Whioce Publishing Pte Ltd  and the Editor-in-chief invite all authors  to submit their  manuscripts to  our  newly launched  journal, Vehicle Dynamics, for peer review.

The NSX is a fine dynamics package, featuring several world-first technologies, but there is always scope for a little more refinement. Honda’s engineering team has been busy making enhancements for the 2019 model, with the seemingly opposing aims of making the hybrid supercar easier to live with day-to-day, and more exciting on track.

Dynamics changes include fitting larger front and rear stabilizer bars, which Honda’s engineers claim increase stiffness by 26% at the front and 19% at the rear. The team has also specified stiffer rear hubs and control-arm toe link bushings to enhance responsiveness through the chassis.

The dynamics enhancements extend beyond hardware upgrades, with engineers recalibrating the software that controls the Sport Hybrid SH-AWD power unit, electric power steering, and the vehicle stability assist system. The software settings for the active magnetorheological dampers have also been tweaked to provide a more comfortable ride and response in the softest setting, while maintaining the stiffer set-up for higher speeds and on-track driving.

Tire manufacturer Continental has invested in test facilities to further its research into the industrialization of rubber from the Russian dandelion plant. The company is aiming to use dandelion rubber as a sustainable alternative to rubber sourced from the rainforest, which would also reduce the company‘s CO2 emissions, as using a more locally sourced material would enable shorter transportation routes.

Work on completing the test facilities is going ahead at the €35m Taraxagum Lab Anklam (TLA) in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany, which will be used to extract rubber from dandelion roots. The research will be used to industrialize the material, with a view to dandelion tires being ready for series production in 2023, though the company says that timescale is “at the earliest”.

“We are well on schedule,” stated TLA site manager, Dr Carsten Venz. “At first we were worried that the long winter would put a few obstacles in our way, but now things are progressing quickly.”