Go to your native “automobiles and low” meetup and ask round about engine swaps. You’ll possible discover one one who dropped an LS1 right into a Mazda Miata to get loopy horsepower-to-weight numbers and one other one who put an SR20DET in an outdated Datsun for comparable efficiency causes. What you most likely gained’t discover is a automotive with a tiny diesel engine supposed for farming and building tools. That’s why we’re so titillated by Robotic Cantina’s ongoing quest to swap a Honda Perception engine for a little bit 719cc Kubota diesel engine.
This can be a first-generation (ZE1) Honda Perception that already got here with an itty bitty 1.0L three-cylinder gasoline engine from the manufacturing unit as a part of the hybrid electrical drivetrain (the primary in a manufacturing automotive in North America). The ZE1 was very gradual, but in addition extremely environment friendly. Due to the hybrid drivetrain and aerodynamic streamlining, it may obtain 61mpg (US gallons) on the freeway — considerably higher than the 41mpg of the first-gen Toyota Prius that may hit the market a couple of months later.
Robotic Cantina determined that the ZE1 can be the proper platform for his or her swap, as a result of the brand new Kubota diesel engine has a displacement of simply 719cc and doesn’t produce sufficient energy to maneuver a heavier, much less aerodynamic automobile round safely on public roads. They initially put this engine in an outdated Saturn SC, however that automobile was falling aside and proved to be extra trouble than it was value. So now they’re within the means of placing that engine within the Honda Perception.
Mounting the engine was simple, as it is rather small and the ZE1’s engine bay has loads of room for it. Robotic Cantina paired the Kubota engine with the transmission from the Saturn, which had extra appropriate gear ratios than the Perception’s transmission.
This Kubota engine is supposed for grunt work, so it could run with little or no digital sophistication. However Robotic Cantina needed the Perception to carry out effectively with out spewing enormous clouds of black smog everywhere. That led them to the creation of a DIY ECU (engine management unit) for managing the engine.
Robotic Cantina created this ECU utilizing an Arduino Uno Rev3 board. The one actual enter is the TPS (throttle place sensor), which tells the ECU how far the motive force is pushing the accelerator pedal. In response, the Arduino adjusts two issues: the turbo enhance valve and the gas rack limiter. These work collectively to affect the air-fuel combination, which is vital for effectivity and efficiency. The Arduino is ready to bodily make the changes utilizing stepper motors.
The driving force can use a pair of potentiometer knobs to regulate the enhance and rack values manually, however Robotic Cantina’s objective is to give you an algorithm that lets the ECU set values robotically primarily based on throttle place for optimum effectivity. This can be a lengthy course of, so make sure to comply with alongside on the Robotic Cantina YouTube channel.