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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Driving / February 2008Some Drivers Cut Gas Usage By Downsizing Engines
http://www.nbc4.com/automotive/15349520/detail.html Some Drivers Cut Gas Usage By Downsizing Engines POSTED: 11:36 pm EST February 19, 2008 Oil prices closed at $100 per barrel on Monday. The price of oil jumped on fears that production would be cut, while demand would increase. Some drivers are fighting sky-high gas prices by opting for the opposite of a souped-up ride, swapping out their car engines for smaller ones. At auto body shops such as Autoworld in Beltsville, motorists are converting high- power V8 engines to gas-conserving V4s. "It has a smaller engine," said Kevin Johnson, managing partner of Autoworld. "It takes less cylinders (and) less pistons, so it doesn't burn as much gas." The cost of downgrading the engine can range from $1,200 to $2,000. But Johnson said it's not worth the investment, because the conversion could cost more than the gas. "Personally, I don't think the $1,200 is worth it, because in the long run, you probably wouldn't have spent that much more," he said. "It's kind of a push situation. It is worth it to spend $1,200 or $2,000 on a vehicle that gets better gas mileage?" (snip) ----------------------- Idiots would do better to just drive slower but the media has brainwashed them against that. > http://www.nbc4.com/automotive/15349520/detail.html > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > body shops such as Autoworld in Beltsville, motorists are converting high- > power V8 engines to gas-conserving V4s. Sounds like bullshit. What kind of vehicles? SUVs? What's a V4, and who makes it? How will these vehicles pass emissions control testing in states that require it? > http://www.nbc4.com/automotive/15349520/detail.html > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > body shops such as Autoworld in Beltsville, motorists are converting high- > power V8 engines to gas-conserving V4s. Once I saw that, I knew that the author of that article had no friggin' clue what he was talking about. (unless people are importing and restoring vintage Ford Taunuses...) nate > On Feb 20, 2:23 pm, "Speeders & Drunk Drivers are MURDERERS" > [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > nate I saw that too and figured it's prolly just a typo. He wrote I4 and the typist typed v4. > > On Feb 20, 2:23 pm, "Speeders & Drunk Drivers are MURDERERS" > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > - Show quoted text - SAAB used a Ford V4, I beleive, when they got rid of the popcorn popper. On Feb 20, 12:34 pm, "Speeders & Drunk Drivers are MURDERERS" <beta...@earthlink.net> wrote: > > On Feb 20, 2:23 pm, "Speeders & Drunk Drivers are MURDERERS" > [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > > - Show quoted text - > SAAB used a Ford V4, I beleive, when they got rid of the popcorn > popper. It's doubtful anyone's adapting any kind of 4 cylinder engine for use large vehicles. The article sounds like it was poorly researched. >> converting high- >> power V8 engines to gas-conserving V4s. > Once I saw that, I knew that the author of that article had no > friggin' clue what he was talking about. (unless people are importing > and restoring vintage Ford Taunuses...) I think that a V6 outgrowth of that engine appeared in the US as the 2.9 liter for a while, but I don't recall that the V4 ever did. I guess that they *meant* either retrofitting inline Fours or, more likely, disabling the fuel injection and valve operation of some cylinders on V8's. Disabling cylinders had a certain vogue in the mid- late 70s energy crises, though you still had a heavy car with, by today's standards, a lossy driveline and poor aerodynamics -- just a slower one. Reminds me of the (in)famous V8-6-4 that Cadillac briefly had in the early 80s, an ancestor of the idea Chrysler and some others adopted, whereby some cylinders are disabled during times of low power demand, like highway cruising. The idea works a *lot* better nowadays, with improved computerized engine management and port fuel injection and the ability to twiddle cam and valve timing. Some or all of these new- generation schemes also randomize the choice of cylinders to deactivate, whereas homemade schemes from the 70s probably weren't that good for engine longevity. --Joe >>> converting high- >>> power V8 engines to gas-conserving V4s. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > I think that a V6 outgrowth of that engine appeared in the US as the > 2.9 liter for a while, but I don't recall that the V4 ever did. The V4 was present in Saab Sonetts in the US. My ex-wife had a Saab Sonett III which had this engine. Fun little car. Accoring to Wikipedia, this engine appeared in the Sonett V4 and Sonett III. May have been in other Saab vehicles that came to the US as well, but I'm not sure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_Sonett -=- Tom > The V4 was present in Saab Sonetts in the US. May have been in other > Saab vehicles that came to the US as well, but I'm not sure. Indeed; this reminds me that it also appeared on these shores in the Saab 96 in the late 1960s, shouldering aside the two-stroke inline- three. I should've thought of that; the only 96 that I've been around much carried a V4 badge. (Even with this somewhat more conventional engine and a four-speed gearbox, the model remained a fairly eccentric choice for American tastes; I seldom if ever see one on the street anymore and don't recall them as having ever been common.) Can't imagine retrofitting either engine to an American car meant for a V8, of course. At some point you're better off buying a different car that was born closer to your goal, unless making the modifications is an end in itself. --Joe On Feb 21, 5:37 pm, Ad absurdum per aspera <jtc...