Julian Edgar, 50, has been writing about car modification and automotive technology for nearly 25 years. He has owned cars with two, three, four, five, six and eight cylinders; single turbo, twin turbo, supercharged, diesel and hybrid electric drivelines. He lists his transport interests as turbocharging, aerodynamics, suspension design and human-powered vehicles.
Giving up….
I made the decision at 4 am. Or perhaps a little after, in fact. Lying awake in bed I realised – with the startling clarity than only predawn ratiocination can bring – the project on which I had been spending every free hour for more than four weeks was a disaster. Well, not a disaster, but it didn’t meet the criteria that I had (retrospectively!) laid out for it.
So rather than going on, it was better to stop.
It was ironic. Every single aspect that I had expected to cause problems was working superbly. The belt tensioner, the blower mount (which had also become the new right-hand engine mount), the intercooling and the engine management. Even the hybrid control system had coped with the increased engine output like it was, well, made for it. There was no detonation and the standard injectors had enough capacity to flow the required extra fuel.
In short, the positive displacement supercharger that I’d fitted to my ’99 Toyota Prius – making it the world’s first supercharged, intercooled, petrol/electric car – worked brilliantly.
Except for one aspect.