ABT Chapter 106: Entering the Calibration Stage

Finding hope in despair, maintaining optimism in pessimism. This was essentially a reflection of Anning's mentality before meeting Li Fanyu.

As someone who deeply understood the vast and extensive automotive industry, she had always thought that the path she was walking was destined to be a long and misty one.

The purpose of establishing the laboratory was to incubate an excellent design team and provide a hotbed for the independent research and development of engines.

According to her expectations, if this goal could be achieved within five years, it would already be very good.

But the appearance of this guy in front of her had shortened this process by too much. This sudden happiness, how could it not make her feel excited?

However, looking at Li Fanyu's calm expression, she felt a bit frustrated. She wanted to say something but swallowed her words back.

She was clearly extremely excited, but this guy was so calm. She didn't know what emotions to use to respond to the current situation. Didn't he realize that he had made history and become the first person in the national automotive engine field?

With a belly full of excitement and no outlet, she could only sigh, "Little brother, aren't you excited?"

Li Fanyu yawned, tilted his head, and looked at her, "Excited about what?"

"You've designed the first domestic car engine!" Anning rolled her eyes at him, feeling a bit restrained by her excitement.

"Oh," Li Fanyu was stunned. He had been too busy dealing with Professor Zhang just now and hadn't had time to think about this question.

He pondered this matter for a moment and then sadly realized that he couldn't get excited.

Because he had known in advance that this thing would work, conducting this test was based on the mindset of creating a perfect product, a higher level of mentality.

This feeling, how should I put it, was like watching an adventure movie in advance, knowing the ending and all the exciting points of the plot. Then, accompanying a friend to watch it again for the second time, but unable to spoil it.

You guys should feel how annoying this is.

And at this moment, Anning, with her eyes flashing and her face flushed, was like a friend watching this adventure movie for the first time...

Seeing Anning's annoyed expression, he quickly put away his caring for newcomers and raised his hand weakly, using a deadpan expression to deal with her, "Yeah... I'm so happy... I'm the father of the independent engine..."

Huh? Pretentiousness. The father of the independent engine? This title sounds awesome! It's a bit exciting!

"Sis! Since I'm so amazing, why not reward me with a hug of love!"

Witnessing the birth of the first engine had been anticipated many times in Anning's heart. She had imagined herself crying, laughing, and even getting drunk, but she hadn't expected to feel... like punching someone right now.

Anning smiled charmingly and extended her arms.

Li Fanyu saw the opportunity and immediately hugged her, but Anning skillfully dodged.

"You, you can't tell if you're childish or mature. Forget it, I don't want to deal with you."

Anning gave Li Fanyu a big eye-roll and turned to sit in front of the computer, entering the engine test data into the database.

This Li Fanyu, such a nuisance, inadvertently made people dislike him. So, having good acting skills is so important.

He eagerly approached Anning, "Sis, aren't you considering rewarding me?"

Anning didn't even lift her head. "Where were you when I was excited just now? I'm not in the mood now, go away."

"Seriously! Your mood changes too quickly," Li Fanyu lamented, scratching his head. Suddenly, he looked up, and with great enthusiasm, he said, "If you won't give it, then you won't. There will be times when you'll be even more excited in the future. The engine is just a small thing; the vast starry sky and the ocean are my direction!"

At that moment, he seemed to radiate dazzling light, momentarily distracting Anning.

However, she quickly came to her senses and teased, "Well... dear little brother, no matter what, you missed out on a once-in-a-lifetime reward. And I think you should forget about the vast starry sky and ocean for now and focus on getting something running on the roads first."

The elder sister Anning dealt 10,000 points of damage to Li Fanyu.

Seeing Li Fanyu's dejected look, Anning couldn't help but smirk. "By the way, let's give the engine a name. We need a name when calibrating and filing."

Li Fanyu thought for a moment, trying hard to overcome his inability to come up with names. Finally, he slapped his thigh, "Let's call it ZGX888."

Anning raised her eyebrows and frowned, "Does it have any special meaning?"

"The engine is the heart of the car, and ZGX stands for the heart of China, inspiring! 888, representing prosperity and good luck!"

...

Anning would never have known that this code name originated from the old and shabby ringtone of Professor Zhang's phone and the numerical code of the EA888 that had never appeared in this world.

So, the first independent engine in China got its name.

In the following days, Anning and Li Fanyu immersed themselves in the vast ocean of testing, working tirelessly on various complicated tests for ZGX888.

Since the engine was a direct copy of the production-stage EA888, it almost effortlessly passed all the tests. There were no ups and downs throughout the entire testing process, leaving no room for Anning to tackle any challenges.

This feeling was like a top student in college doing a second-grade arithmetic test. Such a smooth and pleasant feeling made Anning feel as if she was debugging testing equipment rather than testing an engine.

In just three days, ZGX888 passed all the test items. This also meant that it was about to enter the next stage — calibration.

Calibration meant setting standards.

However, what were the standards for an engine? Standards were not just cold numerical values; they were variables.

For example, what rpm would this engine need to achieve its maximum power? At what temperature could it deliver maximum performance? What were the highest and lowest temperatures it could withstand? What were the operating parameters of the engine on the plateau? How would each cylinder balance under various conditions? What was the range of noise at each rpm... and so on and so forth.

So, why bother with such complicated things?

Because the engine is also a part of the car and must obey the overall operation of the vehicle. As mentioned earlier, the engine is the heart of the car. But there's also a brain in the car — the ECU, the electronic control unit. It's the legendary car computer.

It controls key parts of the vehicle to ensure that the car performs optimally and suitably in various situations. It constantly collects sensor information from various parts of the vehicle for calculation and then controls parameters such as ignition timing, air-fuel ratio, idle speed, and exhaust gas recirculation for the engine.

But this brain is very basic; it doesn't automatically recognize road conditions. For example, it won't say, "Oh, there's a pothole ahead! Engine buddy, let's increase horsepower and power through!" Or, "Damn, stuck in traffic, let's turn off the engine."

All it can do is adjust the engine's parameters based on the driver's manual intervention.

For example, if the driver selects economy mode, then okay, engine buddy, let's lower the performance parameters and save some fuel.

But how does this ECU know what state the engine is most fuel-efficient in?

Through calibration.


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