" From: Tom Jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx> " " On Tue, 19 Dec 2006, farna@xxxxxxx wrote: " " > Tom, that would be APU (auxilliary power unit). " > [] " > They produce hp at very high rpm " > as Andrew pointed out -- no useable torque, and a very narrow " > power band. " " The guy who said his friend stuck one in a bike, took the thing " apart and used the turbine and gearbox. That's the key to these " things -- they have a gearbox that brings shaft speed down to a " few K Rpms for the alternator. I saw one with one cover removed " (not much of a view though). The turbine is really small, " the APU is 1/2 jet, 1/4 gearbox, 1/4th alternator (vaguely). " " I agree, without the special gearbox it's uselessly high rpm. even with it, it's pretty useless. -power- throttles well, but -rpm- does not. the one street car i heard of with a turboprop in it had an automatic trans and was driven more with the brake than the throttle. iirc it 'idled' at almost 60 mph. now if you replace the alternator with a hydrostatic transmission... ________________________________________________________________________ Andrew Hay the genius nature internet rambler is to see what all have seen adh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and think what none thought _______________________________________________ AMC-List mailing list AMC-List@xxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.amc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/amc-list or go to http://www.amc-list.com