If it was not for cheap gas.....

[Tippster]

Hmmm..... Particulate matter pollution is supposedly beneficial for creating precipitation... Too bad diesel stinks so bad and is so fucking filthy.

Howsabout mating a diesel motor into the Hybrid mix?

Also, when will Exxon release the rights to the ultra-high efficiency gasoline motor developed by Daimler that they bought to keep off the market....

All batteries in my industry are high draw, low volume LiIon or NiMH, not Lead Acid like in cars?

Why is the #1 moneymaker for Ford a 3/4 ton pickup truck when we're no longer an agrarian society?

Don't you find it odd that internal combustion engines still rely on decades old designs, despite the $$ thrown at it by the manufacturers?

And no, I'm not a leftist Chicken Little. You people are smarter than i am, so please, answer these paltry questions for those of us less cranially endowed.

[ak_powder_monkey]

I agree that SUV drivers are ridiculous (unless they live or work in the bc) but I don't think diesel is an answer. Getting off fossil fuel seems to be the only answer.
Friends of the White House wouldn't like that, though - not when there is all of Alaska to turn into Texas.

Gahhhhh that would blow

so gas is 2.19 here now

[ill-advised strategy]

When it get's up to $4 I'll switch to the alcohol-burning funny car.

[lemon boy]

but I don't think diesel is an answer. Getting off fossil fuel seems to be the only answer.

Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr uhhhhhhhhhhhhh duhhhhhhhhhhhhhh eeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

note: Diesel's basically are already equipped to move out of the fossil fuel paradigm.

additionally, per mile traveled diesels get better mileage and deliver comprable to better performance.

It really is (part of) the answer. (yes, I am aware of the pitfals of a biomass fuel society)

---------------

Tippster- Modern diesel engines for consumer applications produce relatively little particulate exhaust, with the move to ultra low sulpher diesel fuel (ULSD) here soon particulates should drop even further (note: the particulates are a carcinogen though).

They are going to be coming out with diesel hybrids soon (IMVHO it is fucking stupid that they started with gas, they'd be getting 100+mpg right now if they'd just started with diesel). Also note, diesel-electric engines are not new tech, that is what powers virtually every locomotive (excepting vintage tourist ones).

[iceman]

Pet Peeve: Many gas stations have a deal on the auto pump where on one transaction you can only put X number of dollars in fuel in (typically 40 or 50 bucks)

Really? I've never heard of this. Why would they do that?

Also your point about Diesel/Electric motors having been around for a long time is well taken, I was watching a History Channel show about submarines and World War One U-boats were using just such a system over ninety years ago.

[lemon boy]

Ice-

I don't know for sure but it really pisses me off. I think it is so if somebody swipes your cc they can't just make one transaction where they fill up 30 people's car. Or it might be a setting that is there all the time regardless of transaction type to limit their drive off loss (ie: even a cash trans would be limited to 50 bucks).

I wish they'd exempt diesel pumps though as the vast majority of diesel vehicles can hold 30+ gallons.

An interesting thing about D-E loco motors is that a big part of why they use them is that while it is easy enough to make an engine powerful enough to move the train it is not possible to make a regular gear driven transmission that would start and move the train w/o grenading.

[LaramieSkiBum]

renewable such as wind, water, tidal, and combined with nuclear and hydrogen are the only long term answer.

The problem with hydrogen is its energy density is nothing compaired to gas unless you compress it to extreme pressures. If we can get over that hurtle, to store it safely and have a high energy/volume, these are really the only very low pollution answers.

World gas production, if it hasnt peaked right now, will in 5-10 years....hopefully by then its no too late to go back.

But look at me, fucking hypocrite, i drive a jeep TJ.

[EPSkis]

Sweden is making strides in organic waste treatment for possible biogas use in vehicles.

Howz about a cabbage-gas fermentation motor?

Of course, there's also the little discussed use of poopie-power.

[Grange]

renewable such as wind, water, tidal, and combined with nuclear and hydrogen are the only long term answer.

The problem with hydrogen is its energy density is nothing compaired to gas unless you compress it to extreme pressures. If we can get over that hurtle, to store it safely and have a high energy/volume, these are really the only very low pollution answers.

World gas production, if it hasnt peaked right now, will in 5-10 years....hopefully by then its no too late to go back.

But look at me, fucking hypocrite, i drive a jeep TJ.

Wind energy has its own problems. Wind farms typically take up a lot of space, and can have impacts on bird populations. I have been around a wind farm and they can be very loud. I think with any power production source there will always be consequences

[Grange]

Sweden is making strides in organic waste treatment for possible biogas use in vehicles.

Howz about a cabbage-gas fermentation motor?

Of course, there's also the little discussed use of poopie-power.

Since I don't know how to do multiple quotes in one message I need two.

I have review a lot of manure digestor proposals by power companys. The ones I have reviewed can generate up to 1.75 MW of power. Not a lot of power, but it still reduces the need for coal at their main generation facilities. Right now the unknown at least with these projects seems to by the emissions. Calculations show the emissions to be small, but we need real data to make this determination.

[Aldo]

Hey LB,
Sort of on topic side question, but I know this is your dept.....
Buddy of mine just picked up a 94 (I think) F250 TD 1 ton 4X4. Sweet machine. What website/s would you reccomend for the guidelines of care and feeding of this beast. Thanks!

