The world is running out of oil, and...

[random_fool]

Originally posted by Genesis F5
I don't get it. The most I've ever seen on a speed limit sign is 80 mph. What the hell am I going to do with an extra 70 mph?

-genesis f5 (mx)

I've personally driven a car well ~130, but that's not the point.

A car that tops at 150, 180, 210 will get to 80 much faster than a car that tops at 90.

A car that tops at 150, 180, 210 will be able to accelerate and pass another vehicle much faster than a car that tops at 90.

The top speed is an indicator of how the vehicle will perform at lower speeds.

P.S. - GM and Ford are both doing a lot of research into both Hybrid and Hydrogen vehicles. The bottom line is that the US market just doesn't want that right now - or anytime in the near future.

[hurricaneone]

Originally posted by random_fool
A car that tops at 150, 180, 210 will be able to accelerate and pass another vehicle much faster than a car that tops at 90.

Torque, son - torque.

That's what counts and will count, 0 - 60 etc (mph, that is).

What your top end is both immaterial and quite factorally, inconsequential.

[random_fool]

Originally posted by hurricaneone
Torque, son - torque.

That's what counts and will count, 0 - 60 etc (mph, that is).

What your top end is both immaterial and quite factorally, inconsequential.

You think the subject of this thread lacks torque? You think any production car that tops at 150 will lack torque?

Yes, torque will get you the launch to pass (and 0-30, 1/8 mile times, etc), but in most modern motors, the torque and HP will be reasonably proportional, and consequently, the higher the top speed, the better your average street performance will be.

But do we really need to play these little word games? The bottom line, the point of my comment, stands.

[hurricaneone]

Even I admit there are certain 'laws' by which we must abide.

Torque will prove all, without the tickets...

If you could restrain yourself...

[Jafang]

They should make a car that runs on poo.. I have the design and the Idea.. just need a company to invest.. Well guys today is your lucky day... I will reveal to you the Design and the Idea.

You remove all the seats and replace them with toilette bowls... that is the design.. then you make a good old dump. Now the idea is the more passenger you have on board, the more dumping will going on and yep.. more Torque and speed you will get..
just need someone to take all those energy and make it to reusable combustion..

man i should copyright it man..

[indivision]

i dont know. i dont think it would be safe to wipe and flush at 65 mph.

[Ask The Geezer]

I think someone needs to reinvestigate steam power. Instead of burning kerosene, water could be heated with microwave, or even lasers. Better motors and boilers could be designed using modern materials and knowledge. There's a lot of power in steam. Even nuclear plants use it.

[indivision]

isnt the problem with steam that it requires a tremendous amount of structure to control. in other words, the engines need to be too big?

[SpockBert]

Originally posted by Jafang
They should make a car that runs on poo.. I have the design and the Idea.. just need a company to invest.. Well guys today is your lucky day... I will reveal to you the Design and the Idea.

You remove all the seats and replace them with toilette bowls... that is the design.. then you make a good old dump. Now the idea is the more passenger you have on board, the more dumping will going on and yep.. more Torque and speed you will get..
just need someone to take all those energy and make it to reusable combustion..

man i should copyright it man..

Just think of the mess in the event of a crash though.

eeuuugh

[ihoss.com]

The problem is effeciency! An el motor is 10% effecient, an engine is even less and steam is horribly inefficient!

[krona]

Originally posted by ihoss.com
The problem is effeciency! An el motor is 10% effecient, an engine is even less and steam is horribly inefficient!

combustion engines are generally about 20% efficient . Diesel engines are upwards of 40% effecient, and the most effecient diesel engines are over 50% effecient.

steam is horribly inefficient

efficiency of water? water is 100% efficient. It is the way it is heated and the way the pressure is used that is less than 100% efficient.

[TallGuyLittleCar]

Originally posted by PAlexC
[B]I don't know if this is on or off topic now, but the Crossfire drives really nice. It's basically a 230 roadster with a hard top.

I believe it is the old 320 roadster (which had a hard top) just with a rebody.

All that being said, Mercedes has done a LOT of research on hydrogen powered cars and on maximizing diesel efficiency. In fact, all the German manufacturers have. The Japanese seem to be focusing on hybrids, which are more practical and likely short-term.

the lower sulfer fuels used in europe make diesels more efficient and useful. The u.s. will begin lowering it's gasoline and diesel sulfer levels in 2007. In the u.s. VW's already has amazing diesel engines. The new Pumpe Dusse in the golf and jetta is the most efficient mass produced car engine produced yet.

