year ahead in the Grand AM championship.
To complement our "Daytona Approved" gearbox, Xtrac will this season, also be supplying complete driveline solutions for the DP and GT cars which will further increase the reliability of cars in this grueling environment.
Whilst many companies in motor racing are preparing themselves for the upcoming season, Xtrac continue their domination and support of all the world's major categories, some of which are listed below.
A1GP
Formula
1
The 2006 championship began with the Bahrain Grand Prix on the
12th March and has already shown that this year may be just as close and
exciting as it was in 2005. Xtrac is pleased to be supporting all its
existing customers and welcomes the addition of the new Super Aguri team.
IRL
WRC
Chris Gosselar came second in the East Coast Championship using an Xtrac gearbox and Xtrac customers are currently 2nd & 3rd (Grand Langston and Ryan Villopoto respectively) in the West Coast Championsip with one race remaining.
Le
Mans / LMS
Rally
Raid
18th March 2006 saw the first victory in a major Sportscar race for a diesel powered car, the Audi R10. What made this achievement even more impressive wasn’t just the fact that this was the debut race for the R10, or that Audi secured a new lap record, but that they also started from the pit lane. Xtrac would like to congratulate Audi on this fantastic victory.
Xtrac would also like to congratulate Corvette Racing and Multimatic Motorsports Team Panoz for both winning their respective classes of GT1 and GT2.
Xtrac’s proven reliability and track record was bolstered even further this weekend with 7 of the top 10 finishers using Xtrac Transmissions or Differentials.
Pos Drivers Car Class
| Pos | Drivers | Car | Class |
| 1 | Capello, Kristensen, McNish | Audi R10 | LMP1 |
| 2 | Field, Halliday, Field | Lola B05/40 AER | LMP2 |
| 3 | Gavin, Beretta, Magnussen | Corvette C6-R | GT1 |
| 4 | Bright, Lamy, Sarrazin | Aston Martin DBR9 | GT1 |
| 5 | Weaver, Leitzinger, Wallace | Lola B06/10 AER | LMP1 |
| 6 | Enge, Turner, Kiesa | Aston Martin DBR9 | GT1 |
| 7 | Fellows, OConnell, Papis | Corvette C6-R | GT1 |
| 8 | Maassen, Luhr, Collard | Porsche RS Spyder | LMP2 |
| 9 | Maxwell, Brabham, Bourdais | Panoz Esperante | GT2 |
| 10 | vanOverbeek, Fogarty, Lieb | Porsche 911 | GT3 GT2 |
On 23rd March 2006, the Berkshire Apprentice Awards 2006 were held at the Town Hall in Reading, UK. Xtrac are delighted to announce that they won Employer of the Year for medium organisations (between 50 and 249 employees). This award seeks to acknowledge employers' commitment to developing young people through apprenticeships. Warren Page, Apprentice Co-Ordinator and Jane Gilham, HR Manager accepted the award from Sally Gunnell OBE. Xtrac were presented with a glass trophy and certificate. As a result of the win, Xtrac will be shortlisted for the National competition to be held in June 2006.
James Peddle was runner up in his category for the Advanced Apprentice of the Year, the award that celebrates young learners' contributions to their workplace, which exceeds expectations and results in measurable benefits to the organisation. James also accepted his award from Sally Gunnell OBE.
New 474 Box
Designed to be used in a number of applications such as Hill Climbing, Historic F1 or LMP675 Sports Cars, the 474 gearbox offers F1 design at an affordable price.
This transverse transaxle is currently running in four Gould GR55B cars (powered by NME XB engines) in the British Hill Climb Championships. At the recent Shelsley Walsh round, Martin Groves not only drove his Gould to victory, but also took the outright record beating previous record holder Adam Fleetwood, by 0.01 seconds.
The Gould / NME / Xtrac is proving so successful that all four cars are now in the top 5 positions in the championship, with Martin Groves leading overall.
