94 Caprice Wagon 5.7L project--46 MPG so far

[Tahoe_Hybrid]

Originally Posted by freebeard

You're right. The first example that came to mind, Goofys Muffler Customs has rebranded as Goofy's Mufflers Brakes and More.

I'm trying to make the leap from the 1970s to the 2020s. I may never own a car with a catalytic converter. All Beetle transaxles require is heavy-duty side plates for 4X the power, then maybe the gear keys. Don't know much about Chevys.

Corvette transmission mounted to a manual gear box.(also automatic is offered)

[aardvarcus]

He has a NV4500 transmission in the car (think Cummins 5.9) I don't know how much more heavy duty you can get...

[funkhoss]

Originally Posted by 101Volts

Funkhoss, here's an idea.

[...Water/Methanol Injection...]

Interesting idea. I wasn't very familiar with this, so I did some reading about it.

It seems that it's most useful for turbo/boosted applications, to reduce combustion temperature--allowing for more ignition timing and/or boost (and thus, more power). I'm not sure how much benefit it would have for my (naturally aspirated) application, though. At any rate, it's pretty expensive and somewhat toxic/dangerous. And...if anything, I wish sometimes that the wagon had less power, not more...

I'm not likely to do any other major mods to this wagon, except maybe (bio)diesel conversion, if/when the 350 needs a rebuild. Given how many miles we put on this car each year, and how reliable these engines tend to be...that might be a few decades from now.

If I suddenly had a few thousand bucks to throw at it, what I'd probably explore is either a manually operated hydraulic hybrid system or a hybrid system that uses large super-capacitors. If I could recapture and use most of the energy wasted during braking in this car, the average summer MPG would probably go from low 40's to low 50's. The car is so heavy, and it takes so much energy to get it moving, that any amount of braking wastes a significant amount of fuel. Even though I already minimize braking as much as I can, recapturing the rest would still offer a substantial improvement.

-Funkhoss

[freebeard]

Have you considered an E-assist altermotor?

[funkhoss]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Have you considered an E-assist altermotor?

I have. At the very least, I would probably connect one (were I to explore such a system) to the driveshaft somehow, rather than to the engine, so that it could provide braking without having to use engine braking, and provide assist with the engine off. But then there's also the inefficiency of a battery-based energy recovery system, too--some kind of capacitor system would probably work better for quick charging and discharging (i.e., braking and assist).

But any kind of system like that sounds expensive and daunting. So far, this project has actually been pretty inexpensive and straightforward. I guess I've pretty much pushed the limits of what can be accomplished with easily swappable junkyard parts and basic hypermiling techniques. Any additional significant gains will probably require a more radical approach (custom hybrid system, significant bodywork, etc.).

-Funkhoss

[Silent Blood]

Thanks a lot, I´ve read all sites. Wasn´t easy sometimes, cause I´m from germany, and some technical terms I didn´t knew. Excellent work with dedication, I love that!

I would like to know about the modifications of the "small car". Where I can read about it?

[freebeard]

Start here: https://ecomodder.com/forum/

https://ecomodder.com/forum/ecomodding-central.html You are here

https://ecomodder.com/forum/aerodynamics.html airframe

https://ecomodder.com/forum/general-...iscussion.html poweplant

https://ecomodder.com/forum/diy-how.html them's that do

https://ecomodder.com/forum/hypermil...rivers-ed.html the nut behind the wheel

For good results ask a specific question (with details or examples) in the appropriate subforum. For best results post the wrong answer to a question.

[M_a_t_t]

Originally Posted by Silent Blood

Thanks a lot, I´ve read all sites. Wasn´t easy sometimes, cause I´m from germany, and some technical terms I didn´t knew. Excellent work with dedication, I love that!

I would like to know about the modifications of the "small car". Where I can read about it?

If you are looking for a thread like he has for the caprice, he never posted one.

[funkhoss]

There’s some information on our Metro in this thread: https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...mpg-37847.html

-Funkhoss

[deluxx]

Hey funkhoss ! I am about 2 hours from Henry, VA are you offering driving lessons and car shows??