ok, i am a student at MTU, and when i go back this school year i am gonna be joining a club/team called future truck. https://www.futuretruck.org/default.html

that is actually the MTU truck in the pic. hopefully that site explains it all.

anyway i am gonna try and head the engine team, and well we need to get the best damn gas mileage and power that we can.

well here are the ideas that i have come up with right now.

full roller bearings in place of the journal bearings.
playing with the ECM and stuff.
possibly coming up with a system that will take water, break it down into hydrogen and oxygen and then injecting it into the engine. this helps with gas mileage, and possibly can help clean up the exhaust by helping to burn all of the fuel.
and an propane setup for acceleration.

also i am looking into coating the pistons and cylinder heads with ceramic to gain a bit of power.

can anybody give me anymore ideas for gas mileage, i dont care how crazy they are, but if they work i will use them


thanks

ace

 

a very high performance ignition with the hottest spark possible

 

is this a contest where the engine will be on an engine dyno or will it be in a vechicle driving down the raod?

 

as far as i know, they drive it in several different locations, as well as on the dyno.

i believe there is an off road section, a high speed section where they go onto a race track. acceleration tests, towing tests, and many more.

about the spark, there is the emissions advance and the power advance. is there a huge difference between the two?

 

>>>full roller bearings in place of the journal bearings.

You won't get much, if anything there. Simple oil bath bearings are really pretty efficient. Most of the frictional losses inside a motor come from the rings.

>>>playing with the ECM and stuff.

All you can really do there is make sure everything in functioning correctly. Factory ECM's are programmed to maintain 14.7:1 under all part throttle conditions. Assuming that everything is working up to spec...it's hard to improve on it without redesigning it.

>>>possibly coming up with a system that will take water, break it down into hydrogen and oxygen and then injecting it into the engine. this helps with gas mileage, and possibly can help clean up the exhaust by helping to burn all of the fuel.

Electrolysis isn't a viable fuel option....there is a reason it's not being used in cars already. The problem is it costs more energy to seperate the water than you get from burning the hydrogen.




>>>also i am looking into coating the pistons and cylinder heads with ceramic to gain a bit of power.

It's been done, and it does work. But it's very costly.


>>>can anybody give me anymore ideas for gas mileage, i dont care how crazy they are, but if they work i will use them


It depends on the limitations of you project. What you are/aren't allowed to do.

1. The lightest vehicle possible with the least wind/rolling resistance. Eliminate EVERTHING you don't need. A titanium unicycle would be great. Thinner and harder tires help too.

2. The smallest motor, operating at the highest efficiency/lowest RPM that will satisfy the requirments. The coolest fuel mileage project I ever saw was a tricycle powered by a weedwacker motor. Gas mileage was up in the hundreds....course it would only go about 15 miles an hour.

 

the motor is a ford focus engine, its 4 cylinder.

the electrolisys is not to run the whole engine on it, just to supliment the gas.

none of these ideas may have huge benifits, but even the smallest improvement may win the game.

how much power is a dry sump oiling system worth?

 

I took a class a while back on steering and suspension, and the instructor told us that by using a synthetic wheel bearing grease, some cars picked up .4 mpg! It's worth a try. I'd put synthetic fluid/grease anywhere you can.

 

not sure how the intake is designed on these cars but smooth out the intake track

not saying polish it but get rid of any bumps inside the intake so the air has a much smoother and faster flow this way you cut down on pumping loss. though I think you can polish up to the point of the fuel injectors without having a loss of atomizing the fuel.

a bump in compression can help with power and gas milage to can't it?

change the intake tube with all the baffles to a PVC setup

get rid of the spare tire, jack, and anything else you can from the car.

use a thin weight synthetic oil .I've heard of ppl using 0w-20 for this kind of thing.

underdrive the main pully and alt. if you can get rid of the a/c and p/s if not underdrive them also

use header wrap on your exhuant manifold and if you can go to a header. also I have heard that header wrap on the intake manifold can help reduce intake temps.
not sure if it would do anything but have a water mist setup to hit the intake manifold to again cool intake temps.

put skirts over the wheels

better filter element

either go with the dry sump like you where saying or put a baffle and crank scraper in the wet sump system to reduce windage. and also can't you knife edge the crank to help with that as well?

use syn lightest syn lube you can get away with anywhere you can

with fuel tuning can't you go a little leaner then 14.7 when you are in cruise mode to get better gas milage?


