[Diy_efi] Is E85 worth it?

[Adam Wade]

--- paul <pstelzig at tcq.net> wrote:

Some new items for public consumption (from
dieselnet.com):

"2 June 2006: The transition to ultra low sulfur
diesel fuel has started in the United States. As of
yesterday, 80% of diesel fuel produced by refineries
or imported for use in on-road vehicles must contain
no more than 15 ppm sulfur. The retail level deadline
is October 15, 2006. The ultra low sulfur diesel will
enable advanced exhaust aftertreatment technologies in
future diesel engines, such as the catalytic
particulate filters which are being introduced on 2007
heavy-duty truck and bus engines. The EPA and the DTF
are both calling it a clean diesel milestone."

So we already have low-sulphur fuel in play.

Here are the US numbers for heavy road-going vehicles:

<http://www.dieselnet.com/standards/us/hd.html>

And here are the passenger/light truck vehicle
numbers:

<http://www.dieselnet.com/standards/us/light.html>

World numbers are available through the menu at
http://www.dieselnet.com/standards/

<http://genomicsgtl.energy.gov/biofuels/transportation.shtml#consumption>
shows that for road use in the USA, the ratio of
gasoline to diesel consumption is about 7:2.

According to
<http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_04_05.html>,
the 2003 usage of diesel for transit, boat and railway
was 6.79 billion gallons.  Transit and other on-road
heavy vehicles only list combined gas and diesel
usage, but I think we can safely assume most of them
are diesels; 33.66 billion gallons consumed by them. 
Passenger/LT diesels only account for 0.1% of current
passenger/LT vehicles on the road, and the 2003
figures for combined diesel and gasoline usage for
passenger and light truck vehicles was 143.2 billion
gallons.  So even assuming all non-passenger vehicles
use nothing but diesel, and almost no passenger
vehicles do, gasoline is consumed over diesel in the
USA by a factor of more than 3:1.

As an aside, looks like our new diesel standards are
harder to achieve than anywhere else in the world. 
Have a look at this, which will be depressing for auto
manufacturers hoping to cash in on diesel passenger
car sales:  <http://blog.wired.com/cars/#1551774>

"The soon-to-be-released 2007 Mercedes-Benz E 320
Bluetec is billed as the cleanest diesel ever, but it
produces too many emissions to be sold in five states.

The sedan is the first of 10 models expected to use
the Bluetec common-rail direct injection engine, and
the vehicles include an aftertreatment process to
reduce nitrogen oxide emissions. However, that still
was not enough to meet the regulations of California,
New York, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont, according
to Edmunds.

The V-6 engine is powerful (400 lbs. of torque and
0-60 in 6.6 seconds) and very fuel-efficient for its
class, getting an estimated 26/37 miles per gallon or
going an 700 miles (wowza) on a full tank. By
comparison, the Honda Accord hybrid is rated at 25/34
mpg.

The Bluetec engine was anticipated to usher in the new
era of clean diesels that offer hybrid-like economy
and cleanliness through the new ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur
Diesel) fuel, but not being able to be sold nationwide
is a substantial setback for Mercedes and the
category. If all 10 models expected from
DaimlerChrysler that use the engines, including an SUV
and a Jeep Grand Cherokee, can't be sold in California
et al, it will take a long time for diesels to impact
the U.S. passenger vehicle market."


| Kawasaki Zephyr 615 (Daphne)       Kawasaki Zephyr 550 (Velma)|
| "It was like an emergency ward after a great catastrophe; it  |
|   didn't matter what race or class the victims belonged to.   |
|  They were all given the same miracle drug, which was coffee. |
|   The catastrophe in this case, of course, was that the sun   |
|     had come up again."                    -Kurt Vonnegut     |
| M/C Fuel Inj. Hndbk. @ Amazon.com -  http://tinyurl.com/6o3ze |

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com