$4 a gallon raises MPG question

[amcpacer]

I would much prefer a fuel efficient gas engine over a diesel. Diesel is much more costly than gasoline. If your car got 30mpg I wonder how much diesel mpg you would need to spend the same amount. Somebody do the math, it is too early and I do not want to think about numbers.

[22dodge]

Quote:

Originally Posted by amcpacer I would much prefer a fuel efficient gas engine over a diesel. Diesel is much more costly than gasoline. If your car got 30mpg I wonder how much diesel mpg you would need to spend the same amount. Somebody do the math, it is too early and I do not want to think about numbers.

WTF don't your do the math. $hit any 8th grader that passed math can do that really easy. It's a simple ratio problem.

[22dodge]

Quote:

Originally Posted by UnaClocker They don't have ULSD in Europe. They aren't running Biodiesel in Europe. Most of the vehicles there are diesel. I'm only proposing to convert our unique vehicles to diesel, not everything on the road. I loved the smell of my old diesel Rabbit I used to have, but with modern diesel, it wouldn't smell nearly the same anymore. And it sure wouldn't smell anything like that when running Biodiesel.

Wrong, Europe is all ULSD, they have been long before the US changed over. Infact, Mercedes had a problem with injection pumps and injectors in this country due to excessive sulfur in our fuel.

[Reaper1]

^^thank you!

A diesel engine of a similar size to the one it is replacing in gasoline form(and can actually be SMALLER due to their efficiency), propperly tuned, WILL be MORE efficient and get better economy than a similar gasoline engine. Period. Especially with today's new diesel technology. They are getting better with gasoline engines, but it's just simple physics(and a bit of chemistry and thermodynamics) that a diesel of similar size will be more efficient. I'd look at the TDI Jetta's and such for a decent comparison...I think they get close to 45mpg?

I don't know much about the older VW engines heratige, but I can say that I do know some things(not a great deal, but enough) about the GM attempt at the gasoline converted to diesel thing...read my other post for that.

[UnaClocker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by amcpacer I would much prefer a fuel efficient gas engine over a diesel. Diesel is much more costly than gasoline. If your car got 30mpg I wonder how much diesel mpg you would need to spend the same amount. Somebody do the math, it is too early and I do not want to think about numbers.

Completely ignoring the whole point of a diesel engine.. You can BREW YOUR OWN FUEL! You can't brew your own replacement for gas nearly as readily and cheaply as you can with diesel. Who cares what it costs at the pump if I'm making it in my garage for 1/4 the cost of gas or less.

[allmotor]

veggie oil/bio diesel cheap for now. on disc channel theres a farmer that grows 100ac of soy that he makes enough bio diesel to run all his equip for a whole year. vw jetta tdi get around 55mpg, i had a 1.6 vw rabbit diesel best mileage i got was 52mpg but it was really slow and if u had to pass it was like nascar slingshot, lay way back get a run catch the draft and slingshot out to pass. geo metro has way more power than the diesel bunny and gets the same mileage

[UnaClocker]

Yeah.. Trick was to find a turbo diesel Jetta and swap that motor into the rabbit.. Still light so you still get great fuel mileage, and that turbo helps with passing, and just generally getting up to speed all the time.
The thought had crossed my mind to rig up some early Omni parts and some VW diesel parts to come up with a VW turbo diesel Caravan.. Too much work, too likely to not work, VW diesels cost a FORTUNE.. Wish I could though.

[scott_s]

Bring in a Chrysler diesel engine from the UK. The voyager there with a TDI was rated at 45mpg. Allpar has a write up on it. Some mag road tested it and they got way higher than the rated mileage.

Sounds like some one is a stick in the mud when it comes to hydrogen boosters.

[woodrow Z]

Quote:

Originally Posted by UnaClocker I've always said.. Someone needs to come up with a way to convert our motors to diesel.. Custom pistons, rig up a mechanical injection pump from a Benz or something.. Adapt the injectors into our spark plug holes.. Hell, chevy did it with the 350 in the 70's.. Can't be that hard to do.. Once we're running on diesel, it's pretty easy to brew your own fuel out of waste vegie oil from restaurants that you can get for free.

*shivers and cringes.* I hate working on those diesel 350 conversions. The grime is just nasty on those things.

