Hybrids

[tikiyaki]

Re: Hybrids

This sounds like a good idea, but can vegetable oil be abundant enough for people to use it as a common fuel? Sure, a few people are using it here and there now, but will there be enough for food and transport?

Or else, we could develop several ways of transport; vegetable oil, something else, etc.

The beautiful thing is that you can use USED cooking oil. Right now, restaurants have to pay to get their oil disposed of, so if you were to approach a restaurant about taking their used oil, you'll be getting free fuel. If this type of thing takes off, everyone will start charging for it, but being that you can make vegetable oil from alot of different sources, I think we will be ok. Remember, fossil fuel comes from fossils...ie: dead dinosaurs etc... how many of THOSE are they still making ? :-)

Better to rely vegetables that than dead dinosaur carcasses from the middle east, no ?

[jkpescador]

Re: Hybrids

We are leaning toward buying a Honda Civic Hybrid from Windward Honda.

Thank you for the input.

I'll be posting our fuel economy now and then.

[Bard]

Re: Hybrids

Looked at the hybrids a bit, and even though I had geek lust, I couldn't justify the cost with a manual Civic EX sitting in the driveway already. On a recent road trip (through the mountains, even) we got over 40MPG in several tanks.

'Course that car is about to get sold, first casualty of our moving plan

[speedtek]

Re: Hybrids

I have been studying running cars on old cooking oil for the last 4 years. I have owned and repaired dielsels in the past. A lot of restaurants put their old oil in 5 gallon buckets so it is easy to manage (they would be more than happy to have someone take it awaY!). the only problem is you have to make a heated strainer system to remove the nasty waste. Disposing of the waste can go to H-Power. If there could be a way to have neighborhood co-ops that would be a way the community could get thier almost free fuel. One thing good about Hawaii is our tempature here is always high so the
"fuel" wont solidify too much or not at all. There are several VW Diesels running on "grease" here. I saw a Green VW Bug with a older man driving it.
I talk to him in traffic and he told me he has 50k on it and ZERO problems.
What I would like is a Diesel hybid!

[jkpescador]

Re: Hybrids

Car was purchased on 7/31 from Honda Windward. We paid a premium for it. So far it has been averaging 48 MPG for the wife's Mililani to Kapolei and back commute.

[pzarquon]

Re: Hybrids

Aug. 31? Do you mean July 31 (which was only Monday)? Or June?

In any case, congratulations. This is the Honda Civic Hybrid, yes? How are you liking it overall, beyond the gas mileage? And did it take a while to get used to being in a car that gets going without making a sound?

[tikiyaki]

Re: Hybrids

I have been studying running cars on old cooking oil for the last 4 years. I have owned and repaired dielsels in the past. A lot of restaurants put their old oil in 5 gallon buckets so it is easy to manage (they would be more than happy to have someone take it awaY!). the only problem is you have to make a heated strainer system to remove the nasty waste. Disposing of the waste can go to H-Power. If there could be a way to have neighborhood co-ops that would be a way the community could get thier almost free fuel. One thing good about Hawaii is our tempature here is always high so the
"fuel" wont solidify too much or not at all. There are several VW Diesels running on "grease" here. I saw a Green VW Bug with a older man driving it.
I talk to him in traffic and he told me he has 50k on it and ZERO problems.
What I would like is a Diesel hybid!

There's a place here in LA that has alot of answers to this stuff...

www.lovecraftbiofuels.com

They do conversions....They sell the filters and oil drums with pumps too.

I don't think the filtering process is as bad as you say. It's a basic mesh filter. I plan on doing this in the next 6 months.
Eventually, there will be fueling stations catering to this sort of thing, and then, of course, the corporations will step in and recycled Vegetable oil prices will soar. But , at least we will HOPEFULLY be a little less dependant on the middle east.

[jkpescador]

Re: Hybrids

Ok sorry I fixed the date. Can you imagine if I wrote a check.

My wife drives it more than I do. It does feel like some sort of space craft with all the different displays you can toggle. She doesn't like how the stereo sounds. It is a Honda Civic. It is kinda like an EX. I know she loves the color: opal silver blue metallic. Yes that is the real color name. I see more cars with this shade around town by various companies; Lexus, Mazda, Toyota, Nissan. The dead stop at the stop signs is different. I'd say you have to take a new approach to driving. You have to leave the lead foot behind and drive more conservatively and cautiously.

I just put the car seat in. We'll see how people like sitting next to that in the back. I don't think it's as roomy as the 2000 Camry we have. We have a Britax ... Marathon (?) car seat.

[jkpescador]

Re: Hybrids

I believe the average MPG for the life of the car is 41.2.
Yesterdays trip to PC and back was 46.2 MPG. That's double what we usually get wit the V6 Camry.

[jkpescador]

Re: Hybrids

Wife is averaging 1 gallon a day. It used to be 2. She went 10 days before filling almost 10 gallons. It used to be 6 days to fill 13 gallons. So she's doubled her mileage.

We should save almost $1000 a year at the current gas rates. Not bad.

I got to drive in today with some mild traffic at the Middle street merge and averaged about 47.4 MPG. That is after going to PC to drop of the keiki. Going uphill is a bit rough on mileage.

[Composite 2992]

Re: Hybrids

We're getting about 46 MPG average. You're doing good with your hybrid! Imagine how much less fuel the US would use if more people drove efficient vehicles.

[jkpescador]

Re: Hybrids

You also have to drive differently. It's like driving less aggressively. You could drive a hybrid aggressively but I don't think you would save as much fuel.

I feel like driving the hybrid is like a game. You have to play with the gas pedal and be congnizant of traffic situations.

[TuNnL]

Re: Hybrids

I realized we're talkin' Hybrids here, but since we're also talkin' fuel economy, there was the 1984-1990 Honda Civic HF. It got a lofty 50+ mpg through a simple formula of low weight and a conventional, reduced size and horsepower 4-cylnder engine.

A friend of mine just bought a Toyota Yaris hatchback, which I'm suprised as small as that car is it "only" gets 40 mpg.

It was a CRX HF you turkey. I know this because this was my dream car in high school! Besides the website link could have told you that.

So how is the Yaris? I’m thinking about getting a new car and the Yaris is pretty high up on my list. Cheap, yet good gas mileage from a reliable auto manufacturer. But would like to hear from someone who already owns one.

[Bard]

Re: Hybrids

You also have to drive differently. It's like driving less aggressively. You could drive a hybrid aggressively but I don't think you would save as much fuel.

Driving a plain ol' gas car will benefit greatly from this as well. Gasoline engines are terribly inefficient at acceleration vs cruising.

[jkpescador]

Re: Hybrids

We are averaging between 42-45 MPG.

Going uphill uses a lot of gas. The display usually reads about 30 MPG going uphill. Going downhill is about 100+ MPG. Traffic affects MPG a lot too. We were stuck in stop and go traffic on Admission Day and we watched the MPG go down and down.

It still feels good to not have to go to the gas station often.