Good morning fellow ecomodders, hypermilers, and efficiency enthusiasts of all kinds.

The EcoModder blog has been inactive for over a year (save Tim’s two most recent updates), and I have been asked to help pick it up again.

So, since I also have not been active on this site for nearly a year, to start I thought I would re-introduce my self:

My name is Bakari Kafele.  My internet screen name (or at least one of them) is Jacob Aziza.
You may remember me from such internet sites as the EcoModder Forum and Instructables.com

I have an old (1983) full-size truck with a 6.9L diesel V8 that I use for deliveries and hauling and occasionally towing.  It would be a monstrosity for a commuter vehicle, but it’s about the smallest thing that could serve my work needs – most people hauling loads heavy loads (see below) would use a box truck, a flat bed, or maybe even a dump truck.

At the very least an F-350 or equivalent.
So, depending on how you look at it, getting 15 miles per gallon, (as I was five years ago), could be considered decent, given the type of work being asked of this old truck – 15 mpg being what I measured I was getting, which coincided more or less with what most people report getting in the same make model and year truck.

Then, in 2008, I read an article about Wayne Gerdes.

I found it to be revolutionary and inspirational.  It was one of those moments where it seemed like the idea should have been glaringly obvious all along, and yet somehow never occurred to me.  Slow down, accelerate with moderation, coast early instead of braking last minute.  Obvious stuff, right?

While I had always been environmentally conscious (I was running the truck on biodiesel most of the time,  and my personal transportation was – and is – mostly done by bicycle), I had also been a speed enthusiast in my youth.  The only reason I gave up on casual street racing, drifting, and other performance and trick driving in my Honda Civic was that I totaled it when I attempted to take a tight turn (the sign recommended 20MPH) at 55MPH.
I never put two and two together; never recognized the direct correlation between driving habits and resource consumption.

After reading the article, my driving habits underwent a 180 degree turn.
Despite having once received a letter from the DMV warning me that I was one point away from a suspended license, I now started driving below the speed limit, anticipating stops, and even coasting.

And after a few months, I was pulled over by the CA Highway Patrol once again.
Not that driving 50MPH on a 65MPH highway is actually illegal in CA; but because EVERYONE speeds here, all the time, the officer assumed I must be intoxicated to actually drive below the speed limit.  When I passed the breathalyzer, I was free to go.

I found that to be a (tragically) funny thing – I am surrounded by people breaking the law.  I am the one person NOT breaking the law.  And I am the one who gets stopped by law enforcement, because it is suspicious that I am not breaking the law like everyone else.  I thought that would be an interesting story to share, especially with people who were also trying to get the best possible fuel mileage from their own vehicles.
So I went online, and tried to find out if there were any discussion boards specifically dedicated to this “hypermiling” thing.

And that’s how I discovered:  EcoModder.com
Wow.  A whole new level.  Not only were there dozens of more in-depth secrets to driving technique, but people were actually modding their cars – not to make them faster or look cooler – but to actually make them more efficient.  Revolutionary, mind-blowing, and in the end as it turned out, life changing.

I won’t chronicle the entire process here, because I already did in the forums, as it was happening.

During this process a friend of mine (and fellow mechanic at the bikeshop I worked at at the time) convinced me to write about my truck mods for Instructables.com.

They happened to be doing an energy efficiency contest at the time, which I entered and took second place in, winning a T-shirt!
But even better, the founder and CEO of the company noticed my contest entry, and personally hired me to do a little work at his home.  How cool is that?

Throughout this time period, I had also been writing my own personal blog, and one of the founders of faircompanies.com, Kirsten Dirksen, happened to run across my article on anthropogenic global warming, in which I argue that the evidence is still inconclusive, but we should be acting as though it is true regardless of what science eventually finds.  She asked if I would post some of my content on their website, which I began doing.
About a year or so later she emailed me saying they were taking a trip to the US (from Spain) and asking if I would be willing to be interviewed on camera.

I was still new to hypermiling and hadn’t started ecomodding when the video was taken, so while I did mention driving the smallest vehicle that meets ones needs, fuel efficiency, and bicycles, the portion on my small home got most of the attention.

As my ecomodding habit began, since I was already posting eco related content to the Faircompanies website, Kirsten followed the development of the truck, and its transition from 15mpg to up to 30mpg. The next time she came to the US, several years later, she requested a follow up interview – and the new video which came out recently is all about hypermiling and ecomodding.

That brings us to today.

