Quote:
Originally Posted by Concrete
determining ball park parasitic loads is not too hard with instrumentation
I just pulled the serpentine and watched the scan gauge
(I really love that thing)
~.1 GPH difference without any belt (from 900-3000 RPM pretty flat)
~.1 GPH difference A/C on and off (idle)
~.12 GPH difference steering wheel still to loaded against the stops (idle)
~.01 GPH difference head lights on and off (maybe)
I think the power steering pump should watch it's back
it is not worth .12 gph to me 
for the hyper-miler with manual everything & EOC this may be insignificant
for my truck (and probably the average vehicle) this is significant
during the test my unloaded consumption was ~.46 GPH
parasitic load can be 70% of my idle load and 10-20% of my cruise load 
a parasitic input might help folks determine what their "conveniences" cost
just a thought |
concrete,
I have a '98 s10 4cyl manual (without factory A/C), and the power steering and the mechanical fan were not watching their backs. Not sure if this has been discussed here yet, It is pretty simple to use a short belt to run just the alternator and waterpump. Not sure how this would work with A/C, you'd probably have to quit that bad habit at the same time too...
Remove the fan, but put the fan pulley back on for use as an idler pulley. grind away a little bit under the thermostat housing for clearance to the belt. In the direction of belt travel: Belt comes off the crank, around the idler and alternator as before. then over the top of the fan pulley (this is where you needed the clearance), originally went under the fan pulley. And back down to the crank, the water pump is driven from the back side of the belt between the fan pulley and the crank. The water pump is still driven in the normal rotation, the fan pulley turns opposite so you probably want the mech fan removed.
What's it worth, I don't know, it's directionally correct, I've moved on...
I did put an electric fan on, but have never used it because I didn't finish wiring in a thermostatic switch, and it is not required the way I drive. With normal practices discussed here, (turn off engine while coasting or stopped). I should have not bothered putting in the fan. Anyone want an elec fan from a v6 camaro, with a couple aluminum angle pieces to fit in a 4cyl s10? 20$ ?
The steering is obviously not great for parking lots, but really it's much better otherwise, the steering does not change assist as you start & stop the engine.
Dale