Alberick

I started a thread a while ago concerning an Electric turbo... Well, my mate came yesterday and he installed it on his 02 Almera 1.8 sport. The mechanic even installed him a button where he can switch it on or off...

I drove with him and the engine makes a noise which makes you feel like if the car has 200 bhp instead of the 115 standard...

So, some question for engine guru's : In the installation note it says that the "booster" has to be installed before the air filter OR behind the air filter but before the MAF....which I think is strange.
The unit is now installed BEHIND the MAF (and of course behind the air filter) which I think is the most logical way for this no??

Also, when driving and stopping the rpm drops about 1-200 rpm and in some cases the engine goes off completely when the unit is turned on....what could cause this? Maybe the air flow is now even more restricted than before and the engine looses power?
I suggested him to do a dyno run asap and also check if the car doesn't run dangerously lean or something....

richrussell

Revs are lowered because of the massive load on the alternator. Electric motors just aren't efficient enough to use as superchargers.

Rich

Alberick

I was thinking about that that this "Power Booster" puts a lot of load on the alternator, but how do you explain the engine stalling and evtl. going off completely?

dnb

Find anyone who's into car stereos in a big way, and they'll tell you that once you go beyond the power level an altenator will supply, you pull loads of current from the battery - hence there is a voltage drop and you lose spark. It doesn't take many "lost" sparks before a stall happens at low RPM.

Adam M

It doesnt just have to be a lost spark.

If you load an alternator, it becomes harder to turn, the more current you draw the greater the load ot puts on your engine.

If the thing is only idling, and you try to draw a load when it is developing no torque, you are more likely to stop the engine.

try sitting at idle, then put your air con, you head lights and then your main beams on, not to mention heated mirrors and windows, and watch what happens to your rpms.

dnb

It also needs a good control system - it clearly does more harm than good at idling RPM the way it's installed currently - there's no point in trying to generate boost pressure when there's no use for it - it just wastes fuel.

If all the motor is doing is sucking in air at one end and blowing ALL of it out the other, then it doesn't matter whether it's before or after the MAF or filter from the point of view of air monitoring.

If it's got dump valves/waste gates that mean the incoming air goes elsewhere other than out the "output" (whatever control it's got ) then it needs to be installed such that the MAF sees only the volume of air that finds it's way into the combustion chamber. No more and no less.

I suggest reading and attempting to understand the manufacturers instructions (I understand that sometimes this is not helpful in the slightest)

dnb

<off topic>

Adam - quite correct - it doesn't have to be a lost spark, but that was the worst case I could think of...

It happened to my old car when battery corrosion on the -ve terminal had created a 1 ohm resistor in series with the rest of the car electronics - no spark due to load.

</off topic>

Alberick

Thanks for all comments, so indeed the best solution to install it would be: Air Filter-Booster-MAF (which is also written in the installation instructions)
Currently it is installed Air Filter-MAF-Booster.
As I explained, the Nissan mechanic installed a switch to turn the unit unit on or off. When driving in the city (where the car idles a lot) it would surely be better to keep it turned off.

I'll keep you informed about the dyno result.....

StickyMicky

id bet that this electronic turbo is right inline with the air intake, which will cause the engine to lose power due to there being an obstruction

ive seen these kits b4 and all the ones i have seen have been total tosh

Alberick

thats quite possible, no matter if you put it in front/behind the MAF or Air filter, it's always in the way.

Guess the dyno run will tell it all, either the car has now 10 bhp more or 20 bhp less (easier to loose power on a car than to gain something)