If you are sick of rising gas prices...

[nukemm]

Ah, gotcha.

For those buying diesels, I don't see the price of diesel being much more than a few cents cheaper than the regular Gas and for those who are environmentally conscious diesel is even worse than gas. The whole vegetable oil trick is nifty, but there has been some research that indicates that ethanol may be a bigger pollutant gallon per gallon than fossil fuels, although I'm not sure how that translates to the diesel/vegatble oil thing.

Here in WA, diesel #2 (regular diesel for you gasser types) is $2.94/gal, regular gas is $3.55/gal, premium is $3.92/gal. For me, a savings of nearly $1/gal (or $14/tank) and an increase of 15MPG makes the decision a no-brainer. Right now I'm running bio-diesel in the TDI, reducing emissions even further. The argument at this point really becomes one of which is more efficient & how much energy & pollutants it takes to make each - a premium-fueled gasser at 30MPG, or a bio-diesel at 45MPG?

 

[steven11]

I just stopped by two restaurants and picked up 30 gallons of used Veg. oil. I have been slacking on my duties. The guy at the mexican joint made me a huge plate of enchiladas to go, for my trouble. The other guy made me come in and talk to some of the patrons and have a beer. He wants to know if I can make some table top info? I guess like a triangle with "todays special" on it style with info on how responsible his restaraunt is for actively recycling in town by suppling the village wierdo and his magic car with fuel.
Does anyone know of good app. for making such a pamphlet? Oops wrong thread, Cheers

 

[johntalin]

I just stopped by two restaurants and picked up 30 gallons of used Veg. oil. I have been slacking on my duties. The guy at the mexican joint made me a huge plate of enchiladas to go, for my trouble. The other guy made me come in and talk to some of the patrons and have a beer. He wants to know if I can make some table top info? I guess like a triangle with "todays special" on it style with info on how responsible his restaraunt is for actively recycling in town by suppling the village wierdo and his magic car with fuel.
Does anyone know of good app. for making such a pamphlet? Oops wrong thread, Cheers

I have seen a documentary about making diesel from used veg. oil. Pretty interesting.

 

[eric]

I guess like a triangle with "todays special" on it style with info on how responsible his restaraunt is for actively recycling in town by suppling the village wierdo and his magic car with fuel.

LOL!!!

 

[johntalin]

Couldn't agree with you more. I mean, there are times where I do rush because I'm late, but usually I'll take my time. The people I see that pass me on local roads, I see them @ the next light haha.

On morning tv, they did an experiment with three drivers from their crew. One took the Carpool Lane, the other regular lanes on the freeway and the third person driving the city streets. The person who took the city streets arrived first by about 15 minutes, the person who took the Carpool Lane (two or more people in the car) arrived second (pretty sad), and the person who took the FREEWAY arrived last by about 5 minutes. Even though there was only 15 minutes difference, this will show you how bad the traffic is on the freeways here.

 

[steven11]

I had to buy diesel today...$2.75.9 a gallon.
Check out my web gallery i just made with my new copy of iLife 08!!

GREASECAR

Let me know what ya think!!

 

[Netty4mac]

I had to buy diesel today...$2.75.9 a gallon.
Check out my web gallery i just made with my new copy of iLife 08!!

GREASECAR

Let me know what ya think!!

Very Cool Steven!

 

[MacHeadCase]

I had to buy diesel today...$2.75.9 a gallon.
Check out my web gallery i just made with my new copy of iLife 08!!

GREASECAR

Let me know what ya think!!

On veg oil? Wow! That is so awesome, Steven! Very cool gesture!



Edited to add:

Oh man! I just saw you have a Monsoon sound system in your car! That is so totally cool! Are they still around? They made awesome computer speakers back in the day but they seemed to have disappeared as a company, for a while at least. Will check this out now...

 

[AnatomyOfARyan]

steven, nice ride! i am also an owner of a VW TDI. my '98 jetta averages about 47 MPG on regular diesel. ive heard about these kits to burn veggie oil, but have also read about how this is illegal, and because its not EPA approved, carries a hefty fine if caught. i doubt there is any cop patrolling the streets looking (or even knowing its illegal), but im curious if you have any insight on this.

also, any idea what kind of emissions you are putting off? is it burning cleaner or dirtier (is that a word?) than standard diesel. i can imagine the govt hasnt approved this fuel method not because of its cleanliness, but because of the amout of money that is pumped into the system via gasoline company lobbyist. i drive a TDI both because of the fuel efficiency and because its more enviromentally conscious.

i also recently purchased an 07 yamaha vino 125cc scooter. the weather is nice here 8 or 9 months of the year, so now i am getting about 85 mpg when im scootin. any insight about your conversion would be great. and also, did you install the kit yourself, or have it done? and only at a grand? sounds like a bargain. whered you get it?

