Gas Price Change For You

[CAP1]

cant remember the name but here's some

http://www.mpgomatic.com/2007/10/08/super-cheap-high-mpg-cars-1978-1981/

watch this too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr57nwiOXLg




semp

 ui never saw a dodge de tomosa.....but i worked on some chevy luvs. they were crap. they rusted worse than old fords. and they didn't get any better then 30mpg.....if they got that.

[CAP1]

What's interesting to me is that there are mid-sized sedans today that can rival those numbers while producing real, usable power. Technology has come a long way and the automakers are doing a great job despite the goofy regulations placed on them.

 know whagt made me laugh? a certain mythical person was pushing their mythical agenda(i was test driving a customers car that had talk radio on). this mythical person was gushing about how in 20 years or less, cars would be averaging 55mpg, thanks to his policies(most of which were another mythical persons i think), and save the average motorist $8k over the life of the car.
 i found that funny, because it seems to me that people keep cars for around 20 years. at that, that means they'll save $400/year. if this really happens. that 400/year will be more than eaten up in the extra cost of the car, which will be higher, thanks to these mythical policies.

[Skuzzy]

65 bucks for a large bag of dogsled fuel,last about a month! Not sure what the MPB is{miles per bag},they use fuel wheter you run them or not!


  Roy,the powdercoat booth sound great,but isnt the oven part abit expensive to run on a small scale? I have a buddy who powdercoats small parts and uses an old stove to "bake" them!
    

That is exactly what you do for small parts, except it is an old oven, not a stove.

it is ONLY of bennefit in forced induction or high compression or engines tuned for it. Higher octane fuel doesn't burn better, it is just more resistant to combustion to prevent predetonation.

People who put it in cars tuned for lower octane are throwing $$$ dwn the drain and if they claim their car runs better then there is probably some other issue.

Quite true.  However, if the ambient temperatures are really high, going one step up in octane may allow the engine (if it is configured to determine the fuel octane) to run at a better configuration which could possibly provide slightly (<1%) better fuel mileage.  99% of the time, this would probably not be true.

you say that jokingly......but the last time gas hit 4/gallon, people were punching holes in gas tanks, and draining them. one of my friends runs a napa....they got 3 of his trucks.

Another good reason to own a Mini.  Not worth the effort to punch a hole in the tank to drain the 2 or 3 gallons left in it.  

Dang Skuzzy,

I'm figuring about 4,000 sq ft minimal for your man cave without future expansions, 480 volt wiring, expensive lighting. You left out your welding and finishing areas, and a massive air compressor and air lines in your posts. With a Vacuum former, you will need either a WaterJet or Laser to pre-cut your material, add another 1,000 sq ft. and machinery costs.

God bless you Skuzzy for keeping our economy rocking! This man deserves a Tax break.(The 1% I depend on for employment) where would we be if the government took all of their money? forced to work at Gunpoint.

Skuzzy has my utmost respect, After babysitting us, he goes home and produces products.(I always thought he was just the "Hitman" for High Tech) my bad.

GL on your endeavors, I'm still trying to crunch the numbers, I'm amazed! This is only part of his garage.

<S>

I not sure what my post has to do with the price of gas, here in Utah,reg 3.59...plus 3.71...Pre.....3.82

I did not list everything.  There is Mig welding unit, upright 50 gallon compressor.  I am looking at a CNC plasma cutting table, but until that happens I will hand cut using a scroll saw.  Until I get a plasma table I will not be able to work with large parts.

The real garage is a two car affair for the Wife's Lexus and my Mini.  Trying to figure out how to get a covered area for a truck and trailer (to haul the Cobra to far away events).

All of this is actually for my retirement.  When I retire, I have no intention of just sitting around growing old and watching the grass grow.

You guys must all be driving hi performance vehicles.... The higher the octane the harder it is for your engine to ignite the gasses.  Unless you all drive a BMW, Mercedes or something like that you are uselessly wasting your money. ....<snip>

My Mini has 11.5:1 compression ratio.  The Wife's Lexus has 12:1 compression ratio.  Both cars will run on regular fuel, at much reduced power levels.  But, with unblended 93 octane fuel, my Mini gets 47MPG on the freeway @ 70MPH.  With 91 octane blended fuel, it struggles to get 41MPG @ 70MPH.

Check out Mazda's new engines.  13:1 compression ratio.

Right now, I am paying about $0.03 to $0.05 cents a gallon more for the unblended 93 octane.  You figure it out.

skuzzy drives a prius

Nope, just a Mini Cooper for me (for right now) and a Lexus IS250 for the Wife.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

know whagt made me laugh? a certain mythical person was pushing their mythical agenda(i was test driving a customers car that had talk radio on). this mythical person was gushing about how in 20 years or less, cars would be averaging 55mpg, thanks to his policies(most of which were another mythical persons i think), and save the average motorist $8k over the life of the car.
 i found that funny, because it seems to me that people keep cars for around 20 years. at that, that means they'll save $400/year. if this really happens. that 400/year will be more than eaten up in the extra cost of the car, which will be higher, thanks to these mythical policies.

