IN the latest Sport Compact Car magazine, they mention Maximas twice.

First, in the editors column, he talks about how he is riding in a turbo maxima to Texas. Later in Technobabble, they mention that JWT is prototyping a new type of forced induction called the Hydrachager...on an I30.

Just a heads up.

 

they must be talking about Krab's car about the HydroCharger..

 

how exactly does the hydrocharger work, what is it all about.

 

use water to cool the supercharger instead of oil

 

hmmm, sounds weird. so it's basically just a s/c nothing new or drastic or CHEAPER, damn.

 

Not quite. The way they explained it, it uses pump, driven off the engine, to apply hydraulic pressure to a very small turbine. This turbine drives a compressor for the intake air. The idea is that it has the instant boost of a supercharger, while maintaining the tunability and efficiency of a turbo.

 

ok then i guess they were not talking about Krab's car

 

"Slidevane technology comes hot on the heels of Garrett's recently introduced HydraCharger, which is an oil-driven turbo that permits a blower speed independent of engine rpm. The unit is currently designed for diesels but is adaptable to any engine and offers supercharger-like low-end response and excellent packaging advantages.

Garrett's rapid-fire technology introductions are part of a long-term strategy to unbalance competitors. A bit further down the road, the company is planning an electronic-assist turbocharger, which will spin the turbine electronically at low speeds to completely eliminate lag. Sources indicate BMW is the first to use it in the 2001 time frame."

 

hmmm, wonder if it will be less expensive than a s/c.

 

They had a picture of the 'turbocharged Maxima.' It was the JWT 5th gen. Nothing we haven't seen before in SCC and Motor Trend. Sorry guys. But on a positive note, I'm willing to bet the clutch is in much better shape, and that it can transfer more than 230-something fwhp.

The Hydrocharger sounds great. I remember reading the article in the April '99 SCC. It would cut down on a lot of extra belts and piping in the engine bay

 

I remember that article too, Black VQ. Very cool idea. I was wondering how long it would take before someone adapted it for a passenger car.

 

Hey guys,

My car is running a water Injection system. This uses a 125psi pump to inject a very fine water mist into the intake tract. This does 2 things for my ride, it further cools the intake air charge after the aftercooler and cools the combustion chamber for a cooler cleaner burn and this helps eliminate the dreaded detonation.
Jim's hydrocharger is something else altogether.

 

Maybe this is what BMW will use on the new Mini. There's already the 90hp Mini One and the 115hp Mini Cooper. In a year or so, there is going to be a force-fed 160hp Cooper S, and perhaps even a 200hp version called the Mini Alpha. I've seen two different British mags talking about the forced-induction version, and one says S/C, the other says turbo. Maybe it's both(sort of), meaning a Hydracharger.

A bit OT, but I heard that the new Mini isn't half bad. It handles pretty good, especially when you consider the 5.5 inch-wide tires.lol Most of the complaints were about the engine(not enough power for the weight), and the Cooper S should help a lot. I bet the BMW dealers will mark the Mini One up way over the $17k msrp.

 

i do too, maybe i will buy one

 

i wonder if you can use it with nos??

 

Got a pic of my car in the new SCC. Page 64, little pic with a caption about Stealin's open house. Green max in the pic on the right. Real tiny, no words, but hey, its in there!

 

Well by golly, there it is! Anyone else in that pic? I also see a white 3rd gen.

 

you mean the september one, i have the august one in front of me and don't see you, guess ill have to buy the next one. doh, subscription time.

 

Yeah, it's in the September one. Don't run out for it though, it's a really small pic and you can't even see all of my car. It's funny, for how many Max owners that showed up that day, they don't really mention us... oh well, stupid Stealin...