[allmotor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scott_s Bring in a Chrysler diesel engine from the UK. The voyager there with a TDI was rated at 45mpg. Allpar has a write up on it. Some mag road tested it and they got way higher than the rated mileage. Sounds like some one is a stick in the mud when it comes to hydrogen boosters.

when i was in europe in 1998, i drove a 1996 caravan tdi. it came with a 5 speed manual trans power was more than acceptable but not at the level of a 3.3 if the we had them in this country, id own one today the guy that owned the van said these vans were converted in itally, i cant remember what company engine and trans it had but it wasn't chrysler parts

[phantomrt]

I'm going to look at a 3 cyl / 5spd geo metro with a "broken frame" tomorrow. I guess they have a lot of issues with them rotting out where the control arms attach to the frame of the car. Hopefully there's enough good metal to weld reinforcements to.

If they get the mpg that the manufacturers claim, it'll save me about $100 in gas per month because of the miles I drive.

[22dodge]

Very common problem on the Geo. It's really a bitch to fix the frame and make it strong enough, especially since ther's not much metal to weld to.... And you need to make darn sure you the the mounting points in the exact spot to keep alignment correct. These cars will absolutely get 50mpg but that's running no faster than 58mph. At 65 they won't pull any better than 47. and at 80 you're lucky to get 40. If you can get the car cheap enough, buy it anyway. the motors are bringing $400 and transmissions (weakest point of the drivetrain) are worth $300-$500. A couple years ago I bought a 1996 for $200 with blown trans. I came across 2 more bad transmissions and made one good trans from the 3. Every day I drive the car, I smile more and more. Just don't plan on picking up the honeys in a Geo.

[scorpion1]

looking at all these numbers Im starting to think my cars a freak of nature haha. Last time I calculated it out I got 40mpg at 70mph 5th gear. I topped off my tank, drove from Mount joy to Ephrata, I believe about 35mi out and back without touching the tank until I got bored and went WOT till I hit about 130mph (without downshifting)

[ShelbyRampage64]

I just want to know where the breaking point is. When do we all band together to make something change. I'm freakin tired of hearing about the oil companies record breaking profit while I just go broke. It's BS and I'm sick to death of it. What can we do as an internet community to stop this A$$ screwin. When are we all going to show up in front of the refinerres (sp) and picket, or have a sit in, or break some big wigs legs, or whatever we have to do?? I read a plan to boycott just one of our biggest oil companies, NOONE buys from that comapny anymore at all, they'll have to lower their prices sooner or later, or freakin go broke. What if we all just decided that we would all go with just one Oil company, not buy from any other company except comapny "A", do ya'll think that would put the bite on them?? What can we do, I'm not even thinking about better gas mileage, cause if we figured out how to improve our mileage to a 100mpg, the oil companies would find some other way to make us pay. So better mileage IMO is moot. Their still gonna screw us no matter what, we have to figure out how to screw them, make them pay, make them bow down. My rant is over now. Thanks for letting me vent.

[Reaper1]

Venting is cool, but there's serious flaws with the whole boycott thing. Gasoline and diesel, while a good portion of it, is still only part of what petrolium companies do. They also supply heating oil, jet fuel, AvGas, and all other sorts of petrolium based products that inlcude platics, paints, ect.

IMHO we are faced with high gas prices and we are adapting. Well, I STILL see a very large number of SUV's with 1 person in them, I STILL see huge jacked up trucks, and I also see a lot of cars being produced from the car companies that are exactly the opposite of what really needs to be made. I'm in agreement with one of the magazine editors that I recently read(to a point as it does effect my bank account as well)...maybe the price isn't quite enough yet? Until people REALLY feel the pressure, they are not going to change their habits ect. I'm personally making changes in the way I drive, how far I drive, how often, and in my extreme case,(hopefully as long as I pass the class), WHAT I drive. The thing is that there are people out there that claim we have X amount of time left before our recources run out. Well...truthfuly NOBODY knows how much time we have, but what we DO know is that demad for those resources is going up at an EXPONENTIAL rate. Most of those estimates are based on a flat consumption rate based on current demands. This simply isn't reality. Time is running out, and as much as I like my cars, the current form they have is going to HAVE to change.

Above all right now, though, is the gas prices are more of a political statement than anything else. I don't really want to open that can of worms, so I'll leave it at that.