How much fuel would something like that use?

 

You would have to use some form of external control to set output psi. Ours have a valve that limits output to 40psi max. Which means thats what they output, mind you this is a **** load of volume ( not filling no little *** 3" intercooler pipe here.) Personally I think its a waste of time, sorry Jules..... JMO. Do you know how to work on one? Ever price parts for one? How are you going to start it? They can be a PITA.

 

I work on c17's (large military aircraft) and work on APU's daily. Their very loud, very very pricey, and would be pretty tough to setup on a vehicle. After you look over the disadvantages it makes a turbo kit look extremely simple and much more efficient.

 

I like to see people thinking. It sounds like I good idea. The problem is with all forced induction systems is heat. When you compress air it creates heat, and that is what needs to be avoided. The key to any FI system is to efficiently move the desired amount of air by creating less heat. That is why there are so many different turbo, and supercharger sizes out there.

I have thought quite a bit about a very large container of air at a very high pressure to supply an engine for a short amount of time. An onboard compressor would supply the tank either between runs or while cruising down the road. When you want to make power, you would use the now cooled pressurized supply of air to feed the engine. The air would be very cool so there would be no need for an intercooler. This is just one of those little things I have thought of and never really put any time in it. Stuff like this runs through my mind all the time.

 

question for everyone..

I know heat is always an issue..has anyone tried using some type of vortex tube to introduce cold air into the system?

A project I worked on when I had my internship was to cool down molds for plastic pallets. We tried using a bunch of vortex tubes. They run off compressed air. It is a tube that spins the air and one end the air comes out super cooled, as low as -50*F, and on the other end up to 200*F. They run off 80-100 psi..could you put something like this in a system to make the air coming into the motor super cooled? You would need an air compressor and tank, but during high/extended boost you could introduce the super cooled air for more power?

http://www.exair.com/en-US/Primary%2...ng%20Home.aspx

 

Those things use a lot of air. They are only used where there is an almost unlimited air supply. Yeah, only 100 psi, but check the cfm. To lower the temperature of 1000 cfm or more of air from 200° F or more to 70° F or less, would take very many BTUs, to do it continuously.

 

If you could get enough of that cooled air into the engine, it could potentially increase performance. Again, you'd need a large supply of compressed air.

 

Why not cut out the middle man and have a high discharge electric motor to put power directly to the wheels for 45 seconds? The Dodge Aspen SUV hybrids (fancy Durango) do exactly this through the transfer case. Electric motors on the front wheels of a 2wd truck would make launches interesting.

 

I've had an idea like that, except it wouldn't use a battery. When I was in the AF they brought out this new standby power system to allow access to missile launch facilities in case the site lost all power. It was over-engineered as hell, likely the brainchild of some bored engineers. Basically its a massive disk magnet suspended in a vacuum that stores kinetic energy with tens of thousands of RPMs waiting for a load to be connected to the coils surrounding the disk. It essentially creates a huge electron pump with a ridiculous amount of current capacity. Paired up with the proper set of electric motors and a good way to get it to the ground, you could theoretically accelerate the motors under load to max RPM instantaneously. Of course heat generation in the circuit becomes an issue with that much current, but you get the idea....lots of quick power. Its not forced induction but its a formula for going fast...this is what happens when you let gearheads brainstorm

 

I've been wondering why flywheels fell out of favor in the hybrid vehicle race. They make a lot more sense than batteries.