Hey Crazy Jerry
"Both cars use a power robbing Spitfire overdrive unit too."
Ya this is one of the first things I updated. With much time and thought I settled in on the T5 transmissions they have similar weight, compact, and are all over the place. They can also be easily modified by anyone and inexpensively at that. I will be testing a .63 and a .56 5th gear ratio.
The Triumph rear differential that I have currently is the 3.27 and will utilize it first and see how the acceleration goes! If its adequate I will keep it most likely with the .63 overdrive. If acceleration is sluggish I will bump up to the 3.63 rear diff and test out the .63 and .56.
The diesel I am using is the Yanmar 2 cylinder 3600rpm .57 Liter 13.4hp variable speed unit. The hybrid drive is a 12kw 18lb brushless dc motor and is direct drive mounted straight off the crank shaft where you would normally have the crank pulley! There are no horsepower robbing belts on the diesel engine everything has been electrified such as fan, water pump, fuel pump, alternator, AC etc. The electric water pump control module that controls the radiator fan and pump is set to run a bit warm for added efficiency as I have the electric motor hybrid drive for added boost further increasing total system efficiency! The radiator is actually a 2 row aluminum motorcycle radiator :-) I found the stock Triumph units way to big in fact as well as way to expensive new. The motorcycle unit allows me to relocate lower in the chassis which gives me better flexibility with the composite body work shape up front.
I changed up the wheels also to the Smart fortwo the tire diameter size is 22.4". Mainly to reduce unsprung weight and reduce drag as these wheels are 4.5 X 15" and weigh only 10lbs.
The top speed I have calculated with the tire selection, gearing, and available combined hybrid horsepower is a comfortable 90mph. With the hybrid drive system and crazy tall overdrive option of .57 X 3.27 = 1.86 final drive gear ratio I expect to hit some incredible freeway cruise fuel economy numbers. The only reason why I will be able to get away with this tall of a final drive is because I have the 12kw electric motor torque instantly available from the very get go! Also I have the hybrid control configured to only turn on the diesel after the car reaches 30mph which can be manually adjusted if desired. If the battery/Supercap bank gets to low the diesel will auto kick on as well. The individual will have complete adjustment of the hybrid features for individual needs and desires. Hybrid component upgrades will also be an option if desired. So many possibilities for the individual to customize and tweak for there driving styles and routes for best economy and efficiency.
So I eliminate the 2 largest fuel sucking situations for any ICE car the engine idle time during stop and go traffic and while initially starting to accelerate!
In a nutshell TIGON deviates from Urba Centurion as follows:
With a T5 manual 5 speed that has custom gearing specifically designed for fuel economy, A tiny 2 cylinder diesel that has all efficiency robbing devices eliminated, An electric hybrid drive system which allows start stop, regenerative braking, no idle, and engine shut off during pulse and gliding situations, 10lb 4.5 X 15" alloy wheels with 12lb LRR tires, Lightweight highly aerodynamic composite body shell that can be bolted and applied to any Triumph Spitfire and GT6. I maintain the original starter as a back up in the event of the hybrid integrated starter alternator failure. I am also using a hybrid battery/Supercapacitor bank geared for the urban environment which differs from all other hybrids here in North America which none currently use Supercapacitors at all to try and make better use of regenerative braking kinetic energy. Supercaps are an ecomodder/hypermilers best friend if understood and used to their full potential!
I can't list all the modifications but it is a laundry list I am sparing nothing on this as I want to beat 157mpg and preferably 235mpg at normal freeway cruise speeds around 55-60mph locally. The goal is 1 liter fuel economy such as what you get in the VW XL1. I am trying to stay optimistic but do realize I have a huge mountain to climb here. So in order to have a fighting chance everything has to be truly optimized and tuned for economy which means more cost
The main issues so far were the initial 3 wheel design platform this ate up a ton of time and money starting out. Next was the hybrid design and finding somebody that would work with the little guy. This was not that easy and has taken a great deal of time also! Lastly the Composite body shell. I figure that in order to have a solid shot of 1 Liter fuel economy I have to get as close as possible to .14 Cd and absolutely no higher than .18. So I think this will take the most time as it is absolutely critical and if done right will be the ultimate game changer in this project. Luckily I have a friend locally that is a master composite tech to help me out on this monumental task ahead of me.
Right now I am just shelling out dinero getting all the nuts and bolts together as the mechanical design and modification lists are complete. I am also working on the 2D body design sketches. I have changed them a great deal for the better from my initial posts in my build thread. Once I have the rolling chassis completely finished up I will look locally for a CAD designer who can take the body shell to the 3D level as at this point I do not have the time to try and learn a 3D design engine! Once I have a good solid working 3D model and tested I will begin the composite work!
Anyways gotta get to bed nice talking with you Crazy Jerry I will catch up with you later.
GH..