40 mpg Prius vs 50 mpg European Diesel cars

Yes, the figures for the hybrid are US gallons. In the past year, my
lowest mileage for a tank of gas has been 48 MPG; the highest has been
52 MPG. My highest ever was 53.4 MPG. And except for the first two
tanks of gas, I have never had less than 46 MPG on a tank.

 

Same holds true with gas engines. When I spent some time in Vietnam
the streets of Saigon were choked with smoke from motorbikes and
trucks, many were two cycle gas engines.[/QUOTE]

Keep in mind that two-cycle engines burn lubricating oil; that's what
emits the smoke and odor.

BTW, when where you there? I was in Saigon from Sept to Nov 67, and in
DaNang from Nov 67 to Aug 68.

 

A hybrid already has extra batteries so having the power to crank a diesel
is not a problem. The hybrid controller would have to be programmed a
little differently to allow for the additional power needed to crank a
hybrid engine.

A diesel engine doesn't weigh THAT much more than a petrol engine. A diesel
hybrid is technically feasible but it is not necessarily something that a
consumer would pay 2 premiums for. There is a premium to build a diesel
powerplant and there is a premium for a hybrid system, and it is unlikely
that a consumer would pay over $5,000 more for a diesel hybrid.

As I mentioned before

There are a lot of totally ridiculous conspiracy theories floating around
that the oil companies control the technology that goes into consumer
vehicles. Since consumers buy a lot more cars than oil companies, the
automakers have a lot more to gain by producing something consumers want
than what oil companies want.

Again, the factors that make charging the batteries from household current
are practical;
- the hybrid system has the capacity to charge the batteries as necessary so
an additional power source is not needed with the current battery capacity.
- Adding additional battery capacity costs more money to build, adds weight
to the vehicle, and reduces cargo and/or passenger space in the vehicle.
Some enterprising do-it-yourselfers have fitted external chargers and
additional battery packs at a cost roughly equal to the cost of the hybrid
vehicle and they have had to use all of the cargo space in the car to do it.

 

A hybrid does get better fuel economy in city driving than at a steady
cruise, however, it does get better highway fuel economy than a comparably
sized petrol car and there are no losses in the generator and motor.

Rather than making uninformed guesses, you can read about Toyota and Honda's
hybrid technology at their respective web sites.

 

Martin Dixon wrote:

I saw an article where a Westfield (or possibly a Caterham) that was
unmodified except for special wheels / tyres, achived over 100mpg with a K
series engine.

Not sure I'd want to drive it on the public roads with those tyres, in the
photo they made 2CV wheels look low profile and sporty!

 

"Hybrid engine" is a misnomer. A vehicle with a hybrid propulsion system
uses an internal combustion engine and a generator/starter and a special
transmission that "mixes" the power from the IC and electric motors.

Toyota's hybrid system does start and shut off the IC engine as needed, it
is not horrendous and most people are not aware that it has started or
stopped.

 

Hmm, does it have a way of keeping the engine warm between stops and starts?
I'd imagine that provided the oil and block were kept up to temperature,
and you had an efficient way of storing energy to restart the engine it
should not be too bad.

 

So it has valve lifters. Is the only reason this is not done on regular
engines the extra complexity?

 

Keep in mind that two-cycle engines burn lubricating oil; that's what
emits the smoke and odor.

BTW, when where you there? I was in Saigon from Sept to Nov 67, and in
DaNang from Nov 67 to Aug 68.[/QUOTE]

Spring 66 to 67. 22 TASS at Binh Thuy AB about 6 km from Can Tho in the
delta. I was in Saigon only a few weeks in 66.
--

 

He's still referring to a hybrid. The IC engine would recharge the
batteries. If I understand him correctly, he's thinking of a hybrid with a
significantly bigger battery, that could simply go further without using the
IC engine at all. If the car was used just for shorter commutes, the IC
engine would never need to run. However, if the owner decided to take it
out of town, he'd be spared the need to plug in every 30 or 40 miles (or
less) by virtue of charging the battery from the IC engine.

An optional battery pack that lay flat on the trunk floor, perhaps, would
extend the range of the vehicle in electric-only mode and would be an
interesting option. An expensive option, no doubt.

If you were going on a long trip, it would probably be even more helpful to
be able to remove the battery for the trip. That would increase the
capacity of the car, probably improve its overall fuel economy and you'd not
be likely to be plugging in much along the way.

And the car then becomes the ultimate flex-fuel vehicle. It's mostly fueled
by whatever the power company finds to be cheapest at that particular time.
Overnight, it's their base capacity, which is typically the cheapest
electricity they can make. The nukes run all the time and probably make up
the basest part of the base capacity in most places, so the car would be
partially "nuclear-powered."

I could use a car like that. 90% of my daily drives are under 20 miles. If
you could add enough optional battery to a Prius to give me 20-mile range
(maybe 10), I'd drive it as an electric vehicle most of the time. The thing
that keeps people from buying an Electric Vehicle is that while 90% of their
trips are under 20 (or whatever) miles and, it's the other 10% that rule out
the limited range of the EV. When they do go out of town, the maxium range
of an EV becomes a real problem. Who wants to stop every 100 miles on a
1000 mile trip and wait 6 hours to recharge the car? A hybrid solves that
problem, using gas to both get a 400+mile range and 5-minute "recharges." A
hybrid with a bigger, removeable battery can act like an EV 90% of the time.
As an EV, of course, it's carrying around a lot of unnecessary weight (up to
90 lbs of gasoline, the IC engine, etc) but there are tradeoffs for
everything.




*** ***

 

So when I get 50 mpg, city and highway, in my Prius instead of "40 mpg",
something is wrong?

Details:
http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/mileage/car/1506.html

Just curious, I keep having trouble getting below 50 mpg since I started
driving by following the EPA City and Highway profiles. Could it be the
warmer weather that seems to be more frequent now?

Bob Wilson

 

What is the physical size of the battery pack in the Toyota Pirus?

I do wish Toyota would change the name, I have a hell of a time with the
spelling.
--

 

I thought that would make me nervous, but it doesn't. Instead
it is rather nice to see that 0 and know you are not just
wasting gas when stopped (unless you have some auxiliary item
running).

 

Were your lowest MPGs during the winter? Mine were. Other
than that I was always above 50, usually 52-ish. This year my
mileage is even better.

 

Don't you love it? (Or not?) I love being shut down when
stopped--and being able to not just waste braking energy.

 

Same engine as the new 407 Hdi coupe V6 twin tubo>

Yes the mechanical injector make clatter plus the mechanical injector
pump as well. The common rail diesel are much quiter than mechanical
injected diesel . A interesting point here is that indirect injected
diesel (mech.) is quiter than a direct injected diesel (mech.).

Down under we are paying between $A 1.42 to $A 1.44 per litre for
diesel.








Yandoit Australia

*
* *

+ "A poor excuse is like an old bucket; doesn't matter
what shape it's in, as long as it holds water"
*
PK Shaw


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Even better is going down a mild grade at 70 mph with the ICE shut down.

Kari

 

Just got home. 146 miles mixed city/highway on my current tank. MPG (US)
this tank 53.4.

 

Hope you find out. I'm doing the same, Bob. I believe the originator of
the 40/50 comparison was trolling for the equally misinformed.

 

Makes me feel quite smug, Jean.