UNIT – I

INTRODUCTION : classification of automobiles, Major components of four wheeler

automobile – chassis and body , power plant, power transmission, Types of drives - Rear
wheel drive, Front wheel drive, Four wheel drive, car body styles, super chargers and turbo
chargers, crank case ventilation.
ENGINE SPECIFICATIONS: Engine Specifications with regard to power, speed, torque,
number of cylinders and arrangement, lubrication and cooling systems.

An Automobile is a self propelled vehicle which is used for the transportation of

passengers and goods upon the ground. A vehicle is a machine which is used for
transportation of passengers and goods.
Automobile is a self propelled vehicle driven by an I.C.Engine. In other words, an
automobile is one which can move by itself. Self propelled means a unit which contains its
own power source, necessary for moving within itself. Self propelled vehicle is that in which
power required for propulsion is produced from within.
Automobile engineering is a branch of engineering in which we study all about the
automobiles. In automobile engineering we study about the self propelled vehicles like car,
bus, truck, jeep, tractor, scooter and motor cycle.
Classification of Automobiles :
1. According to type of fuel use
a. petrol engine
b. diesel engine
c. gas engine
2. According to the method of ignition the fuel
a. spark ignition engine
b. compression ignition engine
c. hotspot ignition engine
3. According to the number of strokes per cycle
a. four stroke cycle engines
b. two stroke cycle engines
4. According to the cycle of operation
a. otto cycle engines (constant volume cycle)
b. diesel cycle engine (constant pressure cycle)
c. dual combustion cycle engine (semi diesel cycle)

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 5. According to the speed of the engine
a. slow speed engine
b. medium speed engine
c. high speed engine
6. According to the cooling system
a. air cooled engine
b. water cooled engine
c. evaporate cooling engine
7. According to the method of fuel injection
a. carburettor engine
b. air injection engine
c. air less or solid injection engine
8. According to the number of cylinders
a. single cylinder engine
b. multi cylinder engine
9. According to the arrangement of cylinders
a. vertical engine
b. horizontal engine
c. radial engine
d. in-line multi cylinder engine
e. v-type multi cylinder engine
f. opposite cylinder engine
g. opposite piston engine
10. According to the valve mechanism
a. Over head valve engine
b. Side valve engine
11. According to the method of governing
a. Hit and miss governed engine
b. Quantitatively governed engine
c. Qualitatively governed engine

Major components of four wheeler automobile:

The main components of an automobile
I. The basic structure

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 II. The power plant
III. The transmission system
IV. The auxiliaries
V. The controls
VI. The super structure

I . The Basic structure

It consists of the frame, the suspension system, axles, wheels and tyres.
FRAME: (Under body)
It is the main part of the chassis, on which the remaining parts of the chassis are mounted. It
is a rigid structure that forms a skeleton to hold all the major parts together. There are two
distinct forms of construction in common use
The conventional pressed steel frame
The integral or frameless construction,
SUSPENSION SYSTEM
The objects of suspension are;
a) To prevent the road shocks from being transmitted to the vehicle components.
b) To safe guard the occupant’s from road shocks.
c) To preserve the stability of the vehicle in pitching or rolling, while in motion.
There are two types of suspension systems;
1) The conventional system in which the road springs are attached to a rigid beam axel.

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 2) The independent system, in which there is no rigid axel beam and each wheel, is free
to move vertically without any reaction of the other wheel.
AXLES:
The weight carrying portions of the axles ,whether it may be front or rear, may be
considered as beams supported to the ends ,loaded at two intermediate points and
subjected to the following loads
1. the vertical load at the wheel centre due to weight of the vehicle.
2. a force and-aft load at the wheel centre due to driving or braking effect.
3. The torque reactions due to drives or brakes.
4. A side thrust at the radius o the tyres due to centrifugal force when rounding a
curve.
There are three types of rear axles
a) Fully floating type
b) Three quarter floating type
c) Semi floating type.
WHEELS:
Wire spoke wheels have been used mainly on sports cars, primarily on account of their
light weight and quickness in charging the wheel.
However, the pressed steel has displaced these or all ordinary purposes. Such a wheel
consists of a central flanged disc pressed into a rolled section rim and retained in
position by welding. Light alloys wheels are currently used in case of luxury and sport
cars and are called FORMULA WHEELS'.
II .The power plant
The power plant or engine provides the motive power or all the various functions which the
vehicle or any part of it, may be called up to perform.
The power plant generally consists of a I.C engine which may be either SPARK IGNITION
or of COMPRESSION IGNITION type.
However, the gas turbines are also used in cars; through the cost has been disadvantage in
spite of their better performance compared to I.C engines.
Electric motors powered by batteries have been used as motive power plan for automobiles.
Combination of I.C engines and a electric motor has been used successfully used in hybrid
vehicles.
III .The Transmission System

