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Engine Specific Info and Questions => Non VW Group Diesel => Topic started by: giulianot on January 30, 2008, 11:31:33 am

Title: smart car tuning
Post by: giulianot on January 30, 2008, 11:31:33 am
Does anyone know where to get a chip and injectors for a canadian diesel smart car in ontario? thanks
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: burn_your_money on January 30, 2008, 12:08:16 pm
ebay
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: bevboyy on January 30, 2008, 03:25:42 pm
Why though? there is only so much you can expect to get out of a 3 cyl TD.......
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: burn_your_money on January 30, 2008, 03:28:54 pm
That's what the 6 cyl guys say about our 4 bangers :lol:
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: 1slowvw on January 30, 2008, 09:15:56 pm
Quote from: "burn_your_money"
That's what the 6 cyl guys say about our 4 bangers :lol:


Haha, thats great.
But seriously I have heard that with the right tunning those cars will move along quite smartly.

1SlowVW
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: burn_your_money on January 30, 2008, 09:53:53 pm
The one I drove was chipped and had a K&N, it was pretty peppy, but I never drove a stock one so it might have been crazy fast by smart standards
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: Katmandu on March 09, 2008, 11:43:58 am
Quote from: "burn_your_money"
The one I drove was chipped and had a K&N, it was pretty peppy, but I never drove a stock one so it might have been crazy fast by smart standards
What MPG do those things achieve ?
Title: there is hope for a smart car
Post by: vixentd on March 09, 2008, 09:52:07 pm
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/240685/smart_car_vs_ferrari/
Title: Re: there is hope for a smart car
Post by: burn_your_money on March 10, 2008, 07:27:24 am
That one probably is a gas engine and probably a swap.

The stock transmissions shift like a bag of crap, there is probably a solid 1 second delay between shifts.
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: jimfoo on March 10, 2008, 07:34:43 am
Quote from: "Katmandu"
Quote from: "burn_your_money"
The one I drove was chipped and had a K&N, it was pretty peppy, but I never drove a stock one so it might have been crazy fast by smart standards
What MPG do those things achieve ?

The Smart ForTwo's big selling point is going to be fuel economy. For the current version, the company estimates a combined city/highway fuel mileage of about 40 miles per gallon, according to DaimlerChrysler. (The 60 mpg figure sometimes reported is for the diesel-engine version.)

So not really much if any better than a TDI with twice the room.
Title: Re: there is hope for a smart car
Post by: OM617 on March 12, 2008, 12:13:32 am
Quote from: "burn_your_money"
The stock transmissions shift like a bag of crap, there is probably a solid 1 second delay between shifts.


No kidding. I test drove a Zap "federalized" version and I was not impressed one bit by it.

Cheap plastic everywhere.
VERY slow (Slower than a stock MB 300D).
Horrible transmission.
Not at all efficient for its size, weight and engine displacement..
Not safe to drive because of all the pickups/SUVs running around.
Not fun to drive.
Embarrassing/homosexual to be seen in one.
EXTREMELY over hyped.

The Zap converted one I test drove a few years ago was also for sale. It was a midrange model demo vehicle with 800 miles. They wanted, get this, $30,000 for it! :shock:

There is no way anyone should willingly pay more than $10,000 for one of those sacks of sh!t with wheels.

The upcoming americanized (porked out) version is even worse. Mitsubishi  1.0L non-turbo engine, bigger dimensions, heavier, slower, and even lower economy. The only saving grace of the ForTwo was it's turbocharged Mercedes engine. With that out of the picture its a complete piece of junk.

Quote
The Smart ForTwo's big selling point is going to be fuel economy. For the current version, the company estimates a combined city/highway fuel mileage of about 40 miles per gallon

Think about it, 40mpg in a vehicle that small is terrible. The 2007 Toyota Corolla gets 32/40mpg and the 2007 Honda Civic with a 1.3L gets 49/51mpg. Hell, a Mercedes 240D can get 32mpg in a vehicle 5 times the ForTwo's weight!

I just don't understand it. A vehicle that small, light and weak should be getting 60-80mpg at the least. What makes it so inefficient that 40mpg is all it can do?
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: jtanguay on March 12, 2008, 04:31:29 am
its a conspiracy... i bet the major oil companies are the ones pushing this vehicle  :lol:

i remember seeing a commercial for the dodge caliber... "surprisingly fuel efficient" 32 mpg.... wow i'm so... unimpressed!  yet some will still believe it is 'efficient' due to the commercial.  oil companies win again!

i've heard of Geo Metro's getting 80 mpg with some mods... :roll:
Title: Re: there is hope for a smart car
Post by: burn_your_money on March 12, 2008, 05:21:24 am
Quote from: "OM617"


Cheap plastic everywhere.
VERY slow (Slower than a stock MB 300D).
Not safe to drive because of all the pickups/SUVs running around.
Not fun to drive.
Embarrassing/homosexual to be seen in one.


I'll argue these points.

The one I was in was leather
it was pretty quick, somewhere between a NA and a TD mk2 (quick is relative
:lol: )
I think they are safe
I had fun
I don't find them embarrassing in any way
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: jimfoo on March 12, 2008, 06:46:47 am
But I imagine OM617 did his test drive in Colo at 6000' elevation. That's a lot less air for an NA Diesel, so a lot less power than at sea level.
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: burn_your_money on March 12, 2008, 08:47:13 am
The one I was in was also modded
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: Vincent Waldon on March 12, 2008, 09:03:59 am
Quote from: "burn_your_money"
The one I was in was also modded


The conversation I keep having is that for the amount of money spent on a single Smart car I could buy a couple of diesel NA Golfs and a lifetime's worth of diesel for both of them.   With a little tuning they can get pretty great mileage, space for 4 people, the dog, groceries... parts are likely way cheaper, and almost as easy to park.  