 

[steven11]

Wow, I love it, lots of Q and A!! Lets see first in regards to the legality. There have been cases of people brought up on evading a Hwy tax that your money goes to paying with every gallon of Gas/Diesel/Fuel you buy from a station. The work around, in my case is I use two tanks and I have a "looped return fuel system". That means I can purge all the WVO out of my engine and fuel system and push diesel back through the veg system and into the veg fuel tank. Now I am no longer driving on a fuel I've refined/made myself. It is now mixed with a bit o' the ole' diesel therefore; my veg oil is now being used as a diesel fuel additive;D granted the ratio is around .5 gallons of diesel to 13 gallons of WVO. But it is not illegal to make fuel additives and it certainly isn't illegal to drive on them. So I think someone would find it difficult to win a case without altering the rules/laws to suit their case.
Next emissions, I have been told that WVO has no sulfur in it so I'm not producing that. Sulfur is the main contributer to greenhouse gases. Carbon is also a problem with emissions and since the majority of the carbon has already been burned out of my fuel it doesn't produce as much carbon-monoxide either. I use only WVO (Waste Vegetable Oil), it has already been burned to make your french fries or corn chips!! The restaurants love me because I'm collecting for free something they would have to pay to have disposed of. Plus I'm recycling it!! Heres some specs but I have no clue on all the terms and such. All I know is my car smells like corn chips when I zoom past Hybrids!! More on emissions
As for the kit. I bought a greasecar kit. They've been around the longest and have a pretty effectively built system and they're friendly to deal with and have a cool community of folks much like this forum (Blatant flattery) There are quite a few people making kits these days. So look around. I bought the TDI to make my own Bio. but decided I was too much of a hack and not enough of a chemist to fool with all thats needed to make Bio. D. WVO is much easier. Lots of work one weekend then not much to the fuel refining. I've got around 100 gallons of filtered WVO stored in barrels and ready to use now. I'm saving up for the winter. I use solar energy to heat the WVO before filtering it. I collect way more than I can use so I end up giving it away to friends that have cars like mine. There are 4 cars like mine here in Louisville. We get together and do demos and Q & A at environmental fairs and such in our area.

YAY, on having a TDI they rock the house!! I love mine and 47 MPG kicks butt, No? I was in a bit of a rush so be patient with me and I can answer anymore questions anyone has. It just may take me a day or two to get to it.

 

[MBNick]

Good idea.

 

[DocZ06]

It's not even that, the H2 is nothing more than a gussied-up GM pickup truck. I'm sure they've optimized it for off-road duty, but I'd venture to say that the vast majority of idiot...er...people who are driving these things are making a fashion statement more than anything else.

Hummer owner's are not the only one's making fashion statements. This is true of many 4x4's on the road today. If you were to log into a Jeep website forum, you would be amazed at how angry "hard core" Jeep owner's become when someone brings up the typical "mall rated" or "grocery getter" Jeep.

On the other hand, there are many car owner's doing the same. Although not all should be viewed as making fashion statements. Some people are auto (specific or otherwise) enthusiasts.

 

[WakeCarver]

Everybody buy a diesel and run it on used veg oil, then gas prices wouldn't matter. Diesels are better for other reasons also. VW diesels are getting 40+ MPG, much better than most gas burners right now. Just think if someone made a diesel electric hybrid, you could get much higher mileage than any gas hybrid. Just my 2 cents.

 

[DocZ06]

Some people (mainly auto enthusiasts) will not give up their favorite mode of transportation at any cost. Including me.

 

[WakeCarver]

I'm waiting on the new V6 turbo diesels from the big 3 next year to buy a new truck. They are all releasing these new engines in their 1500 series trucks and they are supposed to get 30 MPG city, 40 MPG hwy. As for your favorite mode of transportation it could perform just as well with a diesel, if not better, as it does with gas. I have seen chevy duramax diesel engines that get 25 MPG and make over 1500HP 1800 LB-FT torque. This will blow the doors off the stock Z06 Corvette. Of course if you are happy with what you have then thats great. Just don't dismiss diesel right away, diesel engines have come along way in the past 20 years.

 

[DocZ06]

I have seen chevy duramax diesel engines that get 25 MPG and make over 1500HP 1800 LB-FT torque. This will blow the doors off the stock Z06 Corvette. Of course if you are happy with what you have then thats great. Just don't dismiss diesel right away, diesel engines have come along way in the past 20 years.

