TIGON Diesel Hybrid

[Xist]

I attended a presentation by Amory Lovins a few weeks ago for school. It was interesting!

[GreenHornet]

Hey everybody it has been a solid 9 months since I last posted so I wanted to update.

I have changed things up so many times on this build that my brain needed a solid vacation lol I was trying to build the perfect all encompassing vehicle and while that may be possible it was not with the Spitfire/GT6 platform. The Spit/GT6 platform however is extremely well suited for a fuel efficient extremely economical small diesel hybrid vehicle.

The Urba Centurion plans build car located here 128-mpg Diesel-Powered Sports Car is a very good example of what is possible. An even better example is Crazy Jerry's version Centurion #3 which thread is parked here on this site and recently co won the Toyota Green Grand Prix. Crazy Jerry proved that much could still be optimized with the original Centurion planset. With that not only efficiency was improved but also performance to the point Centurion #3 is now freeway capable at today's standards.

While much has been done thus far I still see a lot of potential for improvement but would require a departure from the original planset. This is where my Tigon build will begin. Instead of a planset I will offer a body kit turning it into more of a kit car so to speak. Instead of trying to use the Spit/GT6 chassis for all my various engine selections I decided to just build it with the 2 cylinder and save the TDI engines for there own scratch built chassis platforms.

The big reason for this is the Spitfire and GT6 components are simply not engineered for big torque. The rear end design of the Spitfire and GT6 is not meant for big speed. However what it is well suited for is a very fuel efficient freeway capable everyday use commuter car. With the right design and component selection a person can have an extremely reliable low cost Eco vehicle.

So with that said the Spit/GT6 chassis I have will be utilized for only small 2 cylinder hybrids. This will simplify things as well as speed things up. The body kit will bolt directly to a standard Spitfire/GT6 chassis with little modifications.

[GreenHornet]

So Tigon GT2 will be the first Triumph Spitfire/GT6 based kit car geared for ultimate fuel economy and efficiency. Many of the Spit/GT6 parts will be retained and many will be upgraded. I will also be using some custom parts in the build for greater weight savings that should peak people's interests

The aerodynamic body kit with minimal frontal area added to the light weight Spit/GT6 chassis gives us an ideal combination to play with!

The main components:
#1. Spit/GT6 chassis
#2. Tigon body kit
#3. 2 cyl diesel
#4. Hybrid drive
#5. T5 transmission
#6. 3.27 GT6 rear differential
#7. Custom 4X100 wheels 15" or 16"

My goal is a finished curb weight of no more than 900lbs.

[GreenHornet]

I made a change to the 2 cylinder diesel engine that I will be using for the kit car. The new engine power plant is the Kubota Z482-E4B. Besides being an extremely ugly blue color IMO (which I am going to fix first thing LOL) the engine has some key advantages over the 2 cylinder Yanmar that I was going to first use in the design.

#1. The weight of the Kubota is much lighter at 117.1lbs vs 185lbs.
#2. The engine is 482cc vs 570cc
#3. The physical dimensions of the Kubota are less in width and length. While it is 2 inches taller than the Yanmar this is an easy fix because the Z602 low profile oil pan will fit the Z482 thus making it more compact.
#4. The Power output of the two engines are nearly identical 13.3hp vs 13.6hp thus advantage to the smaller Kubota.
#5. The Kubota is less costly from what I have found and at least for me parts are easy to get and also cost less.
#6. Another advantage IMO is that the Z482 are all ready utilized in cars over in Europe such as Aixam as well as a few others. Which would be a good source for engines and engine bits.

So after mulling it over a bit I decided to get rid of the Yanmar and purchase a Kubota Z482. I purchased a newer used unit with extremely low hours for $1,000. I also purchased another Spitfire for $350 for extra bits and to experiment on making my own lighter composite parts.

For me anytime you can reduce weight and engine cc yet maintain the same level of power it is an advantageous decision IMO.

GH

[GreenHornet]

Here are some pics of the newly acquired Kubota Z482 with some extra goodies on it that I will not be needing lol :-) Comparing this engine to the stock 1300cc Triumph Spitfire engine makes it look rather massive. I never thought I would say something so silly LOL . Once I get the Kubota stripped of its ancillary components and the Spit engine out of my spare donor I will do some side by side comparison pics. It should be pretty interesting to see them side by side.

GH

[GreenHornet]

I just picked up a solid used World Class (WC) T5 transmission for $375.00 with low miles and ready for use. While this transmission does not have the tallest 5th gear possible it is still a good improvement over the Spit/GT6 .797 overdrive gear ratio and final gear ratio of 3.27 X .797 = 2.60. The rpm will be low but being that the car will be so light and aerodynamic I think the little engine will still do just fine even without the boost from the hybrid drive.

