The Dolphin
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The Dolphin
Interesting read, not exactly my cup of tea as far as a vehicle goes though. It's essentially worthless for city driving, has 1980lbs of batteries making it heavier than my not so worthless in city driving car.
Dave Cloud’s Super Aerodynamic Electric Car, the Dolphin | Hypermiling, Fuel Economy, and EcoModding News - EcoModder.com
Also while we're at it, a much more interesting alternative that has been around a lot longer
128-mpg Diesel-Powered Sports Car
Dave Cloud’s Super Aerodynamic Electric Car, the Dolphin | Hypermiling, Fuel Economy, and EcoModding News - EcoModder.com
Also while we're at it, a much more interesting alternative that has been around a lot longer
128-mpg Diesel-Powered Sports Car
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Interesting reads. I think that old 128 mpg diesel Spitfire probably performs worse than the other one, though. A stock Spit weighs about 1800 pounds and came with about 60 hp (30 lb/hp) and did 0-60 in about 18 seconds. Putting 17 hp under the hood, even cutting the weight down to 1200 pounds, yields 70 lb/hp... not exactly something that one would expect "acceleration" out of.
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Who knows, hard to compare a diesel which makes peak power at 3000rpm to an engine that makes peak at almost double that. The 65mph top speed doesn't sound convincing of a fast 0-60 in a car that used to be able to do 100.
Bet it handles like a go-kart though, the dave cloud car probably handles like a barge...I don't see heavy and thin low rolling resistance tires working out so good.
Bet it handles like a go-kart though, the dave cloud car probably handles like a barge...I don't see heavy and thin low rolling resistance tires working out so good.
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Yeah, Spitfire handling is quite nimble and entertaining, if not exactly always "good".
If the engine were readily available in the US, I wanted to put a Toyota 1.4 liter diesel into my Spitfire. It's an option in the European Yaris, makes 140 ft/lbs of torque and gets over 50 mpg in a 2300 pound car. Would easily deliver 70 mpg in a Spitfire, AND be pretty quick.
If the engine were readily available in the US, I wanted to put a Toyota 1.4 liter diesel into my Spitfire. It's an option in the European Yaris, makes 140 ft/lbs of torque and gets over 50 mpg in a 2300 pound car. Would easily deliver 70 mpg in a Spitfire, AND be pretty quick.
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I'm a six cylinder guy plain and simple. I4s sound too buzzy as do small displacement flatplane V8s, high displacement crossplane V8s are a bit deep for my tastes.
If I built something like this I'd probably take a Nissan VQ30DE out of a wrecked maxima ($400ish with everything), drop it in a $500 craigslist 80s Nissan 300ZX (very aerodynamic, not quite as aerodynamic as a 93+ RX7 or a 240SX but much less demand), give it the same (if not even more drastic) 500+lb weight reduction effort I put into my own car, a few electronic tricks here and there, and I figure I'd have around 220hp, 2300lb- (loaded with driver) car. Couple that with my driving techniques which are already proven to deliver great fuel economy and I could probably hit 50+ mpg at least on the highway. Maybe if I could have it tuned to lean it out during cruising conditions I could make significantly more.
I don't know enough about diesel engines to be comfortable working on them and I'm sure maintenance would soon claim any money saved on fuel. Not to mention diesel fuel pressure scares me on it's own. I have no idea what kind of 4 banger I'd go for for fuel economy. Bike engines are the smallest and at over 13:1 compression you'd think a Yamaha R6 engine would be a good choice given a CVT transmission but in the bike it comes from it gets 35-38mpg highway (according to my friend who owns one). The Corvette Z06 has since it's beginning shown how possible it is to get good fuel economy from a BIG engine in a fairly heavy coupe (yeah it's not quite a 3500lb porker but it's no sub-2400) so at least for me it's impossible to guess fuel economy based on engine size.