Some key features of this new '474' gearbox are magnesium casings, 6 speed sequential shift suitable for manual or semi-auto operation, hard cut CWP and final drive, concentric clutch release, various differentials and 550Nm torque rating all in a gearbox weighing only 47kg.
The Maincase can be machined to suit Cosworth HB, XB, AC, Judd CV EV and most other large V8 / V10 engines, thereby negating the need for additional adaptor plate and maximum chassis stiffness.
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Great
New Materials Development at Xtrac
Following a sustained development activity, drawing on application design,
testing and race experience, Xtrac has introduced a new gear steel suitable
for high performance transmission applications. The steel is manufactured
exclusively for Xtrac to our specification set by many years of experience
and understanding the requirements of highly loaded gears used in the
arduous environment of motorsport. Acknowledging the desire of our customers,
to continually push the boundaries of design and performance, Xtrac embarked
on a materials development programme in 2003. The brief was simply to
evaluate existing materials and identify new improved candidate steels
with the goal of introducing these into new advanced transmission designs.
Steve Vanes, Xtrac's Chief Metallurgist says "This programme has
been hugely successful. Corus have fulfilled all of our requirements,
and following a prolonged testing and evaluation period, including both
rig and 'in car' testing, we are now seeing smaller and lighter XM023
gears being used successfully on the track".
The new steel, which is available for racing in 2006, draws on extensive application experience gained with other materials, and moves further away from the more conventional nickel chromium molybdenum gear steels. Via the testing programme, the new material has been shown to exhibit both increased bend strength (~18%) and improved impact resistance (~8%), and temper resistance to 200°c. Furthermore, the resistance to both rolling contact and bending fatigue has been increased.
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Grand
Am Domination
Xtrac's Domination of the Grand Am Daytona series continues with yet another
clean sweep of not only the podium but the top 6 places in the Phoenix
250 Daytona Prototype race. For the third race in succession, cars using
the approved Xtrac '386' gearbox have claimed the top 6 positions. At
the recent EMCO Gears Classic Xtrac had cause for a double
celebration as the top six places contributed to 7 out of the top 10 for
Xtrac customers.
The Phoenix 250 saw the racing format change splitting the DP and the GT cars into two separate races. The GT race also saw an Xtrac customer win the with the sister car in the team coming fourth.
The Xtrac '386' gearbox is now available for Grand Am DP cars, GT cars and also GT1 cars running to ACO/ALMS regulations
With all eleven Grand Am Daytona Prototype races this year and all but two races in 2004 being won using Xtrac gearboxes (bringing the '386' gearbox's winning percentage to 92%) why not join the 'Xtrac Winners Club' by calling us today to see how we can help you stay on the podium.
This level of domination has allowed our DP customers to secure the Constructors, Engine and Drivers championships with three races still to be completed.
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The Formula One driver's championship was won by Fernando Alonso in his Renault R25 at the Brazilian Grand Prix; his third place finish ensured that none of his rivals could match his points total even though the Japanese and Chinese rounds of the Championship are still to be contested.
Xtrac are proud to have played a part in Fernando Alonso and Renault's success this season and we would like to congratulate Fernando on his first Formula One Championship and wish Renault the best of luck for the remainder of the season.
Dan Wheldon secured the IndyCar Series title at Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix with one round still to go. This achievement comes in the same year as his historic Indy 500 victory and six other victories.
Xtrac would like to congratulate Dan Wheldon on his Championship win and to extend these congratulations to Andretti Green Racing, Honda, Firestone and Dallara.
Xtrac are completely honoured to be associated with the IndyCar series and to have been the sole transmission supplier since the first race of the 2000 season. This exclusive contract has recently been extended further to include the 2006 season.
The inaugural round of the A1 Grand Prix season saw Nelson Piquet Jr. take the honours for Team Brazil at Brands Hatch on the 25th September by winning not only the sprint race, but also the main feature race.
