evelrod
Automotive
- Jan 15, 2001
- 3,255
Just read a very long article in one of my 'car nut' weekly rags about the Metropolitan NYC bus and truck fleet using bio diesel fuel. They claim much lower emissions (carbon I presume, particulate emmisions) better fuel mileage, lower maintenance due to fewer oil changes, etc (cures warts?). Along with biofuel being a renewable resource and CHEAPER , to boot! Unfortunately, this article is written to the great 'unwashed' and is very limited technically speaking. As I have said before, I own a couple of Dodge/Cummins but, I am not a diesel nut(they are the MOST efficient PU trucks I have ever owned, 170,000 on one with NO problems, PERIOD!), but I would like to know why, considering the lip service California pays to cleaning the air, we do not have this fuel available to west coast drivers?
Franz---I know of one test of bio fuel run by UT Austin about five years ago, what ever happened to that? We had a demo of biodiesel fuel last year at UC San Diego and UC Riverside processed from various bio stuff using a portable , trailer mounted "still" (?). Unfortunately I read about it some weeks after the fact.
Is this a viable alternative fuel or some kind of politacally correct BS? If diesel is cheaper to refine, why is it more expensive at the pump? AND--- Most of all, is this biofuel detrimental to the wear and life expectancy of most diesel engines?
We in California tend to get sucked into these high priced additive schemes that always seem to bite us a few years later (MTBE is the current one). Forgive me if I am a bit unconvinced. I love cars, especially race cars, but I also like to look out over the lake and be able to see the snow on the mountains without that 'brown cloud'!
Rant over, sorry---Rod
Franz---I know of one test of bio fuel run by UT Austin about five years ago, what ever happened to that? We had a demo of biodiesel fuel last year at UC San Diego and UC Riverside processed from various bio stuff using a portable , trailer mounted "still" (?). Unfortunately I read about it some weeks after the fact.
Is this a viable alternative fuel or some kind of politacally correct BS? If diesel is cheaper to refine, why is it more expensive at the pump? AND--- Most of all, is this biofuel detrimental to the wear and life expectancy of most diesel engines?
We in California tend to get sucked into these high priced additive schemes that always seem to bite us a few years later (MTBE is the current one). Forgive me if I am a bit unconvinced. I love cars, especially race cars, but I also like to look out over the lake and be able to see the snow on the mountains without that 'brown cloud'!
Rant over, sorry---Rod