Here in Europe gas already costs 9,5 dollars per gallon and the most popular models of euro cars average 30-50mpg. Only in the US and Russia people still drive low mpg V8's due to your dirt cheap gas.

[Shuffler]

it is ONLY of bennefit in forced induction or high compression or engines tuned for it. Higher octane fuel doesn't burn better, it is just more resistant to combustion to prevent predetonation.

People who put it in cars tuned for lower octane are throwing $$$ dwn the drain and if they claim their car runs better then there is probably some other issue.

With computers controlling the engines today you can actually get better power with higher octane. That is if you run higher octane regularly. You can get even better mileage if you find a station that sells fuel that does not have.... 10% corn  lol.   

[RTHolmes]

my car gets ~10% better mileage (and better performance) from using super unleaded (97-99) and it costs ~5% more ... you can guess what I fill up with

[clerick]

With computers controlling the engines today you can actually get better power with higher octane. That is if you run higher octane regularly. You can get even better mileage if you find a station that sells fuel that does not have.... 10% corn  lol.   

Computers are still only mapped for a certain maximum octane. You can't take a Ford Focus and have it recognize 91 octane and adjust accordingly, without an aftermarket map of course. The engineers program the ECU to run certain parameters (timing, spark, injector pulse et.c.) based on what octane they think the car needs. So if they decide 87 is enough, then,as long as all the sensors give the OK, the car will run at the optimum values, based on the assumption it's 87 octane. Putting 91 won't provide any bennefit in this case.

[CAP1]

Here in Europe gas already costs 9,5 dollars per gallon and the most popular models of euro cars average 30-50mpg. Only in the US and Russia people still drive low mpg V8's due to your dirt cheap gas.

 we drive low mileage v8's due to the mythical agency called the epa. they have so dam many mythical rules that we can't get decent cars here. i'd love to be able to buy a 300hp focus to have fun in...........even though it's not a v8.

 that being said, my last highway trip on the gt, i averaged 27-28mpg, which is slightly higher than she's rated at. pretty dam good for a 400hp+ car over here.

[clerick]

we drive low mileage v8's due to the mythical agency called the epa. they have so dam many mythical rules that we can't get decent cars here. i'd love to be able to buy a 300hp focus to have fun in...........even though it's not a v8.

 that being said, my last highway trip on the gt, i averaged 27-28mpg, which is slightly higher than she's rated at. pretty dam good for a 400hp+ car over here.

me too dern it! Though we are getting the Fiat 500 Abarth.

[icepac]

Computers are still only mapped for a certain maximum octane. You can't take a Ford Focus and have it recognize 91 octane and adjust accordingly, without an aftermarket map of course. The engineers program the ECU to run certain parameters (timing, spark, injector pulse et.c.) based on what octane they think the car needs. So if they decide 87 is enough, then,as long as all the sensors give the OK, the car will run at the optimum values, based on the assumption it's 87 octane. Putting 91 won't provide any bennefit in this case.

The ECU will advance spark until it runs into knock and retard it to near the threshold.

You will get more aggressive spark timing with higher octane.

Icepac....ecu engineer.

[CAP1]

me too dern it! Though we are getting the Fiat 500 Abarth.

 i would only buy one of them, if they came with the women in the commercials. 

[Babalonian]

You paid 4.21... It must have gone down, I got it for 4.19 a gallon. Norcal slightly cheaper maybe?

Depending how close you are to Highway 5, and North of Stockton, yup, it's always a bt cheaper than LA (durring the summer, usually by ~ a quarter).  Between Frisco and LA on the 5, ppphhhhht, forget aobut it.  Generaly I top off my tank here and try to make it to Stockton before next filling up on every single trip up north I make, trying my best to avoid the price-gouging that most stations partake in along the 5 between here and Frisco.

[Babalonian]

I'm desperately trying to find an inexpensive diesel Jetta wagon for work.

There's your problem, clearly you're not truly desperate since like 99% of people you're still set on a Jetta.

[Babalonian]

And about my faith in "All-American" (ie: Chevy) electric - I really don't know about how much to trust it...  I've been drueling at Teslas speeding around my office for about half a decade now, and now Detroit after a few months expects me to believe what they got is going to be the latest and greatest forever and ever...

[Ardy123]

And about my faith in "All-American" (ie: Chevy) electric - I really don't know about how much to trust it...  I've been drueling at Teslas speeding around my office for about half a decade now, and now Detroit after a few months expects me to believe what they got is going to be the latest and greatest forever and ever...

Electric cars do have very nice acceleration due to the different power curve they have compared to combustion engines. That being said the challenge is still how to charge them up quickly. I believe Tesla's have 300 mile range before they need an all night charge.