I'm half asleep yet once again so sorry if my ideas aren't worth much and if it sounds as though I am rambling but hey I figure it is worth a shot.

good luck man

 

what about the total seal gapless rings? are they worth anything?

i think if i were to put the needle bearnings into that engine i would be able to run very very thin oil with out fear of seasure.

if i were to run a vacuum pump, i can run lighter rings and that is worth some hp isn't it?


the intake is stock from what i can tell. i may go with aluminum for making a long straight tube intake that may resemble the TPI in runner length, for more low end torque.

and most of this stuff is donated. the MTU truck has a complete titanium exhaust system donated to them. of course the pipe is smaller than two inches but TITANIUM.

what about going to someone like SCAT and getting one of their featherweight crankshafts. would that help in the city gas mileage? or would i want a heavier rotating assembly because it is a truck?

as far as i know, there is no ac ps or alternator on the truck. because it is a hybrid electric vehicle, they get most of the power off of their generator.

is there any differences made by making the engine run at a different temp?

thanks
ace

 

a engine runs best at a hotter temp
that way there is less loss of energy transfer going into the block but instead going into heat which builds pressure inside the cyl

but going to hot will cause detonation or pre ignition

 

Very interesting project.

I am just going to throw out everything I can think of from my own and in reaction to what has already been mentioned.

1. If you are allowed to dig into the engine, run as light a reciprocating assembly as possible. Unless you are going to run at high engine speeds for any length of time you can run lighter than factory parts. If you are allowed to actually change stroke or possibly even bore? rod length etc., as mentioned already, make it as small as possible to meet the needs of the competition. In general from what I have read though don't have an engineering level grasp on, run as small a bore/large a stroke/highest connecting rod length/stroke as possible with what you have to work with in the way of block clearance, cylinder head valve layout etc. Race engines have been shown to run better brake specific fuel consumption numbers with higher rod/stroke ratios particularly at elevated engine speeds. Logic would follow though that, at low speeds there is less piston side loading friction loss among other things.

Dry sump will save some, though moreso as engine speed and or oil pan upset ( rough vehicle movements/abrupt changes in direction/steep angles etc.) increases. Figure out what the lowest reasonable oil pressure you can run at various loads engine speed. My guess is roller bearing could help out in this area in addition to any possible inherent tendancy to reduce friction.

Run light oil. I have used NEO 0-5 sythetic in various engines. I run NEO 7 weight gear oil in a T-56 tranny. No problems. Just go light in this area. I doubt your 4 cyl will overload drivetrain. What is the drivetrain by the way?

Run the coolant temp high. I am not sure keeping the inlet air cooler than what the standard inlet components you are using will matter. Cool inlet air is good for power and from what i have heard,the jury is still out on the effects of coolant temps on power. Keep in mind NACAR guys like to run somewhere in the 220* range. I think this is probably a good tradeoff between power and efficiency. For efficiency I am certain you need to run as high a coolant temp as possible without geting into more than slight preignition. Search for Evans Cooling online. They have non aqueous ethylene and propylene glycols that boil much hotter than water at standard atmospheric pressures. I have done some testing with this stuff in land speed application, though I would like to do more, and it has appeared to work in the early stages. In a nutshell, it has properties that resist the kind of localized boiling at hot spots in an engine, that leads to preignition / detonation. Hotter coolant = better efficiency as long as normal combustion can be sustained.

 

just letting you know it sounded like you where saying light reciprocating assembly is not good for high rpms


it is better for high rpms

less stress would be put on all the parts which is better






gapless rings could help a little I am sure




and yes a higher coolant temp till help power (as long as the hotter engine doesn't give off heat into the intake), and efficiancy. just need to be carefull you do not get it too hot. also you want to prevent the hotter motor from giving heat into the tinake cause then you will get less dense of a charge which is not good.

in a nutshell heat makes things expand, since the only way to get rid of the pressure inside you cyl is to push that piston down. more heat equals more pressure, which in turn is more force put on that piston. if you have you coolant system setup to draw all that heat out of the cyl then it will not be able to put as much force down on the cyl

did I already say this.... hell I don't know too lazy to read

biggest things.
reduce pumping loss, and reduce friction, and reduce weight.
you will gain both power and economy up by doing those things

