Smart goes to the 1/4 mile

[jetfuel]

Originally Posted by GHammerly

Tell her this makes the smart get 70 MPG, deal with reality later

man...what will we do without friends...working on it...

jetfuel......pants on fire..

[GHammerly]

Got the tube insulated, got a scangage to see the intake temps. Jet?
Tuesday to the dragstrip for back to back stock intake versus new fabricated intake.

[GHammerly]

Chance for scattered thunderstorms tomorrow so weather permitting I'll be at ORP/ IRP to dyno test the OEM and fabricated intakes. If any of the local smarts want to invade the drag strip, come on over at 5 pm Tuesday. If some one would be kind enough to let me use their Scangauge it would be greatly appreciated, I want to meassure intake temperatures.

[pmolink]

I know where you can get some nifty gold foil that might gain you a degree or two.

[GHammerly]

Good and bad news.
The bad: The intake tube I made hurt performance a little bit, it's only one or two tenths of a second slower on average compared to the factory intake tube. I did not have something to read intake manifold air temperatures but I think the intake tube I made is transferring too much heat from the hot engine compartment in to the intake air.
I also tested a drop in air filter (BPP power flow), together with the fabricated intake it netted times close to the best I had from previous all stock tests.
The good: Swapping to the stock intake tube together with the BPP air filter helped drop the times to the 19.5's, the previous best times where in the 19.6 second range. A low 19.5 at 79 F, so I opened the engine cover to let things cool down and waited to do a couple more runs in cooler conditions just before they close.
My last run at 75 F ambient got 19.414 with the BPP, factory intake tube, full tank of gas, 35/40 PSI tire pressures, and the usual stuff I carry in the car. That is the fastest 1/4 mile run for my smart so far.

[jwight]

Remember that BPP post from many moons ago? So far, the stock intake setup with a less restrictive drop in filter seems to give the best results (I know the full CAI guys will disagree with this )

[BARNEY O]

Originally Posted by GHammerly

Good and bad news.
The bad: The intake tube I made hurt performance a little bit, it's only one or two tenths of a second slower on average compared to the factory intake tube. I did not have something to read intake manifold air temperatures but I think the intake tube I made is transferring too much heat from the hot engine compartment in to the intake air.
I also tested a drop in air filter (BPP power flow), together with the fabricated intake it netted times close to the best I had from previous all stock tests.
The good: Swapping to the stock intake tube together with the BPP air filter helped drop the times to the 19.5's, the previous best times where in the 19.6 second range. A low 19.5 at 79 F, so I opened the engine cover to let things cool down and waited to do a couple more runs in cooler conditions just before they close.
My last run at 75 F ambient got 19.414 with the BPP, factory intake tube, full tank of gas, 35/40 PSI tire pressures, and the usual stuff I carry in the car. That is the fastest 1/4 mile run for my smart so far.

I can't help but grin following this thread. I would hate to guess how much money I"ve blown on ideas to make more power. More air will not make more power without more fuel, unless it was too rich to begin with.
With any engine there is an air/fuel ratio to maintain to keep the motor happy.
When this ratio becomes upset, the result is usually loss of power.
If you are able to remap the fuel curve in the brainbox you probably can see results from your duct work project.But, injector size may limit gains
also.Overall, without a degree in Motorhead Science 2010 your probably
piss'in in the wind.

Best of Luck, Barney

[Padawan]

Originally Posted by jwight

Remember that BPP post from many moons ago? So far, the stock intake setup with a less restrictive drop in filter seems to give the best results (I know the full CAI guys will disagree with this )

What would probably be ideal is the new silicone intake tube from Smart Madness combined with a performance drop-in filter. This type of combination has been proven effective in late-model Porsches, so it's little surprise that it's effective on the smart.

I think I'll be ordering both once it's time to change my stock filter.

[jwight]

Not sure about that; Gus's design is a nice curve; the silicone hose designs have some (relatively) sharp bends at either end. So if Gus doesn't see an improvement with his setup I'm doubtful of the hoses doing any better.

[Padawan]

Originally Posted by jwight

Not sure about that; Gus's design is a nice curve; the silicone hose designs have some (relatively) sharp bends at either end. So if Gus doesn't see an improvement with his setup I'm doubtful of the hoses doing any better.

Perhaps, but I'd wager that the power issue with Gus' intake has more to do with the material and its thermal characteristics (as he hypothesised) than with the shape. There are some other subtle factors that could be at play, such as overall diameter and length, but it would take lots and lots of dyno and temperature testing to sort it all out definitively.