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RE: problem to trade-in full size pickups
A few weeks ago there was a Ford dealer in the Okanagan advertising all kinds of incentives on HD pickups. If you already have a truck, no problem, they will give you another 4K off if you keep it. A sign of the times.
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wilber1
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07/30/08 07:22pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Is the diesel engine's reign as king of torque soon over?
I sure hope those MIT guys read this forum.
Sure would'nt want them wasting their time after consulting with you boys.
I don't think they are waisting their time, the idea of being able to give an engine a large increase in power and torque on demand is a good one, akin in some respects to nitrous but as far as making a 5 liter gasser put out that kind of power and torque over a long period of time for a serious tow vehicle, I'm skeptical. It will have to be designed as one tough engine from the crankcase up, like a diesel.
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wilber1
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07/29/08 08:33pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Is the diesel engine's reign as king of torque soon over?
Look for a natural gas engine for HD towing and hauling in the very near future.
I don't know.
Liquid natural gas is really only good for fleet operations because it has to lowered to -260 degrees in order to become liquid and therefore must be used fairly rapidly to avoid it blowing off into the atmosphere. Compressed natural gas doesn't give decent range because you can't carry enough to go very far without filling your bed with tanks. A buddy of mine had a Chev 1/2 ton with a 350 on CNG. He couldn't go much more than 100 miles without refueling and eventually converted it back to gasoline.
I love my CNG conversion but I hate how long it takes to fuel it. Similarly I've had an LP conversion, but now it's hated for high cost of fuel.
The Europeans (read MB, BMW, VW) will be re-intro'ing their diesels next year or so - which will have the advantage over gasoline by 25-30%, but it's the cost of diesel that's holding up sales. My Uni is 52 years old and it gets better mileage pulling 18,000#, than my old F350 (7.3) without a load. It's not about HP, it's about torque.
You have a Unimog? Cool. We met a German couple in Newfoundland last summer who were going around the world (slowly) in a camperized Bremach.
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wilber1
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07/28/08 09:38pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Is the diesel engine's reign as king of torque soon over?
Look for a natural gas engine for HD towing and hauling in the very near future.
I don't know.
Liquid natural gas is really only good for fleet operations because it has to lowered to -260 degrees in order to become liquid and therefore must be used fairly rapidly to avoid it blowing off into the atmosphere. Compressed natural gas doesn't give decent range because you can't carry enough to go very far without filling your bed with tanks. A buddy of mine had a Chev 1/2 ton with a 350 on CNG. He couldn't go much more than 100 miles without refueling and eventually converted it back to gasoline.
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wilber1
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07/28/08 06:29pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Is the diesel engine's reign as king of torque soon over?
Don't think I want one in a tow vehicle but a 2 liter, direct injected, turbocharged 4 banger, putting out 250+ HP and 300 lb-ft of torque in a nice light, rear drive sporty car would sure get my attention.
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wilber1
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07/28/08 12:15pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Is the diesel engine's reign as king of torque soon over?
Europe was using ULSD before North America but their diesel prices compared to regular are all over the map. LINK
I think it is more an issue of taxation and as over 50% of new vehicles sold in Europe are diesel, they sure haven't given up on them.
I've noticed the same thing here. Although diesel is more expensive than regular in BC, the spread isn't nearly as great as just across the border in WA, even though the stuff is probably coming from the same refineries.
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wilber1
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07/28/08 11:12am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: New restrictions on importing RVs?
Between 2000 and 2004, 25,550 imported vehicles 15 years and older accounted for 80 collisions, including one fatality and one severe injury. With mechanical failure being a very infrequent contributing factor; it is astonishing that three of these collisions involved mechanical failure.
Say what? Name a town that has 25,550 vehicles and has had only 80 collisions with one fatality and one severe injury, with only three involving a mechanical failure over a period of 4 years. What are these people talking about?
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wilber1
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07/26/08 04:11pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Gimli Glider
An incredible screw up that no one caught, including the crew. Great recovery though.
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wilber1
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07/25/08 11:27am |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Grades in Canada
Just remember don't go down faster then you went up and you will be fine!
Unfortunately you have to go up the hill first to find out what that speed is.
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wilber1
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07/18/08 09:51pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Perfect speed for perfect MPG
I find the best MPG is obtained at the slowest speed at which it does not come out of overdrive. Overdrive kicks in at 45 mph. For those that think the sweet spot is different on different vehicles I just find that hard to believe. Wind resistance plays a major role in gas consumption! Wind drag increases at an exponential rate the faster you drive!!! So try a tankfull running at 50 Vs. running at 70 on A N Y vehicle and you will experience a difference!!!
Why this nation cannot figure this out is beyond my comprehension. We are too spoiled and set in our ways to slow down. Driving fast is nothing but a bad habit.