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The transmission system consists of a clutch and a gear box giving four, five or even six
different ratios of torque output to torque input, a propeller shaft to transmit the torque output
from the gear box to rear axle and differential gear to distribute the final torque equally
between the driving wheels.
The functions of transmission system
o To disconnect the engine from the road wheels when desired.
o To connect the engine to driving wheels without shock.
o To vary leverage between the engine and the driving wheels.
o To reduce the engine speed permanently in a fixed ratio.
o To turn the drive to a right angle.
o To make the prevision for the flexing of the road springs which causes relative
moment between the engine and driving wheels.
The various components which perform these operations are Clutch, gearbox, bevel pinion
and crown wheel, universal joints:
IV . The auxiliaries
The principal one out of these -in that it is common to almost all types of vehicles -is the
electrical equipment. This can be subdivided into four systems:
a. Supply system-battery and generator.
b. The ignition system-battery and magneto ignition.
c. Ancillary devices- like
 Driving lights-head lights, side lights, tall; lights, tail-lights, number -plate
illumination, etc.
 Signalling-horn , direction indicators and the brake light.
 Other lights-interior roof lights, panel light and reverse light if fitted.
 Miscellaneous-radio, heater, fans, electric fuel pump, electric windscreen wipers.
V. The controls
The control consists of:
1. Steering system.
2. Brakes.
VI. The super structure
In those cases, where frameless construction is not adopted, there must be a separate structure
i.e. the body attached to the frame while in case of frameless construction, the body performs
the functions of both. The body contains the passenger and the luggage space, besides the
engine compartment.

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Chassis and body : Chassis is a French term and was initially used to denote the frame parts
or Basic Structure of the vehicle. It is the back bone of the vehicle. A vehicle with out body is
called Chassis. It is the main mounting for all the components including the body. So it is
also called as Carrying Unit. For light vehicles of mono construction types having the body
integral with frame, it denotes the whole vehicle excluding the additional fitment inside the
body.
Chassis = Automobile - Body
FUNCTIONS OF THE CHASSIS FRAME
1. To carry load of the passengers or goods carried in the body.
2. To support the load of the body, engine, gear box etc.,
3. To withstand the forces caused due to the sudden braking or acceleration
4. To withstand the stresses caused due to the bad road condition.
5. To withstand centrifugal force while cornering
The chassis frame must be Strong, Light, Withstand the shock blows, Twists,
Vibrations and Other strains on road
Classifications of chassis:
(1)According to the fitting of engine classification of engine as follows:
 Full forward
 Semi forward
 Bus chassis
 Engine in front
 Engine at centre
Full forward chassis is that in which the engine is fitted outside the driver
cabin or seat like in cars and old tata trucks. In this type of arrangement the driver seat is far
enough from the front wheels and is not able to see just in front of the vehicle.

Semi forward chassis, half portion of the engine is in the driver cabin and the
remaining half is outside the cabin like in standard, bed ford pickup. It provides better
visibility of road to driver.

In bus chassis the whole engine is fitted in the driver cabin. It provides an
increased floor space in the vehicle. The driver seat is just above the front wheel and the full
front road right from the front wheels.

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 In most of the vehicles, the engine is fitted in front portion of the chassis. The
driver is given to the front wheels like in motor vehicles.

The engine may also be fitted at the back portion of the chassis, like in
Volkswagen of West Germany Leyland bus of England. This arrangement doesn’t require
any long propeller shaft. Gearbox and differential are combined in one unit.

