Ariel Nomad Turbo Conversion

[take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey]

Caddyshack said:

Hardknocks said:

Hey guys, thanks for the kind words on the build.

Just to add some comments to some of the responses.

-back pressure is relevant to 2 stroke engines.
4 stroke engines need vacuum for flow.
-turbocharged cars do not need vacuum, you want to get the gas out as fast as you can.


??

Agreed. I mentioned back pressure as in there was none, not that it was a negative on this car. Back pressure pre-turbo can be an issue though. My new stroker 2.2 cos dynoed at 730hp on the engine dyno on a bug turbo but my small turbo only flows enough for 500hp on the 2.0...with the 2.2 the pressures build before the turbo as the turbo is becoming the restriction.

To clarify:

Back pressure on a 2 stroke engine is all about the supercharging effect of the 2 stroke pulse.
On a naturally aspirated car the back pressure in an exhaust adds to pumping losses which a turbo car does not suffer but turbo cars work best with zero exhaust back pressure as it makes for a more efficient "air pump"...my cossie was restricted to 400hp when it had a 2.5 inch exhaust, we went to 3.5 inch and it was good for 500hp...hence me mentioning no back pressure as there is essentially no exhaust on this car. (positive comment)


My 5 times the size comment about the intercooler - mine is also a garret core bar and plate. Spec R. I was not saying this build it too small...I was saying that it is small so there will not be a huge lag...the other poster suggested there could be lag due to the long intake...My comment was that the intercooler was small in volume so did not need a huge puff to fill it...not that it was not efficient.

Edited by Caddyshack on Wednesday 22 June 12:48

Yeah it was lag question... Not boost threshold.

I've driven a turbo westy and whilst blisteringly fast, the elastic nature of the power delivery when trying to steer the car on the throttle, I found tricky.

My NA version was easier... But much slower.

[Caddyshack]

take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey said:

Caddyshack said:

Hardknocks said:

Hey guys, thanks for the kind words on the build.

Just to add some comments to some of the responses.

-back pressure is relevant to 2 stroke engines.
4 stroke engines need vacuum for flow.
-turbocharged cars do not need vacuum, you want to get the gas out as fast as you can.


??

Agreed. I mentioned back pressure as in there was none, not that it was a negative on this car. Back pressure pre-turbo can be an issue though. My new stroker 2.2 cos dynoed at 730hp on the engine dyno on a bug turbo but my small turbo only flows enough for 500hp on the 2.0...with the 2.2 the pressures build before the turbo as the turbo is becoming the restriction.

To clarify:

Back pressure on a 2 stroke engine is all about the supercharging effect of the 2 stroke pulse.
On a naturally aspirated car the back pressure in an exhaust adds to pumping losses which a turbo car does not suffer but turbo cars work best with zero exhaust back pressure as it makes for a more efficient "air pump"...my cossie was restricted to 400hp when it had a 2.5 inch exhaust, we went to 3.5 inch and it was good for 500hp...hence me mentioning no back pressure as there is essentially no exhaust on this car. (positive comment)


My 5 times the size comment about the intercooler - mine is also a garret core bar and plate. Spec R. I was not saying this build it too small...I was saying that it is small so there will not be a huge lag...the other poster suggested there could be lag due to the long intake...My comment was that the intercooler was small in volume so did not need a huge puff to fill it...not that it was not efficient.

Edited by Caddyshack on Wednesday 22 June 12:48

Yeah it was lag question... Not boost threshold.

I've driven a turbo westy and whilst blisteringly fast, the elastic nature of the power delivery when trying to steer the car on the throttle, I found tricky.

My NA version was easier... But much slower.

Totally agree.

I find naturally aspirated cars far easier to drive quickly and smoothly. I have always called Turbo’s "dirty power". I have a number of turbo cars but would prefer them to be naturally aspirated if they could do the same numbers.

[jontysafe]

You'd be surprised how little intake volume or length have an effect on lag.

Sized correctly all the way along from exhaust manifold to inlet Inc turbo, post turbo gas speeds on boost can be huge.

Max, am I far wrong saying faster than the speed of sound in some instances?

I remember looking at this when speccing turbo to intake pipe diameter.

Love the build sooo much. Kudos

[Caddyshack]

jontysafe said:

You'd be surprised how little intake volume or length have an effect on lag.

Sized correctly all the way along from exhaust manifold to inlet Inc turbo, post turbo gas speeds on boost can be huge.

Max, am I far wrong saying faster than the speed of sound in some instances?

I remember looking at this when speccing turbo to intake pipe diameter.

