A 350 HP 4 cylinder ethanol-burning Corvette
A reader of the site, Keith, let us know about this 1992 Corvette which had it's 300 horsepower LT1 smallblock V8 yanked out and replaced with a 350 horsepower 4 cylinder engine. I don't have any good details on the engine currently sitting under the Vette's hood, other than the facts stated in the headling, namely it being a 4 cylinder engine making 350 horses on E85.
The vehicle was created by students from North Carolina State University, with collaboration from the Advanced Vehicle Research Center. Grants from FreedomCAR and NetLogic Microsystems Inc. helped finance the vehicle. Richard Dell, executive director of the Advanced Vehicle Research Center, said, "If you are going to go green, you might as well look good doing it".
Thanks for the tip, Keith!
[Source: Technician Online via Corvetteblogger]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Owen 3:20PM (3/15/2007)
I like seeing all of these new engines that take advantage of the high octane rating of Ethanol. It seems like a very half a$$ solution when you see vehicles like the current flex fuel offerings which do little more than replace the PE, Styrene and other easily corroded components with something that will not corrode. Who really wants E85 if it still gets worse mileage, ethanol is already questionable in its efficiency, (keeps fingers crossed for some of the new cellulosic technologies).
If Ethanol is going to be the preferred choice for the next few years (I would much rather see engines such as this that can utilized forced induction and high compression ratios to reap the benefits of Ethanol. As long as the ECU can handle the switch between E10 and E85 and adjust timing, flowrate, etc... accordingly, I think it would be a hit.
Now my question... does can this corvette engine translate into a small turbocharged 4 cyl engine with 150-190 hp (most likely only 100 ft-lbs of torque) getting 45 mpg on a ~3000 lb car? I don't know, but I'd like to see someone with the $$$ try.
(and yes, I would still rather have a diesel that can run on B100)
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JamesWB 5:38PM (3/15/2007)
Why swap the V8 for a 4cyl? Making 350hp it will still be using a lot of fuel, probably more than with the V8 as it won't have as much low end torque and will have to be revving higher all the time.
GM's new LS range of V8s are very efficient and lightweight, one of these would have been a better swap.
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Scala 9:24PM (3/18/2007)
Might be spurious to imply that an ostensibly lighter, smaller motor would consume more, simply by running at higher engine speeds. It's doing so with fewer moving parts, and less mass in the rotating assembly. And if it's producing less torque, then the opportunity is there to realize weight reductions throughout the drivetrain.
Another beauty of four-cylinder motors is the cylinder-head interchangeability with V8 motors, which themselves are well suited for trucks...
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George C. Koppmann 7:03PM (3/24/2007)
4,000 miles ago I converted my '98 Ford 150 XLT, 4.2L, V-6; 2x4 with 95,xxx miles on the odometer to a FFV (Flex Fuel Vehicle). Its been running great on full tanks of 100% E-85 with NO PEOBLEMS ever since. (I'm even running on a fuel filter that has 30,xxx+ mile on it, (against the kit manufacturer's recommendation to change it at 500 miles).
I installed a Full Flex Gold International bi-fuel Kit [ http://www.fullflexint.com/ ] and I can't say enough good things about it. Its truly plug-& -play and the Full Flex Gold units have a set of dip switches, (unlike the other units on the market), that permit you to select four engine firing parameter curves with the simple flip of the switches.
Running at altitudes between 4,500’ to 7,800’ msl (above mean sea level), my gas mileage, so far on full tanks of E-85, has averaged 1.5-3 mpg less than what I ‘usually’ got with 86 octane unleaded gasoline.
Running down wind, if I hold the speed to 60 mph with the cruise control on and the tail gate down, I get between 15.5-16.5 mpg on 100% E-85. In comparison, the best I've gotten at under similar conditions on unleaded regular gas was 17.7mpg.
Running into a head wind at 78 mph on the interstate, this little 4.2L, V-6 engine gets 12 -13 mpg on E-85 vs. 14.5-15.5 mpg on unleaded regular gas.
Driving around town in stop & go traffic, at speeds below 50 mph, I'm get around 16.5 mpg.
I've made six Dyno runs; two before the FFV Conversion on 86 octane gas and four runs after the conversion on full tanks of E-85. The Dyno shows a 12.2 HP and 5.5+ ft-lbs Torque increase AND, two widely spaced, (in mileage), Emissions tests on full tanks of E-85 show that the engine is running VERY, VERY CLEAN.
At normal highway cruising RPMs of 2200-2500, the tests indicate: Hydrocarbons = 13-17ppm, (where 100 ppm is the max. allowable), and CO & CO2 Emissions have virtually been eliminated.
[CO = 0.00-0.01%, (where 1.00% is the Max.) and CO2 = 15.3-15.7% (where 16.0 optimum and 14.7% is ideal.] [O2 = 0.32%, (where the lowest possible is desirable)].
Cold Starting with 85% (+/- 2%) E-85 Ethanol:
The only problem I've experienced is the extra cranking required, (2-3 tries), before the engine will run without stumbling when starting on a cold morning of 35 deg. F & below. The installation of an Kim Hotstart, ‘TPS Model' electric Coolant System Heater has helped starting considerably on very cold mornings but there still times when it takes 2-3 cranks.
Copies of the tests that the City of Albuquerque Main Emissions Testing Facility conducted on my vehicle as well as the ‘Before & After’ Dyno Curves on my '98 F150, (just after I installed the Full Flex Gold [ http://www.fullflexint.com/ ] FFV Conversion Kit), are available upon request.
The how and the why that the FFV conversion works I'll leave to Dan Lorenzo the technical expert at Full Flex International, Inc. Dan Lorenzo: [ xpertech_inc@hotmail.com ] or
[ dan@fullflexint.com ].
(He'll be glad to answer any questions you may have.)
George C. Koppmann
Santa Fe, New Mexico
'98 Ford F-150 XLT, 2x4,5 Spd Auto;
4.2L V-6 SFI engine w/ K & N Air Filter
in an opened OEM Air Filter Housing;
FFV E-85 (Ethanol) Conversion using
a Full Flex Gold Kit
[www.fullflexint.com]; a 3" MagnaFlow
'After Cat' Exhaust Pipe, SS Muffler &
3" Tail Pipe; Auburn 4:11 Limited Slip
Differential.
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