Tag Archives: Mazda

Mazda Researchers to Receive Technological Development Awards

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Ten researchers from Mazda Motor Corporation will be honoured for their achievements at the 62nd annual Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan (JSAE) awards presentation. Two groups of Mazda researchers will receive the Technological Development Award for two separate achievements. JSAE awards the prestigious Technological Development Award to individual researchers and their co-researchers in recognition of outstanding new products or technologies that contribute to the development of automotive engineering.

The Technological Development Award
Awarded for:
Development of PGM Single Nano Size Particle Catalyst with high thermal durability and low-temperature catalytic performance which is possible to reduce the use of rare resources.

Recipients:
Hideharu Iwakuni, Technical Research Center, Mazda Motor Corporation
Masaaki Akamine, Technical Research Center, Mazda Motor Corporation
Hirosuke Sumida, Technical Research Center, Mazda Motor Corporation
Masahiko Shigetsu, Technical Research Center, Mazda Motor Corporation
Akihide Takami, Technical Research Center, Mazda Motor Corporation

The award recognizes improvements to Mazda’s single-nanocatalyst technology*1 including enhanced thermal durability and low temperature performance. These improvements have enabled the technology, which was previously employed only in the underfloor catalytic convertor, to be used in the convertor attached directly to the engine. It also achieves a 30 – 50% reduction in the use of rare platinum group metals (PGM). The reward also recognizes the application of the same technology to the diesel particulate filter (DPF) for Mazda’s new-generation SKYACTIV-D clean diesel engine.

*1:  This unique Mazda technology avoids the decline in performance associated with the sintering of precious metal particulates by embedding particles less than five nanometers in length (single nano sized) into a specially developed base material. (1nm=0.000001mm)

PGM Single Nano Size Particle Catalyst Technology

PGM Single Nano Size Particle Catalyst Technology

The Technological Development Award
Awarded for:
Development of new gasoline engine that achieved hybrid-level fuel consumption by pursuing the efficiency of internal combustion.

Recipients: 
Kazuhiro Tomizawa, Powertrain Development Div., Mazda Motor Corporation
Tsuyoshi Goto, Powertrain Development Div., Mazda Motor Corporation
Masahisa Yamakawa, Powertrain Development Div., Mazda Motor Corporation
Mitsuyuki Murotani, Powertrain Development Div., Mazda Motor Corporation
Yoshitomo Matsuo, Powertrain Development Div., Mazda Motor Corporation

Another group of Mazda researchers will also receive the Technological Development Award for achieving a compression ratio of 14.0:1,*2 with the new-generation high-efficiency direct injection gasoline engine, SKYACTIV-G 1.3. This is the highest compression ratio in the world for a mass produced gasoline automobile engine. The reward also recognizes the radical improvements in fuel efficiency realized with the SKYACTIV-G 1.3 via a thorough reduction of mechanical friction and pumping loss and praises it as an example of the future of ultra-efficient gasoline engines.

The award ceremony will take place on May 24, 2012 at the Pacifico Yokohama Convention Center.

*2:     As of May 2012 (Mazda data)

Recent Mazda recipients of the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan awards
2011

Takashi Youso and Masahisa Yamakawa won the Outstanding Technical Paper Award for “A Study on the Relationship between Fuel Characteristics and Auto-ignition in Gasoline HCCI Engines.”

2010
Seiji Miyoshi won the Asahara Science Award for “Development of platinum group metals (PGM) single-nanocatalyst technology,” and Naoko Yorozu also won the Asahara Science Award for “Absorption Technique for Road Noise.”
Kenichiro Saruwatari won the Technological Development Award for “Mazda’s unique combustion restart idling stop system, i-stop.”

2009
Motonori Ishibashi won the Outstanding Technical Paper Award for “Characterizing indices of driving style and their relevance to car following behavior.”

