New to the Forum, and I have an idea
 

I'm new to this forum and I've got an idea for a project. let me know what you guys think.

I'm an engineering student and did a basic spreadsheet calculating fuel mieage using drag and engine efficiency, BTU in a gallon of fuel, etc. It gave me posssible values of 55 mpg for a crx and 55 for a vw diesel rabbit.

I did a sheet for a vw 1.6 diesel swapped into a crx. Really simple and cheap. The spreadsheet spit out 80 mpg for the diesel crx at 55 mph on a level road.

From your experiences, do you guys think this project would be worth completing once I graduate? I can't find anything about a swap like this except a guy on youtube who never showed the thing completed.

There are much easier ways to get an 80 mpg car. However, it is still quite doable.

What we think doesn't matter. After doing the research; if you think it's worth doing, then go for it. But have fun doing it!

I think the only thing better would be a VW TDI in a Prius, as a hybrid.

jdu3 -

I think you're on the right track. Here is a Saturn TDI example :

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tdi-14758.html

CarloSW2

Or an Insight with a 1.2L motor like this.

Thanks folks for the greetings and advice. I'll be lurking in the forums a little but probably won't post much til I m ready to work on something.

BTW, I am right now driving an 82 toyota 2wd truck with 44 PSI in the tires getting around 32 mpg.

A crx gets 55 mpg?

I was thinking the same thing about the swap.
What other lighter smaller cars could you swap a TDI motor into?

80 mpg would be nice plus do some eco mods mentioned in here to get 100?

Just found this thread about the swap

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...into-honda-crx

That would get great MPG, but the CRX would look way better and handle great !

Now the 1.2 TDI in a Gen I Insight would be killer. Basically a Lupo that is legal here in the US.
Darn EPA / NHTSB :( :mad:

I would suggest you mod it to allow engine off coasting while you are at it. A complementary electric oil pump for the turbo(if it has one), a manual steering rack(maybe the CRX already has this) and a brake booster that works with the engine off should do it.

Yea, I guess from what I've read 55 is not at all common for a crx, maybe 45? The spreadsheet is assuming ideal conditions, which can be varied, like rolling coefficient, etc.

If I increase the rolling coefficients and use diesel efficiency = 0.31 and gas efficiency = 0.26, I get about 45 mpg for a gas crx and 45 mpg for a vw rabbit diesel. Using the aerodynamic and weight properties of the crx and the fuel properties of the diesel yields 61 mpg.

With the current price of fuels you wouldn't be saving much.

3.85/61=6.3 cents a mile vs 3.30/45=7.3 cents a mile.

Unless you used vegetable oil, then you'd be set.