Quote:
Originally Posted by freebeard
My favorite what-if would be a Prius with a Dasher 5-speed, 36hp VW and Porsche cooling fan. The donor vehicle got 40mpg with a 0.41 Cd. The Prius would loose hundreds of pounds of weight. I estimate equal economy and less acceleration. |
A Dasher with a Prius body,and tires,if the same frontal area and weight would be 47.8-mph HWY.The air-cooled engine though,would knock the BSFC into the dirt.Without liquid-cooling,there's no way to operate it at temperatures high enough to achieve the thermal efficiency of the Dasher engine.You could lose 15%,ending up at around 41.5 mpg,not a great incentive for all the work.
Also,at 36-bhp,you'd have to get a run at every hill,entering the grade at top speed,just to have a chance to crest at any speed at all and not impeding other traffic.It's the only way I could operate my '64 Ghia,with the 40-horse,1,200 cc.Even rowing down through the extra gear,she'd still find it hard to climb.
