Thursday 29 October 2015

ISYS Top Gear Pilot VBLOG

VBLOG ISYS Top Gear - This weeks VBlog contains presentations from each presenter:

  • Chris Ward will be uncovering a classic from the UK (Chris was acting and contributing general information in relation to filming techniques to our presentation)
  • Ricky Brackenbury will be covering bike life (Ricky was acting, editing and pulling together the various digital elements for the presentation)
  • Phil Madin's segment on essential gadgets (Phil was acting, contributed technical techniques and media standards to our presentation)
  • Chris Deer stories from the road warrior (Chris was acting, filming and presenting a important filming elements which relate to our topic for our presentation)
Feature presentation on GT250R dueling Classic MG

Reference:

  • "Top Gear 2014 New Intro" DavcyEntertainment (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAe0P... - Viewed 25-10-2015)

Monday 12 October 2015

World Superbike Championship

A slightly lesser known form of Motorcycle racing aside from the MotoGP is the World Superbike Championship, or WSBK, and its supporting races World Supersport, Superstock 1000 and Superstock 600. These races are carried out over 13 rounds of famous international circuits starting in Australia’s Phillip Island and finishing in Qatar, with 2 races held at each circuit per class.

The WSBK format involves engine capacities of between 750cc and 1200cc depending on the number of cylinders. In this format, the bikes are tuned versions of production bikes, in contrast to the MotoGP in which they race purpose built, million dollar machines. These modifications are fairly limited, as the WSBK aims to remain relatively close to factory to promote manufacturers to develop better technologies for public motorbikes. Main modifications include exhaust work, ECU, suspension, brakes, and some engine parts such as conrods (must be same weight), and porting heads (no welding). The current bikes and manufacturers in the 2015 season are as follows; Kawasaki: ZX10R, Ducati: Panigale R 1199, Aprilia: RSV4 RF, Honda: CBR1000RR, Suzuki: GSXR1000, BMW: S1000RR, MV Agusta: 1000 F4, EBR: 1190RX, Yamaha: YZF-R1. The Superstock 1000 class consists of the same format, with no modifications, racing with stock, factory bikes.

The World Superbike Championship format has similar ruling to the WSBK, aside from engine capacities between 400cc to 750cc which classes the bike as a Supersport. Like with the 1000cc class races, the Superstock 600’s race stock factory bikes, with tires available to the public, and not slick racing tires. The current 2015 season bikes and manufacturers in this class include; Honda: CBR600RR, Kawasaki: ZX6R, MV Agusta: F3 675, Suzuki: GSXR600, Triumph: Daytona 675 and Yamaha: YZF-R6.

WSBK Bikes on turn 1.


Who's Your favourite Motorbike manufacturer?

Information Sourced from:

RC213V-S MotoGP bike for the streets!

Last year in November, Honda unveiled its prototype RC213V-S, a street legal machine that’s “closer to a MotoGP bike than any road-going model ever offered to the public”. And their right. This bike blows away Yamaha’s R1M, which before the RC213V-S was the closest production bike to a proper MotoGP bike, in terms of handling and cornering, as well as suspension and breaking.

Source: Wikipedia

The RC213V-S is modeled after the RC213V, Honda Racing Corporation’s current MotoGP bike, with the frame, rear sets, exhaust, swing arm, wheels, suspension and body work being pretty much identical using top of the line items and materials. All of the geometry of the frame is identical to the MotoGP bike, and is setup to be like Marc Marquez’s RC213V. The main differences, besides the road legal items (Number plate, indicators, lights, kickstand) include all the consumable items, such as brakes, which are steel disks, as opposed to ceramic, and engine components. Honda has switched out the pneumatic valves for more conventional coil springs and their seamless shift transmission gearbox for a more traditional one. This along with piston design was done for sensibility reasons, and for longer service interval materials and design, as it wouldn’t make sense to rebuild the bikes components after every few rides.

Source: RC213V-S

The price of this bike, when released on July 12nd is sold for $184,000 euros, with the sports package an extra $12,000, which, apart from the carbon pattern fairings, will increase the ~159 bhp bike @ 11,000 rpm to ~215 bhp @ 14,000 rpm. This bike will likely only be sold for this year, and estimated 250 units will be produced by a team of 2-3 specialists at Kumamoto Factory in Japan.

