Basicly
the maximum effect of a motor is determined by by how much fuel it can burn in
each time unit, and its ability to convert the heat produced into energy of
motion.
The
capasity of the apparatus delivering the air and fuel to the motor, will
therefore determine the maximum effect a motor can deliver.There are several
methods of increasing this capasity:
* The
thicker the air and fuel lines to the motor are, the more freely the air and
fuel will flow into the motor.
* By
having many walves in the motor cylinders, the air or fuel-air mixture will flow
freely into the cylinders and distribute itself evenly in the whole volume of
the cylinders in a short time.
* A
turbo-charger or compressor can press the air faster into the cylinders by
producing a over-pressure.
* By
using a cooling device, inter-cooler, between the turbo-charger and the
cylinders, the air will be cooled down and get more compact. This will also
increase the capasity of air deliverance to the cylinders.
The
ability of the motor to take inn and process the air and fuel it is offered,
will also determine its maximal effect. This capasity depend on several factors:
* The
capasity of the motor to take inn air and fuel will be proportional to the
volume of each cylinder, and to the number of cylinders.
* The
capasity of taking inn air and fuel will also be propotional to the number of
piston strokes and thereby the number of rounds of the crankshaft in each time
unit. To achieve the wanted numbr of piston strokes, he gearbox must be set up
in such a way that the speed of the wheels gives the desired numbr of piston
strokes in the cylinders of the motor.
The heat
produced must be converted to motion, for the motor to be effetive. This
convertion effectiveness depend on these factors:
* The
difference between the volume of the fuel and air mixture when ignited and its
volume when the piston is on the bottom is a main factor determining the
convertion from heat to energy of motion. This difference is maximized by a high
degree of compression.
* The
less friction there is inside the motor, the more effctive this convertion also
will be. The right kind of oil to lubricate the motor can greatly reduce the
friction. By making the cylinders and the pistons broad, the motor can operate
with a high number of rounds per time unit without letting the pistons go up and
down with a very high speed. Also this trick reduces the friction.
The caracteristics of BMW cars
A basic aim of the BNW company is to combine
comfort and material quality with sporty behaviour in the cars they make. Most people having driven
BMW cars agree that this is an aim where they succeed well, perhaps they succeed
best of all car manufacturers of achieving that special combination.
BMW makes cars with a motor effect that range
from average to very high. The combination of sporty tuning and comfort is felt
in all models, regardless of motor effect, because a sporty feeling of a car has
to do with much more than motor effect.
The sporty feeling and comfort partly
originates from a suspension that do not give in when the car is subjected to
sidewise or centripetal forces, so that the car is not sloping very much,
for example in steep swings.
When the car is subjected to vertical forces,
the suspencion gives in to such a degree that the car keeps an even level over
the road, but at some point it gets stiff so that the wheels are not mooved too
much up and down and so that you feel all the time the properties of the road
and can react precisely and appropriately all the time to that properties.
The suspencion of each wheel also react
indiviually at the forces, so that all the wheels have a firm grip on the road
all the time.
The sporty feeling and comfort also originates
from a precise steering that lets you feel the forces acting upon the car, but
nevertheless never gets extreemely heavy, noe even when you are swinging very
abruptly. It is also due to a steering that never over-react or under-react so
that the car allways go in the wanted direction. When you swing very abruptly
the steering reacts a little more that the angle of the seering wheel, a
recation that actually helps you to get through abrupt swings.
Another factor giving the sporty properties
combined with comfort is a prompt motor responce upon changes in the
position of the throttle and motors that work well within great ranges of stroke
frequences without unpleasant vibration or fuction failur. This way you can do
nearly any quick maneuvre at any gear level.
The comfort level also originate from a good
isolation from noises originating from the road or from the motor. Most B;W
moels also have a design of the cabin, the mirrors and glasses so that you all
the time have a very good sight in all directions and all the time are aware of
things happening around you.
