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Just to let you know-- Okay, just to let you know, I am sitting here waiting for a report from somebody that has tried "Monster Diesel." Ernie Rogers

Thanks, guys, Lots of great comments. Thanks to Nick for inserting my page into a post. And, I like Lug Nut's point about how a tire vibrates. If you know of any high school kid looking for a science fair experiment, I think this could be a good one. In our area here, there are huge...

I'll try to explain Okay, I'll try to explain. Imagine that you are a spot on the tread. As the car rolls along, what you see is the pavement come "down" and smack you, repeatedly. All the tire around you flexes in response to it. The spot experiences very close to the same event when the...

Simple is usually best I like Lug Nut's way too. But all of our methods of getting rolling resistance from the tires while on the car involve factors we can't control, like unequal weights on front and rear and the drag of bearings. The standard rolling resistance test (ASTM?) isolates all...

I have argued elsewhere that the subsidy should stay in place because it provides the stimulus for people to continue research on renewable fuels. (I think we are only talking about loss of the biodiesel credit here.) The algae oil folks will suffer loss of funding if the biodiesel credit...

Okay, maybe I should have explained that the tire has to be mounted and pressurized exactly as it would be on the car. And you only get the right reading from the bounce if the "contact patch" is the same in the bounce as it is when mounted on the car. The patch could be checked by putting...

Come on, guys, Lug Nut, I am surprised. You are one of the smartest guys around here. If you sit and think about it, you will see that rolling a tire through an angle that subtends one contact patch is physically the same as bouncing the tire to form and then remove one contact patch...

Hello, folks, I propose to measure the rolling resistance coefficient of a tire by bouncing it against a solid surface. I don't know how to put equations into a post yet, so I uploaded a Word file that briefly describes the method and gives the formulas to convert bounce data into rolling...

I looked up the Michelin Energy Saver and Energy Saver A/S in the size I would want for my Beetle--- 205/60R16. The tires were rated as 92V, and maximum load of 1389 lb at 51 psi. Tread wear rating was 400. It's been my experience with the older Michelin Energy tires that they got very good life...

Hello, everybody, First, I should apologize. For the last few years, I have been busy elsewhere and didn't answer messages for me on this site. Sorry, I should have done better. Most of all, I think I should apologize to people that wanted to get a Beetle wing like mine (pictures are posted...

Moderator: If you think this belongs in the fuel economy forum, that's fine with me. I am presenting a paper on engine efficiency at a conference in Berlin next month. This is an offer to send an advanced copy of my paper to anyone that is interested. Clearly, VW engineers involved with...

Thanks, guys, for the helpful remarks. It's a pleasure to converse with intelligent friends. Ernie Rogers

Going to TDIFest a few years back, I was pulled over on I-80 because a trucker reported that I was driving "erratically." Stupid trucker-- I was tooling along at about 50 mph. And, watching my rear-view mirror. What I saw was absolutely frightening. As well as I could judge, there were...

How disgusting I always whiz as fast as I can to avoid rubberneckers.:D Ernie

The question is, H2 fuel in a diesel engine? Hello, York, The automotive engines running on NG are adapted gasoline (spark ignition) engines. I am looking for any info on running a diesel engine on straight hydrogen gas. Ernie Rogers

I hope I don't get scolded for this one-- Some may know that I have been working on a new engine concept for some time. A potential financial source apparently has a new way to make hydrogen, and the question was, can I run my engine on hydrogen gas? I am searching the open literature for...

Hello, Stuart, About snow-- We get some of that here in Utah. My Beetle has just normal tires. The driveway to our house is long, at about a 15% grade. I drive up it with little trouble all winter. Ernie Rogers

That was a low blow, RK, Oh, RK, The Aptera EV? That was a low blow. The web site you got the data from is strictly interested in selling EVs and batteries. The Aptera may actually achieve the fuel economy of 90 Wh /mile, since it is the best-designed car body in the world in terms of...

The story is the same on energy Oh, I forgot to mention-- The story is the same on efficiency of EVs /PHEVs-- they aren't any better on efficiency than our TDIs. The average power plant efficiency, well-to-plug, for electricity is 38.1% (U.S. national average, from Wang). An EV efficiency...

Hello, RK, I'm happy to see you in this thread, it's nice to find a rational person that doesn't talk as if he was sipping diesel fuel. But, the information in your one paragraph probably needs correcting. I know that California power produces less CO2 than elsewhere, but if you don't mind I...