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Old 11-25-2007, 09:55 PM   #164 (permalink)
MetroMPG
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: 1000 Islands, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 22,513

Blackfly - '98 Geo Metro
Team Metro
Last 3: 70.09 mpg (US)

MPGiata - '90 Mazda Miata
90 day: 52.71 mpg (US)

Even Fancier Metro - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage top spec
90 day: 70.75 mpg (US)

Appliance car - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage ES (base)
90 day: 60.16 mpg (US)
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More good info from SW:

Quote:
No I hadn't seen the new evconvert article yet (I check it almost daily), thanks for letting me know.

Non-superconducting wires all have some finite amount of resistance and so will cause some amount of voltage drop across them (proportional to current). This loss of wattage amounts to loss as heat. Note that this wattage doesn't need much voltage when the current is high (ex. 1.88V * 400A = 752W or more than 1 hp).

Somewhere there exists well proven recommendations for the guage wire for a given current. As for voltage, thickness of wire is irrelevant, but thickness of insulation is, but you'll not likely exceed the wires' voltage ratings.

There's no electrical reason not to go too thick with your cables, but at some point it adds too much weight and expense (for both cables and connections). Copper is heavy and I don't recommend aluminum wires. Very heavy cables may also be more diffucult to work with.
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Project MPGiata! Mods for getting 50+ MPG from a 1990 Miata
Honda mods: Ecomodding my $800 Honda Fit 5-speed beater
Mitsu mods: 70 MPG in my ecomodded, dirt cheap, 3-cylinder Mirage.
Ecodriving test: Manual vs. automatic transmission MPG showdown



EcoModder
has launched a forum for the efficient new Mitsubishi Mirage
www.MetroMPG.com - fuel efficiency info for Geo Metro owners
www.ForkenSwift.com - electric car conversion on a beer budget
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