Here are the gear ratios for the 1352-260:

1. 3.35
2. 1.99
3. 1.33
4. 1.00
5. 0.68
FD = 3.27
FG = 2.22

Here is a good link that talks about the T5 transmission and offers gear ratio charts = TREMEC T5 Transmission -Modern Driveline

The advantages of the T5:

#1. Abundant they are all over the place
#2. Inexpensive
#3. Strong
#4. Lots of Gear ratios
#5. Easy to customize
#6. Light weight only 75lbs
#7. Compact
#8. Easy to get parts
#9. Tons of shifter position options

These transmissions were in a lot of vehicles from cars to light trucks. Stock power is in the 175 to 230 lbs-ft range. all the way up to 400+ in racing built units. So for a small eco car the stock power of these transmissions are more than adequate. Even after adding a small hybrid drive to the mix. You also have a wide selection of gears to experiment with which is great considering there are not a lot of options for Spit/GT6 rear end gearing.

GH

[GreenHornet]

The reason for investing in this T5 transmission was due to the fact that my first T5 I purchased a while back actually had different gearing in it than what was initially expected. So I decided to get rid of it and wait for a unit that had more favorable gearing and was also decently priced. I also ended up getting rid of the aluminum Ford Racing driveshaft.

My new plan for the driveshaft is to go with a custom Carbon Fiber unit. Main reason is they are lighter, stronger, and safer! They also reduce rotating weight which is a huge bonus in a micro diesel engine car.

The negative is they come at a higher price but all the positives IMO make the extra cost worthwhile.

Here is a link to a carbon fiber driveshaft shop with pricing examples: Carbon Fiber

GH

[GreenHornet]

Another change I made was to the wheels. I was going to use the Smart Fortwo wheels and have adapters made up to mount them. I have gone away from that due to the cost of the adapters and the bolt pattern is limited to one so wheel selection would have been poor.

Currently I have chosen to go with a 4X100 bolt pattern since they are abundant and also cost effective. After doing a little research I stumbled onto a company who makes the adapters for the Spit to 4X100 bolt pattern. This was nice and one less thing I had to do

Here is the link to the company = Triumph Spitfire & GT6 - Wheel Adapters - Classic Car Performance

These adapters open the door to many light weight Alloy rims. Spitfire wheels are getting more and more difficult to find these days and the cost is not advantageous IMO.

[changzuki]

This is going to be interesting for sure and it should be a fuel miser. The horsepower you're dealing with is more than the 10hp Changzuki and a little less than the 17hp Centurion. The number of pistons you're dealing with falls between each of the above as well.

(The aero-challenged Changzuki returns about 115mpg @ 52mph (145@45mph), and Centurion tops that. Where will Tigon end up?)

Your T5 is a very good choice and the 3.27 is the limit on the spit rear gearing.

Very much looking forward to your body design and how that works into the overall curb weight / it all adds up pretty quick.

~CrazyJerry

[GreenHornet]

Hey CJ

Thanks for stopping by!

I went out and got another Spitfire a month ago for spare parts and most importantly for the body shell. I am using it to help me design my body currently.

Tigon will be designed similar to the Spit in that it will have the main tub that will bolt to the chassis. I am going to try to keep the same bolt design for the Tigon tub as the Spitfire. This way nothing changes and I can still use the original Spitfire mounting locations. Instead of using plywood for the bulkheads like in the Centurion I will be using a composite board which is lighter, stronger, and rot proof. It is a little spendy but I do not need much so it is not a big deal.

I will have a tilt up 1 piece bonnet just like the Spitfire. Instead of 2 doors I will have a forward tilting canopy like what is used in the XR3 hybrid. There will be roll down windows in it as well. The canopy will make it a lot easier to get in and out of it. The back will be a hatchback style with no rear window similar to the VW XL1. So from a kit perspective it will have 6 main pieces to it. I have yet to determine if I will mold the seats into the plan like in the Centurion or have adjustable aftermarket units.

So main body kit pieces listed will look like this:

#1. Main tub = Mixed composite shell. glass reinforced with Kevlar strategically located along seems for added strength.
#2. 1 piece Bonnet = Carbon Fiber composite
#3. Canopy = Carbon Fiber/Kevlar composite
#4. Front under belly = Carbon Fiber/Kevlar composite
#5. Rear under belly = Carbon Fiber/Kevlar composite
#6. Rear hatch = Carbon Fiber composite

Rear visibility will be provided by wide angle camera hooked up to my 3 way dash monitor that will also provide me with left and right wide angle visibility. It is a pretty sweet setup!

Tigon will have a teardrop shape from front to back unlike Centurion which is more back to front. I will also employ front and rear wheel skirts. Tigon will have more of a rounded shape to it than Centurion did for better aerodynamics. There will not be any sharp edges on this body kit. Tigon will be inline with what an ecomodder would expect and hope for in a fuel miser body kit.

I have a good friend who will be helping me with the body kit who has been in the composite industry for 20 years and knows every major composite shop in and around Portland. So I am in good hands when it comes time to get on with the body design. I have been my own worst enemy on this project constantly changing directions as evidenced by anyone who has been following this thread. I spent so much time fighting myself on this I should have been done a long time ago

I guess better late than never

GH..