The A1 Grand Prix series is a championship of 12 races held over the traditionally quiet Winter period from September to March with drivers competing for their country rather than a manufacturer or title sponsor as in many other top level single seater formulae.
A1GP is yet another series where Xtrac have been chosen as the sole manufacturer of the transmission components working along with chassis manufacturer Lola and engine supplier Zytek.
Podium positions of this historic first round:-
| 1st | Brazil | Nelson Piquet Jr. |
| 2nd | Australia | Will Power |
| 3rd | Mexico | Salvador Duran |
Future A1GP races will be held at:
| Eurospeedway, Lausitz | Germany |
| Circuito Estoril | Portugal |
| Eastern Creek, Sydney | Australia |
| Sepang International Circuit | Malaysia |
| Dubai Autodrome | UAE |
| Sentul Circuit | Indonesia |
| South Africa | |
| Autodromo Internacional de Curitiba | Brazil |
| Parque Fundidora Monterrey | Mexico |
| Laguna Seca, California | USA |
| Shanghai International Circuit | China |
Xtrac are an approved supplier to the Grand Am Daytona prototype series but with our domination this season we could easily be mistaken for being the sole supplier, as we are for many other championships.
The latest round at Watkins Glen saw not only ten of the top eleven finishers using the Xtrac '386' gearbox in the premier Daytona Prototype category, but the top two GT cars also used a derivative of this virtual specification gearbox.
Our thanks and congratulations go out to all of our customers in this growing series.
Le Mans 2005
The recent 24 Hours race at Le Mans was yet another demonstration of Xtrac's
outstanding ability in endurance racing. Xtrac furnished 19 of the 49
starters with gearboxes and/or differentials.
Xtrac's capability in endurance racing is not limited to only one product or class, but now spans LMP1, LMP2, GT1 and GT2, and there is a perfect solution for virtually every installation option.
The conditions at Le Mans this year were as hard as they could be, with temperatures of 35ºc for most of the daylight hours, punishing both the drivers and the internals of the gearbox. Despite these conditions, Xtrac products helped our customers set fastest laps in LMP1 and GT1; the latter class had every car fitted with an Xtrac transmission.
The support team of 6 engineers and technicians who were in attendance throughout the week monitored the events and fortunately were only required to attend to a small number of minor issues.
Come 4 o'clock on Sunday afternoon, 5 of the top ten finishers (more than any other transmission supplier) were using Xtrac transmissions completing over 14,000 miles between them.
VW finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the FIA Opri Rally of Mexico! Despite starting the final day with a deficit of over 9 minutes, the team managed to claim all three podium positions. This follows on from their historic third place victory in the 2005 Dakar and their first overall victory in the Rally Port las Pampas earlier this year.
Bruno Saby celebrated the Touareg prototype's second victory together with his co-driver Michel Peri and has increased his World Cup lead after the third Rally of the season. This is also his third Morocco victory of his career.
As ever in Raid Rallying, reliability was key and the bespoke Xtrac gearboxes and differentials fitted to the VW Touareg performed faultlessly along with the rest of the car and Saby took the lead when Peterhansel retired with a steering problem on the final loop of the Rally.
The South African, Giniel de Villiers and his Swedish co-driver Tina Thorner had a perfect debut with Volkswagen by claiming second, whilst Jutta Kleinschmidt and her co-driver Fabrizia Pons, completed the team success by finishing third. We would like to congratulate the entire Volkswagen team on their victory and wish them well in the remaining rounds of the Cross Country Rally Championship.
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New
Materials Laboratory
Supporting the company's commitment to increasing
design capability whilst maintaining a high level of customer support,
Xtrac has introduced a new Advanced Materials Laboratory. The activity
of the new lab is to facilitate customer requirements, such as first article
inspection and failure investigations and support Xtrac's own R&D
activities, primarily in the development of gear materials and heat treatment
processes.
The laboratory boasts new metallographic preparation equipment, microscopes and a micro-hardness tester (supplied by Buehler UK Ltd), allowing more detailed and in-depth metallurgical investigations and analysis to be undertaken.