I recently looked into replacing the rear differential, as was suggested to me in the forums, but it turns out the 2.73  and 3.08 were never made for the stronger 8 lug / F-250+ wheels.  So I’m back to wanting to replace the transmission with one that has overdrive to lower my highway RPMs, but I haven’t found a diesel ZF with the granny gear yet.

I’ve been getting slightly lower mileage than my peak, just over 25 miles per gallon over the past 6 months, VS 29MPG average over the 6 months before that – but still a whole lot better than the 15MPG I started out at.

I suspect this is mostly due to having re-installed the alternator after my onboard 120v charger died, and being lazy about pulse and glide (as in, not doing it at all).
Between the video coming out and writing here, I’ve been more motivated to get my mpgs back up.

I’ll let you know how that goes.

UPDATE – I recently replaced all four tires with the General Grabber HTS, which is one of only two brands that is supposedly low rolling resistance in a tire with a 120 load rating.  I have only had them on about a week, so its too soon to say if/how much they will help (they are replacing on/off road tires in back, and dangerously worn road tires in front) – but what I can say is that the first time I drove with them fully inflated (the shop of course only inflated to 50 – even though I specifically asked them to go to the sidewall max of 80PSI) it was so easy to turn the (manual) steering wheel that for a split second I actually thought there might be something wrong.  I had gotten used to the old tires, and these ones turn with so little resistance that it feels like power assist by comparison.  That feels like a good sign to me.
I also just received my new battery charger (yesterday!) so I can take the alternator belt back off.  Between the two, I’m hoping to hit my 5th 30+mpg tank average – and then keep it there.  We’ll see…

Luxury brands from across the globe have been working hard to offer fuel efficiency and and low emissions without compromising the creature comforts that define the luxury segment. Not only will efficient vehicles quiet some of critics of luxury brands, but they will help keep the American and European regulators from levying heavy fines on inefficient luxury brands.

At this years Frankfurt Auto Show, BMW will be kicking the competition up a notch with a 57 MPG EfficientDynamics version of their current 320d. This new vehicle will emit only 175 grams of CO2/km while having a top speed of 140 mph and making the 0-60 journey in a little over 8 seconds.

The best part is that the EfficientDynamics version won’t be any more expensive than the current 320d. The worst part being that BMW won’t be offering their most efficient car in the United States, where such an efficient option is most in need.

Source: Autopia

It seems like a different European automaker is coming out with a new diesel engine or vehicle option every day. Over here in Japan however, there was quite a lot of hype over one or two diesel cars that might be sold by Honda or Toyota in the United States.

Everyone was excited to see the new generation of cleaner diesels from the Japanese companies. Meanwhile, those companies are already selling diesels in Europe and cutting back on their plans to sell them in the U.S.

Is this a mistake?

I think most of us would admit that diesel has serious image flaws in the United States, but that hasn’t prevented VW’s new TDI models from flying off the showroom floors and generating quite a bit of buzz. However, if we are going to understand the reluctance of Japanese companies to bring diesel anywhere, we need to understand the reality of diesel in Japan.

In Japan, diesel is still relatively restricted to off-road construction equipment, big transport trucks, and soot-spewing public buses. The first time I saw one of these buses I thought “wow, how odd.”

Now I know better. At least 50% of buses in my area will leave a huge cloud of poisonous fumes behind it when leaving from a stop. Because I am riding my bicycle behind these buses many times, I am quite aware of how nasty the situation is, and I assure you I am not exaggerating. It is all I can do sometimes to hold my breath until I get through the worst of it and navigate away from the bus in question.

Why are public buses polluting so badly? I can honestly say that I don’t know what the issue is. Perhaps the same emissions requirements don’t apply to public vehicles or my area just has sub-standard diesel emissions requirements.

Either way, I doubt the Japanese who live with it daily have a more favorable view of the situation. If this were my only experience with diesel, I would hate it too.

VW has started a clever campaign to help consumers see the kind of mileage you can get with a TDI. It’s called TDI TankWars and what it does is challenge owners to score better than the World Record (58.8) in their VW TDIs.

The site includes information about the tanks, drivers, and cars. It also lets you thumb up or down individual tanks based on how much you believe the claims. As you can see in the above image, most people have a negative approach to the higher scores.

So far only 5 tanks have beaten the 58.8 mpg World Record, though that number should increase quite a bit in the future as it’s really quite low (as far as world records go). From the main TankWars page you can also check up on the individual users, leave comments on tanks, and view photo and video evidence confirming the claimed fuel economy.

Overall, this is a great attempt by VW to connect users with fuel economy, and it includes interesting details like tire pressure, though weather conditions would frankly be more useful. So, if you’re interested in the competition, check it out for yourself at the TDI TankWars homepage.