Turborize Me

[jtmarten]

From what I remember reading about the IAV engine, it'll be sequentially injected, and the VVT is only 3 position, which adjusts both intake and exhaust +/0/- since it is a SOHC.

 

[Jeff Miller]

I've always been a fan of blowers myself but I know they aren't as efficient and don't make quite as much power as a turbo. I do like the always-there power though. What I would LOVE to see is an electronically activated blower/supercharger. Have a switch on the dash that you could use to transform your mild mannered econo-commuter into something a lot more fun and costly when your fangs come out but then turn it back off. It would remap the fuel/air ratio curve as well as engage/disengage the blower mechanically with a clutch. Not suggesting this specifically for the Elio, I'd just Iove to have it in a small rear wheel drive sedan.

Can you say mad max

 

[mike171]

Volkswagen and Mercedes had 'on demand' superchargers. They have what amounts to a beefed up A/C compressor clutch right at the blower pulley. The blower freewheels except when it is needed, then the clutch kicks in when called on.
I had a 1999 Merc C230 sport with that engine/blower setup. Great car. Never should have sold it.
You can find the VW (older Scirocco I think :EDIT: Corrado) units on ebay. Low boost pressure (6-7 psi) coupled with a Ken Belle boost-a-pump for fuel management and a re-tune should get you going to 75 HP easily for around $1500.
I'll seriously look into it when I get my Elio.
Hard part will be pulleys and brackets. The rest is a cake walk.

Both the Benz and Bug were 1.8L engines, twice the size of the Elio. The G60 VW blower pushes 350 cfm at 7 psi. If you look at my original post we only need 166 cfm at 9.7 psi to produce 100hp. The G60 unit is WAY too big to be effective on the Elio. As far as newer cars, technology has made it possible to run higher compression ratios through direct fuel injection, variable valve timing, and variable vane technology turbos. I won't bore you with specifics but new turbo cars don't suffer from turbo lag and have adequate power when off the squirrel. The boost in performance helps get the car moving like a big engine but then once cruise speed is attained you get the efficiency of a small engine. There have been many books written on the subject of turbocharging and supercharging internal combustion engines. I have spent about 10 years learning how to properly tune turbo motors and am still learning new things all the time. A few things to remember are that manufacturers spend millions in R&D to build reliable turbo motors. Anytime you add a turbo or supercharger to an engine that was not originally designed to be boosted expect to spend a lot of money to get it right. If it was as easy as bolting on a junkyard blower everyone would do it. The key word here is Reliable.
As far as diesel engines go, the thermal dynamics inside the combustion chamber of a diesel is so vastly different from a gasoline engine that you can not directly compare them.

 

[Craig]

Can you say mad max

Nothing like a shot of nitrous. Sometimes I would even put in my car.

 

[BlioKart]

Keep in mind that most turbocharged production cars have less power than their normally aspirated counterparts before the turbo kicks in. This is usually due to having a lower compression ratio to keep the engine from grenading under boost. I guess this won't be a factor with an aftermarket bolt on turbo though because the engine will still be the same one with the same compression, you just won't be able to run the boost as high.

I've always been a fan of blowers myself but I know they aren't as efficient and don't make quite as much power as a turbo. I do like the always-there power though. What I would LOVE to see is an electronically activated blower/supercharger. Have a switch on the dash that you could use to transform your mild mannered econo-commuter into something a lot more fun and costly when your fangs come out but then turn it back off. It would remap the fuel/air ratio curve as well as engage/disengage the blower mechanically with a clutch. Not suggesting this specifically for the Elio, I'd just Iove to have it in a small rear wheel drive sedan.

There you go it exist already

 

[Kuda]

Both the Benz and Bug were 1.8L engines, twice the size of the Elio. The G60 VW

Paul Elio is quoted as saying that the IAV guys designed a turbo during their lunch breaks & that some form of turborization will be available as an option................

 

[mike171]

If I knew all the parameters of the AIV engine such as compression ratio, camshaft profile, injector rates, and ignition curve it would be very easy to determine what would be an optimum size turbo. Figuring out how to make it all fit in the Elio engine bay is the real hard part. I would not be surprised if AIV had a turbo motor running on a test stand as we speak, again, reliable is the key. As it is, it only took me about 10 minutes to decide on a T3 40 trim. As far as the Benz/VW supercharger, I simply stated that it is too large for use on the AIV engine. I'm not real sure where you were going with that quote but hopefully I answered your question.

 

[lafrisbee]

I am so glad I broached the subject....you guys are way over my head, but the non-tech words like... Easy to figure out and, "AIV probably has one on a stand as we speak", I understand...so maybe,,, just a glimmer of hope, it could be an option....

 

[mike171]

I am so glad I broached the subject....you guys are way over my head, but the non-tech words like... Easy to figure out and, "AIV probably has one on a stand as we speak", I understand...so maybe,,, just a glimmer of hope, it could be an option....

I'm way too much of a motorhead for this thread. Sorry about getting a little too techie but it seems like if I leave out a small detail I get lambasted for it. In simple terms....... Turbochargers=Money

 

[lafrisbee]

Yep, I got that, but I also got that you know the facts instead of just want to blow something out of your butt and have us believe it is the word of god because you included so much tech talk and others did not say you were wrong.
So you gave me what I wanted...the FACTS