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Originally Posted by Big Dave
A LS2 makes 405 HP. How many minutes of full power do you suppose that a LS2 actually see in its service life You can get some serious tickets by driving 175 MPH.
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Generally speaking, most vettes that aren't bought for the "image" get raced at tracks and such. Heck, someone could gut a Prius and turn it into a race car, but it'd be a bit odd and more expensive than just getting something designed to race, just like swapping a diesel into a vette is a very expensive way to get a ho-hum economy car.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Dave
The diesel is what pushes a 'Vette over 40 MPG. You could put an itty-bitty gas engine in it but I don't think 40 MPG is possible without competition-grade hypermiling. The diesel, with its higher efficiency does it easily.
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Proper gearing compared to BSFC is what gets a car like a vette over 40mpg (energy adjusted), regardless of engine type. A chebby gen iv engine at ~250g/kWh will hit ~40mpg@65mph, just like a 4BT at 225g/kWh will hit ~45mpg, and they'll both be at a shade over 30% BTE (diesel has more energy per gallon than gasoline).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Dave
The propane/nitrous is there for bursts of acceleration. I specify nitrous to avoid having to put a bigger turbo on the engine (and accept more turbo lag) for maybe fifteen minutes of raw power a year. Its simply "turbo logic." With a turbo, a small engine can have a "Jeckyll and Hyde" personality. Economical most of the time, but powerful when needed. How many turbo cars are at full boost much of the time? They'd grenade themselves.
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If someone only needs 15 minutes of raw power every year then why even both w/ a vette and a 4BT/LSx/whatever? Just go w/o those 15 minutes of power and grab a beater IDI VW. 40+mpg@65mph and it'll only cost a few hundred bucks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Dave
The little Cummins is straight mechanical and I don't have to mess with electronic controls.
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I never understood the preoccupation w/ mechanical versus electrical. It's all basic engineering/physics and it's all gud. All things being equal, electric engine/emissions control is just as reliable as mechanical, although I imagine that it could get pretty hairy given some of the QC seen w/ domestic manufacturers in the past, but that's QC, not some intrinsic mechanical versus electrical problem.