Of cource all cars have these properties to
some extend and some have them in greater extend than BMW, but BMW has succeeded better that most manufacturers in realizing
a good combination and compromize between these qualites..
The history of BMW
Founded in 1917 BMW, or Bayerische Motoren
Werke, is an independent German company and manufacturer of automobiles and
motorcycles. BMW is the parent company of the MINI and Rolls-Royce car brands.
The company slogan in English is "The Ultimate Driving Machine" or "Sheer
Driving Pleasure".
BMW Headquarters in Munich, Germany.
R32: the first BMW motorcycle
1938 328
1954 BMW 502 V8 Super
The characteristic paired oval intakes were first seen on the BMW 303 in the
early 1930s. Shown here is a BMW 2002.
Early History
BMW was founded by Karl Friedrich Rapp
originally as an engine manufacturer, Rapp Motor. Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH
was founded as a successor company to Rapp Motor on July 21, 1917. In the
beginning the compani concentrated heavily on producing aircraft engines.
The
Milbertshofen district of Munich was chosen as a site for the plant, apparently because it was close to
the Gustav Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik site. The blue-and-white roundel BMW logo,
which is still used alludes to the white and blue
checkered flag of Bavaria. It is often said to symbolize a spinning white
propeller on a blue-sky background, although this interpretation developed after
the logo was already in use.
In 1916 the company secured a contract to build V12 engines for Austro-Daimler.
Needing extra financing, Rapp gained the support of Camillo Castiglioni,
Cornelius Jagdmann and Max Friz, the company was reconstituted as the Bayerische
Motoren Werke GmbH. Over-expansion caused difficulties; Rapp left and the
company was taken over by the Austrian industrialist Franz Josef Popp in 1917,
and named BMW AG in 1918.
After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles (1919) prohibited the production of
aircraft in Germany. Otto closed his factory and BMW switched to manufacturing
railway brakes.[2]
In 1919 BMW designed its first motorcycle engine, used in a model called the
Victoria, which was built by a company in Nuremberg.
In 1924 BMW built its first model motorcycle, the R32. This had a 500 cc
air-cooled horizontally-opposed engine, a feature that would resonate among
their various models for decades to come, albeit with displacement increases and
newer technology. The major innovation was the use of a driveshaft instead of a
chain to drive the rear wheel. For decades to follow, the shaft-drive boxer
engine was the mark of the BMW motorcycle.
In 1927 the tiny Dixi, an Austin Seven produced under licence, began production
in Eisenach. BMW bought the Dixi Company the following year, and this became the
company's first car, the BMW 3/15. By 1933 BMW was producing cars that could be
called truly theirs, offering steadily more advanced I6 sports and saloons
(sedans). The pre-war cars culminated in the 327 coupé and convertible, the 328
roadster, fast 2.0 L cars, both very advanced for their time, as well as the
upscale 335 luxury sedan.
World War II history
BMW motorcycles, specifically the BMW R12 and the BMW R75 combination were used
extensively by the Aufklärungsabteilung of German panzer and motorised divisions
of the German Army, Waffen SS and Luftwaffe.
BMW was also a major supplier of engines; supplying the Luftwaffe with engines
and vehicles, and the Wehrmacht with motorcycles. Planes using the aero-engines
included the BMW 801, one of the most powerful available. Over 30,000 were
manufactured up to 1945. BMW also researched jet engines, producing the BMW 003,
and rocket-based weapons. BMW has admitted to using between 25,000 and 30,000
slave labourers during this period, consisting of both prisoners of war and
inmates of infamous concentration camps such as Dachau.
The BMW works were heavily bombed towards the end of the war. Of its sites,
those in eastern Germany (Eisenach-Dürrerhof, Wandlitz-Basdorf and Zühlsdorf)
were seized by the Soviets. The factory in Munich was largely destroyed.
Post-war history
After the war the Munich factory took some time to restart production in any
volume. BMW was banned from manufacturing for three years by the Allies and did
not produce a motorcycle, the R24, until 1948, and a car model until 1952.
