land-speed scooter!

I've always wanted to participate in the land-speed-record runs - to have an excuse to watch 'em - but I don't really feel like spending huge amounts and running at ludicrous speeds. So I thought, "Huh, I wonder what the 50cc class looks like?" Turns out it's only 67mph.

P'shah! I can do better than that! My 50cc scooter (when it was only 49cc, that is) was able to run nearly 50mph in stock trim... what would a turbo (or nitrous) do for that? Well, nothing responds as well to turbocharging as a 2-stroke engine, usually boosting power by 50% (though absolutely ruining fuel economy... as if that's a concern for a land-speed-record scooter!).

So I've been looking at eBay, and it seems there are a lot of tiny turbos out there for under a hundred bucks. A turbo would need to have pressurized oil, something a 2-stroke does not supply, so I'd also need an electric oil pump to keep it spinning.

Alternately, I could pipe in a hit of nitrous using a teeny-tiny nozzle squirting into the intake manifold. Say, a 5-10 horsepower hit when the engine reaches top RPM. This would be a pretty simple thing to set up and less likely to explode the engine than turbocharging a high-compression engine (though doing so works pretty reliably on small-displacement engines like those in motorcycles). Nitrous has the added advantage that it's only "on" when turned on, as opposed to a turbo.

Sounds like fun, no? The nice thing about aiming for a 70mph speed record is that it's pretty simple to test it on public roads *g*

So, gearheads: Ideas?

Best,
Chris

land-speed scooter!

I've always wanted to participate in the land-speed-record runs - to have an excuse to watch 'em - but I don't really feel like spending huge amounts and running at ludicrous speeds. So I thought, "Huh, I wonder what the 50cc class looks like?" Turns out it's only 67mph.

P'shah! I can do better than that! My 50cc scooter (when it was only 49cc, that is) was able to run nearly 50mph in stock trim... what would a turbo (or nitrous) do for that? Well, nothing responds as well to turbocharging as a 2-stroke engine, usually boosting power by 50% (though absolutely ruining fuel economy... as if that's a concern for a land-speed-record scooter!).

So I've been looking at eBay, and it seems there are a lot of tiny turbos out there for under a hundred bucks. A turbo would need to have pressurized oil, something a 2-stroke does not supply, so I'd also need an electric oil pump to keep it spinning.

Alternately, I could pipe in a hit of nitrous using a teeny-tiny nozzle squirting into the intake manifold. Say, a 5-10 horsepower hit when the engine reaches top RPM. This would be a pretty simple thing to set up and less likely to explode the engine than turbocharging a high-compression engine (though doing so works pretty reliably on small-displacement engines like those in motorcycles). Nitrous has the added advantage that it's only "on" when turned on, as opposed to a turbo.

Sounds like fun, no? The nice thing about aiming for a 70mph speed record is that it's pretty simple to test it on public roads *g*

So, gearheads: Ideas?

Best,
Chris