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Old 09-05-2019, 04:05 PM   #11 (permalink)
owly
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Montana
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Disk brakes are a significant liability, as they tend to always be dragging, unlike actually retracting like drum brakes....... they are great for stopping power and wet operation, terrible for economy. Changing out to the older drum brake system should offer some benefit in economy.

I don't believe that electric waterpumps offer a significant benefit.... You are losing energy in generating the electricity, and again in running a motor. Unless you are starting out with a lot of extra battery power on your trips, or charging via an exhaust turbine or some such, there would seem to be very little gain to be had here.
Water pumps are centrifugal pumps, not constant displacement pumps. With centrifugal pumps, restricting flow either on suction or somewhere else, reduces horsepower draw. Flow is the biggest factor in horsepower consumption by these pumps. Pressure * flow / 1710 = horsepower. When you block the output, the flow drops drastically, and the pressure rises only slightly. Thermostats work fairly well to regulate flow for cooling needs.
Power steering and Alternator are two of the higher demand systems, as is the lubricant pump in the engine........ which would be difficult to alter. Unfortunately the stock steering unit is geared so high that steering it without power is a bear. My 1960 Ford F100 4x4 has manual steering with about a 6:1 ratio compared to about 2.5:1 on your newer Ford, and is easy to steer manually. There are manual "armstrong" steering units on older 2wd pickups that you might adapt.... late '60's early '70's. This is significant enough that new cars are starting to come out with electric steering assist......... a superb idea.
Alternators are wonderful devices....... small and powerful, but they are not efficient, and draw a lot of horsepower. I've often wondered how long it will be before someone comes out with a charging system that uses intake air or exhaust to charge......... We have to restrict the intake and create vacuum by throttling the engine, to keep it under control. That's like putting your hand over someone's mouth and nose and forcing them to suck air.... a dead loss. This energy could be used to generate power... but nobody does it.
I hear people claim that headers and low restriction intakes gain mileage...... THEY DO NOT.....at least on fuel injected cars. We are choking the engine down anyway, and these things only make a difference at full throttle. In truth it really doesn't matter weather the aircleaner or the throttle is choking off air to the engine........ something has to. Likewise the exhaust... though there are some liabilities there.

1: Preheat your engine with a block heater
2: Install an electric fan
3: Get several large batteries, (golf cart) and put a switch on your alternator field wire.......
stop it from charging. Charge from the grid or solar when at home.
4: Convert to old school manual steering
5: Backdate to drum brakes
6: Convert to synthetic lubricants all through the system including grease, transmission o
oil and engine oil.
7: Drive for efficiency........ let the pickup slow down climbing hills, and coast going down
Use pulse and glide when possible using neutral. Drive as if you had no brakes at all,
planning far ahead for stops or slowing, coasting rather than braking.

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