Kouichiro Harada, Hiroshi Yamada, Hiroki Fujita, Kenji Okamoto and Akihide Takami won the Technological Development Award for “Development of a high-performance particulate burning catalyst with oxygen ion conductive materials.”

Targa Podium Still in Sight for Mazda Motorsport in Tasmania

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RX-8 Targa Tasmania 2012 - 18042012 105018 AMRX-8 Targa Tasmania 2012 - 18042012 105300 AMMazda Targa Tasmania 2012 teams - 18042012 40347 PMMazda3 MPS Targa Tasmania 2012 - 18042012 105923 AM

 

After undoubtedly the toughest day’s racing so far at this year’s Targa Tasmania, the Mazda RX-8 SP of Brendan Reeves remains within touching distance of a podium spot while the Mazda3 MPS of Simon Evans has consolidated its position at the head of the showroom field.

Today’s second stage, Cethana, is one of the longest in this year’s event and the distance played into the hands of the front runners who were able to put some further daylight between themselves and those behind them.

Simon Evans was the quickest showroom driver through Cethana and managed to pilot his Mazda3 MPS across the finish line a massive 41 seconds ahead of the Renault Megane of Gavin James and extend his showroom lead in the process.

At the end of today’s stages, Evans now leads the showroom category by over three minutes and will be intent on holding his lead all the way to Hobart.

But with two tough days of rallying ahead Simon Evans isn’t taking anything for granted. “The Mazda3 MPS has been great so far and has done everything we’ve asked of it. It’s nice to have built a good solid lead in the showroom category but we’re not getting too far ahead of ourselves. There’s two more days to go so we’ll just keep pushing and won’t take our foot off the gas until we reach Hobart on Sunday,” he said.

Brendan Reeves had another consistent day with top five finishes throughout the morning but he came out with all guns blazing after the Devonport lunch stop.

Who knows what Mazda Motorsport boss Allan Horsley fed Reeves for lunch but it certainly did the trick as he drove the RX-8 SP to its limit to snare second on the Oldina stage, a result which helped him stay in fourth overall tonight.

As predicted, Matt Rickards has continued his steady climb back up the overall standings courtesy of some solid stage times today. Rickards will be looking to move his turbo rotary RX-8 SP even further up the leaderboard over the next couple of days.

The Mazda2, the smallest member of the Mazda Motorsport team, showed that size is no limitation with several strong stage finishes at the hands of driver Andrew Maclean and it continues to sit ahead of more powerful rivals.

Mazda Signs Rally Power Couple for Targa High Country

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Mazda has confirmed that the most powerful couple in Australian motorsport will pilot its Targa Tasmania-winning Mazda3 MPS at next month’s Targa High Country rally held around Victoria’s rugged alpine region.

Four-time Australian Rally Champions Simon and Sue Evans, widely known for their blistering speed on gravel, will take to the tarmac for Mazda in its 190kW turbocharged hot-hatch for the second running of the event held around Mt Buller from November 4 to 6.

The couple, currently on a one-year sabbatical from the Australian Rally Championship (ARC), is delighted to have the opportunity to drive for Mazda.

“We’ve watched Mazda’s motorsport achievements with interest over the past few years and have been impressed with their success in the Targa events,” said Evans. “I’m very excited to have the opportunity to get behind the wheel of the Mazda3 MPS.”

Between them Simon and Sue also have a number of successful tarmac outings to their name including the Nurburgring 24 Hour, Rally Tasmania and Targa Tasmania.

While driving an unfamiliar car on unfamiliar roads would be enough to render most tentative, Evans – whose strategy for any event is to take one corner at a time and drive simply ‘to win’ – already has his eyes cast on the rally’s showroom prize.

This is a welcomed determination from Mazda’s latest factory driver, with the company’s outing at last year’s inaugural Targa High Country ending in bitter disappointment. Mazda’s regular Mazda3 MPS driver Brendan Reeves dominated the showroom category until the final stages of the event when he crashed out while trying to avoid a collision with another competitor.