An arrangement in which the engine is placed at the rear with the rear axle as the live axle.
In this case the disadvantage in the front wheel drive while going up the slopes is obviated.
There is increase of weight on the driving wheels while going up, thus giving better traction through
improved road adhesion.
Front axle construction is simplified which is used for steering only.
In this arrangement noise and heat are carried away from the passengers and front of the vehicle can
be designed for better visibility because of the of the absence of the engine.
The engine may also be fitted at the centre of the chassis. The arrangement
provides full space of chassis floor for use. In royal tiger world master buses of Delhi
transport the engines are fitted at the centre of chassis.

(2)According to the number of wheels fitted in the vehicles and the number of driving wheels
the vehicle chassis are of the following types.

 4-2 drive chassis vehicle. Consists of 4 wheels out of which 2 wheels are the driving
wheels.
 4-4 and all of them are the driving wheels.
 6-2 consists of 6 wheels out of which 2 wheels are the driving wheels.
 6-4 consists of 6 wheels out of which 4 wheels are the driving wheels.
The frame or under body is the main part of the chassis on which the remaining parts of
the chassis are mounted. It is a rigid structure that forms a Skelton to hold to all major pars
together.
The function of the frame:
To support the chassis components and the body.
To withstand static and dynamic loads without deflection or distortion.
Loads on the frame :
1. Weight of the vehicle and the passengers, which causes vertical bending of the side members.

2. Vertical loads when comes across a bump or hollow, which results in longitudinal torsion due to one wheel
with other wheels at the usual road level.

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3. Loads due to road camber, side wind, cornering force while taking a turn, which result in lateral bending of
side members.

4. Load due to wheel impact with road obstacles may cause that particular wheel to Remain obstructed while the
other wheel tends to move forward, distorting the frame to parallelogram shape.

5. Engine torque and braking torque tending to bend the side members in the vertical plane.

6. Sudden impact loads during a collision, which may result in a general collapse.

Frames are made of the following steel sections

MATERIALS USED FOR FRAMES

Steels used for pressed frame are mild sheet steel, carbon, sheet steel and nickel alloy sheet steel.
 The composition of a nickel alloy sheet steel as given below
o Carbon 0.25-0.35%
o Manganese 0.35-0.75%
o Silicon 0.3% maximum
o Nickel 3%
o Phosphorous 0.05% maximum
o Sulphur 0.5% maximum
 An aluminium alloy called “Alpax” has also been used for frame materials.

TYPES OF CHASSIS FRAMES

There are three types of frames
Conventional Frame :
1. It is also known as non load carrying frame. Here the loads on the vehicle are
transferred to the suspension by the frame, which supports the engine, power train and
the body. The body is made of material like wood and completely isolated from the
frame deflection with the help of rubber mountings. This type of construction is

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 widely used in trucks. This type of frame is not much suited to resist torsion. Use of a
tubular or box section backbone type of frame improves the torsional strength.

The complete frame is fabricated by the welding process. The frame tapers from the
rear to the front to permit adequate movement of the steering wheel. The longitudinal
members, by sweeping upwards at the rear end, allow for the vertical movement of
the rear axle. The torsional rigidity of the frame is increased by providing tubular or
box section cross members.
2. Integral Frame or Uni-body construction or Frameless construction
In this type of construction , there is no frame and all assembly units are attached to
the body. The chassis , floor and the body are assembled by the welding from a large
number of mild steel pressings. In this arrangement, the chassis becomes a sub frame
and other sub-frames are used for front and rear suspension units.
This design reduces vehicle weight, , lowers production cost and allows lower floor.
The frameless construction has following

ADVANTAGES:
 Reduced weight and consequent saving in fuel consumption
 Lower manufacturing cost.

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  During collision the body crumbles, thereby absorbing the shock due to impact
and thus providing safety to the passengers.
 Compared to framed construction lower body position may be obtained, thus
resulting in increased stability tto automobile.
DISADVANTAGES:
 Reduction of strength and durability.
 Economical in only if frameless construction is adopted in mass production.
 Increased in cost of repairs in case of damage to body during accidents.
 topless cars are difficult to design frameless construction.
3. Semi-integral type
In this arrangement, the rubber body mounts are replaced by relatively stiff mounts so
that a part of the frame load is transferred to the body structure also. This type of
frame is quite popular for small Europeon cars and American cars. This frame
however, is heavy.

Why frames are narrow at the front than at rear?

The frame is upswept at the rear and front to accommodate the movement of the axel due to
springing. It also keeps the chassis height low. “The frame is narrowed down at the front to
have a better steering lock, which gives a smaller turning circle”. The extension of the chassis
frame ahead of the axle is called front overhang, where as its extension beyond the rear axle
is called rear overhang.

