BMS turbo test drive..

[jetfuel]

..if you guys have being following the BMS sneak peak ( http://www.smartcarofamerica.com/for...tml#post319087) you probably know that I was offered the chance to test drive the BMS turbo mule today and to give Barney O my sincere opinion on his set up....
...let me make it clear to all and tell you the same thing I told Barney when he offered the test drive..."friendship is friendship but business is business"...he understood that and I drove to Terre Haute for the drive...

..Barney has been a motor head all of his life ...drag racing since the mid '70's in a 66 Chevelle..later he had a red 5k lbs Cadillac going low 13's on the 1/4 mile and a PINK3300 lbs Cadillac going low 7's for the 1/4 ...and all of these cars had some kind of forced air intake...

..the mule...is a stock '09 Pasion with 3k miles ( IMO not enough miles to consider it broken in) that he purchased as the test bed for this project..

...the turbo..is a made in Japan RHB32 supplied by IHI index ,the same turbo used on the 1L Chevrolet Sprint, the Pontiac Firefly and others, with a stock waste gate (not trimmed) with what some people call "boost creep" for the top end with an output of 7-8 lbs of boost...

...as we talked about the set up during lunch I told him I will have to post the pros's and con's of the drive and he quickly stated that one of the con's that may turn some people off from the built was the lack of catalytic converter on the test mule...he also said that he was still working on that issue ...

..we left together for a drop off site for my car...as we got on the road I thought I could keep up with him and quickly realised that there was no way to stay up with the mule...the factory muffler outlet blew the small, loose sand leaving a cloud for me to go through...
...as I started the car I could not tell any difference on noise level ...pulling from the parking lot in auto mode it was easy to see that this was going to be a fun ride...first gear came and went in the blink of an eye and not even half way into second I had the stop sign coming at me the same way...
..the lack of a tach made it harder for me to find the sweet spot for manual mode... so... auto it was for a while..found our way to the interstate and made it to 75mph with ease...every gear pull had the typical rocking motion of the Pasion but with a kick that was effortless...
...fifth gear a 70mph feels like my Brabus on fourth gear at 4500 rpm..passing and accelerating to 90 mph made me laugh...no "wait for it"..no lag..no worries about who's coming before I switch lanes...I just pressed the go pedal and hoped the rev limiter took a break because I was there in no time flat..by now my head was busy trying to think off an excuse to tell the highway finest the reason of my speeding...
...back in town and with a new feel of what this baby could do it was time to play...not soon enough these country boys in a Saturn asked something or said something about the car...I was feeling invincible, rolled the window down and asked them if they wanted to race...they laughed ..but I knew he was about to step on the gas and put me in my place...getting into second gear was a bit more than I was expecting..the pull was hard and straight ahead..no time to look behind...when in heavy boost mode I understood that I better be in watch out mode...things come out you faster than you think...waited for them at the light...some conversation took place and back on boost when the voices in my head screamed "green-green-green".....by now you get the picture...

..it is quiet..it is stupid fast..the simplicity makes it reliable..the low end torque will swing your head back

...the remove these components and bolt these components makes this set-up a 10..
..the remove these wires and cut/splice these wires makes it a 6....but he's working on it to eliminate that step...

..I know that this set-up is not for everybody and it's not perfect but it sure is damn close to it...


jetfuel...sorry Barney if I scared you with my driving habits...the turbo made me do it...
..

[mvaldes]

If ever a review made me consider, no, want a turbo on my little smart, this is it. Barney, when you're finished with development, how do you plan on distributing it?

[nonuro]

I want this! When it's ready I hope the moon and stars align so I can do it.And Jet -how do you get around the country so much?

[jetfuel]

Originally Posted by nonuro

Jet -how do you get around the country so much?

..jet planes..but now I wish I had a turbo smart

[BARNEY O]

Originally Posted by mvaldes

If ever a review made me consider, no, want a turbo on my little smart, this is it. Barney, when you're finished with development, how do you plan on distributing it?

I would like to have things lined out by the KC nationals but as anyone knows time flies by so quickly. I want to offer up a kit that is a "10" in all aspect's. I always get so mad when I buy stuff that has to be altered to fit or work. As JET pointed out we have a couple of sticking points and I'm sure the engineers will come up with a solution .

BARNEY O. "BMS'' www.barnesmachineshopllc.com

[Wdhitch]

And now I'm salivating more.... and Jenn's gonna kill me....

Wouldn't it be horrible if I had to install one of these on my car at OTD.... yeah... it could be a group project.


Hitch.... where do I sign???

[jetfuel]

let me clarify something here...after reading my long post it was obvious to me that I might off placed a rating on this set-up that it was not warranted...
..the rating of a 10 is for the ease of installation...the use of the original air intake/filter box is just a big plus..the mule is even running a paper filter...can't imagine what it will be like with an after market element...
...the exhaust manifold installation leading to the turbo and the turbo hook up is a no brain-er..
...the oil feed and return line are nothing more than a remove and install deal..
...the turbo exhaust flange to the stock muffler coupling is just that..put in place and secure ...the stock muffler can be improved by the use of many of the after market deals offered by the many vendors in here, something I already have, only just because it will be nice to hear something during hard acceleration...my Brabus is twice if not three times louder than the test car..
..the rating of 6 was for the electronics portion only of this built...not an issue for someone with some knowledge of how not to let the smoke out off the wires...
...all in all this built is an easy on easy off if you consider yourself a tool guy...

Barney...thanks for the opportunity to test drive your dream and filling my head with one.

jetfuel...where's my piggy bank at?

[fastturb]

thanks for the full write-up and congrats to BMS on the results.

I have been (or at least one of) the person(s) concerned about keeping the cat. We have emissions testing and inspections in PA every year except if you have less than 5K miles for a year. BUT I am going to to see if I can learn more about how this kit may pass (not visual of course) without a cat. Older cars still go through sniffler test but the ODB II cars just get a hook up and I really wonder what the state is looking for to say pass/fail. more to come...

the other point I'd like to confirm, since I have tried to follow this build/experiment, is that the current mule is NOT running a torque strap or new engine mount and does NOT have the TCM or ECU re-maps. Is this right? Both of these changes, with the current upgrades, should make this little screamer rip your head off

[BARNEY O]

Fastturb, This Passion is bone stock except for the BMS-IHI turbo system , electronics and injectors.
The stats I put in your thread are correct and there is more potential.
I can't begin to imagine what Larry's ride is like,but I assure you this mule will light up anybody's face. I really don't see the need to go farther in performance at this time as everyone can experiment with their own mufflers,motormounts,CAI's,etc. and can only improve on what we have baselined on a stock Smart.

BARNEY O.

[tbone28]

Very interested! So this will work with my Brabus exhaust?