Engine swaps, Mpg focused Options

[r_towle]

Leave the SBC and flat6 conversions out of this.

Who has swapped a different engine into a 914?
Something Japanese, great mpg?

[914werke]

I think it was Len that suggested that a reconfigured 1.7L was the recipe..
Smaller displacement higher revving , better breathing ...

I look at my own hoopdee as an example: Ford Festiva - 0 aero! 1.3L, 1600#'s 14" narrow wheels (upgraded from 12") 200k, I drive like I stole it & it still gets 36-39mpg !

[Superhawk996]

I think it was Len that suggested that a reconfigured 1.7L was the recipe..
Smaller displacement higher revving , better breathing ...

I look at my hoopie a Ford Festiva - 0 aero! 1.3L, 1600#'s 14" narrow wheels (upgraded from 12") 200k, I drive like I stole it & it still gets 36-39mpg !

Even here the engine is only a piece of the secret sauce.

Smaller engine - check. sub 70 HP I think for the Festiva
Narrow, low inertia wheels, low rolling resistance tires - check

A big piece of the equation is the low weight -- 1600 seems low. Edmund's says 1800 but the point remains. The less weight . . the better.

So in addition to the comment to bbrock on making 1.7L more efficient with modern EFI (via incorporation of decel fuel shutoff) and better fuel control, weight reduction is the order of the day.

Rule of thumb on modern cars is that every 100 lbs of weight reduction is good for 1-2% fuel economy improvement. The problem is that a 914 is already starting off very light end of the automotive spectrum.

But you could do the easy stuff:
Do fiberglass hood & trunk
Get rid of all OEM tar
Get rid of rear bulkhead insulation / mass dampers both interior and exterior
Get rid of the back pad . . . and all carpet for that matter!
Get rid of all radio/stereo amps/speakers
Set of Oscar's GT style lightened hinges ( (IMG:style_emoticons/default/first.gif) )
Use 14" wheels (914/6 came on 14's -- Empi, etc. as 14" alternatives for /4's)
Use 911 aluminum front cross member
Use smaller Li-ion battery and deal with the potential disadvantages
GT style door pulls - eliminate door pockets & door cards
Glove box door - who needs one. Bin it
Shift knob -- bin it. Just grab the metal shift rod. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)
Seats -- can definitely put some lightening holes in the fiberglass shells.
Dash top and bottom cosmetics - appearance only - we're going for MPG here

Harder stuff:
Go ahead and have Titanium headers and muffler made (huge weight save over OEM)
Fabricate hollow Titanium engine cross bar instead of the cast iron OEM part
Fabricate Titanium intake system plenum / runners / airbox
You get the picture . . . .

Now that we have a bunch of weight out, now you can go back to those sub 100lb/in OEM springs and they will be plenty. Lower rate springs = less weight.

Might as well drill the rotors - we can get some weight out there too. Ditch the rotor backing plates / dust shields / fasteners too!

Starting to sound a lot like race car prep (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)


But no where in this are you going to take a 914 to some sort of 60 MPG miracle even with your best hypermiling tricks. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)