What I find amazing is just how rare the sort of thinking that lead too my example is these days and how many people will agrue that electric waterpumps move more water. Same folks who really truely believe hybrids are a good idea. They do not understand that every time energy changes form some is wasted.

Think about it over a decade ago Metros and crap were getting the same milage as the Hybrids are today.

I know that seems grossly off topic but it is all the same inability to rationalize things.

 

An interesting debate. Just remember, power is power. There are many equations to calculate power, be it mechanical or electrical. But there is always a cost, whether constant (ewp) or variable (mwp). Most recommend the ewp for the most efficient pump. And you must consider where the power comes from; the crank or the alternator.
And with an LT1, you must also consider the opti, which can be ruined by a water pump failure.

 

I have experimented with turning off the field of the alternator on my LT1 Stocker and gained .03 - .05 in the 1/8th mile.

When I installed an electric water pump on my LT1 Pure Stocker years ago it didn't gain at all. But, it did make it easier to cool the car betwean rounds. I think it is worth HP in my Stocker due to the higher rpms that the motor turns.

Daren

 

So if a vehicle was dynoed for a baseline, then a ton of electrical load was placed on the electrical system ie: stereo, ewp, dvd system, etc, the car should dyno less rwhp. Would this be a fair assumption since all the extra load was placed on the electrical system then the alternator should have that much more drag on it from the increasing magnetic field of the alternator. If so, how much power is really lost? I would think power would be lost due to the factory alternator not keeping up with the extra load and taking away from electrical components such as fuel pump, all pcm related devices, etc. Just trying to understand all this.

 

yes, if you have a bunch of stuff turned on when dynoing, it would put more load on the motor, how much, i dont know. maybe a horsepower or 2. generally i dont think you would have enough stuff to load down the stock alt. so that it wont run the fuel pump and pcm. i have 2 12's and some other electrical stuff and it keeps up just fine. so if you have a bunch of stuff turned on when dynoing, it will lose some power, but only from load on the alt, not because of loss of power to the pump or pcm.

 

Thing is if you do the math 140 amps at 14 volts is like 2.5hp so it is not a lot of power the alternator can put out.

I also doubt the electric pumps impeller effieincy is anywhere near enough too offset the losses involved in taking rotation making it into current and then changing it back too rotation. The reason they allow more power to make it too the wheels is they move less water.

 

I knew that the hp gained from the ewp was due to engine not pumping the water, I was more curious on this alternator drag from electrical load. I did not think there was much power lost through drag from the alternator due to the extra load from an EWP. I think the hp gained from an EWP, for what little it is, is more than what is lost from the increased electrical load on the alternator.

 

I agree with the gas mileage statement about. I have a 98 Cavalier 5 spd and it gets 47 MPH on the highway. It was so good, that I bought another Cavalier 5 spd in 2004, and now I have two. Save the 99 SS Camaro for the track.

 

47 mpg?

 

I used that analogy the last time this debate came up. They still didn't get it!

 

I am not gonna argue about fractions of hp.

 

I didn't read all the replies, but for the record I did gain 6 rwhp on the dyno w/ the CSI pump.

 

very nice read.

i plan to try and run a CSI ewp on my DD. i will post up if it comes back to bite me or not(alot of highways here)

 

I figured running an electric water pump is a pretty safe mod. Theyre rated for a certain number of hours worth of use. I cant remember the hours its rated for, but when doing the math for mph to hours of use, you can drive pretty far under the rated hours. Just like anything else in my opinion, you make sure your car is in good condition when driving, if the wp is getting old, switch it out. Havent done it yet, but changing the ewp is suppose to be a lot easier than changing the waterpump completely. All things to think of before you switch.

 

I'd rather replace a manual one because of the price rather than how expensive it is.

If you are wearing out an ewp then chances are its not under warranty anymore unless it has a lifetime warranty which I don't see happening because nothing electric really has a lifetime warranty. lol

 

Your first sentence is confusing me, but anyway. An electric waterpump is a little under 150? I dont know what a manual costs, but id rather not go through the time/stress of replacing the manual compared to electric. Plus i enjoy the extra power it gives.

 

and also it's a 20 minute install

 

Its a cheap and fairly easy mod to do

 

The electric waterpumps I was looking at were ~$400 and more.

http://www.lmperformance.com/4863/1.html

 

ah...but the LT1 EW pumps are only about $200ish. I got one used for alot less.