Source: Cycle World

Information Sourced from:

MotoGP Phillip Island

Counting down the number of days till the MotoGP in Phillip Island, where the best riders in the world will battle it out over 27 laps of Australia’s legendary MotoGP track in Phillip Island.

The iconic 4.445 km asphalt road racing track has 12 turns and has the highest average speed of any circuit of the MotoGP calendar (182.1 km/h by Lorenzo, 2013). With very fast flowing and very fluid corners, the riders can really push their corner speeds and provide some very spectacular high speed racing. Track width of 13m, and longest straight 900m long, where riders easily reach speeds over 300km/h. The 16th circuit on the 18 circuit calendar for the 2015 MotoGP season.

This MotoGP season, Movistar Yamaha teammates Jorge Lorenzo and current season points leader Valentino Rossi will battle it out to see who will gain the most points for the championship, only 14 points between them, and last years world champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) currently in third place championship standings, only 79 points behind Rossi, needing to take the win at Phillip Island to have a chance and stay in the game for the championship or secure his Podium standing this season.

Teammates Lorenzo and Rossi.

Source: Autosport

16th – 18th October, the dates to watch for the MotoGP in Phillip Island, aswell as Moto2 and Moto3 races

Information Sourced from:

The Ghost Rider

Top gear has always had their Enigmatic, mute persona and racing driver, The Stig. Many have asked the question, “Who is the Stig?”, but when it comes to bikes, I want to ask the question “Who is the Ghost Rider”. The Ghost Rider is a mysterious man who is clad in black riding leathers, similarly to the Stig in his white race suit, who resides in Sweden. He is notoriously known for performing illegal maneuvers at very high speeds on public roads.

The Ghost Rider has released 6 DVD’s for entertainment and showcasing some of his shenanigans with his first DVD released in 2002, “Ghost Rider: The Final Ride” and his latest “Ghost Rider 6.66: What the F***” released in 2012.

Some of the Ghost Rider’s notable exploits include the Uppsala run (From Stockholm to Uppsala) in 14m 53s, The Paris Peripherique (Ring road in Paris) in 9m 57s (As tribute to a French street racer “Le Prince Noir “Black Prince”) and from Rotterdam to Amsterdam in the Netherlands in 20m 32s.

Like the Stig, the identity of the Ghost rider was also revealed as Ex racer, stunt rider and mechanic Patrik Furstenhoff, a man who fits the bill and also has the Guinness World Record for the fastest wheelie at 346 km/h on his 499bhp (372 kW) Turbo Suzuki Hayabusa.

Ghost Rider's Turbo 'Busa

Source: Ghost Rider Movie Website

Information sourced from:

Sunday 11 October 2015

Things you did not know about Top Gear

In years to come historians will divide time thusly: the dark ages and the era of Top Gear. Whilst we shudder to think how society coped without Jezza and the gang here are some things you probably didn't know about the show which launched a thousand hatchbacks

Although we have Jeremy Clarkson to thank for helping to revive Top Gear in 2002, it was pretty much his fault it was axed in the first place. When he left the show in 1999 to broaden his TV career, the audience fell from six million to under three million and it was soon consigned to the scrap yard.

Ok, we know there are urban legends like Jamie Lee Curtis being born a man and Piers Morgan being a human but this one is actually true. The early presenters of Top Gear, when it was attached to Auntie institution Pebble Mill, included Noel Edmonds and Angela Rippon. Noel Edmonds presented Top Gear – the idea is such a dangerous nugget of telly trivia you mustn't look at it directly. It's like discovering Cilla Black invented satellite dishes.

Noel Edmonds

Source: noeledmonds.com/

You might be surprised to know that the presenters don't get any free cars. The Top Gear team work closely with car companies in order to select which vehicles are featured on the show, but strict BBC regulations mean that Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May have to buy their cars from dealers, like us mere mortals.

One of the most exciting features of Top Gear is the track, so terrifying at points it's a wonder any of the guest drivers go back to their day jobs. And it's no wonder it can scare the bejesus out of our plucky celebs while testing a motor to its limits – it wasn't just thrown together by the lads one afternoon in between a pint and a pie. The team at Lotus helped design it to be the most fiendish test you can endure in a car since Chris Moyles' drivetime show.

