Posted on 03/24/2008 5:45:29 AM PDT by Uncledave
No text to post - follow video.
The intriguing bit for me was the gent who invented a gizmo that he activates with a switch when he's traveling over 35 mph. He cuts the fuel to 1/2 the cylinders, and thereby increases his gas mileage to nearly double.
Obviously, passing power and hills would be more challenging with this activated, but can any engineering experts here comment if this is feasible and practical?
A few other notes besides the fact that many companies have been doing this for years already:
1) It really doesn’t save much gas. Some? Yep... but nowhere near 50%. 5-10%, tops....
2) They have been reliability nightmares in the past.
3) Even on new versions, owners tend to despise these systems after having to live with them for awhile. You can put on fancy noise cancelling systems to smooth the switching and kill the noise, but you can’t defeat one simple principle: The engine is no longer well-balanced when running on a limited number of cylinders. If you take a V6 that has been properly balanced and change it to a V4 or V3, it is no longer balanced. You’ll get extra vibration and torque on its mounts. What was a wonderfully smooth Accord V6 is now a rough Accord V3. The companies have all done fantastic jobs minimizing the impact of this imbalance, but it simply isn’t as nice of a feel.
None of the six half-waves are “discarded.”
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You’re referring to the output to the bus/battery... the regulator IS discarding the other half of those “half waves” you speak of ,, if not they would be full (AC) waves,, and yes you’re paying in gas/diesel to generate the half of the wave that is discarded. If you don’t believe me wait until you have an alternator with a blown diode and then measure the output, it is AC not DC.
Eric has it right ,, Jaguar bought most of it’s electronics in the 80’s&90’s from Delco ,, in many cases you can peel off the Lucas stickers and find a Delco sticker underneath.. once you figure out the interchange you can keep a Jag running nice on the cheap... The biggest problem was/is poor wiring , especially grounds causing electronic components to burn up... The V12 used 2 seperate distributorless 6cyl GM ignitions as it was a cheaper and more reliable system...
The chinese noodle guy has a radar detector on his windshield...
“The system used a solenoid to disable a rocker arm, preventing fuel and air from being sucked into the engine by closing the intake valve, IIRC.”
I think that would lead to bent pushrods?
Nothing beats the imaginary egg under the right foot...
GM and Chrysler do this already. They call it ‘variable displacement’.
I almost bought an Impala SS last year, with a V8 that gets 28 mpg due to this idea. But the fact that I didn’t want automatic transmission and front wheel drive on a car hat calls itself an SS sunk the deal. I got a Mustang GT instead.
My old 68 Jag was “positive earth.”
That’s exactly why I didn’t buy it.
Sir Isaac Newton know more about gas milage than GM or the EPA.I something to do with moving mass through time and distance.
Its all about curb weight and streamlining.
I guess they do all that. I once restored a 1973 Saab Sonett, and needed a distributor....The advance bearings at the breaker plate had rusted.
On a hunch, I visted a junkyard and went through the distributor barrell. I found something off a Pinto with a Bosch nameplate. Went home with it and changed the advance springs and weights from the Sonett's just to be sure the curves were right. Everything fit and worked perfectly.
I am shocked that it would be Delco, though I am sure no one ever built anything as bad as the Lucas crankshaft timing sensor for the XJ40. That just HAD to be Genuine Lucas. Who else could choose an Alnico magnet that lost its field over time...hahaha.
What year did Jaguar stop using shellac’d cotton as their wire coating... I know Triumph used it until 1980 as I saw a TR-6 burn up from that although I think the TR-7&8 had proper plastic insulated wire.
Not sure what you’re referring to. All the cars ran on gasoline.
Why don’t they put the old Mitsubishi silent shaft on it?
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