The dirty cost of one man's hypermiling?

[Midnight Drifter]

You know, not for nothing, but I really don't care much about the possible impact on emissions due to hypermiling. Even if I ripped off the cats and made the engine burn as lean as knock-free-ly possible as part of my ecomodding, every gallon of gas I didn't burn traveling resulted in exponentially less emissions when factoring in the production of the fuel than the possible added level of emissions going out the tailpipe.

It's all relative, really. *shrug*

[roosterk0031]

Do you have some data to back up that claim, I don't think a modern CAT offers much resistance, especially since 99% of the the time the throttle is holding the engine back, not intake resistance or exhaust resistance.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Midnight Drifter

You know, not for nothing, but I really don't care much about the possible impact on emissions due to hypermiling. Even if I ripped off the cats and made the engine burn as lean as knock-free-ly possible as part of my ecomodding, every gallon of gas I didn't burn traveling resulted in exponentially less emissions when factoring in the production of the fuel than the possible added level of emissions going out the tailpipe.

It's all relative, really. *shrug*

Considering the production and distribution of the gasoline as part of a car's pollution: 1, 2, and 3.

[Midnight Drifter]

Originally Posted by roosterk0031

Do you have some data to back up that claim, I don't think a modern CAT offers much resistance, especially since 99% of the the time the throttle is holding the engine back, not intake resistance or exhaust resistance.

I was mainly being particular to having a cherry cat and spending $10 in pipe and exhaust sealant to just replace it with a sleeve than $100 to put in a new cat.

[SentraSE-R]

For those of you who followed or participated in this thread nearly two years ago, my car came up for its biennial smog inspection again. I'm still hypermiling as aggressively as before, with 7 of my last 10 tanks >50 mpg.

However, this time I've been driving my car recently. Last week I drove it two hours RT to Sacramento, keeping the cat lit the whole time. Today I kept it lit for a 50 mile drive to a tool rental place, Home Depot, the bank, my barber's, and Harbor Freight Tools.

The results were fine. I passed all emissions, with emissions roughly twice the average, but far better than two years ago.

[California98Civic]

That's useful. Thanks. I also can't help but notice that you seem to be saying you continued with EOC and P&G. I thought you became strongly opposed to those techniques after the first test two years ago. What changed your mind, if you changed your mind?

[user removed]

I think he wasn't willing to use hypermiling techniques unless it was emissions legal. Now he has found a balance that satisfies his principles and still gets great mileage. I don't have to pass a "sniff" test but we can not get a sticker with the cel light.

While his emissions may exceed the "norm", that does not consider the time he spends in eoc, when the emissions are 0. This can be 3/4 of the time the car is moving and this time should dilute the increased readings when running that the overall emissions reduction probably is much lower, in total amount, that iut would ever be if he drove in a way to get actual EPA numbers.

regards
Mech

[Midnight Drifter]

By the way, P&G is impossible with my new car. Damn push-to-start won't shut the engine off unless I'm < 5 MPH. But I did lose an entire cylinder and 500 lbs, and gaines 10 MPG...

[SentraSE-R]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

That's useful. Thanks. I also can't help but notice that you seem to be saying you continued with EOC and P&G. I thought you became strongly opposed to those techniques after the first test two years ago. What changed your mind, if you changed your mind?

I'm pretty sure it's discussed in this thread. I went back to EOC P&G in Summer 2012. My rationale goes something like this: We keep the equivalent of a fleet of ~20 supertankers running 24/7 hauling oil from the Middle East to supply the country's fossil fuel thirst. One supertanker emits more pollution in a second than my car does in a year, and one supertanker emits roughly as much pollution in a year than all the cars in the country do. Ergo, my car's pollution contribution is de minimis*.

*There was a young man named Rex,
Who had diminutive organs of sex.
When caught for exposure,
He said with composure,
De minimis non curat lex!
(the law will not deal with trivialities)

[kennybobby]

Originally Posted by SentraSE-R

...
*There was a young man named Rex,
Who had diminutive organs of sex.
When caught for exposure,
He said with composure,
De minimis non curat lex!
(the law will not deal with trivialities)

The judge could have charged him under the penal code, but the evidence wouldn't stand up in court...