Dream with me - your perfect car

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by 19bonestock88

Shape the final product like the VW XL1


Make the monocoque from an aluminum alloy for weight savings...

Make all exterior body panels from carbon fiber skinned plastic(think sheets of coroplast die formed to shape)

Keep the interior simple but rattle free.. I would want adequate instrumentation and a decent sound system but not ridiculous... the car should seat two

Forged amooth faced alloy wheels, with just enough tire for grip (195-215 width at max)

Use modified LEA Ecotec (2.4L), 12.5:1 compression, high flowing intake and exhaust manifolds... run it on E30 fuel(95oct)
Run behind this engine a GM F40 six speed transmission, 3.55 final drive and a pretty tall sixth gear... fit it with the factory Quaife LSD

Use this powertrain to drive the rear wheels

Package the width of the car small enough to just encapsulate the occupants(staggered seating) and keep the rear width small for shorter axles(more torque to ground)

Done right the curb weight should land right under 1000kg, CdA should be great and it, with about 210whp/215wtq, should be properly quick and fast... the gearing and CdA, coupled with lean burn on an ethanol fuel should see mileage with “normal” driving in the mid forties and with an experienced hypermiler at the helm, could be as much as 60mpg

G1 Honda Insight with a K20 swap. All aluminum, seats two, has a spartan interior, weighs under 900kg dry even after the motor swap. Innovative sells mounts and axles for it already so it's not horribly difficult. I've seen as much as 170ft-lbs of torque and 270HP to the wheels with a stock block, naturally aspirated; 230-250 is easy and reliable with a completely stock engine.

With a 6 speed Accord transmission (bolts on) or perhaps just the Accord's final drive swapped, 50-60mpg with conservative driving is not unrealistic on 87 octane.

Seats two comfortably side by side, lots of cargo room in the rear. It's wrong-wheel drive of course.

I can't imagine your GM variant being 1000kg, seems way too high for what it is.

[freebeard]

Keep the interior simple but rattle free.. I would want adequate instrumentation and a decent sound system but not ridiculous... the car should seat two

Bucket seats that are an aluminum pan rim with basalt tape webbing like the Eames Aeron office chair. Retractable legs for when they're out of the car, like the Citoen 2CV.




http://basalt.guru/category/basalt-tape/

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Having searched out that reference I'm now inclined toward the Riedel 2-stroke "putt-put" to drive my VLVW:

That's a cool engine. I wonder how it could fare in a motorcycle.

[freebeard]

The pull starter is on the centerline. It would have to be a transverse install.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by freebeard

The pull starter is on the centerline. It would have to be a transverse install.

Would rather make a different setup for the starter, in order to keep the crankshaft in a longitudinal position. At least both cyls would have a similar cooling instead of leaving the rearmost one prone to overheating.

[freebeard]

Okay, a pulley that turns the cord up 90°.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Originally Posted by freebeard

That was reducto ad absurdum.

You'd have to increase the output of the road engine to balance the power generated plus the drivetrain losses and the electrical losses.

Who knows. Maybe there's a more practical way of doing something like that. After all it was a dream car.

[freebeard]

Well, there is — harness crosswinds.



You can drive into the wind with a propeller but it's an impractical proposition:


https://www.wired.com/2012/07/wind-powered-car-upwind/

How would you propose to do that with internal ducting in a road-going vehicle?

[19bonestock88]

Originally Posted by Ecky

G1 Honda Insight with a K20 swap. All aluminum, seats two, has a spartan interior, weighs under 900kg dry even after the motor swap. Innovative sells mounts and axles for it already so it's not horribly difficult. I've seen as much as 170ft-lbs of torque and 270HP to the wheels with a stock block, naturally aspirated; 230-250 is easy and reliable with a completely stock engine.

With a 6 speed Accord transmission (bolts on) or perhaps just the Accord's final drive swapped, 50-60mpg with conservative driving is not unrealistic on 87 octane.

Seats two comfortably side by side, lots of cargo room in the rear. It's wrong-wheel drive of course.

I can't imagine your GM variant being 1000kg, seems way too high for what it is.

I was being conservative with both engine output of an ethanol optimized LEA and the weight of the car... were I building it today I’d target 800kg... however I want at least the cabin to be strong enough to shield me in a crash/rollover/etc... however no airbags, belt pre-tensioners(use five point harnesses)

I would also want a large fuel cell to maximize range, something in the neighborhood of 20gal...