1. CAR BODY STYLES: Closed cars:

1. Saloon or sedan—Has two or four doors, a single compartment with two rows
of seats, one at the front and other at the rear. There is separate luggage space
at the rear or at the front.

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 2. Hatch back-- A saloon with a door at the back is called hatchback.
3. Coupe--- In this type there is only one row of seats for two persons. Only two
doors are provided. An ordinary saloon with roof line at decreased height is
also called coupe.
4. Limousine---driving compartment is separated from the rear compartment by a
sliding glass division.
2. Open cars:
1. Sports: - Has two doors or less, is provided with a collapsible hood, a fold flat
windscreen and removable side screens.
2. Convertible: - the roof in this is of soft folding type and windows of special
wind up design. With these provisions the car may be either open or enclosed.
3. Special cars:
1. Estate car: - A saloon car with the passenger roof extended right up to the rear
end. Rear door for loading with rear seats usually collapsible.
2. Station wagon: - Wood panelled body in earlier days but now only with a
resembling look with steel structure.

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Transport vehicles : -
1. Van: - These are light vehicles. There are seats at the front and the luggage space at
the rear. The side doors are usually of sliding type. The rear door is used loading or
unloading.
2. Truck: -These are heavy goods commercial vehicles with all axles attached to a single
frame. Generally twin wheels are fitted on the non steered axles. Depending upon the
capacity, there are two or more axles.
3. Bus: -These are used for carrying large number of people over short distances often in
a dense traffic. Limited space for luggage and better visibility for the passengers to
know where they have to get down. Usually there are two doors. Sometimes the buses
have two floors. Such buses are called double Decker buses.
4. Coach: -These are used for transporting passengers over long distance and are
therefore provided with luxurious interior with comfortable seats and amenities like
video.
MATERIALS USED FOR BODY
 Steel is still used in majority of the cases being the cheapest along with the ease with which it
can be stamped out to form various shapes. Alloying elements are added to improve its ability
to be formed in to deeper depression without wrinkling or tearing in the manufacturing
presses.
 Aluminum has also been used by some manufacturers because of its better formability,
lightness and anti-rusting qualities, though it’s main disadvantage is lesser stiffness and
rigidity.
 Use of plastics is also popular in bodywork. Thermosetting plastics especially the glass
reinforced plastics like fiber glass are being used for the body shells. The latest type of plastic
used for the body shells. The latest type of plastic used for bodywork is the one reinforced by
carbon fiber, which is found to be stronger than steel. The only disadvantage is its high cost.

Front wheel drive

The engine power is transmitted to the front axle which is nearer the engine.
The advantages of this system are:
a) The propeller shaft is eliminated and the linkage for clutch and the transmission is
simplified. This permits a low chassis height.
b) The engine pulls the car rather than pushing it, avoiding skidding tendency, thus
providing safety especially on snow-covered roads.

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 c) Better road adhesion is obtained in this case because larger part of the weight of the
automobile is taken on the driving wheels.
Disadvantages:
a) The front wheels which are in this case the driving wheels, have to be steered also,
which makes the whole arrangement complicated.
b) Two constant velocity joints have to be used in this case, because ordinary universal
joints would give large speed fluctuations.
c) Also the component of the automobile weight on the driving wheels is reduced when
going up steep gradients. This results in decrease of tractíve effort when ít is needed
most.
Rear wheel drive:
In this arrangement, the engine at front and power is transmitted to the rear axle as the live
axle. In this case the advantages are:
a) The disadvantage in the front engine with front wheel drive while going up the slopes
is obviated.
b) There is increase of weight on the driving wheels while going up, thus giving better
traction through improved road adhesion.
c) Front axle construction is simplified which is used for steering only.
d) In this arrangement noise and heat are carried away from the passengers and the front
of the vehicle can be designed for better visibility because of the absence of the
engine.
However certain disadvantages are also there in this case:
a) The increased weight of the vehicle in the rear causes the same to become unstable at
high speeds.
b) Complicated linkage is required to operate engine, clutch and the transmission.

