Urba Centurion Update - (Kubota diesel, 100+ MPG in mixed driving - Fall 2012 on)

[sheepdog 44]

Of course why bother with that since it won't save you a dime in fuel savings. Probably take a thousand years to break even.

Why not buy an acre of land and grow rapeseed? 102 gallons per acre should give you more than enough to drive annually farther than the average American reasonably should. What i like about the Centurion, is that it makes biodiesel production so feasible, it'd be cheaper to grow your own fuel than buy it from foreign nations.

Bio will give you slightly less power, so a turbo would do, and it'd probably get better efficiency as well!

[sheepdog 44]

Just for fun, on your 172mpg trip to Watkins Glen, your grams per mile of CO2 emissions was 58.7gpm tailpipe, 74.9gpm wells to wheels. It would be 17.6gpm wells to wheels if you ran 100% biodiesel with a 76.4% lifecycle reduction in CO2 compared to petroleum diesel fuel. Biodiesel also burns far cleaner from the tailpipe than Petroleum based diesel regarding other pollutants.

For reference my car doing 70mpg in the summer does 158gpm, and the average passenger car in the US emits 423gpm. At 172mpg and 74.9gpm, your CO2 emissions are just 17.7% of the average car on the road!

[mikeyjd]

Originally Posted by sheepdog 44

Just for fun, on your 172mpg trip to Watkins Glen, your grams per mile of CO2 emissions was 58.7gpm tailpipe, 74.9gpm wells to wheels. It would be 17.6gpm wells to wheels if you ran 100% biodiesel with a 76.4% lifecycle reduction in CO2 compared to petroleum diesel fuel. Biodiesel also burns far cleaner from the tailpipe than Petroleum based diesel regarding other pollutants.

For reference my car doing 70mpg in the summer does 158gpm, and the average passenger car in the US emits 423gpm. At 172mpg and 74.9gpm, your CO2 emissions are just 17.7% of the average car on the road!

But diesel is dirty!

[redneck]

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At some point after this GGP write-up I am hoping to go into some technical details that helped to really push this project and those mpg numbers over the top past the original Centurion's.

Have a great day and thanks for taking the time to read this endless-thread!

~CrazyJerry

Have we reached that point...???



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[Ardent]

Originally Posted by redneck

Have we reached that point...???

This is a pulse and glide thread . . .

[redneck]

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I would rather have Jerry answer that question.

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[changzuki]

Originally Posted by redneck

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Have we reached that point...???



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We are very close indeed Redneck! I've been in exile and now have some catching up to do - stay tuned!!
~CrazyJerry

[changzuki]

Originally Posted by Ardent

This is a pulse and glide thread . . .

Ha! This "thread may be pulse and glide" but as a precursor to the details:
Pulse and Glide was not used by Team Centurion. Instead, it was driven more like a tractor trailer the entire Stage 1 mpg event..... More about what was "missing" after a continuation of the GGP....
~CrazyJerry

[changzuki]

Stage 1 ended.. Now what?
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Stage 2 was not based on MPG so after meeting with organizer Bob Gillespie and discussing my options, I decided to think it over. The decision was complicated by the pitiful amount of fuel I saw go into the refill less than 45 minutes earlier. I expected to do well - but was unprepared for anything beyond that.
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Burger King sounded good but after 20 seconds inside the door only resulted in a beeline to the restroom. Oh - no - looking greenish and breaking out into a cold sweat could only mean disaster.
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Escaping on foot down the sidewalk, I then visited the International Motor Racing Research Center in town. By the looks of the folks in there, I could only assume they thought I was auditioning for the zombie apocalypse! Bob Gillespie has some outstanding original artworks displayed throughout the building - if you're ever in the area put it on your bucket list! Those helped momentarily but ultimately I vomited on several prominent streets in the Glen. It was during that time I decided not to continue with the Stage II of the Green Grand Prix and head back for the tiny town of Colton.
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A more direct route of North to I-90 was in order.
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Centurion's side windows are fixed so settling at the toll booth was a new experience.


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A bus pulling a u-turn was another delay.






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As the bigger trucks passed by, I got a great view that few other will ever see.... The underside of the trailers at speed!
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A few hours into the trip, Sheepdog44 called me with the results at the Awards Ceremony. My hearing isn't the greatest so I thought I heard him incorrectly say I tied with Illuminati Motor Works "Seven" for most fuel efficient vehicle - and - would also recieve a $1000 grand prize check. Shortly after, Sheepdog44 followed up with a text message confirming the earlier call info. The news was unbelievable. The rest of the trip home was simply a blur.
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In fact, after closing the Centurion in the batcave, I forgot to check the sight glass on the 2 gallon tank to see how much was left. (The return trip without the hills of Ithaca/Cortland, and without the 40 mph headwind, yielded a very impressive 190-ish mpg! Seems the trip down, the event, and the return trip weren't a fluke after all! )
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In conclusion, whence the entire Green Grand Prix account hadth been read and understood, I, CrazyJerry, swear on the original 1982 Centurion plans created by R.Q. Riley, the following statement to be accurate here on ecomodder:
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This thine Centurion earned its name on Friday - April 11th, 2014, whoa and yea, and the Green Grand Prix issued thy numbers it shall display from hence that day forthright as bestowed by the governing Green Grand Prix committee and organizer Bob Gillespie, esq.

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~CrazyJerry
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(And there's still the unfinished business of "the details"...Even the front plate is functional...)

[sheepdog 44]

The new stenciling looks great! I'm interested in what exactly is underpinning the car and just how you got it so light. What's the weight reduction compared to a stock car? I was very envious about how small your car is. I parked next to a Honda del sol today, and even that has got me beat on frontal area by about 5 inches on every side.

I didn't realize you were that sick! I admit i was really thrown off by navigating the tulip diagrams as well. I'm used to having the route handed to me well before hand so i can analyze the road grade and lights and stops signs so i know in advance when to coast. MPG routes should resemble a commute you plan to take 5 days a week. Not obscure directions to a hidden treasure!