An important part of the duties of the lab, as well as supporting the manufacturing heat treatment and NDT activities, is to work on materials development and their work (together with our primary steel supplier Corus), has resulted in the introduction of a new gear steel, XM023, which has been raced very successfully for the first time in 2005. Xtrac's previous laboratory is now used to assist the day to day operation of the department, so increasing the department's inspection capabilities.
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Xtrac
Quasi-Transient
Xtrac have a very active R&D laboratory area which includes
material research as well as transmission developments and it is used
for in-house projects and by customers. To further increase our capabilities
to support predictive modelling, we have commissioned a quasi-static differential
test rig. This is a significant investment using our closed loop torque
path concept, first seen on our 4 square rig, and will increase our understanding
and calibration of mechanical plate, VCP and VLP differentials. The control
system has been written by an industry renowned software developer to
provide a bespoke programme, and will increase our capability to provide
differential solutions. Power is provided by a 45kW motor to give an input
torque capability of 1000Nm and a locking torque capacity of 100Nm at
500rpm across the differential. The working section length is 550rpm which
will cater for all types of plate, VCP and VLP differentials. The rig
will be commissioned shortly and will be available for use by customers.
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IRL
Season
By winning the 2005 Indianapolis 500, Dan Wheldon
has become the first British driver to win the race since Graham Hill
in 1966, although the winning car for the past 6 years has used a British
gearbox, designed and built by Xtrac.
Xtrac were chosen in 1999 as the sole transmission supplier to the Indy Racing League and our '195' type gearbox was fitted to every car for every race in the 2000, 2001 & 2002 seasons.
In 2002 the exclusive supply contract was renewed, despite strong competition and since the start of the 2003 season every car has been fitted with the Xtrac '295' type gearbox (a revised version of the '195'). This 3 year contract has also been extended for an unprecedented fourth year.
Since 2000 we have experienced 198 starts in the Indy 500 alone and in this year's event, of the 33 cars which took the start, not one car failed or faltered with transmission problems. This was a further continuation of the reliability Xtrac have shown in the Indy Racing League series and as has come to be expected from the '295' gearbox which is now in its third season.
New for 2005 is a plate limited slip differential that allows the cars to run on road circuits. This proved to be problem free at the opening race in St Petersburg where the cars had to turn in both directions for the first time.
This will be followed by other races at the Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen later in the year. We wish all the teams and driver good luck for the season ahead and our congratulations go to Dan Wheldon and everyone at Andretti Green Racing.
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It's
all part of the service!
Michael Shank Racing started Sunday's Sahlen's 'Six Hours of the Glen'
from fifth on the grid after Mike Borkowski dug deep on his last qualifying
lap to move significantly up the order late in the fifteen minute session.
"Mike did a great job on that last lap" enthused Team Owner,
Mike Shank "I'm not exactly sure what he found out there, but he
really stepped up and banked a great lap. We have had a tough weekend
so far, so it's great that we are going to be starting close to the front
for such a long race".
The team was pleased with the result, particularly after having a long night on Friday for unexpected car repairs. During Fridays practicesession, Duncan Dayton got tangled up with some slower traffic, and was forced into the wall, causing damage to the nose and tail of the Mears Motor Coach machine. The team didn't miss a beat, quickly fixing the bodywork and getting the car back out on track to run the rest of Friday's practice.
However, when the team was tearing down the car to prepare for the Saturday qualifying, it found a crack in the transmission case from the accident. Even though it was already late at night, the team got in touch with transmission supplier Xtrac, and their guys responded by working through the night to provide the team with a new casing, allowing the team to only miss a total of two minutes of practice on Saturday morning. "I have to hand it to Andrew and Simon with Xtrac, they really came through in a big way when we needed them to, and we were able to get back to work this morning," said Shank. "It was a thrash to get everything back together, but the guys did a great job to get the car ready and fortunately we found it on Friday, and not during the race on Sunday. Hopefully we can be mistake free all day tomorrow and get another good result here at the Glen."
