Talking of Diesels . .
Discussion
Just a thought, but wouldn't a turbodiesel engine be an excellent choice for a 7 type car?
The aerodynamics mean the top speed is fairly restricted and the torque of the diesel would give is excellent mid range acceleration.
Then again, if your after 0-60mph, you'll lose out by .5 sec with a gearchange.
Imagine the consumption. If the engine can get 50mpg in a 1.5tonne car, you could be looking in excess of 75mpg.
So why don't manufacturers cater for this?
>> Edited by Black5 on Wednesday 7th September 16:58
The aerodynamics mean the top speed is fairly restricted and the torque of the diesel would give is excellent mid range acceleration.
Then again, if your after 0-60mph, you'll lose out by .5 sec with a gearchange.
Imagine the consumption. If the engine can get 50mpg in a 1.5tonne car, you could be looking in excess of 75mpg.
So why don't manufacturers cater for this?
>> Edited by Black5 on Wednesday 7th September 16:58
actually, with the newer diesels (not easy to source i know).. such as Toyotas 2.2 Turbo Diesel... were talking significant performance over a lot of the petrol engines used..
The Toyota block produces 174bhp and 400Nm of torque - that would be pretty significant performance in a lightweight 7 body...
The Toyota block produces 174bhp and 400Nm of torque - that would be pretty significant performance in a lightweight 7 body...
As has been said above, Westfield did one in the early/mid 1990's with a mildly tuned Ford turbodiesel in it.
Diesels have come a long way since then though, both in power delivery and block weight. I reckon a mid-engined kit with the VW/Audi/Seat/Skoda 1.9 TDi 160bhp would fly in terms of mid-range acceleration.
Diesels have come a long way since then though, both in power delivery and block weight. I reckon a mid-engined kit with the VW/Audi/Seat/Skoda 1.9 TDi 160bhp would fly in terms of mid-range acceleration.
Black5 said:
Just a thought, but wouldn't a turbodiesel engine be an excellent choice for a 7 type car?
The aerodynamics mean the top speed is fairly restricted and the torque of the diesel would give is excellent mid range acceleration.
Then again, if your after 0-60mph, you'll lose out by .5 sec with a gearchange.
Imagine the consumption. If the engine can get 50mpg in a 1.5tonne car, you could be looking in excess of 75mpg.
So why don't manufacturers cater for this?
>> Edited by Black5 on Wednesday 7th September 16:58
wrong shop black5
I'm driving a Toyota "D4D" 2.2 diesel at present as it happens! To be honest, the numbers don't say it all. It's true there is an absolute mass of torque in the mid-range but it runs out of breath pretty quickly after that. Typically, if you're just rolling at a couple of MPH and you floor the throttle, nothing much happens until about 2000 RPM then it goes very well up to about 4000 and then runs out of steam almost as quickly again. Make no mistake, the engine DOES produce the goods but I'm not sure the way in which it does so would be what I'd be looking for in a sports car. You'd almost have to knock it "UP" a gear when you wanted to overtake! When you add to that the complex engine management system, I think I'd just rather stick with petrol for the time being.
To be fair, Avocet, the Toyota diesel is pretty dismal by modern standards.
Some companies seem to have caught up, others are still whre the state-of-the-art was 7 or 8 years ago. I test drove the Toyota diesels recently and, along with the Merc 220 diesel we have on our company fleet, they are amongst the most disappointing that I've come across lately.
If you want to sample a good one, try a Seat Ibiza Cupra TDi.
Some companies seem to have caught up, others are still whre the state-of-the-art was 7 or 8 years ago. I test drove the Toyota diesels recently and, along with the Merc 220 diesel we have on our company fleet, they are amongst the most disappointing that I've come across lately.
If you want to sample a good one, try a Seat Ibiza Cupra TDi.
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