Set sail1992

Looking at the "quaint" engine in front of him, Zhang Qihang was a little surprised: "Mr. Matviyenko, are you still using OHV engines?"

Valentin Matviyenko blushed, of course he knew that as far as civilian passenger car engines are concerned, engines with an overhead camshaft (OHC) structure are the most economical, but there is no way, who let the Soviet Union start from a OHV technology has been adopted from the beginning, and the power of inertia is huge.But at this moment, it must not be said that way, and Valentin Matviyenko could only bite the bullet and said: "Yes, we think that the overall structure of the OHV engine is simple, and the manufacturing process is not complicated, so we Volt Motors has been widely using OHV structure engines."

After reaching an agreement within the Volga Automobile Manufacturing Company, turning around, Valentin Matviyenko discussed with Zhang Qihang and said: The introduction of models and production lines cannot be done in a day or two, but our Huateng Industry Can the group help us improve the engine first, and at the same time adapt the engine's EFI system?Of course, money matters are easy to talk about, as much as you want.

Zhang Qihang naturally had no problem, and readily agreed.

So the Volga Automobile Manufacturing Company acted urgently and sent a brand new Lada 2.0 naturally aspirated engine by air.

It was only when the engine was in front of his eyes that Zhang Qihang realized that the engine currently used by the Volga is still the "classic" bottom-mounted camshaft structure, which is commonly known as the "ejector machine". This made Zhang Qihang feel that he was eye-opening: What age is this, and there are still companies still using ejector machines?

The basic feature of the so-called ejector machine is that the camshaft that controls the intake and exhaust of the engine is under the crankshaft, and the intake and exhaust camshafts are hard-connected to the crankshaft through a gear structure. When the crankshaft rotates, the gears drive the camshaft below to rotate. The cam on the camshaft is connected to the intake valve and exhaust valve on the top of the engine through two long metal rods, and the control of the intake and exhaust of the engine is realized through the rotation of the cam.

This method of controlling intake and exhaust was widely used before the 50s. The advantage is that the structure is simple and the processing requirements for parts are relatively low.

At the mechanical level, the torque of the ejector machine at low speed is better, and the engine is more powerful, so even now, there are still many engines that continue to adhere to the "ejector" structure of the address camshaft, such as the famous Honda CG series motorcycles Cars, Harley motorcycles, and even American large-displacement muscle cars have a soft spot for ejectors, and firmly hold on to OHV technology and refuse to let go;
Naturally, there are advantages and disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is that the fuel consumption of the ejector machine is relatively high. At the same time, the engine is not easy to achieve high speed. At the same time, the control accuracy of the engine is poor. Of course, it is possible to achieve high-precision control, but the cost It went up, and then the address camshaft was gradually replaced by an overhead camshaft engine that can achieve a good balance between cost and performance and uses a chain or belt for transmission.

What Zhang Qihang never imagined was that in 2006, he was able to see the mass-produced OHV structure inline four-cylinder gasoline engine... It's a long experience, really a long experience.

But since Valentin Matviyenko said so, Zhang Qihang can't say "Your engine is too backward", isn't this just pointing at the nose and cursing, nodded and said: "The engine with the OHV structure is indeed unique. Among the heavy-duty three-wheeled motorcycles we sell in Syria, there are models equipped with OHV engines... Mr. Matviyenko, I am curious to ask, do you have any ideas about developing OHC engines?"

Valentin Matviyenko hesitated for a moment, and said vaguely: "We have indeed been thinking about this issue for a while..."

Hearing Valentin Matviyenko's ambiguous words, Zhang Qihang immediately understood: the old man is indeed greedy for the OHC engine, but who made the current old man poor...

Seeing that his general manager was a little embarrassed, Sergey Shestakov hurriedly changed the topic and asked Zhang Qihang: "Mr. Zhang, can our engine...can be improved?"

