Speaking of turbo and fuel economy

[MetroMPG]

matt, just stick with the stock ICE until it dies. clean up the car and make it shiny and new.

if & when the motor dies... go electric. you can even go back to ICE later, if you want, so you can take your time rebuilding it. There's nothing inherent in an EV conversion that prevents it. just store the parts in a box in the garage.

plus, used EV parts hold their value well, from what i've been able to tell watching eBay. you'd easily be able to resell them if you wanted to go back.

[Sludgy]

It is of course possible to turbocharge four cylinder engines, but the pulsating flows make turbocharged fours less efficient. There are a number of books that deal with internal combustion engines that talk about the adverse effect of pulsating flows on turbochargers. My favorite is "Introduction to Internal Combustion Engines" by Richard Stone.

[Matt Timion]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

matt, just stick with the stock ICE until it dies. clean up the car and make it shiny and new.

if & when the motor dies... go electric. you can even go back to ICE later, if you want, so you can take your time rebuilding it. There's nothing inherent in an EV conversion that prevents it. just store the parts in a box in the garage.

plus, used EV parts hold their value well, from what i've been able to tell watching eBay. you'd easily be able to resell them if you wanted to go back.

I think we have a winner. I was looking at Metro engines today wondering if they would fit in my car or not. I then realized that that type of conversion would cost almost as much as a cheap electric conversion.

Honestly, I'm better off spending money and getting a GOOD electric conversion. I'll get good batteries, etc. The problem with my n600, however, is battery space. There is barely room for people let alone batteries. Perhaps the solution is to spend the extra money on the Lithium Ion batteries to conserve space/weight.

[MetroMPG]

it all depends on how far you want to go on a charge. from my perspective, 20 km is enough for a 2nd vehicle. you could fit (hide) that capacity in your car.

but if you want/need more range, and you use lead/acid, then you end up with something like the ev n600 photos you showed us, with batteries instead of rear seats.

if you want range and small batts, then spend mucho $ now, or wait awhile for new batt. technology to become publicly available...

but i'm betting you knew all that already.

ps - monster garage is doing an EV in an upcoming show. check here for details, and a video teaser at the bottom of the page.

[rh77]

Sorry about the blanket statements -- I committed my "always" and "never" rule -- "never say always". Also, I'll have to read up on 4-cylinder pulsating. I may have confused power and economy, because as Compaq888 put it, you'll really want to feel that boost, and well, that kills economy. Plenty of 4-banger turbos I've driven have created power aplenty.

Dax -- I'm not Emeril Legasse, but thanks for the BAM!

RH77

[rh77]

Originally Posted by Compaq888

If I had a turbo car I would be all over the gas pedal. Actually the engine in my car is really good for turbos if it's built, otherwise the pistons fail. The pistons were designed very bad but otherwise the engine is bulletproof. There are a couple of KA24DET making 600-700hp to the wheels. For a 4 cylender that is impressive.

The SR20DET for the Sentra SE-R ain't bad either, but the KA definitely reigns supreme. I have dreams of the '99 Skyline GT-R (R34). If I win the lottery, I would import that car, get it up to US specs and get some track time in. Not the best for economy, but 110% on the funometer. Call me a Honda traitor, but the NSX doesn't really do it for me. I respect that it laid the foundation for the Variable Valve Timing and Lift Control for subsequent offspring, but that's about it.

RH77

[GasSavers_DaX]

Originally Posted by rh77

Call me a Honda traitor, but the NSX doesn't really do it for me. I respect that it laid the foundation for the Variable Valve Timing and Lift Control for subsequent offspring, but that's about it.

RH77

Traitor. Have you heard about the NSX replacements that's in the makings? They're promising a Honda V10 powerplant... *can't wait*

[rh77]

Originally Posted by DaX

Traitor. Have you heard about the NSX replacements that's in the makings? They're promising a Honda V10 powerplant... *can't wait*

Oh yeah -- sounds like a beast. Finally. It's remained essentially unchanged since its debut in 1990. Don't get me wrong, I would probably enjoy driving one, but I wouldn't spend 80-large on one. I think it was really more to show off technical advances and have a top-line car in the lineup. When it comes to power and style, I might have to go German for that kind of dough (read: Porsche Cayman S / Boxster S, or BMW M5 - the latter for practical purposes of course :-) ).

A Honda V-10 -- that would have to be a completely new engine design, unless their running V-10s in F1 - not really on top of that. But it sure will be a looker when it does come out and should be deserving of "Supercar" status.

In the meantime, to defend my Honda honor, that's all I'll be buying for a while. If I have an early-life crisis, I'd end up with an S2000, more than likely. Acura needs to get into the roadster biz -- in the meantime they come out with the RD-X crossover utility - whatever people want I suppose. Meanwhile, the RSX needs some freshening -- perhaps a drop RSX, hmmm.

RH77

[GasSavers_DaX]

Originally Posted by rh77

A Honda V-10 -- that would have to be a completely new engine design, unless their running V-10s in F1 - not really on top of that.

Thats exactly what's happening. For the upcoming season, Honda will monopolize the powerplants for the entire F1 series - EVERY car out there will be running a Honda V10. I can only assume the V10 for the NSX replacement will be based, however closely or losely, on the F1 V10 platform.

[Philip1]

turbocharging the N600 would be easy the exhaust manifold would have to have a plenum to absorb the pulses I beleive the number is 2x displacement. The easiest way to handle fuel management is a draw through system using a single carburetor from a larger engine say a 650 single (move the mixture needle to the highest setting richest) . taller gearing would be a great idea because you will rip to redline very quickly with the extra torque. the main thing is to drive the turbocharged engine like you know it will kill you if you floor it and you will see good numbers.