Axcharg

Ok, so it worked. This thread was started by some comments I made on the A&A thread and decided not to highjack Andy's topic so this a continuation of a couple posts on there.

Responding to Skunkworks questions the compressor parts are cut from different alloys, mostly 7075 t-7 except the rotor which is unobtainium.


You have to understand that there is a lot I can't discuse here as it is propriatory. I have worked over 20 years on the application of small diameter compressors pulling from variable pressure inlet into a positive displacement pump. As such it operates off design most of the time. four is the current number. Consider when I built the Latham it was 10 stages. We've come a long way.

We can however use all the speed we want and have spun them over 50,000. The standard units are set up for customers at around 45k. They will go sonic somewhere in the 50's range. That's all I can say on that topic.

Also the old unit was 6.5" in diameter and the current one is under 5". We will have to add .600 in diameter for a Corvette size unit. It will grow to about 11.5" long. It will come in at about 14lbs.

The planetary set is about 2.7 in diameter and 1.1 thick, it has a ratio of 4:1.
It does not stand by itself but is built into the nose of the blower.
There is a picture on the website(axialflow.com) of the gears. I have a picture of it installed in the nose but right now can't post pictures.

I hope this answers your questions but I'm afraid it will open the flood gates.

Rkreigh

a long time ago there was the latham axial flow supercharger that was very efficient. much like the compressor stage of a turbine.

any chance you are talking about something very similar??? love to hear more.

Axcharg

Yes, I designed and built the Latham supercharger in the '80's.
Check the A&A thread for a discription and photos of the last Lathams I built.

lewishou

Nice to see this discussed here on the CF. If you are who I think you are, I have been following your thread on the rx8 forum for a long time.

pennys58

Are you looking at bringing this concept to the C6 arena?

Axcharg

I had a few PM's about this so here are some photos of the Rx8 installed and apart.
The other is the 7 stage Wilt Chamberlain unit and the 2000 cfm Falconer blower.

Skunkworks

The Rx-8 install looks really good .


Mike

Rkreigh

very cool, what is the "v8 sized" blower CFM flow rating??

glad to see this concept returning, very efficient and elegantly engineered.

Axcharg

It's still a blank piece of paper at the moment. We are just looking into if it can fit and if there is a market for us. That's the reason we are listning to your comments here on the CF. If we find we can build a product that will be recieved and we can supply it at a price good for both of us then the specs will decided on.

There is no limit to flow or pressure with the axial flow compressor. After all can you use the many thousands of CFM of a 747 jet engine? The B-1 bomber has 390psi from it's AFC. And they do it with efficiency in the 90's.

RWSjr

390psi? At 10.9:1 comp. can you run on 91 octane or do you need 93+? (let's see - 390psi X 20hp avg per lb = 8,000+HP ) Someone say Detonation??? j/k - keep us posted

Axcharg

They don't detonate but they can stall, this is what it looks like.

Skunkworks

Damn... if that's what happens when I stall my car, I may have to get an A4 .

For the record nothing outperforms an axial compressor pound per pound when it comes to mass flow.


Mike

John Corbitt

Hey RP. I obviously want one for my RX-8. My brotherinlaw wants one for his C6, I want one for my Boat with a LS2 in it. I don't know if I can talk my wife into putting one on her C6. She thinks she has enough power anyways.

p.s. It sucks having a slower car than my wife. I am waiting for you to fix that problem.

John

Axcharg

Hi John, nice to see a friendly face over here in a new land.
I don't know how I'm going to package it in the C6 but I will have my own car in a couple of months, Then I can play with it. Your boat will be a snap and it sure has a big heat sink under it for charge cooling.
If only all cars were that easy.

greentank

Unobtanium? Is that a joke, or are you saying that what you currently use is a material not available for civilian applications?

Anyway, the almost-engineer in me is intrigued by this potential product. I do plan on supercharging my C6 - not for a year or two at least, though.

Realistically, would a price for an axial flow SC with as-good or better performance than the existing units on the market today be price competitive, if and when you decide to offer one? The competition is at around $6k-$10k per unit, installed. I'd love to do something more exotic than a maggie, but if we're talking about 1.5-2.0x the cost for similar performance, I'd like to daydream about something else.

VERY cool stuff, though. I hope you take a few more steps towards making the product a reality, and keeping us informed!

BTW - what do the units sound like?

Axcharg

In a way it is a joke, but not an alloy you will find available by normal means. It is obtainable if you want to buy mill quantitys, meaning order it from the mill in a special run. Anyone can have it, just buy a lot of it from the mill. Oh yeah, you need to know the alloy number which you have to find by yourself.

We think it will be competitive or we would not produce it. It has to make buisness sense before we build them.

Sound? It really is very quite when running on the car. When on the test bench it sounds like you're at the airport. When it has an aircleaner on it and feeding into an engine you have to listen for it under normal driving conditions. I drove the Rx8 between two concrete buildings just to check that and going slowly you could not hear it.

When I was building the Latham blowers I had one on my 350 SBC powered 928, there were no outside indacations like hood bumps to give it away. The only thing inside the car were two gauges where the ashtry used to be. I had great fun when picking people up from LAX because they had no idea when I took the old way out of the airport via Supulveda a light traveled open road (sometimes). Well you know the rest. It just shocked them when it smoked out the wheelwells in second gear. It was an automatic by the way.

That car was in about four magazines and got me alot of exposure. Made a nice car out of it. In fact I bought it new and was so sick of it that I did the swap at 9000 miles. Take that Porche. See I do know what it is like John because my wife had a new Vette at the same time as the 928. Show you how bad I am about cars, her Vette had heads and a cam before it left the dealers.

Shrike6

I've been looking at the threads on forced induction for awhile, and noticed that there is quite an aftermarket potential. You have Roots fans, centrifugal fans, turbo fans etc, They all have something in common, though. They all want the kind of power increases available through forced induction, they only argue which way is best.
Giving some thought to your design, if it demonstrates the kind of potential I believe it may have, you could find a bunch of guys pulling off their current systems for yours, to say nothing of new adopters.
Packaging, reliability, flexability, and bang for the buck could make axial flow the next big Corvette thing.
I'm anxious to hear progress reports, heck, I'd volunteer my own car if you were closer.
Good luck!
GM

greentank

What you have going for this (potential) product, of course other than the potential efficiency, is the exotic factor. Lots of ppl do a maggie or procharger, then wish after a year or so that they'd have done a TT to be "different from the other guys". I've heard it more than once. And if you can show efficiency, style, durability, and competitive/superior HP gains....I wouldn't worry too much about whether there would be a market.

Definitely put me on the "intrigued & curious" list...

Invisiguard

december bump for more info