Hummers have the potential to make big gains in MPG

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Reply to
geneccc
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The sooner hummpers are melted down into scrap steel, the sooner more Prius can be produced.

Bob Wilson

Reply to
Bob & Holly Wilson

I don't think that a scarcity of steel is hindering Prius production.

Reply to
Michelle Steiner

I like this one better:

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submitted it to snipped-for-privacy@yahoogroups.com but was rejected by the list censors. No sense of humor.

Reply to
David Kelly

True, it is the nickel and copper used in the Hummer that needs recycling.

Bob Wilson

Reply to
Bob & Holly Wilson

Yep. Too bad about the battery shortage. Reduced demand is driving the price of gas down. Gee, who would have guessed? It's like the 70's all over again. Now that this generation has learned it's lesson, we'll have another pinto era and then start advertising big, hollow SUVs again.

Reply to
Was Istoben

i think you totally missed the point it is a simple (and likely relatively inexpensive) device that can pull a 10% improvement from thin air. It looks like it may even be possible to do a retrofit on existing vehicles.

If this thing works and can be fitted to most the vehicles in America it alone would provide the equivalent of ANWR and the continental shelves could in ten years.

I can't believe I am hearing that sort of dismissive comment coming from a Prius board.

It's time EVERYONE realized there will be no gun with a single silver bullet to solve our energy problem but if we are lucky there may be a silver shotgun. This idea is but one pellet from that shotgun.

Reply to
NorthTxPriusClub

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Well let that be a lesson learned. If you really want to sell Hummer improvements, find a forum full of Hummer owners.

I know! I know where!! Find a used car lot. They have a lot of Hummers there. No doubt they would love to see you and your gadget. Heck, you might even help them sell some.

Bob Wilson

Reply to
Bob & Holly Wilson

A 10% improvement is trivial, there are many inexpensive proven ways to get a measly 10%. Narrower tires. Higher tire pressure (the Obama solution). Smaller engine. Drafting the vehicle in front of you.

One of the most effective and inexpensive means is the Chicken Egg and Duct Tape solution. Duct tape a chicken egg to the gas pedal and don't break it while driving.

However the referenced device only achieves 5% on a Suburban, with a

*goal* of 10%. I was being generous by giving credit for the full 10%.

Something they seem to be forgetting is that when one cools the exhaust pipe the engine efficiency goes down. Hot tip among racers is to wrap exhausts to keep them hot.

I think a thermoelectric generator would be more practical on the radiator.

Years ago I worked on a prototype being proposed to the National Guard for their many lightly used Diesel trucks, many dating back to WW-II surplus. The proposal used a thermoelectric generator and burner cooled by the vehicle engine's cooling system. The electricity was to charge the 48V battery every month or so. The heat would serve as a block warmer for starting the engine in cold temperatures.

I was only an engineer on the project so I don't really know why it was rejected other than the impression I got was much the same as what happened when the automatic dishwasher was introduced. Housewives actually *liked* the ritual of washing dishes after a meal. They liked directing and participating in a coordinated family task. It seemed the National Guard liked sending guys out in the fields every month to start the trucks. That is was good practice and training for diagnosing problems an keeping the old things running. That we were asking for money for a product that eliminated what they thought was a useful exercise.

As I remember the thermoelectric generator was not cheap, and it didn't generate much electricity relative to the heat it was provided.

Reply to
David Kelly

Well, first of all, it is not the Obama solution; it is a solution recommended by US Government agencies and various automotive groups. Secondly, it's not "higher tire pressure"; it is "proper tire pressure".

Reply to
Michelle Steiner

The North American Prius (I understand) has, effectively, a block warmer, in that it stores hot engine coolant in a thermally insulated vessel and pumps it back on restart. I am also given to understand that this might be to comply with certain anti-pollution legislation in some States, but it still seems like a very good idea in terms of fuel efficiency. Why the hell it isn't included in the European version beats me (along with the lack of heaters on the door mirrors). The Japanese seem to have some strange ideas about the European climate.........

Chas

Reply to
Chas Gill

Oh, so if I lower my Prius tire pressures from 42/40 to the "proper" pressure Toyota specifies then according to Obama I would improve MPG?

Lowering tire pressure never improves MPG. Once again I was being generous with giving credit.

Obama is being his usual wussie self, afraid to color outside the lines someone else has drawn. Would be funny if it wasn't so sad watching him try to run in front of the parade, pretending to lead the parade, while looking back more than ahead afraid he won't "lead" down the street the parade is headed. Most recent example: Georgia vs USSR.

Rice For President in '08!

Reply to
David Kelly

Newer NHW20's have the thermos bottle. None have a "block heater" as Original Equipment (OE) from Toyota.

No, has nothing to do with pollution control.

"It doesn't hurt anything, much." It is added complexity. It is added weight. It didn't improve things enough to show on the EPA fuel economy ratings.

Europeans have some strange ideas about the North American climate. German engineers at VW had a fit when Americans were allowed to select the A/C gear for the then-new 1985 VW Golf. The car was to be produced in North America so it stood to reason to use domestic A/C hardware. What shocked the Germans was the North American unit had about twice the capacity as fitted in Europe. Americans loved it. I loved the A/C in my

1986 VW Golf. Otherwise the car assembled in Westmoreland, PA, fit together worse than any junkyard repair I have ever seen.
Reply to
David Kelly

Not sure that I said it did. What I said was that it had an "effective" block heater, ie hot water pumped through a cold block = "warmer" block.

I stand corrected. Wouldn't make a lot of difference even if it did, given the US attitude to gas consumption in general.

But does it reduce pollutants?

Not really, we get hot - you get very hot (In some places), we get cold, you get very cold (in some places). We both get hot enough for AC and cold enough for a bit of help on a cold morning. The Prius AC is OK but not as good as some European cars I've driven.

Reply to
Chas Gill
Reply to
Michelle Vadeboncoeur

I'm not intimately acquainted to whatever the hell Senator Obama said about tire pressure, but inasmuch as something well over half of the cars on the road (including, often, mine) have less than the recommended tire pressure, I am sure that the statement was intended for them, not for you.

Who? Elmer Rice? I thought he was dead.

Reply to
Pete Granzeau

Are you intentionally being dense and/or argumentative? He was referring to the multitude of people who never check their tire pressure and run on low tires. He was saying that if they filled their tires to the proper pressure, they would increase their gas mileage.

Baloney! At least he's not pandering to the petroleum industry and coming up with idiotic ideas like drilling in places that won't show any returns for thirty years, and even then have only a minimal effect on oil prices.

It will never happen.

Reply to
Michelle Steiner

but if you drive one, you still have a small penis!

Reply to
Anonymous

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