*** Spam *** Re: Need a source for a CDI kit

[Robert E. Seastrom]

"Mike O'Dell" <mo at ccr.org> writes:

> the "Smart" engine has the highest power-to-weight
> ratio of any Diesel in existence and is one complex little
> bugger. the injectors fire multiple microbursts - not just
> one big SQUIRT - with the timing and number, as well as fuel
> volume, of each microburst tuned across the operating
> range of the engine.

That's a hallmark of just about all of the current generation of the
common rail engines (see VW TDI, Mercedes Bluetec).  Level of
sophistication varies a lot of course; the TDI has been around for
almost a decade so you wouldn't expect it to be quite as awesome as
the Bluetec which is just now starting its day in the sun.  Indeed,
things have come a long way since my 1980 Rabbit Diesel.

So here's the Big Question: why aren't we getting these with the Smart
ForTwos that are coming in next year?  This is the *only* car that has
gotten me even the least bit excited in recent years (I've borrowed
one in Europe - I actually *fit* height wise which is no mean feat for
a tiny car and simply not doable in, for instance, a Prius.

Can't be that hard to get one past the EPA...

> of course it's measuring external air
> pressure, boost pressure, external air temp and post-
> aftercooler air temp so it can modulate the waste gate
> and control the engine exhaust gas temp.  a bigger version
> of the engine will not have a camshaft - the valves will
> be directly driven with solenoids.

this is just cool.

> the days of the purely mechanical "it won't stop as long
> as it's got fuel" Diesel are numbered with an 8-bit integer.

Even the current versions of the venerable Cummins B are pretty
sophisticated these days.

                                        ---rob