Grand AM (June 11, 2005)
Unfortunately the team crashed out when running strongly in 6th place. The race was won by Nic Jönsson and Tracy Krohn in their Krohn Racing/TRG Pontiac Riley which uses an Xtrac 386 gearbox.
BTCC Season off to a flying start!
The BTCC season got under way over the 10th/11th April weekend in Donington Park. Congratulations to Matt Neal and Team Dynamics who were able to bring a brand new car, the Integra 'Type R' to the series and for it to win both the 1st and 3rd race. Congratulations to Triple Eight, also with a brand new car, who secured victory with Yvan Muller in the 2nd race. Well done also to Richard Williams and Speed Equipe, a new driver and team to the formula that were also present with a brand new car, the Lexus IS200. Along with all of the cars built to BTCC regulations, this rear wheel drive Lexus, built to FIA Super 2000 regulations, also runs a complete Xtrac transmission system, from clutch to wheels.
The new '407' gearbox and '407' differential, built for
cost sensitive, fixed specification formulae proved very reliable on their
debut race weekend. Xtrac is very proud to be associated with all of the
BTCC teams.
The Berkshire Apprenticeship Awards 2005 were hosted by the Berkshire Learning and Skills on Thursday 14th April 2005 at the Reading Town Hall. These prestigious awards are to celebrate training achievement and outstanding success by both young people and employers.
Employers are recognised for their commitment to developing young people through Apprenticeships and young learners are recognised in two categories. Firstly the Apprentice Award which celebrates young learners contribution to their workplace, where it has exceeded expectations and resulted in measurable benefits to their organisation. Secondly, the Personal Achiever Award is for young learners who have successfully overcome any barriers, difficulties or obstacles - personally and/or in the workplace to achieve and exceed all expectations.
We are delighted to announce that Xtrac received a special commendation in second place for Apprenticeship training achievement in the category of Employer of the Year 2005 Medium Organisation (50-249 employees) which was accepted on behalf of Xtrac by Jane Gilham, Human Resources Manager.
James O'Hagan, second year Apprentice Turner, received a special commendation for second place in the Personal Achiever Award (16-18 year olds).
Matt Clark, final year Apprentice Gearcutter was a runner up in the Advanced Apprentice Award.
VW Victory
Volkswagen celebrated their first overall victory for the Race-Touareg at the Rally Port las Pampas held in Argentina and Chile between the 6th and 12th March. Bruno Saby drove the winning car, whilst his team mate Jutta Kleinschmidt finished third overall.
This win came only eight weeks after Volkswagen's historic third place at the Dakar Rally where Jutta Kleinschmidt scored the first ever podium position for a diesel powered vehicle in the world' hardest rally.
Bruno Saby, driving the Race-Touareg powered by a five-cylinder TDI diesel-engine driving through a bespoke Xtrac Transmission and Differentials, beat the French Mitsubishi driver Stephane Peterhansel by 11.12 minutes. Saby took the lead on the second day and maintained his position convincingly over the remaining six stages. Saby/Perin also scored three fastest stage times during the event.
At a length of almost 4,200 kilometres, 2,500 of these being special stages, the Rally Por last Pampas is at least half a 'Dakar' distance.
Jutta Kleinschmidt also continued a remarkable run of success. The 2001 'Dakar' winner has taken the chequered flag in all nine cross country rallies she has competed in for Volkswagen since January 2003. With third position at the Rally Por las Pampas, she scored her third podium finish with the Race-Touareg in the fourth event since August 2004.
After the first round of the Cross Country World Cup,
Bruno Saby leads with 15 points, Stephane Peterhansel is second with 11
points and Jutta Kleinschmidt is third with 7 points.
The 2004 Grand AM Rolex Sports Car Series has now reached the half way point of the season; the first 6 races for Xtrac's brand new Daytona Prototype '386' transmission have been fantastic.
