My ridding buddy just bought one of them Polaris RZR's with the fancy four cylinder motor.
It got me thinking; what would the Honda Talon version of this look like?
Honda has a huge parts bin with lots of different four piston engines and matching transmissions. They have lots of options to make this machine but what engine and transmission would be the best suited for a four cylinder Honda Talon?
Here is my paper version of a four cylinder Talon:
Motor: K24W7
Output is 205hp in the Acura TLX. This could easily be bumped to 220+ with a tune, or 250+ with cam, heads and piston redesign.
Transmission: Acura 8-speed DCT.
It exists. It is compact. It has already been developed. IT HAS A TORQUE CONVERTER FOR CRAWLING!!! Given its current application, it could be "most easily" tuned for off-road use. Ratios and splits are similar to the current Talon DCT. Below is a comparison:
1st - 3.08 - 2.764
2nd - 2.18 - 2.047
3rd - 1.61 - 1.583
4th - 1.22 - 1.230
5th - 0.96 - 0.968
6th - 0.74 - 0.800
7th - 0.62
8th - 0.48
The obvious issue here is gearing, which is caused by a lack of subtrans and the tall overdrive gearing in 7th and 8th. There are a few options for fixing the gearing issue:
1. Develop and produce a subtrans with a high range ratio of 2:1 and low range ratio of 3:1.
2. Low differential gearing - like 4.88:1 low (Jeep guys and crawlers know what i mean here).
3. Eliminate 7th and 8th gear. I dont know if this is possible but I'll throw it out there anyways.
(I did not include a primary reductions unit since this would involve redesigning the engine/transmission interface and it would also multiply the amount of torque that the transmission experiences.)
Employing options 1&2 above:
With 32" tires at 70 mph, cruising rpm is 5300 in 6th, 4400 in 7th and 3400 in 8th.
With 34.5" tires in 1st gear, crawling rpm is 2200 at 5mph and 3200 rpm at 7mph.
Employing option 1&3 above with 3.73:1 differential gearing:
With 32" tires at 70 mph, cruising rpm is 4000 in 6th.
With 34.5" tires in 1st gear, crawling rpm is 1600 at 5mph and 2400 rpm at 7mph.
Chassis: The other issue here is that four cylinder engine/transmission/subtrans combo is significantly larger than the current engine/transmission/subtrans combo. Also, the differentials will need to be redesigned to withstand the additional torque. This will also change the suspension geometry to accommodate the large drivetrain. An entirely redesigned or new chassis is needed.
I am not a fabricator or chassis builder and have very little experience or knowledge in these things. Maybe someone else can weigh in here... Lets keep the final weight to 2500lbs or less.
Well... Thats the 4 cylinder Talon that kept me from sleeping last night.
Stupid RZR!
It got me thinking; what would the Honda Talon version of this look like?
Honda has a huge parts bin with lots of different four piston engines and matching transmissions. They have lots of options to make this machine but what engine and transmission would be the best suited for a four cylinder Honda Talon?
Here is my paper version of a four cylinder Talon:
Motor: K24W7
Output is 205hp in the Acura TLX. This could easily be bumped to 220+ with a tune, or 250+ with cam, heads and piston redesign.
Transmission: Acura 8-speed DCT.
It exists. It is compact. It has already been developed. IT HAS A TORQUE CONVERTER FOR CRAWLING!!! Given its current application, it could be "most easily" tuned for off-road use. Ratios and splits are similar to the current Talon DCT. Below is a comparison:
1st - 3.08 - 2.764
2nd - 2.18 - 2.047
3rd - 1.61 - 1.583
4th - 1.22 - 1.230
5th - 0.96 - 0.968
6th - 0.74 - 0.800
7th - 0.62
8th - 0.48
The obvious issue here is gearing, which is caused by a lack of subtrans and the tall overdrive gearing in 7th and 8th. There are a few options for fixing the gearing issue:
1. Develop and produce a subtrans with a high range ratio of 2:1 and low range ratio of 3:1.
2. Low differential gearing - like 4.88:1 low (Jeep guys and crawlers know what i mean here).
3. Eliminate 7th and 8th gear. I dont know if this is possible but I'll throw it out there anyways.
(I did not include a primary reductions unit since this would involve redesigning the engine/transmission interface and it would also multiply the amount of torque that the transmission experiences.)
Employing options 1&2 above:
With 32" tires at 70 mph, cruising rpm is 5300 in 6th, 4400 in 7th and 3400 in 8th.
With 34.5" tires in 1st gear, crawling rpm is 2200 at 5mph and 3200 rpm at 7mph.
Employing option 1&3 above with 3.73:1 differential gearing:
With 32" tires at 70 mph, cruising rpm is 4000 in 6th.
With 34.5" tires in 1st gear, crawling rpm is 1600 at 5mph and 2400 rpm at 7mph.
Chassis: The other issue here is that four cylinder engine/transmission/subtrans combo is significantly larger than the current engine/transmission/subtrans combo. Also, the differentials will need to be redesigned to withstand the additional torque. This will also change the suspension geometry to accommodate the large drivetrain. An entirely redesigned or new chassis is needed.
I am not a fabricator or chassis builder and have very little experience or knowledge in these things. Maybe someone else can weigh in here... Lets keep the final weight to 2500lbs or less.
Well... Thats the 4 cylinder Talon that kept me from sleeping last night.
Stupid RZR!
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