"It's nothing difficult," Zhang Qihang said happily: "The direction of improvement is nothing more than reducing the friction inside the engine, adjusting the structure and shape of the combustion chamber, and re-optimizing the intake and exhaust... Don't worry, for our Huateng Group Say, it's all trivial."

"..."

A group of old men were speechless and didn’t know what to say for a while: Everything you said gave us a headache. It’s not that we haven’t tried to improve this engine over the years. Improvements and performance improvements, but they haven’t been doing well. I didn’t expect that these things that have troubled us for such a long time, when you come here, you don’t pay attention to them at all...

While speechless and embarrassed, the old men were faintly excited: If the maximum power of this engine can be increased to 70 kilowatts, it will surely enhance our competitiveness, right?

The overall optimization plan of the engine is definitely not something that can be given on the spot. After confirming that Huateng Group can indeed optimize its own engine, the old men happily left. As soon as the old man left, Mr. Feng immediately said to Zhang Qihang: "Mr. Zhang, I will work hard on you for the next period of time."

After communicating with the Volkswagen Group, Mr. Feng's itinerary has been confirmed, and he will rush to Europe tomorrow. Once Mr. Feng leaves, all the company's affairs, large and small, will be on Zhang Qihang's shoulders.

Zhang Qihang smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, old man, let's call if you need anything."

------------

Three days later, Huateng Group formally notified Volga Automobile, informed them of the engine optimization plan, and attached the price:
Option 15: keep the existing structure of the engine unchanged, and directly install the turbocharger system. With the support of the booster system, the overall performance of the engine can be improved by [-]%. Huateng Industrial Group can help with the engine and turbocharger system. Adapt and debug.

The advantage of this solution is that it is fast, because the boost is small, the engine does not need to be strengthened, and the existing engine can be used directly; the optimization speed is fast, and it only takes three months to complete all the adaptation and debugging Work.

As for the disadvantages, it is also obvious that after adding such a turbocharging system, the cost has increased a bit.

The price of this package is only 320 million US dollars;
Option [-], no drag reduction measures are taken inside the engine, only the shape of the combustion chamber and the intake and exhaust system of the engine are optimized, and the electronic injection system is installed at the same time.

The advantage of this solution is that the original engine production line can be retained, and only a very few production equipment needs to be adjusted. The cost of improving the production line is not high. At the same time, because of the existence of the EFI system, the energy of fuel can be utilized to the greatest extent. , while increasing the power per liter, the fuel consumption is expected to be more than 10% lower than it is now.

The quotation for the whole package is USD 500 million;
As for the third plan, it is to thoroughly optimize the internal resistance of the engine, the shape of the combustion chamber, and the intake and exhaust system. Not only will the EFI system be launched, but two power versions, naturally aspirated and turbocharged, can even be provided.

The advantages are of course obvious. After the turbocharger is installed, the power per liter can be increased to 60 kilowatts, making it the most powerful engine under Volga Motors. But the disadvantages are also obvious, and the cost has risen even more.

The quotation for option three is US$1000 million.

After reading these three plans, Valentin Matviyenko hesitated, his face full of confusion, and after a while, he said to Zhang Qihang: "Mr. Zhang, the quotations for these three plans...are they too high?" What time?"

"Is this price still high?"

Zhang Qihang's eyes widened, and he looked at Valentin Matviyenko in disbelief: "Mr. Matviyenko, with all due respect, in this world, you will never find another company that can give Such a low-price company."

"This one……"

Valentin Matviyenko's face was flushed.

Zhang Qihang was "unyielding", and continued: "If you still have doubts about my words, you can go to companies such as AVL, FEV, Ricardo or Southwest Research Institute for consultation and ask them how much they quote."

"..."

Hearing Zhang Qihang's words, Valentin Matviyenko simply pretended to be dead and stopped talking: to ask the four internationally recognized giants of internal combustion engine design consulting?joke!If Volga Automobile has so much money, why cooperate with Huateng Automobile?We have long cooperated with the four major internal combustion engine design and development consulting organizations.