In the east, the company's factory at Eisenach was taken over by the Soviet
Awtowelo group which formed finally the Eisenacher Motor-Werke. That company
offered "BMWs" for sale until 1951, when the Bavarian company prevented use of
the trademarks: the name, the logo and the "double-kidney" radiator grille.
The cars and motorcycles were then branded EMW (Eisenacher Motoren-Werke),
production continuing until 1955.
In the west, the BAC, Bristol Aeroplane Company, inspected the factory, and
returned to Britain with plans for the 326, 327 and 328 models. These plans,
which became official war reparations, along with BMW engineer Fritz Fiedler
allowed the newly formed Bristol Cars to produce a new, high-quality sports
saloon (sedan), the 400 by 1947, a car so similar to the BMW 327 that it even
kept the famous BMW grille.
In 1948 BMW produced its first postwar motorcycle and in 1952 it produced its
first passenger car since the war. However, its car models were not commercially
successful; models such as the acclaimed BMW 507 and 503 were too expensive to
build profitably and were low volume.
By the late 1950s, it was also making bubble-cars such as the Isetta.
In 1959 BMW's management suggested selling the whole concern to Daimler-Benz.
Major shareholder, Herbert Quandt was close to agreeing such a deal, but changed
his mind at the last minute because of opposition from the workforce and trade
unions and advice from the board chairman, Kurt Golda. Instead Quandt increased
his share in BMW to 50% against the advice of his bankers, and he was
instrumental in turning the company around.
That same year, BMW launched the 700, a small car with an air-cooled,
rear-mounted 697 cc boxer engine from the R67 motorcycle. Its bodywork was
designed by Giovanni Michelotti and the 2+2 model had a sporty look. There was
also a more powerful RS model for racing. Competition successes in the 700 began
to secure BMW's reputation for sports sedans.
At the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1961, BMW launched the 1500, a powerful compact
sedan, with front disc brakes and four-wheel independent suspension. This modern
specification further cemented BMW's reputation for sporting cars. It was the
first BMW to officially feature the "Hofmeister kink", the rear window line that
has been the hallmark of all BMWs since then.
The "New Class" 1500 was developed into 1600 and 1800 models. In 1966, the
two-door version of the 1600 was launched, along with a convertible in 1967.
These models were called the '02' series—the 2002 being the most famous—and
began the bloodline that later developed into the BMW 3 Series.
By 1963, with the company back on its feet, BMW offered dividends to its
shareholders for the first time since before World War II.
By 1966, the Munich plant had reached the limits of its production capacity.
Although BMW had initially planned to build an entirely new factory, the company
bought the crisis-ridden Hans Glas GmbH with its factories in Dingolfing and
Landshut. Both plants were restructured, and in the following decades BMW's
largest plant took shape in Dingolfing.
In 1968, BMW launched its large "New Six" sedans, the 2500, 2800, and American
Bavaria, and coupés, the 2.5 CS and 2800 CS.
Of major importance to BMW was the arrival of Eberhard von Kuenheim from
Daimler-Benz AG. Just 40 years old, he presided over the company's
transformation from a national firm with a European-focused reputation into a
global brand with international prestige.
Already commercially successful by the mid 60s, in December 1971, BMW moved to
the new HQ present in Munich, architecturally modeled after four cylinders.
In 1972, the 5 Series was launched to replace the New Class sedans, with a body
styled by Bertone. The new class coupes were replaced by the 3 Series in 1975,
and the New Six became the 7 Series in 1977. Thus the three-tier sports sedan
range was formed, and BMW essentially followed this formula into the 1990s.
Other cars, like the 6 Series coupes that replaced the CS and the M1, were also
added to the mix as the market demanded.
From 1970 to 1993, under von Kuenheim, turnover increased 18-fold, car
production quadrupled and motorcycle production tripled.
BMW 1955 R67/3 Plunger model motorcycle with classic boxer-motor
(This information and picture are obtained from
wikipedia.org, and is therefore free to copy and reuse)