Not as much of a chick magnet, admittedly.    :wink:
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: burn_your_money on March 12, 2008, 09:07:38 am
The only reason I would buy one would be to put the engine in a 4 wheeler or something of the likes
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: OM617 on March 17, 2008, 03:12:31 am
Quote from: "jimfoo"
But I imagine OM617 did his test drive in Colo at 6000' elevation. That's a lot less air for an NA Diesel, so a lot less power than at sea level.


It was a turbo g@sser so elevation shouldn't matter once the turbo kicks in.
Title: Re: smart car tuning
Post by: malone on March 28, 2008, 05:54:25 am
Quote from: "giulianot"
Does anyone know where to get a chip and injectors for a canadian diesel smart car in ontario? thanks


RedRotors (www.mikrotuning.com) might be able to tune Smarts, but he's in Quebec.

Other chip tuners like Unitronic or Upsolute may be in your area.
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: myke_w on April 21, 2008, 10:55:51 am
Quote from: "jimfoo"

the company estimates a combined city/highway fuel mileage of about 40 miles per gallon, according to DaimlerChrysler. (The 60 mpg figure sometimes reported is for the diesel-engine version.)

So not really much if any better than a TDI with twice the room.


Damn skippy, my wife's mk3 alh with pp520's just returned a 49.5 mpg average and that's combined :shock:

That's the first tank after a rering too.

No way you'd get me in a car on our roads when I can get great mileage out of a way larger, way roomier, way safer car.

OTOH, if I lived in Europe...
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: molgrips on October 27, 2008, 02:02:55 am
The Smart diesel in the UK is rated at 84 UK mpg or 71 US mpg in the combined cycle in the UK Govt tests, which is typically comparable with what you might get in real driving (at least, it has been in the cars I've owned, with a combination of city and town driving).  It's also rated at 90g/km CO2, which makes it the lowest CO2 emitting car on the road, by a good 10%.

That beats the crap out of even modern VW group diesels I'm afraid.  Sure, you can get say 55 uk mpg out of a Skoda Octavia, which is way bigger, but if you want max fuel economy then the Smart is a great place to start.

And don't think that small = unsafe.  That's not the case.

PLUS in addition to the engine emissions being the lowest around, the car takes very little energy to actually make.  Which means that it's probably the greenest car going by a long way.

Having said that, I haven't seen the HC, NOx and SO2 emission figures :)
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: OM617 on October 27, 2008, 04:27:38 am
Its definitely NOT a "green" car since its a throwaway piece of junk not built to last.
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: jtanguay on October 27, 2008, 05:43:18 am
well just get a vw lupo and enjoy 80 mpg or so...  probably wayyyyyyyyyy cheaper at the same time  :wink:
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: zukgod1 on October 27, 2008, 06:49:36 am
Quote from: "burn_your_money"
The one I was in was also modded



Oh see, the truth comes out.  8)
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: molgrips on October 31, 2008, 04:07:45 am
Its definitely NOT a "green" car since its a throwaway piece of junk not built to last.

Evidence of this?  It's made by that well known crap car manufacturer, Mercedes.

probably wayyyyyyyyyy cheaper at the same time

No, they're not.  Smart are cheaper and more economical - sorry!
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: zukgod1 on October 31, 2008, 08:39:33 am
Those damn Smart cars are selling for $25k + here...

not a chance in hell. I'll go get a new TDI for $30k and haul the fam in comfort.



I do really like the Smarts though. It's a really good idea the we need.
If there is even just a few people that jump in one of those vs a huge SUV there will be some Green savings somewhere.

We as die hard TD guys have an unfair advantage though. We are mostly used to 40+mpg where as most of the US (and other countries?) are used to the low 20's..
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: molgrips on October 31, 2008, 11:53:05 am
They're £9k here, for the nice one, £7k for the basic one - those are list prices for the petrols.

For that kind of money you could have got the Smart roadster - brilliant car.  Basically a go cart with a roof.
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: clbanman on November 02, 2008, 02:42:43 pm
http://cambridge.kijiji.ca/c-ViewAd?AdId=84432870
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: houseofdiesel on November 05, 2008, 08:14:09 am
Real driving fuel economy for the diesel 450 (first gen) is 80-90mpg (3L/100km range), 100mpg is very easy. I can get 3L/100km out of an old worn out TDI Passat, however going much slower. The smart gets about 25% better economy over a manual tdi (scan guage reports), almost 50% better then our automatic tdi...our smart only has 5000kms so far, can't wait for it to break in and get some real fuel economy.
Yes the plastic is cheap, but so are most new cars out there. It doesn't ride all that great on rough roads, but it does corner and handle very well, and winter traction is awesome! Will it last, why not everything is plastic and the entire underbody is covered with plastic so I don't think rust will be an issue and it is very well sprayed too. We'll see, I am hoping for minimum 500 000kms...
Title: smart car tuning
Post by: molgrips on November 06, 2008, 01:50:14 am
I'd like to see how that goes houseofdiesel.

I dunno if you'll have this issue though but a mate of mine has a petrol Smart, must be about 5 years old now, and it uses these metric tyre sizes that are hard to get over here and are hence about £150 each for a tiny tyre!

Smart is a great thing I reckon.  The industry needs innovation even if the original idea doesn't work out.  Other manufacturers have had to respond to the Smart both in terms of engineering and innovations for the driver and passengers (not things that the US car industry is very good at!) which has given rise to stuff like the Fiat 500 and so on.

Bring on the electric Smart, I say :)