Performance and Economy – High Mileage Horsepower

The SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) 2007 World Congress will convene in Detroit this week with a theme of “Engineering for Global Sustainable Mobility — It’s Up to Us.” One of their tech sessions is titled “High Performance and Fuel Economy: Can We Have Both?”

Increasing fuel economy while maintaining or even increasing performance is something everyone thinks about as gasoline prices climb. Whether the causes are political, geological or environmental, the end result of rising prices is a desire to get more performance with every precious drop of fuel. Never before have we had a better chance to do this with advanced technologies, lightweight composite materials, computer control of the combustion process and alternative fuels plus alternative drivetrain technologies such as electric motors.

As today’s garage mechanics build hot rods, the technology is available to bolt together small blocks with 700 or 800 horsepower, astonishing numbers not very long ago and in reality, more than you can easily use. If you’re racing, the power is good but if you’re building for the street there’s a point where it might make sense to trade some of that power for a bit more fuel economy. If every short night of cruising is a one hundred dollar fuel bill, eventually, something has to change.

Among the many competitions for street machines organized by enthusiast publications like Hot Rod, instead of just requiring proof of streetability and great numbers at the drag strip, why not add a fuel performance factor? Or how about having a performance economy competition? This doesn’t mean everyone has to break out the turbo 4 cylinders, it could mean a competition of V8 engines only but where fuel numbers are considered as part of the equation. Pouring on cubic inches and fuel is one way to go fast but how about constraining the amount of fuel available which is a factor in the “real street” world we drive in every day.

How long before garage mechanics start adding electric motors to assist acceleration as a normal high performance upgrade? The high performance hybrid idea holds promise. Electric only vehicles are doing some amazing things, too, whether cars like the Tesla Roadster or motorcycles like KillaCycle, there is a lot of performance available if we start to think more along those lines.

While the V8 engine was once the holy grail of high performance and the emotional attachment we still have to that platform will last for a very long time, there’s no reason we cannot think outside of that box as long as the performance is still there. Hot rodders are an amazing group and it will be interesting to see how everyone combines performance with better fuel economy. As long as performance does not suffer, it could be a fun challenge.

Link: SAE 2007 World Congress via Detroit News

Speedzzter says

April 23, 2007 at 1:45 pm

Weight, complexity, cost and legality will alter the landscape of hot rodding in the future.

While a few fabricators may be able to build innovative high-m.p.g. rods, what the OEMs build will dictate the direction that the masses take. If hysterical government regulations kill off RWD, V8s and other traditions of high performance, the palate for aftermarket builders will be severely limited.

And look for “Big Brother” to leave fewer loopholes this time around. The legal latitude for experimentation in a street-oriented car will become increasingly limited.

And when 400+ volts are routinely coursing through vehicles, we’ll probably see regulatory moves to limit the persons who can work on cars to “certified” technicians (similar to how the FAA controls the supply of aviation mechanics)

It’s starting to look like we’re headed back to the low-performance 1970s again. See http://speedzzter.blogspot.com/2007/04/missing-second-supercar-era-its-old.html

As to innovations, I suspect we’ll see some radical developments, such as twin engines (a small, efficient one for normal duty and a triple-throw-down monster lump for occasions of GO!), more alcohol fuel, more turbo-diesels, more “on-demand” power-adders, and more performance-oriented mild hybrids.

Few of these technologies easily adapted by home-builders. And how many clock-punchers could afford a $100,000.00 aluminum and carbon-fiber hybrid Mustang?

It’s not encouraging.

Comments

Speedzzter says

April 23, 2007 at 1:45 pm

Weight, complexity, cost and legality will alter the landscape of hot rodding in the future.

While a few fabricators may be able to build innovative high-m.p.g. rods, what the OEMs build will dictate the direction that the masses take. If hysterical government regulations kill off RWD, V8s and other traditions of high performance, the palate for aftermarket builders will be severely limited.

And look for “Big Brother” to leave fewer loopholes this time around. The legal latitude for experimentation in a street-oriented car will become increasingly limited.

And when 400+ volts are routinely coursing through vehicles, we’ll probably see regulatory moves to limit the persons who can work on cars to “certified” technicians (similar to how the FAA controls the supply of aviation mechanics)

It’s starting to look like we’re headed back to the low-performance 1970s again. See http://speedzzter.blogspot.com/2007/04/missing-second-supercar-era-its-old.html

As to innovations, I suspect we’ll see some radical developments, such as twin engines (a small, efficient one for normal duty and a triple-throw-down monster lump for occasions of GO!), more alcohol fuel, more turbo-diesels, more “on-demand” power-adders, and more performance-oriented mild hybrids.

Few of these technologies easily adapted by home-builders. And how many clock-punchers could afford a $100,000.00 aluminum and carbon-fiber hybrid Mustang?

It’s not encouraging.