TopGear.com America high mpg project (regeared, aeromodded diesel Rabbit)

[Coyote X]

After looking at the price of AGM-31 batteries I bet my car won't stay under the $7000 price range for long. But it should easily beat 70mpg and the 0-60 time

[dremd]

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Edit:
About the $7000 budget I'd bet that alot of it will go to their Italian stylist + body work. Just speculation

[vtec-e]

Originally Posted by trikkonceptz

We need to get an eco version of overhaulin going and get basjoos' car on there.

I couldn't agree more!

ollie

[tasdrouille]

Looks like TG is late to the party after all.

1984 Rabbit GTI TDI-M

Ok it's not exactly the same as what TG will be doing as this one was mechanically converted, but it's pretty close.

[MetroMPG]

Nice find, Tas. I'm surprised he didn't post fuel economy figures. But then it sounds like it's not quite finished either.

[MetroMPG]

Look for some slick aerodynamic tweaks - designed with help from UCLA aerodynamics professor John McNulty - that will include vortex generators and a flat undertray.

Source

[tasdrouille]

Oh no, not VGs please. I guess that's the bling part of aero, as there are way lower hanging fruits than VGs, but don't they look cool do they? They probably won't have a way of accurately testing them, not with their budget. Prof McNulty got access to a full scale wind tunnel though. So maybe, with some free wind tunnel time, we can dream of seeing a rabbit with VGs being tested in a wind tunnel on Top Gear. I highly doubt that will happen though. Wind tunnels just cost too much to run to give away time for free.

[Daox]

Haha, no surprise there. From what I've seen of TG, they always go for the shock factor (flashy stuff, or the exact opposite). Why would this be any different?

[TomO]

Originally Posted by trikkonceptz

We need to get an eco version of overhaulin going and get basjoos' car on there. That alone would have saved a ton of time and research. Drop some money into his car and give his car the OEM finish it deserves ...

If EM does go this route and Basjoos agrees, I will donate my spare D15Z1 and some time over the summer to this project to get his car setup with a VX motor. It would be possible to push him over the 100MPG mark easily while still retaining an OEM drivetrain.

[roflwaffle]

Originally Posted by tasdrouille

Looks like TG is late to the party after all.

1984 Rabbit GTI TDI-M

Ok it's not exactly the same as what TG will be doing as this one was mechanically converted, but it's pretty close.

This was first done a lonnnnng time ago, search the vwdiesel.net forums using tdi-m for more info. That said, a tuned/intercooled 1.6L can make as much power as a stock TDI for way less cash. Honestly, they could've slapped a VNT/intercooler/Turbo IP for ~$500-1000, spent another $2k on a motor/controller/hardware to see electric rear wheel drive, and bought about 9kWh of Lithium Iron Phosphate that can put out a max sustained power of ~25kW and peak power of ~75kW. Since this initial $500-1000 would net ~50-60mpg driven "normally" and a ~8.5s 0-60, more than doubling the HP, along with the massive torque created at the rear wheels by an electric motor would allow for a sub 5s 0-60mph and ~35-50 miles of all electric range.

For the hell of it, yank the glow plugs, toss some spark plugs in there, along with a mesh heater and a TBI setup run offa MS&S for another grand, then rig it to add E85/water progressively as the diesel injected drops around ~5-6k rpm. Should be good for another 30-40hp up to ~7.5k rpm, and it would be the world's only plug-in hybrid electric turbo giesel, or dasser if ya like, powered car. All for $8k!