[lemon boy]

Aldo:

the best of the lot is: http://forums.thedieselstop.com/ubbthreads/

there are others and the guy that runs it is a total nazi about off topic discussions (there are other diesel sites that allow it though) but that is the best by far. I am lemon boy there as well.

Congrats to your buddy, mine is the same basic style just newer (97). Just clicked 172K. Runs strong like ox.

[Aldo]

Perfect, I'll pass it on.
His is in MINT condition. Previous owner kept the thing spotless, full records, not a scratch. I think it's just over 100k. Like ox yes his is.

Much appreciated.

[lemon boy]

Nice- Ain't often you find a "low miles" older stroke.

If it is a 94 powerstroke* there are a few things that he should do if the previous owner hasn't already namely getting an open air intake and an aftermarket downpipe (turbo to cat). Should cost ~$300 for both (or less). The other thing he might consider is a chip, there are a ton of different guys with different programs, I got one designed for giving better mileage and am seeing ~15-20% better mileage for it (should be 200-500 bucks depending)

*94 was a transition year, IIRC they made powerstrokes (turbo, direct injection), Turbo Diesels (turbo, indirect diesel injection "IDI") and IDI diesels (naturally aspirated, IDI) that year.

[cj001f]

Really? I've never heard of this. Why would they do that?

$50 is the limit for a transaction w/o signature for many credit card companies.

[BanditXXX]

After spending $82 billion, plus, you'd think the least that the Iraq's could do would be to give us guys a discount on our fuel. Tap into the Alaska source. Pipe it down here to all of us Suburban loving gas guzzlers. Get er done Bush!!

[funkendrenchman]

Pet Peeve: Many gas stations have a deal on the auto pump where on one transaction you can only put X number of dollars in fuel in (typically 40 or 50 bucks)

Minimum credit card trasaction may be one reason, but if prices are only going up wouldn't it make sense to fill up every day or two so you get as much of the cheaper gas as you can? This would stop people from doing that.

If I fill up my tank on Mon, Wed and Fri, and the prices are $2.39, $2.43, and $2.45, it is cheaper than doing one big fill up on Fri at $2.45.

[EstoBum]

I'd like to point out a few errors in this thread:

Octane is not actual related to the combustion temperature of the fuel, it is the fuel's ability to resist self-detonation. The octane rating is a scale which has heptane at 0 and octane at 100. When a fuel-air charge is compressed in an engine, it increases pressure and hence temperature. In a gasoline engine, combustion is controled by the introduction of the spark. Once the fuel reaches the ignition temperature a delay occurs before it ignites automatically, and this delay is what gives its octane rating. Any fuel igniting spontaneously, before the flame front created by the spark plug reaches it causes knocking and damage to the engine. Hence a higher octane engine is more resistant to knock, allowing for a higher compression ratio, etc.

Using a lower grade fuel than what is recommended for a modern engine will probably detect knock at a lower spark advance, and the ECU will retard the spark until the frequency is reduced. This also reduces the torque generated (the maximum brake torque MBT is mostly related to spark advance). by a small margin and will effectively reduce your fuel economy. That is why specifically built race cars use certain race fuels, and you should use the recommended fuel in your vehicle.

Diesel on the other had uses a higher compression ratio, and a cetane rating which is the opposite of octane, the ability of the fuel to self ignite. Diesels produce less CO emissions, a bit more NOx and alot more of Particulate matter. These however are at greater amounts than gasoline engines produce, especially without the ultra-low sulfer fuel.

I'll look into the ethanol issue tomorrow, as all my IC Engine texts are at work. I believe it often used because ethanol has a higher octane rating, although a lower heating value, so you still get the optimal performance, although less of it.

[funkendrenchman]

$1.16 ----> $2.35

[char]

Welcome to the future folks. This is the beginning of the human race being weaned from fossil fuels whether we like it or not.

It's not just about shifting our cars from fossil fuels to hydrogen, it is about fundamentally restructuring the way our societies work. It is going to get ugly.

[funkendrenchman]

Welcome to the future folks. This is the beginning of the human race being weaned from fossil fuels whether we like it or not.

It's not just about shifting our cars from fossil fuels to hydrogen, it is about fundamentally restructuring the way our societies work. It is going to get ugly.

Agreed...Wherever I get my next job, I will be sure to live as close to it as possible... one huge way to save on gas. Another way to save would be to stop skiing, but that won't be happening anytime soon. Instead, everytime I go, I will make a concerted effort to find at least one person to drive with.

[f2f]

Wind energy has its own problems. Wind farms typically take up a lot of space, and can have impacts on bird populations. I have been around a wind farm and they can be very loud. I think with any power production source there will always be consequences

wind farms take out a lot less birds than skyscrapers downtown do, besides, give it a couple of generations and the birds will get smarter (or die out)...

the real problem with large-scale wind energy generation is that it affects climate by taking net energy out of the atmospheric circulation. take for example simulations (and statistics from somewhere in england, which i can't find currently) showing that rainfall decreases in areas surrounding large wind turbine installations:

http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journa...0105news2.html

harnessing waves' energy still remains the generation method with the most potential. generators bobbing up and down, coastal erosion decreasing.. (sucks for the surfer dudes though)