from what i have heard and read there are tons of new technologies that everyone thinks chevy is looking into. some are 3 valve head, a magnesium block, and dual rotor brakes.
here are some link, lets discuss.
http://www.sae.org/automag/techbrief...1-111-9-26.pdf
http://www.sae.org/automag/techbrief...1-111-9-26.pdf

it also talks about lotus using a camless engine.
the braking system also delivers 1.7 times the torque and reduce operating temperature more than 212ºF and then want to start producing them by 2006

i also got some pics of it, i guess if they didn't want anyone to see it, it shouldn't be on the internet, lol
http://www.delphi.com/news/solutions...24695-09012003

 

Wow, that was a tiny single piston caliper for those brakes. If it works as good as they say it will solve a lot of problems.

 

All that mentioned is pretty old news. I know the camless engine has been in development for a long time. As for a 3 valve head, it may be new for GM (not even sure about that) but I thought i read the new Mustang has a 3 valve head. Also, Magnesium blocks. Every metal has been tried in a block. Magnesium is lighter and stronger than alluminum but more expensive. The big development will be a ceramic block. It will weigh nothing, problably cost less, and have excellent cooling abilities, and could take tons of heat without distortion or warping.

 

ceramic block = cool

 

No more cams?

I dont like that idea, thats one of the easiest big gain mods

 

No, the thing is, you would be able to change the valve lift with just a computer program so the benefits are still there but you don't have to do any of the mechanical work. Sounds pretty good to me.

 

Yeah it sounds cool. But Im leary of stuff like that. Cause its alwyas in teh back of your mind the question. "Is it working right? Is the Valve lift where I want it?" Im the same way with vacuum secondaries. I wonder if they open like they should. I would just assumehave a solid peice of steel in there for a cam, cause I know its gonna have the lift where its supposed to be.

 

I can't recall any modern-era 3-valve GM heads either.

Magnesium is expensive and very difficult to manufacture-- normal machining tools can cause it to ignite. Ceramic is expensive and it would not have excellent cooling abilities. Ceramics are poor conductors of heat. You are correct that ceramics can take tons of heat without warping, but it's unlikely an engine could be designed to take advantage of those elevated temperatures. Cast iron and aluminum can already go much higher than the 90º or so they run at, yet manufacturers have not done it.

 

if they only were making a camaro, and had a few improvements in the styling department, Id give them 100%. But the first flaw I mentioned drastically drops my opinion of GM

 

they can have all the fun they want with 3 valve heads and block materials blah blah blah

but they put together a tunable camless technology, and the results will be just plain nasty

 

Dual rotor breaks would be cool. Instead of being cast iron, they would be stamped steel. Cross-drilling (actually punched) would be cheap, and not be prone to cracking. More effective shapes, such as "wave rotors" become viable. Bring it on!

Ceramic blocks don't seem viable, as machining costs are prohibitive.

 

This one goes up there with a Jessica Biel/Katy Holmes threesome dream...

 

I have had a belief for about the past seven or eight years since I've gotten into cars that the next big evolution of engines will be plastic engines...My best friend who's a mechanic thought I was crazy when I said it then but my believe was only strengthened when I saw the LS1's plastic intake manifold...I bet with additional research into how to make the plastic strong enough and heat resistant enough that we could see a fully or nearly fully plastic engine...Or am I crazy???...*LOL*...

 

Probably just crazy But you never know. If it did work i don't know how comfortable i would be driveing around with and engine made of plastic.

 

One possible future engine design was to have used stamped steel fabrications for the block instead of a casting. It supposedly would have been cheaper and lighter than cast. I haven't heard anything on it in a while, tho.

GM's locomotive division has used this technique for decades-- it's quite something to see them build a V16 engine block from scratch by welding together huge pieces of sheet steel. On their newest engine they're using a casting, but I think they're regretting that decision.