LMAO. You don't know what you're talking about. There is no duramax diesel with 1500 HP made by Chevrolet. Carl Banks could only get 650HP out of a duramax engine. If you ever find a duramax p/u that can a reach 200MPH, not to mention 0-60 in just under 4 seconds (which I can do stock off the showroom floor with only 505HP) -- Bring it.

I'm not dismissing anything. There are "hot rodder's" who will NEVER give up their passion.

 

[WakeCarver]

LMAO. You don't know what you're talking about. There is no duramax diesel with 1500 HP made by Chevrolet. Carl Banks could only get 650HP out of a duramax engine. If you ever find a duramax p/u that can a reach 200MPH, not to mention 0-60 in just under 4 seconds (which I can do stock off the showroom floor with only 505HP) -- Bring it.

I'm not dismissing anything. There are "hot rodder's" who will NEVER give up their passion.

This was a custom built engine, I saw it on speed channel. The numbers may be exaggerated but they are close, I don't remember the exact numbers. It was not in a pick up either;D, diesels aren't just for trucks. Gale Banks is very conservative in his upgrades, check out any issue of Diesel Power and see what people can really get out of their trucks. I'm just saying you can "hot rod" a diesel just like a gas burner. I'm glad you like your corvette, it's a great car, I like diesels and I'm just saying that they are a great alternative if you are sick of high gas prices. I wasn't trying to start an argument.

 

[DocZ06]

Exaggerated? No doubt.

I realize I misread the post you made regarding the application of that supposed engine into a Corvette. However the statement you made regarding that application lacks working knowledge and facts. Why do you suppose the engineer's at Bowling Green never developed a Duramax engine for the Corvette? Or even the new SS Camaro?

There is no production super car in the world running a diesel engine. With good reason. In the case of the Corvette, it is because the same proven design and performance results cannot be acheived with a Duramax diesel that are currently acheived with the aluminum LS7. MPG is not a factor with Corvette owners. Ultimate performance is. There are many factors that go into the design and performance of a Corvette, which is why GM never attempted to install a Duramax.

And there are reasons why GM installs the Duramax engine in Chevrolet / GMC trucks, and the Hummer. There is more to the performance success of a Corvette than just the engine.

A nitro blown hemi in a C6 will blow the doors off a Z06 -- That doesn't mean the application will work for a production car.

Meanwhile, a few interesting side notes -- I failed to find anyone on the duramax diesel performance forums, running modified engines, who could break into the 12 second elasped times in the 1/4 mile. (my stock Z06 ran high 11's off the showroom floor).

For the record (no pun intended), there are no land speed records held by diesel motors in any wheeled application. Go figure.

According to the DHRA (Diesel Hot Rod Assocation), the Pro Street World Record in the 1/4 mile (dragstrip) is 10.10 seconds @ 143.02 MPH -- Mind you, this was a nitrous & water injected engine in a fully modified chassis race vehicle.

Here is a Pro Street Z06 with twin turbos, that produced 1000+ HP on pump gas, and ran 8.49 seconds @156.29 MPH in the 1/4 mile. Mind you, our engine / trans modifications were done in a otherwise factory built production car.

And finally -- The reasons behind higher gas & diesel fuel prices are what irritate me.

Bring back Sunoco 260 racing gasoline!

 

[WakeCarver]

Fair enough, but there are a lot of diesels used in racing. Diesels are used in Europe and else where in production cars more than in the U.S. I was not trying to knock the corvette in any way. IMO GM does not use diesels in the U.S. for production cars because the laws make hard to accomplish economically and the misconception that diesels are loud, smelly, and produce more pollution. Any way, thats just my 2 cents. Check out these links and let me know what you think about them.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14486354/
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2006/6/20/212325/307

EDIT: By the way I use a lot of Gale Banks parts on my F250, they are very high quality and are more reliable than the stock parts IMO. I have not had it dyno tested but the hypertec hyperpac says I am making 443HP and 725 torque at 3000 RPM. This is on filtered used vegetable oil also.

 

[DocZ06]

I find it interesting that I am unable to find any record of this or any other diesel records on the USFRA web site? They list gas, electric, steam, jet, rocket, but nothing for diesel? Weird. None the less, that's impressive for a stinky, noisy, polluting engine.

As for the diesel running at Lemans, interesting. I had to laugh at the person who suggested a possible future in F1. Not in this lifetime, especially with the clown who is running that sanctioning body. <insert eye roll here> At one time I was a F1 fan -- No longer. Today I really only follow the ALMS Team Corvette that races in GT1.