Map of the Top Gear test track

Source: Wikimedia

The most extreme example of the Top Gear team's opinions affecting car sales was the Ford Ka. Sales plummeted when Clarkson decided that it "looked like a frog". On the other hand, even more damning statements have not affected sales of the Toyota Corolla and heaps of praise from the team didn't help the Alpine Renault A610.

Jeremy Clarkson's motormouth may have got him into trouble over the years, whether slightly implying that lorry drivers kill prostitutes or subtly referring to a car as a bit ginger beer. But one thing he's not done, for all his tomfoolery, high-speed and daredevilry, is clock up points on his licence. That's right, Jeremy Clarkson has a clean licence. It's like finding out Mick Jagger's a virgin, isn't it?

Top Gear's come a long way from those dark, dismal days when the Beeb pulled the plug on it. So far, in fact, that as well as countless awards and a devoted worldwide audience the waiting list to get in and see the filming of the show is now somewhere in the region of one to two years. That's about the same time frame as it'd take Jimmy Carr to get round the track again.

The height difference between Clarkson and Hammond is obviously a bit of a running gag - but do you know the total distance between the fellow Yorkshiremen? You do now - an impressive nine inches.

One incident that took the wind of the lads' sails was Richard Hammond's terrifying high-speed smash while travelling at nearly 300mph in a Dragster. Luckily the Hamster was soon back up and running, but the outpouring of support didn't just go to show how popular the show is – it also raised the whopping sum of £230,000 for air ambulances. Well, £230,001 if you include Clarkson and May's contribution.




Are you tired of playing air-guitar to the theme tune while wondering 'what is this song, and how can I obtain more of it, perhaps on some sort of portable device?' Help is at hand – the theme tune to Top Gear is 'Jessica' by rawk dudes The Allman Brothers. The seven minute instrumental, from their album Brothers and Sisters, was a hit for the group in 1973. Top Gear initially used part of the original recording, but has since recorded its own version. Whack it on next time you're in a car and literally any journey, however mundane, will become 82% cooler. You may find yourself wearing more mixed denim than usual though.

Which is you favourite presenter?

Information sourced from:

Saturday 10 October 2015

The Bathurst 1000

A total of 27 V8 Supercars will hit the track for this weekend’s 2015 edition of the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.


Image source: http://universalsportstours.com/ust/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Mount-Panorama-Bathurst-on-grid.jpg

The bulk of the field for this year’s Mount Panorama classic is made up of the 25 fulltime competitors in the 2015 championship, with the addition of two wildcard entries for brothers Aaren and Drew Russell, and the all-female crew of Renee Gracie and IndyCar racer Simona de Silvestro.
Silvestro’s entry means five international drivers will take part in this year’s race, joining fellow IndyCar racer Sebastien Bourdais, sports car stars Oliver Gavin and Alex Buncombe, and V8 refugee Alex Premat.
Holden once again dominates the entry list with VF Commodores making up almost half the grid (13), with cars from Ford (6), Nissan (4), Volvo (2) and Erebus (2) completing the roster.
As with recent years, the race will form the second leg of the three-race Pirtek Enduro Cup as well as being the 10th event of the 2015 V8 Supercars championship.
Prodrive Racing Australia has the runs on the board in the championship to date and heads to Bathurst following an impressive one-two finish at the Sandown 500.
Mark Winterbottom/Steve Owen came out on top of Chaz Mostert/Cameron Waters at the Victorian venue, but the intra-team battle can be expected to be as hot as ever on the Mountain.
Prodrive’s third entry of David Reynolds/Dean Canto is also expected to be well in contention, with both drivers hungry to improve on their second place finish from 2012.
Outside of Whincup/Dumbrell, Tekno’s Shane van Gisbergen/Jonathon Webb combination and the second Red Bull entry of Craig Lowndes/Steven Richards loom as Holden’s strongest contenders.
Betting markets have Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell as the favourite, but who do you think will take out this year’s Great Race?

Who will win this years Bathurst 1000?

Information sourced from:

Bathurst 1000 driver Mostert crashes

Defending champion Chaz Mostert was airlifted to hospital on Friday after suffering a fractured leg and wrist in a spectacular crash in Bathurst 1000 qualifying.