Throughout the transmission’s first race at the Daytona 24 hours, held under torrential rain, (and consequentially reduced to just 18 hours) all of the gearboxes worked flawlessly. The‘386’ equipped Crawford Race car, piloted at the time by NASCAR star Tony Stewart, unfortunately came up just 15 minutes short of victory when the right rear suspension failed.
After that first race things just kept getting better. The ‘386’ transmission has won every round since and this includes clean sweeps of the podium at the two most recent events. The Watkins Glen round also saw the successful introduction of the ‘370’ transmission design, developed specifically for the new regulations of the GT category, and now fitted to Scuderia Ferrari of Washington’s Maserati car.
The next round of the Rolex series will be on August 7th, at Mid-Ohio Sports Car course, and will see 8 Xtrac equipped cars taking the start. We are hoping to extend our success to 6 wins from 7 starts.
With incredible interest from other manufacturers attracted by its reduced weight, lower centre of gravity, better driver feel and reduced running costs when compared to the competition, the future statistics for the ‘386’ transmission looks very bright.
The Touring car sector has been growing from strength to strength and Xtrac have been able to produce a tailored family of gearboxes to suit all front wheel drive needs. The British Touring Car Championship '406' gearbox, now in its 4th year or running, is highly cost effective and very reliable, which has ensured that this one make contract will remain with Xtrac until at least 2006. The new Natural Gas powered Peugeot of Team Mardi Gras is the most recent car to run the gearbox and Xtrac are pleased to have this relationship with a team with such innovative ideas.
The ETCC '416' version of the gearbox has recently been installed into the JAS Honda Accord in addition to the Private Honda Civics that run in the European Touring Car Championship.
More recently Xtrac have developed the '426' gearbox carrying over 70% commonality of parts with the above two gearboxes. This gearbox has wider gears and final drive to offer teams the capability to deal with more torque and/or endurance events. A Diesel final drive option is also available and this gearbox ran this year in both a Diesel and petrol car (over 500NM each) at this year's Nürburgring 24 hour race. The Diesel Alfa Romeo 147 of Romo Motorsporttechnik finished 24th overall in the field with 220 competitors and the winner of its class. A truly remarkable result considering the number of rear wheel drive Porsche 911 GT3's finishing in the twenties. The gearbox was developed and supplied in an extremely tight timescale and fitted to the car the day before the car left the workshop for the race! The Mühlner Motorsport Volvo S60 also fitted with an Xtrac '406' gearbox finished an incredible 12th position overall, winning its class and the first front wheel drive car to finish. Our congratulations go to both of the teams.
The Xtrac '436' drag gearbox has been gaining success after success with the Gardella Racing and Kenny Tran Racing teams in the Hot Rod Class of the NHRA Sport Compact series. This 4 speed gearbox with spooled differential is capable of short durations of immense torque and yet keeps a majority of commonality with the 406/416 original gearboxes. One '436' gearbox has already completed over 100 standing starts in one of the 1,100BHP cars which previously would use one gearbox for only two runs.
Xtrac are pleased to have also supplied MG Sport & Racing with several complete installations of the Rally '232' gearbox, based again on the '406' gearbox, to fit the Super 1600 ZR.
In addition to the extensive family of these gearboxes, Xtrac are now also able to offer longitudinal versions of this family of gearboxes for rear wheel drive cars. The '407' gearbox will be available from Autumn 2004 and shares the majority of components with the proven '406/416' gearboxes. The '427' gearbox carries the wider cluster of the '426' gearbox mentioned previously, and the '437' gearbox carries 20.5mm Xtrac Sports Car gears for use in the most powerful of Sports Cars.
Xtrac continues to expand its range of customer gearboxes with the launch of this 6 speed sequential, longitudinal transaxle. The gearbox has been approved by Grand Am for both the prototype and GT classes and is already performing well in the cars built by Crawford Composites and Riley Technologies. A drag racing version has also been produced winning its first race at Fontana.
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