Alternator Delete, plus some old tricks combined

[NiHaoMike]

Originally Posted by dwtaylorpdx

What kind of motor is going to turn the AC compressor?

I thought they took like 3 HP ?

3HP would be a big compressor, about the size of one in a 4 ton A/C. A typical window A/C is 1/2HP or 1HP. The Danfoss 12v compressors are about 250w or 1/3HP.

[ATaylorRacing]

My 98 Neon (SOHC) was rated at 41 mpg and got it while just doing 60 mph! That is the same as todays dumb smart car.

It is a common hot rod trick to cut off half of the water pump fins to free up HP. A less drastic trick on the alternator is to splice a switch into the alternater wiring to disable its function and allow it to free wheel. Many years ago I fabricated an electric water pump on a 2.2 Dodge Omni. I( had removed the water pump entirely and noticed that two of the three bolts had the same spacing as the thermostat housing...so I put one in its place and hooked up radiator hose with an electric water pump called a water guppy that was used to circulate water in a fish holding tank of a boat. That pump came in very handy at the race track to help cool the motor in between rounds on hot days. I broke an alternator belt on the Neon one trip and was amazed by the extra freed up power. You can get under drive pulley kits from a place called Forward Motion. My 305 hp SRT4 Neon gets 40.1 at 55 mph! A different set of 5th gear set ups is being produced for the T-850 SRT4 manual so that 80 mph = only 2300 rpm! Too bad that set wont fit the regular Neons.

[TOOSTUBBORN2FAIL]

thanks for the info, i didnt think it would be much more then 1 hp, as the ac usually only cuts my mileage by 1-2 mpg average. But its still a cut, and the more other restrictions i remove, the bigger a cut it will be.

it would be nice to find an electric compresser to use instead of the stock pump, although it would mean mean plumbing, it seems to me that it would be more efficient then running a motor and pulley to the stock pump. It it need be that i do that, i will remove the ac compressor clutch, and fit an aluminum pulley instead, since the pulley would only turn when the ac was turned on

[TOOSTUBBORN2FAIL]

similar mpg to the sohc i used to run before the state told me i couldnt register it due to putting a 5 speed in it (was an auto cali only car)

I have an unorthodox racing udp on it right now, and can get 41 mpg at 60. However, i have the 3.94 final drive with a .81 5th, at 55 mph im at 2500 rpm. When i switch transmissions soon, ill have a 3.55 final drive, and .72 5th, good enough for a 2000 rpm cruise at 55mph.

I think the guy im talking about with the electric pump runs S/S, although i could be wrong. All motor, 2.4L N/A with an auto, weight limit is 2600 pounds. Runs 12 something. Says his electric water pump works great. He ground all of the impeller off. Theres some other inefficiencies i plan to work on in the motor as well, like some pretty bad casting flash in the water pump recess of the block, and a mismatched oil port coming directly from the oil pump. For whatever reason, oil holes from the bedplate to block are oval, however one oval is oriented one way, and the other is oriented 90 degrees from it.

Theres a guy working on a 6th gear conversion for the t-350, that comes in the first gen and non srt-4 neons, if he can get that going, i could get a cruise rpm of 2500 at 80, and 1770 rpm at 55 mph.

[TOOSTUBBORN2FAIL]

i guess itd help if i had an egr first

i had a hunch that the egr port in the intake mani had been partly clogged, boy was i wrong. It was completely clogged with carbon. I had to stick my shop vac in the throttle body mount and vacuum away as i poked all the carbon out

[dwtaylorpdx]

I think you'll still get 90% of the benefit by just turning the alt off. If I had a spare rototiller around I'd test it....

Since its running low duty cycle machine the fan off the alternator and up=size the pulley to slow it down.

Dave

[jago25_98]

I wonder if a solar panel, regen brakes and charging at night might be enough for a full alternator delete...

[ATaylorRacing]

I had an alternator belt break over 100 miles from my house.....using just the juice from the battery I BARELY made it home, but the first 35 miles were totaly trouble free. This is why I will put a alt cut off switch on the Geo when the temps get warmer....click it on for a few miles and off for a few miles more.