Corvette V8 diesel conversion - 40 mpg (US) avg.

[diesel_john]

the 854cc Yanmar burns about a half gal./hr. and would be plenty for a 1000# car. think small engine and lots of gears in case you come up to a big hill. it is reasonably smooth too i have one in my HPX gator which is 1400#.

the tractor market has diesels from 12 to over 500 HP.

the 854cc has 33 Lb-ft @ 2500

http://www.deere.com/en_GB/products/.../hpx_specs.pdf

[dremd]

Originally Posted by diesel_john

the 854cc Yanmar burns about a half gal./hr. and would be plenty for a 1000# car. think small engine and lots of gears in case you come up to a big hill. it is reasonably smooth too i have one in my HPX gator which is 1400#.

the tractor market has diesels from 12 to over 500 HP.

What is the HP/ Torque ratings on your 854cc Yanmar?

[apgrok1]

Sorry I'm late on getting back to this thread, but I work for Case New Holland and I know there is a 3.4L 3-cyl used in some skid-steers. It is an Iveco diesel that can be found in NH LS185's and Case 435's. It is a Tier 2 engine and is about the same size as a cummins 4T-390 without a cylinder. 75HP at 2300rpm.

[apgrok1]

We replaced it with a 3.2L 4 cylinder that is a little lighter.

[jpgmtech]

If the starting point was a modern corvette, a 5.3L V8 aluminum-block engine from an SUV with cylinder deactivation would swap in, with a little ECM tweaking. That would return some seriously good fuel economy numbers tuned correctly... And it would still be light, and have reasonable power when required.

[Chris D.]

but the engines an overkill for how much of it you'd
actually be using if you were aiming for fuel mileage..

If you could adapt an MDS setup to it, Game on!

I never understood how the MDS system could work without damagine
or causing excessive wear to the block pistons that arent being fuel'd..

[jpgmtech]

Originally Posted by Chris D.

but the engines an overkill for how much of it you'd
actually be using if you were aiming for fuel mileage..

If you could adapt an MDS setup to it, Game on!

I never understood how the MDS system could work without damagine
or causing excessive wear to the block pistons that arent being fuel'd..

The cylinder deactivation works great! I have it in my Grand Prix GXP. The only problem is that it's performance tuned, meaning it doesn't run in 4cyl mode very much at all... A little ECM tuning will help, still working on that one.

This feature comes from the factory on quite a number of GM V8's right now, just not in the corvette. The nice part about the 5.3 in a newer vette is that it would bolt right in with no adaptation other than ECM programming.

[Cowspots]

Friends,

I can't help but wonder what the dimensions and weight are of the Yanmar and Iveco diesel engines. Additionally, I am curious as to the RPM/power curve and would love to see ALL of the specs.
I have been monitoring this thread for some time now and also have been in contact with VW technical support. I have owned or driven four diesel passenger cars and currently am dismantling an Iveco Z-100 powered by a Duetz 5-Cyl air-cooled diesel engine. I planned to install the Duetz into a GMC Dually that had previously been home to a 454 to do my heavy hauling as this Iveco chassis is a poor restoration candidate due to parts availability. Unfortunately, the dimensions and weight of the engine also made that an impractical swap.
Enough background and back to the topic: At this point I believe that the lightest, most versatile and cost effective engine for any diesel hypermileage project is the VW 1.9L TDI system. I owned an '02 Jetta TDI and with Upsolute ECM & boost modifications I was able to increase mpg from 46hwy to 53hwy using premium diesel.
I recently contacted VW and they informed me that the '09 Jetta TDI SportWagon will not have BlueTech UREA injection. This was misreported in an automotive magazine that I read. I don't want to be held prisoner by the EPA to buy a UREA solution from VW & Mercedes at some insane markup price that already adds to the fabricated diesel cost penalties. If I do purchase a new car again, this is the most likely candidate.
In the meantime I will stick with my 35-50mpg Metros as the fuel is $0.50 less per gallon.
Furthermore, I have ridden in Corvettes and visited the plant in KY and cannot see ANY practical application for this automobile - only vanity. Putting a 3-cylinder diesel engine in a 'Vette, which does not have the best aerodynamics, just isn't practical for anything except mileage runs. If you are lucky enough to be able to blow that kind of cash, why not use a 2-door 4-seater with better aerodynamics like a Firebird?
After all is said and done I'll bet that my nearly stock Metro will blow it's tires off for best performance, lowest cost to build, smoothest operation, lowest cost of operation and finally practicality. I can take a friend and my dogs out to the park in it too.

Ok, so I might be playing Devil's Advocate or just acting like a turd here, but it's my two cents and this is a forum isn't it?

Good luck on your projects and I hope that your investment will be rewarded with more than bragging rights.

Cowspots

[ebacherville]

The 6.5 gm diesel is a very efficient diesel engine, I have one in a 1 ton dually 4 door crew cab and it will plunk down 22 MPG is you keep it under 60 mpg..

There not a huge power motor , they were designed for effeciency.. Im sure if you put that in a car 1/4 the weight of the truck and geared it right you'd pull 40+mpg easly..

Really the think would probably be just over idel and pull down the freeway just fine..

The 6.5 is nice as its very compact and can be wedged in where almost any small block was....

The oddest diesel conversion I ever saw was this one.. the 10hp geo metro diesel, with a continuously variable transmission, and the standard manual for the ultimate in gear selection
http://utterpower.com/10hp_chevy.htm

[Christ]

This thread is over a year old, but reading the article again made me think of something.

He says he's not running a turbo b/c of added underhood heat... but what about a STS-type turbo system? (Remote mount).

That removes the necessity for a muffler (unless you really want it whisper quiet), removes the necessity for an intercooler, since the piping is so distant from the engine, and will also relocate some of the weight bias caused by the heavier engine to help keep that car as close to 50/50 as it can be, plus the added benefit of the turbo itself... more power and better economy. (Not that more power is really necessary...)

Just a thought... feel free to shoot it down with a .50 cal.