Despite the disappointment it didn’t take long for Mazda Motorsport’s well-oiled race team to get the Mazda3 MPS back on song with Reeves more recently winning the showroom competition, and finishing an incredible fourth outright, at April’s Targa Tasmania rally.

While Reeves would have fancied the opportunity to finish what he started last year, a conflicting round of the World Rally Championship called for a formidable replacement.

“It was a disappointing Targa High Country for us last year but we’re heading into this year’s event still on a high from an outstanding result at Targa Tasmania,” said Mazda Motorsport Manager Allan Horsley. “We know the car is in great shape, now we just wait and see what this year’s event throws at us.”

“We’re very honoured to have Simon and Sue join us for this event. Simon possesses a talent that few drivers in Australia can rival and the two of them together make for an extremely competitive team.”

Evans, who was the first driver in ARC to win every heat and every round in a season, attributes his stunning record to hard work and an in-car chemistry borne of 16 years of marriage.

“We work harder than most to get it right,” said Evans. “We have a trust level that enables us to get on with our individual tasks without questioning each other.”

Simon and Sue have been rallying together since 1999 and live in Nar Nar Goon in Melbourne’s South East. The pair won the revered ARC title in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010.

This year’s Targa High Country comprises 16 challenging closed-road stages and 217 competitive kilometres over two days taking in Mt Buller, King Valley and Eildon.  The event will kick off with a prologue held in the picturesque town of Mansfield on Friday 4 November.

Targa High Country is the opening round of the Australian Targa Championship, which also made up of Tasmania’s Targa Wrest Point and Targa Tasmania rallies.

Track Simon and Sue in the Mazda3 MPS live over the weekend via the Mazda Motorsport website or follow Mazda Australia on Twitter.

Mazda First Automaker to use 1,800 MPa Ultra-High Tensile Steel

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Mazda CX-5 SKYACTIV-Body

 

Super strongest steel to debut in all-new CX-5 crossover SUV -

Mazda Motor Corporation, in collaboration with Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. and Aisin Takaoka Co., Ltd., has become the first automaker to successfully develop vehicle components using 1,800 MPa ultra-high tensile steel. The super strength steel will debut in the all-new Mazda CX-5 crossover SUV that will commence its global launch in early 2012.

Mazda’s new production technology uses 1,800 MPa ultra-high tensile steel to fabricate bumper beams, which fit inside the front and rear bumpers and mitigate damage in the event of a collision. The bumper bars are 20 percent stronger and 4.8 kilograms lighter than previous versions and are a key part of Mazda’s next-generation, lightweight and highly rigid vehicle architecture. The new body architecture was developed as part of Mazda’s breakthrough SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY program and incorporates a new energy absorbing structure as well as an expanded use of high tensile steel to reduce weight.

The use of high tensile steel enables vehicle parts to be thinner yet still retain the same degree of strength. This leads to significant savings in vehicle weight. Reducing the weight of bumper beams is particularly important because, as they are incorporated into the body structure at the farthest point from the vehicle’s centre of gravity, their weight has a considerable effect on dynamic performance and responsiveness. They must also be strong to provide sufficient collision protection. For these reasons, a method of mass producing the parts using stronger steel has been highly sought after.

However, stronger materials are less pliant and therefore absorb less energy in a collision. To overcome this, Mazda conducted extensive research into how bumper beams deform in a crash, and created a new design that absorbs energy more efficiently. Additionally, in order to ensure the bumpers provide maximum strength in the CX-5, Mazda collaborated with Futaba Kogyo Co., Ltd. to optimize the welding techniques and establish a reliable manufacturing process.

Going forward, Mazda remains committed to reducing vehicle weight and improving dynamic performance while also maintaining a high level of body rigidity and excellent crash worthiness, in order to provide all its customers with driving pleasure and outstanding environmental and safety performance.

The All-New Mazda CX-5 will arrive in Australia in early 2012.