reducing drivetrain losses
 

Ok, bit of a weird one, and possibly quite a hefty subject to ask about, but what the heck !

How can you reduce drivetrain losses? Or allow the car to pull easier above 80mph without going for more power mods?

Initial thoughts of mine were:

Lightened flywheel and pulley sets
lightweight alloys
light propshaft - something maybe half the weight?

Would any of this "aid" in getting the power down to the road better due to less resistance as such? It was just a random thought of mine, as I'm pretty sure a 230bhp FWD car would keep with a 300bhp Scooby after say 80mph, or there would be very little in it. So any ideas folks?

Regards

ScoobyDoo69

think your barking up the wrong tree, maybe 230bhp fwd is about the same past 80mph as 300bhp scooby but only on the straight (motorway for example) around the streets and off the mark my money on the scooby even with less bhp , fwd with 230bhp is always gonna be struggling for grip

barking up the wrong tree? lol
I'm not actually, I'm mearly talking about straightline acceleration, off the mark rarely happens in the real world.

the barking up the wrong tree was about the lighter flywheel/prop etc , for the effort performace differance would be very hard to see on its own

Trouble is that there is inherently a lot of frictional loss in a 4wd system. Good lubricants may help a little.

Reduce rotating mass, i.e. wheels, discs, prop, driveshafts, flywheel, crankpulley... it all helps the response! Probably most cost effective to have more power though! ;)

A 230 BHP FWD car with similar weight and aero will not stick with a 300 BHP AWD car. The losses on many rolling roads are grossly exaggerated and are due to tyre deformation and double contact patches.

Based on accelerometer testing a 300 BHP Scooby probably puts about 250 WHP, and a 230 BHP FWD car about 200 WHP.

Just to add to the debate..

Things like lightened flywheels, pullies, wheels etc take some inertia out of the drivetrian, so will aid response / acceleration - but will it reduce drivetrain losses? I don't think so. The way I see it is the losses is the energy lost through noise and heat, caused by friction of gear teeth, bearings, oil etc.

So a car at a certain rpm at a certain speed will have the same drivetrain losses - i.e. PAW irrespective of lightened components, however the car with the lightened components should get to that speed quicker.

Bang for buck though I think its more cost effective to raise the power rather than reduce drivetrain inertia - a carbon prop is usually last on the list :)

Ok so what you are saying is also light pistons, hollow cams, light rods all make no difference in reducing the loss of power due to the resistance of Centrifugal force?

So why make the motor light ?

The same principle applys, if you pick up a brick with a meassuered force and with the same force you pick up a lighter brick the time it takes will be less to reach the same point, but you will also use less energy doing so……..

The idear of two cars traveling the same speed one with lightend “Bits” and the other without having the same drivetran loses yes, but as you said the car with the light bits will be able to make up that speed quicker. So surley from what you have said it is a benefit to do this and that benefit comes from increased power due to the light “Bits” reducing the amount of energy lost. Or am I missing something? :)

yeah think you are missing it lighter may be quicker but lets face it a mildly tuned scoob would be quicker than the car thats lost abit ov weight and wots with the bold print is that you raising your voice in text

No i am not raising my voice , i didnt realise the text was that large !

Indeed.

In my experience, transmission loss difference between 4WD and FWD don't count for nearly as much as some would have you to believe on the road.

The critical bit being the "on the road" part. :D

Ns04