Just as Valentin Matviyenko was pretending to be dead, Zhang Qihang changed his tone and continued, "Of course, there are other ways."

"Ok?"

Hearing Zhang Qihang's words, Valentin Matviyenko suddenly looked up at Zhang Qihang and said, "What else can I do?"

"Easy, leave the engine production to us."

"what did you say?!"

"I said, Volga Automobile can hand over the engine production to Huateng Automobile, or simply purchase our engine directly." At this moment, Zhang Qihang finally bared his fangs: "Mr. Matviyenko , you have also seen the 1.6-liter engine we installed on the Excelle before, and you have some understanding of the performance of that engine. In my opinion, that engine is actually very suitable for Lada. If you purchase it directly Our engine is used in Lada cars, and I promise you, the price is 10% lower than your current engine."

After a pause, Zhang Qihang added: "Assuming that 30 units of this engine are installed each year, Volga Automobile can increase its revenue by 400 million US dollars. If the wage cost of some workers is reduced, only At this point, Volga Automobile can increase its revenue by at least US$600 million per year."

"..."

Valentin Matviyenko stopped talking, but his breathing began to become rapid.

Of course he understands what Zhang Qihang said. The cost of the engine has been reduced by 10%. After removing this part of the personnel wages, it means that Volga Automobile has reduced its annual expenses by at least 600 million US dollars. Isn’t the reduction in expenses equivalent to an increase in profits?

This is the most basic situation, assuming that the sales volume of various models under the Volga Group maintains the current level, but in fact, the cost reduction means that the Volga Group has more room for price reduction promotions, and price reduction promotions can expand market share. , so in fact, Volga Automobile may increase its annual profit by 700 million US dollars, 800 million US dollars...

But Valentin Matviyenko is not stupid, of course he knows the danger of doing this: your engine supply is controlled by others, once you offend the other party, the other party can immediately cut off the engine supply, And for car manufacturing companies, without an engine, you still produce a woolen car?
but……

"Mr. Matviyenko, I know what you are worried about," Zhang Qihang continued when Valentin Matviyenko was very entangled in his heart: "It is nothing more than worrying that we will tear up the contract and interrupt it for you without reason. engine supply."

"..."

Valentin Matviyenko didn't speak, but his expression said it: yes, that's what I'm worried about, what can you do?
Looking at Valentin Matviyenko's expression, Zhang Qihang smiled and said: "Mr. Matviyenko, to tell you the truth, our Huateng Group actually started from supplying engines to foreign countries. Our group The first product was a small gasoline engine with a displacement of 50CC. Over the years, we have not only produced cars and motorcycles, but also sold engines all over the world. For more than 10 years, we have never had a breach of contract. These are all well documented."

Valentin Matviyenko was a little surprised when he heard this, and couldn't help but asked Zhang Qihang: "You started from producing engines?"

"Yes," Zhang Qihang nodded with a smile: "The predecessor of our group was a gas turbocharger manufacturer under the Municipal Industrial Bureau. In 1992, it transformed into a general-purpose gasoline engine. The first product was a two-stroke engine. 50CC gasoline engine, this engine is widely used in pesticide spraying, small construction sites and other places..."

Hearing what Zhang Qihang said, Valentin Matviyenko slapped his head: "I remembered, when we visited on the first day, there seemed to be such a gadget."

When he said this, Valentin Matviyenko looked at Zhang Qihang with a little more admiration in his eyes: relying on such a small gadget to start and develop the company to today's scale, this guy Zhang Qihang is It's really powerful, and it's really not easy.

"Yes, we visited at that time," Zhang Qihang said with a smile: "Our Huateng Group is the largest civilian gasoline engine manufacturer in China. It can control costs very well, and its reputation is also recognized in the industry. Of course, I fully understand Your concern, so, for example, you discuss it with other people in the company first?"

"……it is good."

Valentin Matviyenko hesitated, and finally nodded.