On Friday GM officially kicked off use of its new Powertrain Engineering Development Center in Pontiac MI. The new $463 million facility includes 120 dynamometer test cells for exercising all manner of new drivetrains. Among those cells 20 are specifically dedicated to testing motors for electric and hybrid drive systems. Others are split among fueled and non-fueled cells for testing gas, diesel, and flex-fuel engines and transmissions respectively. A new quick connect pallet system allows technicians to assemble a test configuration outside the cell and then have it installed and running within 20 minutes. The photo above showse a technician connecting the 1.4L engine and generator combination that will serve as the Chevy Volt range extender.

[Source: Green Fuels Forecast]

There are plenty of dynamometers in the world which are capable of helping tuners get the most from their engines. There aren't very many that allow the same type of tuning for hybrids, though. Hybrid drivetrains can be very complex pieces, featuring both the internal combustion engine of a normal passenger car and the motor, controller and batteries of an electric vehicle. To get the most out of each independent system, testing is becoming increasingly important.

As any tuner knows, there's a fine line between getting everything available from the drivetrain and artificially shortening its life because its being pushed too hard, and this is especially true when it comes to batteries. To help carmakers meet these growing demands, FEV, Inc. is planning to open eight new sites equipped to allow for hybrid drivetrain development. Each site allows for the monitoring of both the engine and the electrical systems. With the increasing numbers of hybrids being sold, expect more locations like these to pop up in the near future.

[Source: FEV, Inc]

Yesterday Audi opened up a brand new engine test facility in Neckarsulm, Germany, for doing development and durability testing of their powerplants. The new facility is equipped with nineteen new dynamometer cells that are capable of running gasoline, diesel or racing engines. The lab has forty employees working on two shifts and it has been acoustically engineered to limit the disturbance to the surrounding area. The new test cells are large enough to provide plenty of work space for the technicians and engineers as well installing the complete original exhaust systems on the engines. With the emissions and fuel economy requirements being placed on new cars, getting accurate test results is critical. When running up to nineteen engines at a time, a lot of power is being generated and this new facility is recapturing it from the dynamometers to provide electricity for the test facility and the neighboring assembly plant.

[Source: Audi]