- Nissan plans to carry its e-4orce AWD tech into System E
- System E could in flip turn out to be a testbed for efficiency AWD
- Battery tech will keep divergent between manufacturing and racing
Nissan’s System E race automotive is sporting the e-4orce badge for the primary time this 2023/24 season.
Sure, that’s the identical badge you may discover on a 2024 Nissan Ariya—a badge that you just’re prone to see far more of on performance-focused Nissan EVs sooner or later.
Whereas Nissan’s avenue automobiles and race automobiles have little in widespread at present, Nissan sees them probably meshing extra sooner or later—and studying from one another, as Inexperienced Automobile Studies discovered in a dialog with Nissan System E group principal Tomasso Volpe ultimately weekend’s System E race in Portland.
Volpe is the group principal for Nissan’s group, which he likened to being the CEO of an organization whereas additionally implementing all of the supporting operations. And he truly sees Nissan’s System E and manufacturing Nissan EV applications getting nearer collectively.
The reply will not be so stunning contemplating his employer stands in stark distinction to a line of naysayers who’ve dropped out of System E, like BMW, Audi, and Mercedes. Nissan this spring grew to become the primary producer to enroll in System E’s Gen 4 period, which is able to run by means of 2030.
2023 Nissan Ariya e-4orce
2023 Nissan Ariya e-4orce
2023 Nissan Ariya e-4orce
Effectivity and regen are on the core
The whole lot modified already for Gen 3, because the automobiles grew to become lighter, quicker, and far more highly effective, with as much as 600 kw of brake recuperation due to the inclusion of latest entrance motors—already used for that, however because of be employed for ahead movement in a Gen 3.5 improve subsequent season.
Volpe informed Inexperienced Automobile Studies that firstly, what the group has already discovered in additional than a season of the Gen 3 automotive, forward of these adjustments, is the best way to handle automobile dynamics and vitality use and restoration collectively. With regenerative braking, and a technique round it, constructed into the race, if you weren’t regenerating in any respect, you’d end round 60% of the whole race size.
“The place we’ve got improved loads is within the administration of the automobile effectivity—what you’ll be able to obtain with all of the software program instruments that you just develop, and the management methods for the automobile dynamics,” stated Volpe. “Configuring the dynamics has improved loads. It’s not that we’ve discovered extra vitality, it’s that we use vitality a lot better.”
“Sure, we put e-4orce on the automotive already this 12 months to begin selling it, to be trustworthy; it’s a branding train,” Volpe admitted. However he shortly added: “Subsequent 12 months there will likely be moments the place you should utilize all-wheel-drive expertise within the automotive, and for that, sure, we’re utilizing some experience from Nissan.
Nissan System E automotive, at Portland, 2024
Ariya e-4orce faculties System E…which faculties future GT-R?
“So we’ve got a number of the engineers who’ve developed e-4orce to advise us the best way to use all-wheel drive in probably the most environment friendly approach…the best way to maximize the effectivity of the all-wheel drive,” he defined.
For now, System E automobiles don’t even use the entrance motor for tractive (ahead) energy but. However they do use it for regenerative braking—and Nissan is already capable of faucet into a few of its chassis know-how in that respect.
Nissan has emphasised that e-4orce was derived from work that began with its GT-R supercar. Likewise, senior VP and chief planning officer Ponz Pandikuthira confirmed to our companion website Motor Authority that System E will function a testbed for next-gen GT-R improvement.
Subsequent 12 months will carry some management methods gleaned from the dynamic management of regenerative braking, utilized in Nissan manufacturing fashions just like the Ariya using e-4orce. {Hardware}-wise, a brand new gearbox will likely be “massively improved, due to some concepts and options prompt by superior R&D in Japan,” and that can carry the group one other increase in efficiency and effectivity.
2023 Nissan Ariya e-4orce
After which comes Gen 4, which is anticipated to introduce fixed all-wheel drive, whereas Gen 3.5 will supply traction from the entrance wheels a number of the time. “So for us we will apply e-4orce for the entire race then, and for us all-wheel drive is a basic expertise for electrical autos,” stated Volpe.
Chassis management and dynamics because it pertains to which can be a part of Nissan’s core enterprise, he says, so having an all-wheel-drive automobile will give Nissan the chance to switch much more information each methods.