Image source: http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/3/h/u/t/k/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.11524x.png/1413145373460.jpg

Officials said seven people were involved in the incident, with three suffering minor injuries. Two suffered minor complaints and one was taken by ambulance to Orange Hospital with a chest injury.
"V8 Supercars can now confirm that seven officials were involved in the incident with driver Chaz Mostert during qualifying," a statement said. "Four were not injured, two were treated at the circuit medical centre for minor injures and one was taken to hospital in a stable condition.
"Earlier Chaz Mostert was airlifted to Orange hospital with a fractured left femur and fractured left wrist. "He was conscious and spoke with his family prior to departure."
Track action was halted for the day after the incident.
Video of the incident in question.


Information sourced from ABC News

A history of the V8 Supercars

The V8 supercars have a long and exciting history in Australia. It has become the premier touring car championship in Australia, now featuring cars from all over the world competing for the title.

The Supercars started life as the Australian Touring Car Championships and were decided by a single race race from 1960 to 1968. From 1969 onwards it has been determined by a series. From 1995 to 2012 it was solely the domain of the legendary Holden vs Ford battle.

Its title changed from the traditional 'Australia Touring Car Championship' to the 'Shell Championship Series' in 1999. In 2003 the series became known as the 'V8 Supercars Championship Series' and in 2011 this was simplfied to the 'V8 Supercars Championship'.

2013 was the first year for the Car of the Future (COTF). These new cars are lighter, more economical, have increased agility and are highly competitive. They make better racing which ultimately makes for a better sport and a more attractive product.

The Ford vs Holden battleground of the last 20 years has been supplemented by new manufacturers and investors in Nissan, the Erebus Motorsport entry running Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG V8 Supercars and Volvo Polestar Racing with two Volvo S60s.

Information sourced from:

Monday 5 October 2015

The Past - Top Gear Moments

As the Top Gear trio sign off, here's a look back at some of Clarkson's motoring best bits.

That's it, Top Gear as we know it, is done and dusted. That means no more James May, no more Richard Hammond and no more Jeremy Clarkson.

The end of the show, in its current form, follows the much-discussed "fracas" between Clarkson and a producer. Chris Evans – of radio and TFI Friday fame, not Captain America – will now take over, as rumours rumble on that the original trio have another car-focused project up their sleeve.

But while plenty will remember the various controversies Clarkson's been involved in over the course of the long-running series, there'll be many who will miss the antics of the motor-mouth petrol head. Here's a selection of his best bits...

  1. Test-driving his own creation – the P45
    "Some say Jeremy Clarkson is actually a transformer..." The host embarks on an error-filled trip to London in his self-designed smallest car in the world, the P45.
  2. Failing miserably behind the wheel of a hover van
    A staged wind up, naturally, but Clarkson certainly causes chaos with just a bit of water.
  3. Glamming up
    The Top Gear team make their way across Vietnam on motorbikes. Take a look at Clarkson’s outfit. Austin Powers eat your heart out...
  4. "Driving nirvana" courtesy of the Ariel Atom
    If you had any doubt that Clarkson was driving this high performance sports car rather fast, let his face be the proof.
  5. Getting the giggles
    Clarkson can’t contain his laughter when James May arrives with a bashed up caravan. Team spirit 101.
  6. Who doesn’t want a multi-storey caravan?
    This time it was Hammond and May's turn to laugh hysterically at their co-host.
  7. Getting an icy dunking
    It's like a ‘how to’ guide to polar survival
  8. Making Gambon a "household name"
    Way back in series 1, Michael Gambon’s flying efforts on the final corner of the test track saw it forever dubbed ‘Gambon Corner’. Apparently Clarkson’s made Gambon quite the “butch” man after his efforts as a Star in a Reasonably Priced Car and Judi Dench really rather fancies him…
  9. The Jeremy Clarkson guide to answering a brief
    Why wouldn’t a “work harder, get a car” campaign encourage cycling, eh?
  10. Source: The Daily Mail

  11. How NOT to catch a ferry
    Spare a thought for actor Ross Kemp locked in the boot.

Well as the Top Gear Trio finish at BBC2 there are still so many memories of the adventures that they all got up to.