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Four wheel drive: –

In four wheel drive all the four wheels are the driving wheels. The transfer box is an additional
equipment, which divides the torque equally between the front and rear axles. The universal joints on
the propeller shafts and special constant universal joints have to be provided in the front axle, because
of the large angular movements involved during steering. There is a provision in the control of the
transfer box so that front wheel may be disengaged when not required.

Advantages:

1. The main advantage of four wheel drive is that when the front wheels fall in to ditch, they can
be driven out, being power driven.
2. The jeeps and military vehicles can be operated on rough ground.

Supercharging

Supercharging is a process of supplying air fuel mixture at a pressure above

atmospheric pressure to the engine on an ordinary engine without a super charger, the
downward piston movement during the intake stroke creates a vacuum in the inlet manifold,
which is used to draw in the air fuel mixture through the carburettor into the cylinders. With
supercharging, how ever, due to the high pressure, the density of charge increases, therefore
its weight per stroke is increased for the same swept volume. It is seen that the power output

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of the engine is almost directly propotional to the weight of charge per min; Therefore the
supercharged engine gives more output.Upto 40% increase in power and torque may be
obtained by super charging.

Supercharging is done basically by three types of super chargers.

1) Centrifugal type of supercharger

2) Roots type supercharger.
3) Vane type of supercharger

These are the few ways in which supercharging can be done

Turbo charging:- The power generated by an I.C. engine is directly related to the
compression force exerted on the air fuel mixture. In other words, the greater the
compression, the greater output of the engine. To modify the internal configuration of the
engine to increase the basic compression.

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  This has been accomplished in many ways including the use of such things as domed
or high top pistons, altered crankshaft strokes, or changes in the shape and structure of
the combustion chamber design.
 Turbochargers are used to increase engine power by compressing the air that goes into
the engine’s combustion chambers.
 Increased power comes from the additional fuel that the denser air accommodates.
Today, turbochargers are most popular method of increasing engine compression.
 The turbocharger does not require a mechanical connection between the engine and
the pressurizing pump to compress the intake gases. Instead, it relies on the rapid
expansion of hot exhaust gases existing the cylinders to spin turbine blades then the
name turbocharger.
 Because exhaust gas is a waste product, the energy developed by the turbine is said to
be free since it theoretically does not rob the engine of any of the power it helps to
produce.

CRANKCASE VENTILATION:- Crancase ventilation Is required owing to the following

two reasons :

1) The various contaminants such as water ,gasoline, blowby gases etc. enter the crank case
due to several reasons, and may cause sludge and corrode metal parts.
2) To relieve my pressure build-up in the crankcase which may cause leakage of the crank
shaft seal.

In practice, following two types of ventilation systems are used:

1) Open System 2) Closed System

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OPEN SYSTEM:

 In this system, fresh air supply is inducted into the crankcase during the
compression stroke(due to creation of small vacuum). The entering air picks up the
contaminats (water vapour, gases and sulphuric acid vapour) and discharge them to
atmosphere during expansion stroke.
 The main disadvantage of this system is that the natural ventilation is quite
inadeqaute during idling or running at low speeds.

CLOSED SYSTEMS:

 In closed system the fresh air supply is taken to the crankcase from the
carburettor.
 Aur cleaner and the breather outlets are connected to the intake manifold through
a PCV valve to ensure the burining of all the crankcase gases in cumbustion
chamber.

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Engine Specifications:

Engine for ALTO LX/VX CAR:

Manufacturer : Maruti sezuki India

Engine Type : 3-cylinder inline, Petrol(LX)
4-cylinder inline, Petrol(VX)
Transverse, iron block and alloy head
Bore : 68.5mm
Stroke : 72mm
Displacement : 796cc(LX), 1061 cc (VX)
Compression ratio : 9.2 +/- 0.2
Maximum power : 33.6 kW (45BHP) at 6000 rpm(LX)
46.2 kW (63BHP) at 6000 rpm(VX)
Maximum Torque : 61.8Nm (6.3 kgm) at2700 rpm (LX)
81.4Nm (8.3 kgm) at4500 rpm (VX)
Power to Weight Ratio :45.36 kW (60.81 BHP)/ tonne(LX)
(81.5 BHP)/ tonne(VX)
Lubrication system : combined lubrication
system
Cooling system : water cooled
Fuel tank capacity : 35 Litres
Fuel consumption City : 13kmpl, High way : 18kmpl

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