Love the build sooo much. Kudos

Yes, this is how I understood it. I think the initial turbo cars created some longer term assumptions. I think there was some issues confused early on where long intakes without blow off had a surge where the throttle was closed and the turbo kept pushing…not lag but created a story about turbo cars.

I remember the Rallycross driver,Trevor Reeves, telling me that he drove an F40 at the ‘ring and when he was braking and changing down the turbos were spinning up and making the tyres wheelspin.

[Hardknocks]

Forgive me - I'm used to forums full of idiots that have no idea what they're on about 🤣

[Caddyshack]

Hardknocks said:

Forgive me - I'm used to forums full of idiots that have no idea what they're on about ??

You found the right place then…we are clueless.

[The Rotrex Kid]

Caddyshack said:

Hardknocks said:

Forgive me - I'm used to forums full of idiots that have no idea what they're on about ??

You found the right place then…we are clueless.

Speak for yourself, I’m only partially clueless

[Turn7]

Hardknocks said:

Forgive me - I'm used to forums full of idiots that have no idea what they're on about ??

@Badger ...hope you are well dude, miss watching the RV vids with yuo Andy and crew

[Caddyshack]

Hardknocks said:

Forgive me - I'm used to forums full of idiots that have no idea what they're on about ??

You found the right place then…we are clueless.

[ol]

Got it back! So happy with it. The build quality is awesome, I couldn't have taken it to a better place than Hard Knocks Speed Shop - would highly recommend.

It's fast, without being undrivable. Exactly what I wanted from it. Still just running wastegate pressure, so will be going to get it properly mapped with the boost controller in a few weeks. They estimate around 320bhp at the moment, but it can definitely take more. The acceleration from standstill is awesome, and it makes some truly naughty noises!

Untitled by Olly Olly, on Flickr

Untitled by Olly Olly, on Flickr

Untitled by Olly Olly, on Flickr

Untitled by Olly Olly, on Flickr


Will do some more updates over the next few days. Driving it 6 hours down to a mates house tonight, then ferry to Spain tomorrow. I've done a few mods to it since getting it back:

New whip lights - they are wired into the brakes and indicators, so when I brake they go red, and indicators they flash at the relevant side.

Untitled by Olly Olly, on Flickr

Untitled by Olly Olly, on Flickr

Fitted front and rear cameras - motorbike dash cams but they also work as a reversing camera - with no rear view mirror it's actually really hard to reverse

Untitled by Olly Olly, on Flickr

Untitled by Olly Olly, on Flickr

Untitled by Olly Olly, on Flickr

There isn't a lot of room, but can fit tool kits, waterproofs, laptop and camera gear in the boot box.

Untitled by Olly Olly, on Flickr

Edited by ol on Saturday 25th June 08:53

[ol]

Some video:

Fly by

Untitled by Olly Olly, on Flickr

Some donuts to send off the old rear tyres before putting new ones on yesterday

Untitled by Olly Olly, on Flickr

[Caddyshack]

Brilliant work they did and in such a short time scale.

[ol]

Borrowed a sun roof from another Nomad owner (Thanks Alex!) and stuck a sticker on the rear box. Roof is mainly to keep the sun off. No point trying to waterproof a Nomad as there are huge gaps everywhere. Better off waterproofing myself.

Untitled by Olly Olly, on Flickr

Untitled by Olly Olly, on Flickr

[psi310398]

Great thread, OP.

I don’t want to pee on your chips but if you are going to the Continent, you need a UK sticker rather than a GB one these days.

And don’t rely on finding one at a petrol station en route. Ask me how I know. Halfords have them.

[S100HP]

Not sure about those light things but the rest of it is so awesome.

[mushtafa]

S100HP said:

Not sure about those light things but the rest of it is so awesome.

My thoughts too - awesome fab work too

[Turn7]

mushtafa said:

S100HP said:

Not sure about those light things but the rest of it is so awesome.

My thoughts too - awesome fab work too

Chris, aka Badger is a class act in what he does. Fabi/welders in the speed shop scene are very often good at what they do, but I would say Badger is one of the best out there.

[addz86]

Ah think I saw you on the M5 earlier, I was going the other way so didn’t get chance for a proper look sadly

[ol]

addz86 said:

Ah think I saw you on the M5 earlier, I was going the other way so didn’t get chance for a proper look sadly

Yes that will have been me, on the way to meet the others and head to the ferry for Euro trip

[ol]

psi310398 said:

Great thread, OP.

I don’t want to pee on your chips but if you are going to the Continent, you need a UK sticker rather than a GB one these days.

And don’t rely on finding one at a petrol station en route. Ask me how I know. Halfords have them.

Thanks - someone else spotted that and I managed to Amazon a UK one before we left Good spot though!