Information sourced from:

Economy gadgets and strategies

In this post i'll be going through manufacturers techniques and gizmos for getting us from a-b-c-d-e at an economic rate, I'll identify which ones do what they say they will and help you identify the manufacturers which expect you to take the scenic route.

The Start-stop system

In 2001 the US government queried Honda as some of their vehicles were "Lurching" forward after being stationary.
The technology has been since the 1960s but has only had a bigger impact after the general fuel economy of the automobile has been optimized to present a large enough benefit. A start stop system / engine will go into a standby state where the combustion engine is no longer turning or burning fuel. The benefits for places where traffic is predominantly stationary are potentially great, for air quality and the drivers pocket (with an average 10% savings possible. See the video for Mike Duhaime, director at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

Source: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

Electric car

The benefits of a car which does not need fossil fuels are plain, the resource which fuels it is not necessarily going to run out before we have discovered an alternative. How the electric car is powered, should it have a battery and how the wheels are turned are all questions which are the reason for many new jobs in the automotive industry.

While there was a time in the early 19th century when electric cars were the bigger brother to fossil fuel cars, they were eventually out muscled and laid dormant for just under a century, when the global warming light was flashing, re-emerged as a opportunity for new growth and solutions for anthropogenic problems.


Electric Car by Stux is in the Public Domain

Source: http://pixabay.com

Author: Stux

Public transport

Would the person who hired you catch the bus with you if it meant they could save money and get from a-e faster? There are benefits and vices for both sides, one side has the government at its back while the other side had international corporations at its back.

Engines are the most important parts of any form of transport, whether the vehicle gets 1 person or 62 people from a-e is irrelevant in the eyes of a car manufacturer, Toyota and Renault have identified this opportunity and expanded their market base to a much steadier market with a greater profit.

See my article on Ethanol

Ethanol is not only becoming standard, but also the only option in some countries, manufacturers are beginning to see opportunities, over their competitors, which are exposed by this predicament.

Which strategy works for you?

Tuesday 29 September 2015

New Rival to both Top Gear and Amazon's New Show

Believe it or not but Peter Andre could be the new host ITV’s rival to Top Gear.

Yes the Australian one hit wonder is said to be the new face of the ITV new car show which has already shot pilot episodes for the new prime-time show called IT’S ME OR THE CAR.

It would seem that the huge shake up behind the scenes of BBC’s motoring show Top Gear has created a new craze of motoring shows in general, and now singer Peter Andre has jumped on the band wagon.

ITV bosses are apparently extremely pleased with the episodes filmed by Peter, who is odds-on favourite to win this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.

Peter has previously starred in several ITV productions, including 60 Minute Makeover and a string of reality shows with ex-wife Katie Price.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Clarkson has been tweeting to fans to announce the start of filming for his new Amazon Prime show, but there seems to be someone missing from the line up!

The outspoken presenter took to social networking site, to promise fans that the new show would begin filming in the next few weeks after James May declared that plans for it were “going nowhere!”.

Clarkson quoted that “To be clear, May is busy with other stuff but Hammond, Wilman and I are extremely busy putting our new show together. Much is already sorted.”

Meanwhile over at BBC2 the TOP GEAR producers are lining up a relatively unknown car nut to co-host alongside Chris Evans.

Show chiefs have screen-tested bespoke car designer Ant Anstead, who presents Channel 4’s For the Love of Cars alongside Life on Mars actor Philip Glenister.

It would be a drastic move compared to rumors of more well-known hosts including Suzi Perry or Jodie Kidd.

Suzi Perry

Source: Wikipedia

Philip Glenister and Ant Anstead

Source: Wikipedia

Jodie Kidd

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

Information sourced from:

Monday 28 September 2015

The Automotive Industry

Cars are ranked in the top 5 most expensive goods and the manufacturers know it. The amount of money and effort that goes into the design, engineering and production is titanic. In this article I will outline these 3 main areas.

Design

As well as being the basis for the rest of the project, the design phase of the automotive industry is where the new research is put into play. The marketers will be out looking for customer complaints and suggestions to adjust the designs to suit the needs of the consumers. Software will be used to present, adjust and improve repetitively. The design is not limited to the end product but will also identify resources, factories and machinery required for the entire production line in some detail.


