Turbocharged Brabus Smart it is so much FUN! - Smart Car of America Forums : Smart Car Forum

tjspyder · 07-25-2009, 11:18 AM

We were in Paris last month on vacation and saw so many Smart cars, they were so cool so when we came back to San Francisco went directly to the Smart dealership test drove one and purchased a black Brabus Smart car.

The car is so cool but I wanted more power. I did a little googling and found this great forum with lots of information and a strong community. I found the threads on turbocharging and I was quite intrigued but had lots of questions. I contacted LittoDevil who is also in San Francisco he agreed to meet me and let me drive his turbocharged Smart. OMG after driving his car I was hooked! It was so quick and fun to drive it was like a big go kart. That day I gave him a deposit and had him order the SpeedForce Racing stage 2 turbo kit.

In addition to the normal installation of the kit I asked Larry to do a custom install of an adjustable boost controller into the clock pod. As a dentist I am very meticulous and attention to detail is very important in everything I do, Larry's installation did not disappoint! I visited his garage when he was 3/4 of the way finished and took some pictures which I will post at the bottom. I was so impressed by Larry's incredible detail and care. The wiring and custom fabrication was awesome.

Driving the car with the turbo is so FUN! I am so excited! When the boost comes on, such a great push and a huge improvement in drivability. Second and third gears are especially strong. I really love the car now. So if you are thinking about turbocharging your car you won't be disappointed with the results!

Tom

tjspyder · 07-25-2009, 11:22 AM

Padawan · 07-25-2009, 11:47 AM

How has the turbo setup affected fuel economy?

tjspyder · 07-25-2009, 11:51 AM

I don't know yet as I just got the car back and have not run a full tank of gas thru it. The car has only 600miles on it total so far as it is 4 weeks old. I will post later when I have not been doing so many full throttle runs

SmartJoeMN · 07-25-2009, 12:19 PM

I have to ask, what good does that intercooler do when there is no air going over it?

LittoDeviL · 07-25-2009, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmartJoeMN

I have to ask, what good does that intercooler do when there is no air going over it?

There are two fans that is shoving a total of 460 cubic feet of air per minute thru the intercooler. It's not as efficient as an air to air intercooler mounted to the front of the vehicle but it keeps the air temp from sky rocketing to 278 degrees. That 278 is not a made up number... I've gotten mines up to 250 and Tom has gotten it up to 278 without fans on it. With the two fans it brings it down to an average of 130-150 degrees.

I'm almost done with my water to air intercooler to hopefully create it as an add on to the turbo kit.

Larry

John_H · 07-25-2009, 03:03 PM

Quite the flow rate! You have about 4x the air going through the intercooler as you have going into the engine (at under 15psi boost). Those temps appear to be quite impressive (to someone who only ever used, never installed intercoolers).

Big Panda · 07-25-2009, 03:12 PM

What a 'cute little turbo' unit!!!

**jwight** · 07-26-2009, 06:11 AM

That is very, very cool - and the Ferrari is nice too.

Larry, three words for you - Kansas City installs.

tjspyder · 07-26-2009, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Padawan

How has the turbo setup affected fuel economy?

I just filled up drove around 150 miles in the city and some highway 2/3-1/3 hwy and got 27mpg. But still since it is new I had a slightly heavy foot. What real world mpg values have people been getting. I very happy since I'm used to getting 6-8 mpg with my other 12 cylinder car......