As far as oil... weren't we supposed to run out of oil in the 80's, when that didn't happen they said the 90's... now they are saying in a decade.

water? hah o.k.

[Ask The Geezer]

I would admit that the way steam "was" used is horribly inefficient. But nobody has, to my knowledge, even looked at the possibilities using modern science and materials. Maybe because it's like those 200 mile per gallon carbureters. They work, but would put the oil companies out of business?

[TallGuyLittleCar]

steam through a turbine is the way most electricity is created. However I think scale is the key here. I don't think ocean liner manufactures would have diesel engines generating electricity if a steam turbine would work at that same scale.

[hurricaneone]

Originally posted by iaskwhy
They work, but would put the oil companies out of business?

The oil companies better party sooner rather than later. According to TGLC, we'll be running out of black gold a week on Friday.

The problem lies not with oil, it's with what has come before.

If your concern is a greener world, then everyone - every country should do as Japan does and tax old cars off the road. Your shagged out '79 Chevy Nova might be 'cool', but it and its bretheren are the vehicles guilty of dumping vast quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. A modern SUV with a standard V8 is a veritable miser compared to the inefficient motors still allowed to troll around the planet belching great clouds of toxicity.

[krona]

Originally posted by TallGuyLittleCar
steam through a turbine is the way most electricity is created. However I think scale is the key here. I don't think ocean liner manufactures would have diesel engines generating electricity if a steam turbine would work at that same scale.

They do work on the same scale (think nuclear power station) but hauling a pressure vessel weighing 1000+ tonnes is problematic at best.

edit.. the main reason it wouldnt be used for cars, at a guess, is becuase it would take a good 15 minutes for the pressure to build up to even move the car.

[Ask The Geezer]

Well, the Stanley Steamer took the world land speed record in 1906 at 127mph. When they were new, they took 7 to 12 minutes to fire up. But that was a hundred years ago. Pressure vessels could be smaller and much safer, and they wouldn't need to be fired with kerosene. Microwave or lasers could heat water much faster and hotter. Moisture collectors could remove the drops of water from the steam, and a piston engine or a turbine could be run from it. Electricity for the laser or the microwave can come from a single cylinder lawn more engine running a generator, or a fuel cell.

Yes, nuke plants are on a different scale, I've worked at building 3 of them, but in them, no steam or water is lost, it's all reused through condensers. The fog you see from the cooling towers is not the steam from the turbine loop, it's from the reactor cooling coils.

I'm not concerned about green. I'm concerned about getting away from an oil economy, being held hostage by the oil producer nations, and giving half my income to the damn gas jockey.

[Paingod]

all i can say is all of you need to go fly a kite.....the earth has made oil for millions of years....every year millions of gallons just leak out into the ocean.....yes we take alot of oil out.....BUT....this planet is alwas making more....and the truth is no one knows how much is left....they just found more oil in the gulf of mexico..in an area they said in the mid 80's that was dry and would never be drilled in again.....guess what...we are drilling there.....it really astonishes me how man can think some how he can destroy this planet. even if we used all the nuclear weapons on earth and carpet bombed the globe all we would do is kill ourselves....earth would remain....rebuild...and eventually erase our existance........global warming...LOL....what about the 10 degrees the global temp rose in 20,000 bc?.....was that us too?.....LOL....more cfc's are released from methane bubbling out of the ocean floor than humans and all the animals produce in any given year......maybe i got off topic but hell this is an old post and im bored

[Markp.com]

Steam engine! Hahaha come on!

How about you get a part electric, part biodiesel super car?
http://www.autoblog.com/entry/1234000263054348/

Photos here: http://photos.attackforums.com/showg...r=877&password

Sexy!

[BlackCow237]

BMW came out with a new concept car that runs on hydrogen called the H2R (Hydrogen Record Car). Its a hydrogen combustion engen instead of a fuel cell car. Hydrogen cars are possible its just going to take a while to make the cars afordable and have hydrogen pumping stations avalable. Also I herd on the news that someone tricked out his hybrid to get 250 miles to the gallon! So things are looking up. You can read more about BMW's H2R at http://auto.howstuffworks.com/bmw-h2r.htm