Volvo auto design vehicle by ClkerFreeVectorImages is license under a Creative Commons 0 license

Source: https://pixabay.com

Author: ClkerFreeVectorImages

License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Engineering

In this phase models and prototypes many are made of everything, from the engine parts to the entire car in miniature size and in full scale size. Materials are defined and adjusted to suit the environments and drivers who will be using the vehicle. There are many independent engineering process which must be conducted the chassis, suspension, engine and transmission, cooling and heating, lighting, electrical, aerodynamics are just a few of the things that should be looked at.

Landing gear schematic by Inductiveload is in the public domain

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org

Author: Inductiveload

Production

Final touches are implemented to ensure the vehicle is up to government standards. Pre-production cars are built and the vehicle is all but finished. By this stage factory should be ready and key personnel should have been trained. Agreements and contracts with dealerships will be drafted and signed.

Concesionario de Mercedes-Benz by Diego Delso is licensed under a Creative Commons 3.0 license

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org

Author: Diego Delso

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Saturday 26 September 2015

Mad Max: Fury Road the icon

Recently I watched Mad Max: Fury Road and I was reminded of a great Australian legacy, the Pursuit Special for the Mad Max series. Shown in the opening few minutes of the film, before being wrecked, it appears again near the end of the film, re-built and running for the enemy, before it gets wrecked again. Below is a photo a replica built from the original Mad Max sitting in ACMI in Melbourne:

Replica of the original Mad Max sitting in ACMI in Melbourne.

A little history…

Mad Max’s Pursuit Special also referred to as the V8 Interceptor started life outside the films as a 5.8L 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT Coupe, an exclusively and quintessentially Australian car. To make the car fit better with the needs of the film (a more futuristic feel), a Weiand supercharger was added, though it wasn’t connected to the engine, and additional exhausts were added from 1 to 4, though again, they weren’t connected to anything.

The supercharger was run using an electric motor to achieve the same effect of the intakes opening and closing, while the extra exhausts were vibrated enough from the one connected so as to appear that they were also functional.

A Concorde front end was added, which was a fairly new accessory for the period and the Mad Max films were noted for helping increase sales once it was released to the market.

After the film was finished, the car was sold to a junk yard to help cover the costs of production. Thankfully it wasn’t crushed into a cube, as it was bought back and re-used for the second Mad Max film.

The car needed a few additional changes to account for its time out in the desert. Significant rust was added to the car, and the back window removed to provide space for ‘survival materials’ such as large petrol tanks.

A duplicate of the car was created for the sole purpose of wrecking the vehicle at the end of the film. The original remained intact but was later sold to a metal dealer as it wasn’t needed anymore. The vehicle was bought by an avid fan of the films and survives to this day.

Information sourced from:

Wednesday 23 September 2015

Top Gear New and Old

Chris Evans brought Freddie... old LOTUS

Clarkson Finally got the P45

After many weeks and months there is finally clarity on what will happen to the favour Trio of whom left BBC2 Top Gear after Clarkson finally got his real P45 and Chris Even (not the Hollywood star) the new BBC2 Top Gear Presenter, will he also get to design his own P45 or will the new show be better than ever before. The explanation to what a P45 really is

Speculation is mounting that Jeremy Clarkson's new Amazon Prime show be called Gear Knobs, after it was discovered a trademark application for the cheeky title by Clarkson's lawyers, Olswang.

The application was made a fortnight before the former Top Gear presenter announced a deal worth a reported £160m ($390m AUS) to make a new series with Amazon. It was filed through a shell company, which has also registered the title "Gear Nobs".

A third title ‘Speedbirds’ was also registered by the lawyers. It was wondered if this name could be new moniker for ‘a Stig-like character’ in Clarkson, Hammond and May's new show. The filings mean the titles can be used for TV shows and merchandising.

The Top Gear brand was worth an estimated £150m ($365m AUS) a year in sales to the BBC through a lucrative combination of live shows, DVD sales, and all manner of branded merchandise, including Stig bubble bath and Top Gear birthday cakes.

However, the risqué names may not be what Amazon has in mind. Although the applications were made in the middle of July, at the end of August the company’s boss Roy Price said the team were still struggling to find a name for the show.

Jeremy Clarkson may be enjoying an extended holiday, but details of his forthcoming car show for Amazon Prime continue to leak out via his co-host Richard Hammond.