If I built something like this I'd probably take a Nissan VQ30DE out of a wrecked maxima ($400ish with everything), drop it in a $500 craigslist 80s Nissan 300ZX (very aerodynamic, not quite as aerodynamic as a 93+ RX7 or a 240SX but much less demand), give it the same (if not even more drastic) 500+lb weight reduction effort I put into my own car, a few electronic tricks here and there, and I figure I'd have around 220hp, 2300lb- (loaded with driver) car. Couple that with my driving techniques which are already proven to deliver great fuel economy and I could probably hit 50+ mpg at least on the highway. Maybe if I could have it tuned to lean it out during cruising conditions I could make significantly more.
I don't know enough about diesel engines to be comfortable working on them and I'm sure maintenance would soon claim any money saved on fuel. Not to mention diesel fuel pressure scares me on it's own. I have no idea what kind of 4 banger I'd go for for fuel economy. Bike engines are the smallest and at over 13:1 compression you'd think a Yamaha R6 engine would be a good choice given a CVT transmission but in the bike it comes from it gets 35-38mpg highway (according to my friend who owns one). The Corvette Z06 has since it's beginning shown how possible it is to get good fuel economy from a BIG engine in a fairly heavy coupe (yeah it's not quite a 3500lb porker but it's no sub-2400) so at least for me it's impossible to guess fuel economy based on engine size.
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For drivability, you need low end torque, not high end hp. This is why a diesel would be better than a motorcycle engine in a car.
I've become a fan of straight 6's, myself. Very smooth running design.
Technology is allowing some very large engines in not-too-heavy cars to get very good gas mileage when cruising. My Z4 is a good example. It will get 30-31 mpg cruising down the highway at 80 mph without giving it a single thought. Not bad for 3 liters, 3100 pounds and 255 hp. Of course, a lot of the things that are done to an engine in the name of performance increase its efficiency, so as long as you keep your foot out of it... a really high-performance engine that is tuned for light-load economy can deliver some pretty impressive numbers.
I think it would be interesting to take something like an old 280z (lightweight, ample torque) and convert it to Megasquirt, give it an economy tune and see what it would do. MS + a wideband O2 setup allows a lot of tuning creativity.
I've become a fan of straight 6's, myself. Very smooth running design.
Technology is allowing some very large engines in not-too-heavy cars to get very good gas mileage when cruising. My Z4 is a good example. It will get 30-31 mpg cruising down the highway at 80 mph without giving it a single thought. Not bad for 3 liters, 3100 pounds and 255 hp. Of course, a lot of the things that are done to an engine in the name of performance increase its efficiency, so as long as you keep your foot out of it... a really high-performance engine that is tuned for light-load economy can deliver some pretty impressive numbers.
I think it would be interesting to take something like an old 280z (lightweight, ample torque) and convert it to Megasquirt, give it an economy tune and see what it would do. MS + a wideband O2 setup allows a lot of tuning creativity.
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For drive-ability it's all about gear ratios. If you have an engine that makes half the torque double the gear ratio or compensate by a combination of lower gear ratio and weight. Gear ratio could be changed via tire size even...assuming you can compensate for it on the speedo.
Z4 sounds nice at 80. IDK if I could pull that off in my car....probably but still that's quite an accomplishment with all that air drag.
280Zs are aerodynamic nightmares, I've heard they can fly at 140+, the hatch seal apparently if it goes bad can REALLY suck exhaust into the cabin (major low pressure zone). I wouldn't be surprised honestly if a Mustang of the same era had a lower drag coefficient. Not to mention examples that don't have rustholes everywhere commend 2-4x more than 280ZXs and 300ZXs do. Kinda like my idea of putting a 4 banger in a Crown Vic to win the MPG challenge...way too much money to be worth it. Even 510s are ridiculously expensive these days.
Z4 sounds nice at 80. IDK if I could pull that off in my car....probably but still that's quite an accomplishment with all that air drag.
280Zs are aerodynamic nightmares, I've heard they can fly at 140+, the hatch seal apparently if it goes bad can REALLY suck exhaust into the cabin (major low pressure zone). I wouldn't be surprised honestly if a Mustang of the same era had a lower drag coefficient. Not to mention examples that don't have rustholes everywhere commend 2-4x more than 280ZXs and 300ZXs do. Kinda like my idea of putting a 4 banger in a Crown Vic to win the MPG challenge...way too much money to be worth it. Even 510s are ridiculously expensive these days.
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