Diesel air pollution

[olderisbetter]

I saw the news about diesel air pollution and nitrogen oxide, and that diesel vehicles could be banished to hit safer targets,
Has anyone seen any tests on diesels run on vegetable oil for emmisions of nitrogen oxide ?, my everyday driver is a diesel and i do use eco fuel or modified vegetable oil. Rob

[bmcecosse]

The problem only arises in Cities - where we have lines of idling Buses and Taxis sitting at traffic lights - and very little movement of air due to the buildings..... And I doubt if Bus exhausts are regulated to anything like the extent car exhausts are regulated. Simple answer is - ban the taxis and buses from busy City streets! Bring back the electric tram cars and trolley buses !!

[SteveClem]

10 years ago we were advised to buy diesels for their low emissions. Now they are tantamount to sleeping with the devil. We won't get another because of expensive issues with particulate filters. Also the modern petrol cars are challenging diesels in terms of fuel economy. I believe most manufacturers are concentrating their research away from diesel now.

[les]

Battery cars are what we need.

[Trickydicky]

Earlier this year Channel 4 Dispatches ran an interesting program regarding diesel cars. http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news ... dispatches
I agree with Les, but until battery technology is or can be developed to its full potential the best we are likely to see is the hybrid cars.

[olderisbetter]

bmcecosse, i live on the edge of a city, the buses and taxis here seem to create clouds as they drive away, i am sure if they had a tennis ball under the excelorator it might stop some of the emmision issues, and yes the modern diesel cars are just filters and computers which is the reason i went away from modern petrols, you know the sort where a light comes on and it costs more to fix the problem than the car is worth, i can see hybrids replacing diesels and yes Les even battery cars will be the future as battery technology gets smaller and more powerfull, maybe one day they will do a retro fit conversion for older cars, electric moggy anyone?

[bmcecosse]

A well maintained modern diesel car is fine. My Stepway is making reliable 58 mpg in mixed driving conditions. The DPF just needs the engine to be worked hard every now and again - to get it hot enough to burn off the 'particles'. The air problem lies in poorly maintained buses in town. Electric cars are great - i would have one in a heartbeat....if the cost was more reasonable.

[olderisbetter]

I think an electric small car would suit 80% of my usage, but as you say cost needs to be more reasonable and as i forget to charge my phone most of the time some sort of system to self charge would nelp

[SteveClem]

I suspect that the only way an electric car can be environmentally friendly is if it is recharged by solar/ wind/geothermal etc. The manufacturing/ recharging/ recycling impact on emissions is greatly underestimated I understand.

[panky]

That's my big beef with so called emission free cars, the pollution produced to power them is just shifted somewhere else - and the crap produced in the manufacture of the batteries is horrendous, lakes of poisonous effluent seeping into the ground and the battery packs have to be changed every few years. Only if battery technology moves on to something that doesn't mean poisoning vast tracts of land and only when alternative energy is produced in sufficient quantities to cleanly power electric cars will they be a 'green' alternative to a well tuned, sensibly driven modern combustion engine.

[olderisbetter]

Panky i think a well tuned sensibly driven modern combustion engine is more than enough for now, the problem is so many people thrash the hell out of engines till they smoke and put out lots of bad emmisions, i think sensible driving helps alot i get quite good mpg compared to mates who drive in the wrong gear and rev the cars through the gears.

[millerman]

That's my big beef with so called emission free cars, the pollution produced to power them is just shifted somewhere else - and the crap produced in the manufacture of the batteries is horrendous, lakes of poisonous effluent seeping into the ground and the battery packs have to be changed every few years. Only if battery technology moves on to something that doesn't mean poisoning vast tracts of land and only when alternative energy is produced in sufficient quantities to cleanly power electric cars will they be a 'green' alternative to a well tuned, sensibly driven modern combustion engine.

Panky, well said

Now anyone got an easy way of putting a small diesel engine in a minor or would like to post a build thread?

[panky]

I know of a guy who has put a Perky out of a Sherpa into his minor, I wonder what the people who run the LEZ who make of that

[olderisbetter]

i have seen a guy who had a sherpa or ldv pilot and he was trying to put the peugeot 1.9 diesel enging and gearbox from it into a minor van, I have'nt seen the project for a while i may go pay him a visit and see what has happened.

[bmcecosse]

problem with a diesel in a Minor is the restricted revs of the engine....likely to limit the car to 50/60 mph. My Stepway rarely gets above 2000 rpm! The gearing is so low - and that's the secret of good economy from a diesel - full charge on every stroke but relatively few of them!

[SteveClem]

That's my big beef with so called emission free cars, the pollution produced to power them is just shifted somewhere else - and the crap produced in the manufacture of the batteries is horrendous, lakes of poisonous effluent seeping into the ground and the battery packs have to be changed every few years. Only if battery technology moves on to something that doesn't mean poisoning vast tracts of land and only when alternative energy is produced in sufficient quantities to cleanly power electric cars will they be a 'green' alternative to a well tuned, sensibly driven modern combustion engine.

I spent half my working life, as a geologist and civil engineer, extracting and processing minerals. With the best intentions in the world it is an extremely energy intensive process but practically invisible to the general public. We were mostly mining coal and fire clay but on a fairly average site in the 1980's our diesel fuel consumption was colossal. Then most of the coal went to the Alcan aluminium smelter (it had it's own power station) creating more 'invisible 'pollution. I expect that the extraction and processing of the rare minerals required for battery manufacturing is considerably more energy intensive! And then the refined materials are shipped all around the world...complete nonsense to pretend electric cars are 'green 'at the present time.

[POMMReg]

Think we should be more concerned with the fires burning around Chernobyl - diesel fumes come a little further
down the list....

[les]

Unfortunately killing the planet and other species is a human trait, despite the great things that we are capable of. I'm hoping to get the new Yamaha R3 shortly!

[POMMReg]

Too late now, the appearance of another leach easily appeases the simple minded working class.

[sid]

any engineers/mechanics on here have anything to do with 2-stroke diesels? always thought the Fodens and Commers the local quarries used when i was a lad sounded awesome there's also the Deltics of course,which come to our local Heritage Railway (Gt Central),from time to time.when i win the Lottery,i'll probably treat myself to a vintage Kenworth,with a Detroit Diesel V8 2-stroke