Hammond is currently doing the rounds promoting his other new show, which coincidentally happens to be about the Amazon rainforest, Richard Hammond's Jungle Quest.

Meanwhile, the new host of Top Gear, Chris Evans, revealed that work on the revamped BBC2 programme is now underway.

Evans recently took the entire cast and crew for a boozy night out at his local pub in Camden, but swore them all to secrecy about what the new show would be like.

That was until the new BBC2 Top Gear team ran out of creative gumption. Then they headed straight downstairs to the bar and continued on with the ideas session.

As well as having some drinks, the team managed to do some work, according to the 49-year-old presenter.

To come from the night was a new running order for the new Top Gear which was then pasted to the office wall before they all become to plastered themselves. further information on the exiting Top Gear Trio

Information sourced from:

Ethanol

Could Ethanol fuel be damaging your car? The University of South Alabama's Dean of the College of Engineering, Dr. John Steadman says "ethanol could damage fuel lines, rings and those things that may be affected by having a strong chemical solvent" in cars made before 1986

Sao Paulo Ethanol Pump by Mariordo Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license

Ethanol fuel damages older engines, the legislation in Australia restricts any blend of more than 10% of the corrosive liquid to be sold from regular petrol stations. Countries in the American continent have placed laws to restrict the sale of "gas" without ethanol, which is sold in its E20 (20% ethanol) or E100 in the case of Brazil where the vehicles have an auxiliary tank which allows for the engine to warm up from a cold start, using petrol, and then the ethanol takes over.

While the fuel is controversial and requires vast farm land and manufacturing facilities to produce, the blend can reduce carbon emissions (Particularly CO2 emissions) by 6-80%, just looking at the combustion process. There are other factors which go into the calculation when CO2 is measured against the movement of a vehicle. One of the most important factors is the quality of the engine, when the engine is old or /and corroded, the vehicle will be slower and could be more carbon expensive to run.

Newer cars do not need to worry much, but because of the corrosive property of ethanol, which could destroy the plastic parts of a fuel tank the fuel could lead to engine death.

Another property of the blend is its phase separation where a vehicle's engine could be damaged, when mixed with water, particularly dangerous for boats, or in cold temperatures due to condensation of the fuel tank. Popular Mechanics have an article with advice available click here to find out more.

Petrol is not the solution, but ethanol blends wont be either if they damage the engines of current day, make sure you know what kind of petrol suites your car at the gas station, and where to get the right stuff if your car wont accept what's being offered.

Visit this website (Federal Chambers of Automotive Industries) to find out if ethanol fuel suits your car

Visit this website (Australian government's page) for a government provided website on alternative fuels.

Sunday 6 September 2015

Start your engines

FIA-start-lights-race-started by Pitlane02 is licensed under a Creative Commons 3.0 license

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org

Author: Pitlane02

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

What does a driver feel on the track when it’s wet? The wheels slip, the car slides, the drivers judgment is crumbling and the nerves take over.


Charles Pic 2013 Malaysia FP1 by Morio is licensed under a Creative Commons 3.0 license

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org

Author: Morio

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

The ISYS Top Gear team brings you reviews, news, interviews and everything in between, on the track, in the showroom or on the road. Our reviews are not just limited to automobiles, we will from time to time be looking at the entertainment world and technologies, and from time to time we will be posting polls to ask for your opinion and input.

Your input is important to us and we choose to keep it that way, and as such we have kept each page, post and biography open to your opinion and comments. If there is anything you wish to discuss with the administration, in private, an email address (ISYS100A2015@gmail.com) is provided for this purpose.


The ISYS Top Gear Team

Checkered Grunge Flag by Nicolas Raymond is licensed under an Creative Commons License 3.0 Unported

Source: http://www.flickr.com

Author: Nicolas Raymond (https://www.freestock.ca

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/


My name is Phil Madin I'll be writing about the history and future of gadgets, fuels and technologies.

Ricky Brackenbury will be bringing you all the latest in the world of bikes and the MotoGP.

Chris Ward will be talking about the top gear series, its presenters and spinoffs.

Chris Deer will be reviewing races, tracks, championships, events and, in October, Bathurst and the V8 supercars..