 

Cristobol, the drivetrain is really screwed up. i dont know if i even know what is going on their. all i know is that there is a ford focus engine that is mounted in the fashion of a rwd vehicle, but drives the front wheels. and uses the stock transmission. i guess this is for the big *** powersplit they are putting in.

the rear axle is driven by an electric motor. when it is not needed the motor turns into a generator and charges up batteries.

like i said it is screwed up right now, but this year everything is supposed to come together. and i really want to help the team do all they can to beat UW madison. (the winners this year) and i guess we may if we put enough effort into it.

also Cristobol, how would i go at finding the max rod to stroke ratio. i would suppose that i would have to talk to someone like SCAT and ask for a custom crankshaft, connecting rods and hypereutetic pistons. this i would already have to do if i were to put in roller bearings.

also, if i were to run synthetic, can i use lighter weight oils than if i were to use mineral oils? i have also been reading in abunch of the car magazines that the switch to synthetic is worth a couple of HP. I just wonder how lightweight i can go.

as for keeping the intake cool, what are some good substances that can be used to keep heat from going into the metal. i have seen the wooden carb spacers, i think i could use something like that. maybe if i were to go into more exotic materials, maybe a ceramic or silicon.

for the cooling, if the engine doesn't already have it, how would i go at putting in a reverse cooling system like the LT1 and LS1 engines have? that would allow me to run higher compression wouldn't it?

also what about the propane? i was thinking of developing a system that could spray in propane in certain conditions (ie hard acceleration) i have also heard that propane burns cleaner, which would help with emissions.

thanks for the ideas guys, anymore?

ace

 

Here is an idea that might help a bit. If the vehicle isn't absolutly brand new (never even had fuel in the tank new) then drop out the tank, pumps and lines and replace them. Not sure if you should go bigger or smaller on anything but going to a race cell instead of the rather clunky and heavy gas tank wouldn't hurt. But my thinking is that if you know the entire line is clean and clear then you know that the engine is getting the optimum amount of fuel with no crud or water in it leaning it out and forceing more throttle than you need. Also if you can, replace the seats with something lighter if you can. Race buckets and such aren't a bid idea since they are much lighter. Also find some light weight alloy wheels, lighter break parts are a good thing. Checkinto differant gears as well and differant trans shift points under differant loads. Also see about straightening out the exaust as some of them tend to snake around quite abit and are not very efficient. Maybe even a ram air setup so you can cram cooler air in while still being able to run a warmer engine temp. See what you can do with the glass, either thinner or got to lexan or something. Do not hack up the frame though as that will undoubtedly screw up the towing and handleing.

 

I read over the site you provided, and while it helped, there are obviously many factors unknown that would affect what route you take to achieving a winning design.

What I would envision as something reasonable for a design that could come out in the near future, would be something along the hybrid line.

With all the potential fuels to choose from, there energy equivalents have to be known to compare them all. What do they cost now and what could they be projected to cost if for example as a nation we decided to start producing higher quantities of alcohol fuels. How important is, the cost to the consumer? Will the consumer be expected to pay the same amount more/less to fuel a vehicle that uses 25% less energy to get the same work done in a test and have the same potential for peak performance as a modern gasoline or diesel powered vehicle etc etc?

I envision a flexible fuel gasoline engine of a size roughly like the Focus 4 cylinder you have to work with. My guess is you would not want to convert it to diesel technolgy?

Is there any variable valve timing/lift/duration action going on in that engine from the factory? Could it be incorporated if not?

How about a forced induction setup for times when the engine itself may have to be used to accelerate/run at sustained high power, when the batteries can't be used to run a motor?

As far as the ideal rod/stroke ratio goes, that will likely be a tradeoff and depend on how the engine would be used in conjunction with the battery/motor system and whether or not a blower of some sort is used. If the engine is used mainly to charge batteries and provide power for steady cruising, it would seem as much low end torque as possible would be ideal and the engine would be set up to spend most of it's time at or near peak torque. This is where most engines make the most power per quantity of fuel used and could conceivably do the best job turning a generator.