Do you find it hard to believe that rear axle ratios and tire diameter will affect the engine rpm at any given speed? If you had 2 trucks with the same engine, transmission, and tire size but one had 3.55 and the other had 4.10, which one do you think would be more economical at 65 mph?
The 3.55 but the difference in engine efficiency at the two different RPM's will be minimal compared to the amount of power required to overcome rolling and aerodynamic forces at the higher speeds. Going faster requires more power. More power requires more fuel. It really isn't much more complicated than that.
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wilber1
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07/13/08 12:56pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: 2008 jetta diesel fuel mpg !!
I would have a hard time getting myself to buy it if they name it Rabbit, but named Golf or GTI, I could see myself buying one.
In North America the GTI is just called the GTI although it is based on the Golf. 2007 Car of The Year in Europe and replaced the Civic SI as 5th Gear's favourite hot hatch.
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wilber1
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07/11/08 05:02pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Hydrogen on demand
If you are willing to accept a very small car with no creature comforts, you can get a 100 mpg gas powered car. I wouldn't want to ride in it.
VW had a diesel hybrid Golf at the Geneva auto show this year that gets 70 MPG US but I understand it may have been shelved because of production costs. If oil prices keep rising the way they have though, it may become viable sooner than thought.
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wilber1
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07/06/08 01:18pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Hydrogen on demand
Sure is an awful lot of not what I asked about opinions. Thanks anyway.
By the way there is soon to be a care in India that will run on compresed AIR.
Mmm but how much energy does it take to compress the air and how efficient is the air motor that drives the car?
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wilber1
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07/05/08 10:06pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Hydrogen on demand
Our engines turn chemical energy into mechanical energy. If, after over 100 years of development we haven't been able to build an internal combustion engine that is anywhere near 100% efficient, why would anyone believe they could do it anywhere else?
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wilber1
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07/05/08 06:48pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: 2008 jetta diesel fuel mpg !!
If in fact a 05 TDI is worth 5K more than a 05 gasser, it looks like the initial up front cost is more than repaid on resale.
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wilber1
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07/04/08 10:43pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Two Questions about Canada
There used to be a great little RV Park right on the water at Miracle Beach between Comox and Campbell River, just down the road a bit from the entrance to the Provincial park. Some sites back right on to the beach. Haven't been there for about 5 years but really enjoyed it. Provincial park is pretty nice as well and quite large but no hookups or sites right on the water.
Link
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wilber1
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07/03/08 10:40pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Transmission temp from valve body?
2008 Toyota Sequoia. 5.7L, 6-speed transmission.
The reason I ask is because it can be transmission specific. For example a lot of Chev and Ford guys use a test port but that is a useless place to put it in most Dodge transmissions. When it comes to this, only take advice from someone who really knows Toyota trannys.
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wilber1
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07/03/08 04:12pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: 2008 jetta diesel fuel mpg !!
My wife's gets about 40 with mixed driving, 45+ all highway. Some diesels go together better than others and you'll find a few guys getting 60+ mpg out of the early 2000s VWs. Check out Fred's TDI club for more info.
Interesting, I have been getting 26 city and 31 to 33 highway with my Jetta gasser 2.5 6 speed auto. Looks like the government says it gets less. With the cost of diesel, maintenance, and initial cost I don't see an advantage. When I was looking at them the asking price for the TDI's were 4k+ more.
I agree, I wouldn’t own diesel except for towing now days. Not worth it. The days of diesel being cheaper are long gone. The higher the price of a barrel of oil the more the spread between the price gas and diesel is.
Funny, the price of diesel here fluctuates between the price regular and the price of premium. Ten miles south of me in WA diesel runs about 60 cents a gallon more than regular. I don't think the spread has much to do with the price of oil. Other factors are in play.
As far as the higher upfront cost of the diesel option goes according to Black Book you get more than that on resale for most diesels.
Link
With manual transmission my 04 TDI is Transport Canada rated at 46 city 61 highway per Imperial gallon. I don't think that is far off as I average around 50+ MPG in a real world of mixed rural and town driving. As it is also a fun little car do drive, I don't baby it and could probably do a lot better if I tried.
The new TDI is rated at 43 city 54 highway per IMP gallon.
If true, that's not bad for a bigger car and has 40% more HP and 32% more torque than my 04.
A US gallon is 20% smaller than an Imperial gallon
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wilber1
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07/03/08 03:58pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: 2008 jetta diesel fuel mpg !!
Doubt it. A month ago the dealer here said they would have a demo in June but first orders wouldn't arrive till the fall. Just looking at their website it looks like they are claiming about the same mileage numbers as the 06.
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wilber1
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06/29/08 05:37pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Who tows in Overdrive?
I tow a 10K trailer in OD all the time with my 01 Dodge CTD. With 4.10 gears I would be deaf if I didn't.
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wilber1
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06/29/08 08:43am |
Tow Vehicles
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