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
This magazine marked the 20th anniversary of Earth Day in 1990 by exploring “future” technologies.
[snip]
VOLKSWAGEN JETTA TDI 7.0 gallons of B20 biodiesel at $2.749 49.9 mpg vs. EPA highway rating of 42 mpg
Our fuel station was offering up B20 biodiesel, 20 percent veggie oil, which means that from an environmentalist’s perspective the German diesel didn’t just beat the Japanese hybrids, it trounced them. Not only that, it had more than half of its 14.5-gallon tank left at the end—it could have made the same trip again without refueling! Our example was pretty much a stripper, absent even the usual VW trip computer, so we had no instant feedback loop on our performance. Maybe if we’d had that, we could have nudged the economy from 49.9 mpg into the 50-mpg range.
[snip]
At about 11 seconds to 60 mph, the Jetta’s published road-test numbers are not as good as the Prius’ (around 10 seconds, thanks to massive electric motor torque at 0 rpm), but at highway speeds its 177 lb-ft at 1800 rpm and 100 hp at 4000 rpm feel stronger than the Toyota and smoother than the Honda. The diesel spins harder than the Vette at 80 mph, running at 2500 rpm or so, but still it is a long-legged German car with autobahn-able credentials.
For comfort, quiet and highway handling, our drivers found the TDI had significant advantages over every other car in the test. It would have been our choice, in other words, for an easy daytrip on the interstates, regardless of fuel economy. And we topped the hybrids by driving with just a little attention to fuel economy, not making it an obsession.
(Excerpt) Read more at autoweek.com ...
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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