The Audi R8 is on a...
The Audi R8 is on a diet! Our spies have caught a second R8 V10 Clubsport mule lapping the Nurburgring in Germany, this time finished in stealth-like matte black paint.
Winter tests in Sweden...
Winter tests in Sweden have demonstrated that the units improve stopping distances over normal hydraulic set-ups by a life-saving 15 per cent.
The tests matched scientists" predictions, gained with the help of computer simulations, and gave the green light to inventor Siemens VDO to look into bring÷ing the hi-tech anchors to showrooms. Now, engineers are planning to construct production lines to make the wedges.
The design taps into the energy of the wheel itself to create enough force to slow it down, so it doesn"t need the push that hydraulic systems rely on. Sensors check braking performance 1,000 times a second, while microcontrollers prevent lock-ups.
There are five components: a caliper, disc, pads, electric motor and wedge. The motor moves miniature rollers inside the wedge to push the pads on to the spinning disc. This then "drags" the pads on to it more firmly to improve performance.