[Vwdiesel] turbine cars

[Val Christian]

>     They were not at all loud, but whistled.

	They have more exhaust noise than similar power recip engines.


>     The engines were deemed impractical for mass production passenger car
> use.  The engines were incredibly expensive due to the close manufacturing
> tolerances, and the lack of compression deceleration raised concerns about

	The tolerance issue is probably the biggest factor.  I heard that
	another factor was fuel control.  Computations are cheap now,
	so fuel control is easy via microprocessor.  All the aviation
	turbines have a manual override for fuel, which is not
	computer enhanced, and requires a higher work load getting
	stablilized.

	In aviation, the power demand is ususally constant, and doesn't
	fluctuate much from a given setting (torque),

	I forget the correct term for a split turbine, but I understand
	that the torque near stall is the highest, and that stepped
	transmissions might not be necessary.  In other words, when
	you start rolling, you have the most torque.

	Idle fuel flow is high.


> braking adequacy and longevity. Transmitting power via raw thrust was, of
> course, impossible on the street without incinerating everything behind it,
> so hooking them up to transmissions was necessary and the engines
> overpowered and broke other powertrain components.  Unfortunately,
> ultra-high revving turbines and acceleration off idle aren't an ideal match,
> and fuel consumption in urban traffic, as well as fuel availability was an
> issue.  Finally, servicing the engines would have exceeded the capabilities
> of the dealers.  In short, after the Indy trials, they were judged to be

	I agree that servicing is an issue.  Then again perhaps dealers
	are getting better at dealing with turbocharged diesels, with
	electronic engine controllers.  But I guess that ultimately
	there are enough people smart enough to be trained to service
	them.


> impractical. To my knowledge, that's become conventional wisdom; perhaps
> it's time to challenge that.
>     But seeing Parnelli Jones whistle by in that orange STP special was
> unforgettable.
>     Scott Kair


	Very interesting story.  Thanks for sharing!

	-Val