Vacuum Pump Question
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 128
From: tonawanda, ny
Vacuum Pump Question
I posted this in general section, but noone replied. Maybe some of you guys with experience in here could chime in, here goes.
I have seen numerous articles in which these pumps have added 10-20+hp depending on the application. They also state that the pumps themselves suck 5-10hp to turn them and there is a point of diminishing return, in which, if you crank up the vacuum supply, it actually takes more hp to turn the pump then what is gained by the motor. I was wondering if anyone had ever run a vacuum pump off of an electrical motor, such as one that would drive an old-school sbc water pump? This way, you could simply turn the pump on after you do your burnout/before staging, and enjoy the benefits of more hp for your dragstrip pass, then simply shut it off at the end of the run. It would also simplify where you could mount it. You could put it anywhere you want to. You could mount it to the firewall, and run a line into the back of the valve cover or whatever. You would need to experiment to see what rpm, you'd have to spin the pump to have the maximum effect, and then set it up to do this consistently. Discuss.
I have seen numerous articles in which these pumps have added 10-20+hp depending on the application. They also state that the pumps themselves suck 5-10hp to turn them and there is a point of diminishing return, in which, if you crank up the vacuum supply, it actually takes more hp to turn the pump then what is gained by the motor. I was wondering if anyone had ever run a vacuum pump off of an electrical motor, such as one that would drive an old-school sbc water pump? This way, you could simply turn the pump on after you do your burnout/before staging, and enjoy the benefits of more hp for your dragstrip pass, then simply shut it off at the end of the run. It would also simplify where you could mount it. You could put it anywhere you want to. You could mount it to the firewall, and run a line into the back of the valve cover or whatever. You would need to experiment to see what rpm, you'd have to spin the pump to have the maximum effect, and then set it up to do this consistently. Discuss.
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It takes a pretty high end build to see benefits from a vacuum pump. If you ran it electrically, it would take a fairly large motor.... lots of weight on the front end. Think about it.... if as you claim it takes 5HP to turn the pump, you would need a 5HP electric motor capable of running on 12V...... It would be huge. And, that electric power has to come from somewhere. If its pulling off the alternator, it takes that much more HP to drive the alternator (actually a bit more than that, because the alternator is not 100% efficient). And if you tried to power the electric motor with batteries..... yet more additional weight.
You might want to try a "search".
You might want to try a "search".
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 128
From: tonawanda, ny
It takes a pretty high end build to see benefits from a vacuum pump. If you ran it electrically, it would take a fairly large motor.... lots of weight on the front end. Think about it.... if as you claim it takes 5HP to turn the pump, you would need a 5HP electric motor capable of running on 12V...... It would be huge. And, that electric power has to come from somewhere. If its pulling off the alternator, it takes that much more HP to drive the alternator (actually a bit more than that, because the alternator is not 100% efficient). And if you tried to power the electric motor with batteries..... yet more additional weight.
You might want to try a "search".
You might want to try a "search".
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