AUTOMOTIVE
Taking lessons from racetrack to road
Leonard Kieckebusch, Project Leader, E-Fluid Development, Shell Lubricants
Some people say that lubricants are like shoes - you don’t notice them until they start causing problems! At Shell, we believe that lubricants should play a more prominent role and sticking to the analogy with shoes, that they can complete an outfit - but they can also make an outstanding impression.
Motorsports is a fitting example of this and one where lubricants – or more particularly E-Fluids – play a vital part in the overall power, efficiency, and reliability of race cars – and ultimately the difference between winning or losing.
As with conventional electric vehicles (EVs), the drive trains of Formula E race cars also require a reduction gear set to reduce the high speeds of the e-motor and increase torque and, for this, bespoke lubricants are needed – ‘e-Fluids’ specifically designed for thermal management and wear protection of battery electric vehicles (BEV) components.
As well as lubricating the gearbox, e-Fluid technologies can be used for effective cooling of the electric motor. The combination of an electric motor with the gearbox in BEV application is known as the ‘e-Drive unit’ and e-Fluids enable highly efficient immersive cooling of the battery system, as well as faster charging and safer operation.
In Formula E most race car parts are identical for all race teams and so the most critical technical differentiation from the competition is the e-motor, gearbox and the bespoke lubricants used. Indeed, since the introduction of the new Gen3 race cars this season, which has seen the maximum power
increased from 250kW to 350kW, e-Fluids have come to plan an even more vital role in protecting the hardware and enhancing the efficiency of the overall E-Drive unit.
Partnering with Nissan Formula E Since the start of Season 5 in November 2018, Shell has been an Official Partner of Nissan Formula E team. To help the team extract the maximum performance with the new Gen3 car, we have worked with the team to co-develop a bespoke range of E-Transmission and E-Thermal fluids specifically designed for the new Gen3 powertrain.
Power and efficiency Our bespoke e-Transmission Fluid enables the transmission system to deliver more power while using less energy – providing Nissan Formula E Team with a competitive edge where power and efficiency are critical. With a 39% lower viscosity and 2.2% lower density (weight/L) compared to the previous Gen2 product, the e-Transmission Fluid means the
Continued on page 10 LUBE MAGAZINE NO.175 JUNE 2023 9
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