Hey all. Speaking with a coworker of mine about car stuff in general and he suggested (as I am sure many of you may already be aware) that moving to an electric water pump can free up some horses and quite a few have done this. Anyone here done this for the RA? If so what if any gains did you see? Where would one begin looking for an electric water pump for our car in the first place? Thanks in advance for not totally flamin' a noob if this is just a really stupid question.

 

well as far as i know there isnt one for our application BUT yes they do free up some hp but not that much...
i had one installed in a v8 and in that application the gain was +/-9hp (if i remember correctly...

 

9 hp gains on a smaller motor like ours would (I hope) be much more noticeable... think its worth it? or would the cost outweigh the benefits?

 

yes, the cost outweights the benefits.... even if you want to go n/a full swing...

 

How does it free up that much hp? The power has to come from somewhere. Take off a belt-driven accessory and replace it with an electric one, and it adds load to your alternator, which is still belt-driven. I guess I just don't see it.

 

the alternator doesnt slow down for load... that why god invented fuses, capacitors and relays lol
the less things you have running on the belt the better.. do this:
buy a short belt (for those w/ pulleys: 6pk1500) and bypass the a/c see how it feels...

now imagine an even shorter belt..
bypass the a/c, the power steering and the water pump... tracking just the crank the tensioner and the alt... THAT yields a lot....BUT useless for stop and go trafic since i imagne no one will give up a/c & p/s... i do know that i dont miss them

 

hey PR, bypassing the AC in winter would have no effect on the heater right? that sounds like something I am gonna do tomorrow. Anything I should do to the AC compressor so it is not frozen from lack of use when I hook it up again this summer? and thanks for telling us the belt size with pulley.

 

i could not know since i dont have winter.. :-/

 

lol, yeah that makes sense now that I think about it. I was really asking if letting the AC pump sit in the car for four or five months would have any negative effects on the pump itself, not that it would be "frozen" from winter or cold temperature, you get what I am asking?

 

nah when you dont run the ac the clutch on the pump never engages anyway so basicly it is sitting

 

cool I was going to ask about that as this was my understanding also.

 

can anyone verify? Not that I don't trust you, I just want two or more opinions. Thanks for the post.

What size belt to bypass ac and p/s? might see how this feels. belts aren't very expensive compared to CAIs or Exhausts.

 

I thought the compressor clutch was engaged for a short time once in a while even when not using the A/C, just so it doesn't freeze up.

Could be I'm thinking of a different car, though.

 

I've told you before that you are ugly. Don't make me say it again!

 

ohhh sorry..
no if the ac compresor is not used is like having it "off"... but if you want to have the fans turned on like when you have the ac 'on' you need to bypass that, by making them run on and off not by the thermostat but by an on and off toggle switch...


thats free for those who want "pr home-mods"..lol


as for the belt that byoasses a/ an p/s.. dont know havent tried.. but 6pk1500 bypasses the a/c only