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Old 04-16-2009, 08:07 PM   #12 (permalink)
1337
In hypermiler central
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: UC Berkeley
Posts: 230

[SOLD] Highway Warrior - '00 Mazda Protege LX 1.6L Manual
90 day: 35.93 mpg (US)

Basic Miata - '06 Mazda Miata Touring
90 day: 30.93 mpg (US)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RobertSmalls View Post
Thanks for the support.

1337, I'm saving reciepts and tallying up expenses. $4000 may be a difficult mark to hit. To restore this car to stock, I would need another $1000+ in body parts. I'm saving most of that amount by fabricating and repairing what I have. The result won't be pretty. ;-)

TheUnchosen, Honda took care of the alternator delete. Instead of an alternator, it has a 144VDC -> 12VDC converter, and a 144V, ~12HP permanent magnet motor that rides on the crankshaft. So I can just use regenerative braking instead of solar panels.

Converting the car to a one-passenger vehicle would indeed save weight and free up cargo space. However, I think my future ex girlfriend(s) would prefer that I just tear out the carpet and replace the glass with plastic. p.s. it sounds like you need a sedan, so you can carry obnoxious passengers in the trunk.
Hey, if you can do it for under $4k, more power to you. I would try to make the body as stock as possible, because the stock Cd is 0.25.

TheUnChosen,
Forget a sedan; that leaves room for 3-4 obnoxious passengers in the cabin. You need a Del Sol with a passenger seat delete and a lean burn engine swap.

It will be efficient, and the _only_ place for an obnoxious passenger to go is in the trunk.
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