A Smart Dragster?

[RSmith]

Hi Guys,

I have a 2003 Smart Passion and I've been thinking latley into turning it into a 1/4 mile car.

I was thinking about investing a lump sum into it... strip out the car completley, fit carbon fibre seats, remove all luxuries etc. And also take the original 700cc engine and replace the pistons, upgrade the heads from 2 cams to 4, reduce the compression ratio and supercharge etc. etc. you get the idea :amuse:

When I drive my smart I just think it's really a glorified go-kart crying out to be modified... Is this a wise idea or do you think I should invest my money elsewhere?


Richard.

 

[coupe]

put a motor cycle engine in it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPQIizRp9ck

 

[Loz]

Put a 2 liter toyota engine like my mates but you'll need a wheely bar!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VzQKBkYO9I&feature=related

I tuned my old smart to 112 bhp & that was a roadster spec engine (larger turbo, dumpier pistons, oil cooler, custom rolling road map etc...) I spent a lot of money on it, the car was quick but was badly hamstrung by the actuators in the gearbox, as a cost cutting measure Smart specced cheaper items than originally planned. The result is not helpful for quick progress. better to pull the engine out & put a more powerful unit in. Although you can go the motorbike route (SmartRus used to & may still do a Smartzuki conversion for about £10,000) my mate chose the MR2 2 liter engine for two reasons. 1, It sits lower than a bike engine. 2, It's designed for a car & so doesn't come with all the associated problems of moving a car sized lump. It's worth noting that he's blanked off the turbo manifold & the car is still silly quick, the turbo may be re-fitted in the future. :blink:

As a rough guide a stripped smart will loose about 350KG which considering their only about 750kg to start with is great!

If you still want to use the original engine contact Big Performance they built a racing Smart & did a lot of development tuning the engine including an even bigger uprated turbo if memory serves me right.

Loz.