Actual-world crossover for System E
Whereas this feels like a fairly harmonious meshing of racing, R&D, and EV improvement—one which Porsche, for example, additionally sees—that’s not the best way that a number of different massive automakers have gone. Audi, BMW, and Mercedes have been among the many automakers exiting System E simply earlier than the present Gen 3 arrived for the 2022-2023 season.
Every of those automakers had a variety of causes, however at one level or one other, every has in the end prompt that there was a comparatively low degree of expertise switch again to manufacturing autos. After seven years in System E, BMW sounded probably the most pessimistic on the prospects when it introduced it will be dropping out after the 2020-2021 season. “With regards to the event of e-drivetrains, BMW Group has primarily exhausted the alternatives for this type of expertise switch within the aggressive surroundings of System E,” the corporate stated.
Audi confirmed its departure a short while later, in 2021, and pointed to different sorts of motorsport, just like the Dakar Rally, as a method to “additional develop our experience within the subject of electrical mobility below excessive situations,” and Mercedes merely famous that the choice was made to refocus sources on EV improvement.
Nissan System E automotive, at Portland, 2024
Battery tech must be very completely different
Not each expertise right here is related to manufacturing EVs—even efficiency ones—the group boss admits. The battery is the apparent instance, as a result of it’s such a distinct use case. Getting by means of the race with no element failure is the target, not getting the battery pack to final 150,000 miles or extra as in a manufacturing EV.
Though even right here there could also be some classes good for taking to EVs set to say observe time. “The principle subject that we’ve got with the battery is the temperature, and to attempt to get the battery at all times in the suitable window to verify we use many of the vitality in probably the most environment friendly approach. That is the principle problem in the case of the battery greater than anything; the remaining is sort of constant within the BMS.”
System E groups function below a distinct set of priorities. They will run the battery all the best way as much as 73.5 levels C and nonetheless be moderately environment friendly in extracting vitality from it, however they’d higher ensure the temp gained’t maintain rising, as a result of at 74 levels it’s useless and gained’t be revived for the race. With round 55 levels on up thought of the best vary for the battery, the groups and System E itself provide you with a technique on the place to begin—particularly, 42-45 levels for final Saturday’s race that the pit crew was then getting ready for.
Volpe famous that typically inside System E races you see automobiles with the next share of vitality left on the finish of the race, whereas they hadn’t truly been pushing a lot to get well positions in the previous few laps. That’s a sign the battery temperature wasn’t managed nicely.
Alternatively, engineering insights from the inverter, gearbox, and motor can all be helpful for manufacturing fashions. So can insights from superior supplies like carbon fiber.
Nissan System E automotive, at Portland, 2024
System E leaning on software program for good points, drivers for wins
This 12 months, the massive effectivity good points are software program ones, in keeping with Volpe. Vitality administration software program is giving the group a way more refined device to make use of through the race, for higher dynamic optimization of energy supply and regen.
“By regulation, in concept, you possibly can rewrite the entire software program of the automotive from one race to a different. After all the core software program stays the identical, however there are little instruments we use; some are instruments that hook up with the software program within the automotive and these are constantly up to date.”
Nissan’s engineers prefer to suppose that they’ve a brand new model of the software program for each single race. But it surely does must be set prematurely of the race itself. The FIA opinions the whole code, apart from offline instruments and no matter is used for information evaluation.
However a lot of it in System E nonetheless rests on the motive force—as seen at Portland the place the end result of the race got here right down to easy driver error and one not fairly following the racing line he’d supposed, clipping the grass, and spinning out.
I will go away you with an image you will simply need to think about, as contained in the workings of its pit crew Nissan does not wish to let onto any photographic secrets and techniques: On website, at pit lane and simply out of view of the traditional pit-lane excursions, Nissan gave me a quick glimpse of a management room filled with screens and other people taking a look at layers of knowledge, together with driver simulations and warmth maps. In the meantime, a group in Paris can also be diving into information and advising on varied eventualities.
2024 Nissan GT-R Skyline Version
From Portland to Paris to Yokohama, System E appears to be working for Nissan as a distant testbed—and for Jaguar Land Rover, which has claimed actual EV vary good points from System E tech.
As I left pit lane I contemplated: If these different automakers are getting what they want from F1, what expertise, like solid-state batteries or deeper simulation instruments, will it take to get different automakers again on board with System E? The race is on, however not everybody sees themselves in the identical race.
