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 Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 12:37 am
We're talking about Engines here, which I believe is the most important aspect of a car, next to the chassis.
We've always gotten the impression that since when you want engine performance then more fuel is burned, sacrificing fuel economy which is also a good thing, more and more so these days. In other words, it's as if Fuel Economy and Engine Power are mutually exclusive.
However, some of the car industries have indeed taken a crack at it and came up with quite a few ways to mind both aspects when designing an engine, methods such as Twin-Cams, better gearing, shutting off cylinders when the pedal is not to the metal, or simply building a lighter car.
Please post here as to your favorite engines, include the cars that they come with, if you can, that have done it.
We may even think up new ways to make engines that the Auto industry could take as suggestions into making their next set of power plants.
What's your favorite way of getting the best of both worlds?
- Sorry, don't know how to add photos just yet.
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 9:33 am
Audi probaly has the best chance to show the world that you can have both economy and performance at the same time. Their FSI technology enables their engines to create a better fuel to air mix while reducing the amount of fuel used. On top of that, they combine it with their TDi technology, and you get a 300+ horsepower, 0-60 in 5.9 second sport sedan that will get over 30 miles to the gallon.  Audi article________________ On the fact of supercars, both Koenigsegg and SSC have shown you can have BIG power while still being eco friendly 1,100+ horsepower with 20 mpg highway. 1,000+ horsepower while being E85 compatible. In this day and age, there is no excuse for a 500+ horsepower sports car that cant achive at least 20 mpg.
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 6:17 pm
toyota Volta Toyota has electrified automotive history with the first high-performance hybrid, named in his honor. The Giugiaro-designed carbon-fiber body seats three people abreast and features "drive-by-wire" controls, allowing you to position the steering wheel and pedals in front of any one of them. And the Volta's 408-hp Hybrid Synergy Drive® (a 3.3-liter V6 with an electric motor for each axle) not only delivers 435 miles on a 13.7-gallon tank, but 0-60 acceleration in a mere four seconds. Somewhere, Count Volta is smiling.
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 6:01 pm
The best way to get good fuel economy from a performance engine is to keep displacement down, and keep weight down on the chassis the engine happens to be sitting in.
Case in point: Lotus Elise.
200HP, 0-60 in 4.X secs. It's got control that has sports car fans shitting their pants.
It also gets 30 miles per gallon from a combination of the 1.8 liter Celica GT-S engine and the extremely low curb weight.
Cars get heavier and bigger every year, the average fuel economy would go way up if all of our cars dropped 200 lbs.
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 6:41 pm
Exactly, I had the Lotus Elise in mind when I came up with this topic, with it's twin-cam, when you don't need the performance, it's in fuel economy mode, and vice versa.
Volta is a beautiful creation by Toyota, and hybrid engines is certainly a solution for the Performance and Economy dilemma, although it almost seems like they're simply souping up a fuel economy system, the deceleration energy conversion is a nice touch.
AUDI's FSI and Diesel are yet solutions, changing their image from making cars that usually had the worst fuel economy to the ones they have now.
So far, we've got
Better Fuel/Air mixture
Twin-Cam
New Diesel Technology
Hybrid on steroids
Lighter Chassis
So, what does the U.S., the biggest fossil fuel consumer in the world, have to contribute to this list? I can think of one silent but deadly ride that is on sale, but I'll let someone else bring it up. Hint: look in Arnold's State, where he's one of the biggest voices in reducing fossil fuel useage.
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 6:48 pm
The US might consume the most fossil fuels, but most fuel in the country (And the rest of the world for that matter) goes toward housing, not cars.
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 7:55 pm
Masticatius The US might consume the most fossil fuels, but most fuel in the country (And the rest of the world for that matter) goes toward housing, not cars. I agree, but then which country consumes the most fossil-fuel for road transportation? I would still imagine it being the U.S., since the Chinese have a low percentage of automobile owners.
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 9:14 pm
Saxman19 Masticatius The US might consume the most fossil fuels, but most fuel in the country (And the rest of the world for that matter) goes toward housing, not cars. I agree, but then which country consumes the most fossil-fuel for road transportation? I would still imagine it being the U.S., since the Chinese have a low percentage of automobile owners. That's right, last time I checked. The problem is also the quality of fuel. The American refining industry has some of the dirtiest fuel in the world, when compared to European fuel. It's octane rating is also higher, so it burns cleaner and more efficient. Another problem is that the US has very laid back laws when regarding fuel economy. Remember the H2 Hummer? The law at the time stated that any vehicle above 8500 lbs didn't have to obey emission regulations, until recently. If the US wants to improve air quality and MPG ratings, then they need to construct a mathematical formula that takes into consideration the coefficient drag, horsepower, and weight, and determines what MPG it should archive.
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Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 6:49 am
If the US wants to improve fuel economy and air quality, it should raise the price of fuel.
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Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 8:50 am
Masticatius If the US wants to improve fuel economy and air quality, it should raise the price of fuel. didn't the US try rationing fuel once?
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Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 3:05 am
Thanks for your inputs people, but although we recognize it as an issue, we want to get back to cars.
More inputs on your favorite rides that goes fast, corners well, and burns less gas when you're in traffic!
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Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 7:55 am
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Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 12:52 pm
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 8:42 am
Something a lot of people don't realize about fuel economy is that many people, with older cars, have underpowered them.
A great example would be some of the heavier muscle cars. Some of them were pushing 3,500-4,500lbs. Now, you could get the look and still put a six in some of those cars, but, your mileage could end up tanking because it just didn't have enough power.
I was reading about a guy who had a pretty stock 350 in his car but he was only getting something like 6mpg because his car was so heavy. Another guy was running the same car with a larger motor, a little over 400cubes, and he was getting 12mpg no problem, because his car had enough power.
There's a multitude of things to consider, but, making sure you have enough power in the first place is key.
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 8:44 am
gman15975 Saxman19 Masticatius The US might consume the most fossil fuels, but most fuel in the country (And the rest of the world for that matter) goes toward housing, not cars. I agree, but then which country consumes the most fossil-fuel for road transportation? I would still imagine it being the U.S., since the Chinese have a low percentage of automobile owners. That's right, last time I checked. The problem is also the quality of fuel. The American refining industry has some of the dirtiest fuel in the world, when compared to European fuel. It's octane rating is also higher, so it burns cleaner and more efficient. Another problem is that the US has very laid back laws when regarding fuel economy. Remember the H2 Hummer? The law at the time stated that any vehicle above 8500 lbs didn't have to obey emission regulations, until recently. If the US wants to improve air quality and MPG ratings, then they need to construct a mathematical formula that takes into consideration the coefficient drag, horsepower, and weight, and determines what MPG it should archive. and you expect them to do that? wishful thinking... no, america will continue paying out of it's a** for every gallon until there's none left.
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