Handels like it's own rails...not that that was ever a good thing.
Posted on 04/24/2006 7:15:44 PM PDT by TWohlford
Wait until they start using the explosive lithium-ion batteries...
Handels like it's own rails...not that that was ever a good thing.
Normally, writing of this style would make me cringe, but this time the author gets to play with it in a puppy-dog way; after a while though, he'll run out of old shoes to chew on as the grownups get him properly house trained to understand that childish humor concerning mature behavior isn't really a joking matter.
Before long, he'll be demanding that we all eat grass and live in hemp wood lean-tos.
I have long thought Diesel is a good first step as an alternative to gas. With some R+D investment, you could pretty easily get to a low sulfur emission and 60MPG.
On a side note, something that might be worth a try for others. I bought a new '06 Chevy pickup w/ a 5.3L engine. Started out getting 16's MPG. I put a flowmaster 70 series exhaust on it, no noticeable improvement in MPG, but did get a nice sound out of it. I next replaced the paper air filter with a K+N permanent air filter. I went from 16's MPG to 19's MPG on the first tank of gas. The paper filter I replaced only had 2000 miles on it, so it was nowhere near dirty.
I switched to a K&N filter as well.... I went from 30 mpg to 31 mpg on the highway. Then the problems started. The MAF consistently was getting dirty, the IAC was clogging, and the throttle body was getting buildup. I got tired of cleaning it, switched back to paper, and have had no trouble since. I still get 30 mpg.
If everybody switched to diesels what would we do with the surplus gasoline that must be produced to refine diesel from crude? Back in 1979, the feds intercepted a bootleg boatload headed to Long Beach from one of the third world countries where passenger gasoline powered cars were a novelty.
You would still a much larger battery than the one used to start so you can't get rid of the alternator (8-10hp parasitic load).
I have always wondered about the K&N... yea you get better airflow... but you are getting it, because the filter is letting larger particulates through.. its pretty damned easy to see just looking at the things...
Thanks for the info.
Well, there are a lot of uses for hydrocarbon fuels in industry that can be deisel or gas or even blends... Our economy will certainly absorb energy if its available in one way or another. If its not going into gas tanks, it would be used by industry in some fashion I am sure.
I think it was the oil in the filter that really caused problems - that made surfaces "sticky" so those particulates just built up on things like the MAF sensor, etc...
I'd have no problem recommending one to someone who wanted a slight improvement in mpg and who was willing to work on their car. You don't save maintenance in my experience, because even though the filter doesn't get replaced, you spend that time cleaning other components....
It gets to volumetric efficiency. Normally aspirated engines rely on atmospheric pressure to push air into the cylinder as the piston drops on the intake stroke. Engines actually don't suck air, only the atmosphere can push in. So ... if the atmosphere can't easily push air through the filter, matched to the flow of the manifold, at a given RPM range + temp + barometric pressure + humidity.
Thus companies try to sell lots of "hi-flow" filters. BUT ... IF an engine is truly truly highly-engineered, then the intake manifold is actually matched to a filter type and flow to generate target horsepower and torque. ... and fancy air filters won't help.
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