For reciprocating assembly weight, you'll have to consider how much cylinder pressure and rpm the engine will run and how long it needs to do it for the test. As mentioned, light parts can be easier on each other and take less energy to get spinning at high rpm for relatively short periods of time, if the engine were expected to run at hight rpm, say between peak torque and peak hp rpm for relatively longer periods of time, lighter parts could become a reliability/durabilty issue. On the issue if lightening drivetrain parts for fuel efficiency, i can see a real need to consider what leeway you have for reducing the weight of the entire vehicle through other methods and how much money is available for the project.

For the concept of getting a cool intake air charge, I think you have to consider what operating parameter the engine is in. People like to say cooler air is always better. I don't believe so. It often is for power, under the concept of having a higher density than warmer air and there for packing more oxygen moleccules etc. into the combustion chamber. However, when a gasoline type engine is not operating with a wide open throttle, the throttle plate is in the way of incoming air that could potentially get into each intake stroke event. One of the pumping losses in a gasoline engine is caused by the fact that the engine has to pull against the restriction caused by the throttle plate. If the engine is operating in a mode other than WOT, is it not possible that a warmer charge of intake air would allow a larger throttle opening to to get the same amount of air in the engine, thereby reducing the pumping loss created by the engine working against the throttle? Hotter intake charge also tends to promote air fuel mixing, which is more important in a carburated induction system, but still must have an effect on any system. Could it be beneficial to have hotter charges when less than full power it required and then possibly revert to a cooler charge when full power is needed and or the engine is under boost (if boosted) and the extra heat might be unwanted? Remember some of the fuel that could be used has higher knock reistance than readily available gasoline. Alcohols/propane etc.

 

for alternative fuels cristobal, i would love to try a diesel engine, like one of those new direct-injection diesels from mercedes(???)or benz. but i dont think that is feesable for this generation of the project. this would be the 2nd and final year for this vehicle, and the year after this we decide in which direction to go.

anyway back to the alternative fuels. i was thinking that using someting like propane with a turbo would be great. i think all i would have to do is to put in a tank, lines, regulators, higher compression pistons, and some sort of injection/carburation system. propane being clean enough to burn inside a house, and extremely cheep. if i were to retrofit the vehicle with a propane/natural gas system, i would have to think that it would be more cost effiecient per unit power to use propane than gasoline. we also have to deal with emissions. and i dont think the conversion would be that expensive. there are also many advantages to this system, ie lower operating temperatures, less carbon build-up, the oil does not get dirty as fast, and i dont have to worry about atomization (ie it is already a gas), all in all it is a much better fuel, but does not have the same power per unit volume as gasoline has.

i wonder if i could use the stock fuel injection lines to send propane through. i would think having a high enough fuel pressure would be able to send the propane through the injectors without a problem. then it would only be a matter of making sure enough propane is sent through, and this would just be a chip programing job.

then for alcohol fuels, there is ethanol, corn based. but then there is actually a hemp based fuel that someone has tested. runs on high compression diesel type engines, but i am unsure if spark plug is required. and with the fast growing rate of hemp, i could see in the future (if made legal) that hemp based fuels could power fleets of cars, or maybe something less.

or possibly a mixture of different types of fuels to somehow produce a cheap fuel that can produce power.

as for the variable valve lift/duration i could see about somehow retrofiting a v-tec actuator onto the engine. it would be crude at first but i am sure i can figure something out. but i have not looked at the engine closely, and i am unsure if ford has a variable camshaft technology in it.

about the rod/stroke ratio and high rpm engine operation..... This engine will see high rpm, but it will more or less stay around the torque peak while crusing. the motor is still connected to the wheels. maybe if i were to taylor the intake/exhaust manifold to help the engine breathe best at this rpm range i am sure there can be an increase in fuel economy there.

for the force induction idea, i have seen these little electric fans that people are selling on ebay, i laugh at them because i really dont think they work... but if i were to get a fan that can run off the high voltage power source (~400-600 volts) that is in the vehicle i am sure that there can be an electric supercharger installed there, and i should look into it. possibly a squirel cage fan of some sorts?

for the cooler air, i cannot say i am too worried about making sure that the air is the coolest as possible will help with fuel economy too much. and a pursuit in that direction could be a waste of time and money.

thanks for the ideas

ace