@california.com> wrote: > > The V4 was present in Saab Sonetts in the US. May have been in other > > Saab vehicles that came to the US as well, but I'm not sure. [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > --Joe I've seen at least two different 96s around locally, and I assume from the blue smoke that both are two-strokes. They're noticable because this is not an area where one is likely to see many older cars; the Fabulous BeaterPorsche is the oldest vehicle I'm likely to see on any given day. nate > On Feb 20, 2:23 pm, "Speeders & Drunk Drivers are MURDERERS" > > motorists are converting high- > > power V8 engines to gas-conserving V4s. > > Once I saw that, I knew that the author of that article had no > friggin' clue what he was talking about. (unless people are importing > and restoring vintage Ford Taunuses...) Hey! Saab Sonnets! -- C.R. Krieger > > On Feb 20, 2:23 pm, "Speeders & Drunk Drivers are MURDERERS" > > > motorists are converting high- [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > -- > C.R. Krieger Sxtxh, once owner of the "Pigge of Plastique" has reappeared as the editor of a car club magazine. I wonder if his long disappearance had anything to do with a female student of his... I missed him. >http://www.nbc4.com/automotive/15349520/detail.html > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >body shops such as Autoworld in Beltsville, motorists are converting high- >power V8 engines to gas-conserving V4s. What ? Toss out that "Sweet !" 700 horsepower 'Hemi' ???!!! Why that's just plain un-American ! Damn - you wouldn't even be able to drag an M-1 tank behind you to the corner store. Bigger is ALWAYS better dontchaknow ! :-) Now if they'd just 'downsize' the vehicles themselves, knock a ton off the weight and a few square meters off the wind-resistance profile. In short, sedans instead of SUVs and pickups. A mid-sized sedan with a modern V-6 can be very sporty AND economical. Consider the much-beloved '65 Mustang ... but with a modern V6 delivering both superior power and economy to the original engine and the advantages of lighter aluminum and composite materials. That's the kind of package the auto industry should be aiming for. First one there gets all the gold. >>http://www.nbc4.com/automotive/15349520/detail.html >> [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > the kind of package the auto industry should be aiming > for. First one there gets all the gold. The current V6 Mustang is a pretty good performer, and the engine produces slight less horsepower than the previous generation Mustang GT. Various Nissans have been kicking a.s for years with the VQ35 V6. As a matter of fact, many of the Japanese V6s with CVVT produce substiantially more horsepower than American V6s of similar displacement, and durability is not a problem. > >>http://www.nbc4.com/automotive/15349520/detail.html > [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Back in the day, I had a Nissan Maxima, 3.0L V6, 5-speed. Redlined at 6500 -- I tend to shift around 3500 -- 3500 in 4th was 105 MPH -- engine was not even breathing hard. >>>http://www.nbc4.com/automotive/15349520/detail.html >>> [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] >horsepower than American V6s of similar displacement, and durability is not >a problem. The Japanese are reductionists/perfectionists ... so it's little wonder their engines do better. They'd actually be ashamed of themselves otherwise. Aside from raw horsepower though, it IS possible to take a lot of WEIGHT off of an automobile nowdays, assuming anyone's interested. Extensive use of aluminum, plastics and composite materials could knock a third off the weight of the abovementioned Mustang - giving you much more bang from every horsepower. Aluminum however DOES add some expense ... whereas mass-produced plastic/composite parts can be closer to the price of steel - potentially cheaper because it's easier to form complex shapes. >>http://www.nbc4.com/automotive/15349520/detail.html >> [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > off the wind-resistance profile. In short, sedans > instead of SUVs and pickups. What's wrong with the Mustang GT, or the Pontiac G8, or the various Nissan sports sedans and coupes, or the upcoming Dodge Challenger or......There are plenty of good, sporty cars out there. It's just that every soccer mom thinks she needs an SUV, so she won't get injured when she collides with something while babbling on her cell phone...And we won't even get into the beer bellied, drugstore cowboy poseurs...... >What's wrong with the Mustang GT, or the Pontiac G8, or the various Nissan >sports sedans and coupes, or the upcoming Dodge Challenger or......There are >plenty of good, sporty cars out there. It's just that every soccer mom >thinks she needs an SUV, so she won't get injured when she collides with >something while babbling on her cell phone...And we won't even get into the >beer bellied, drugstore cowboy poseurs...... The upside of all this is going to be a FIRE SALE on SUVs, so that anyone who actually NEEDS one will be able to pick one up cheap.  SignaturePlease don't give financial rewards to trolls - DO NOT CLICK on any URLs containing "calrog.com" > On Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:18:52 -0600, "Jorge W. Arbusto, Presidentchul > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > The upside of all this is going to be a FIRE SALE on SUVs, so that > anyone who actually NEEDS one will be able to pick one up cheap. Rock on. Can someone recommend a good SUV made within the past few years that would have vinyl seats, rubber floor mats, floor shift manual transmission, large towing capacity and a Diesel engine? Hoping to find one with the "towing package." What's that you say? nobody outfits an SUV like a Real Truck anymore? oh well, never mind... nate (that reminds me, I think I found a camper shell for the Ugly Truck but I keep forgetting to take the guy's phone no. to work with me...) >>>http://www.nbc4.com/automotive/15349520/detail.html >>> [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] >What's wrong with the Mustang GT, or the Pontiac G8, or the various Nissan >sports sedans and coupes, or the upcoming Dodge Challenger or...... I don't hate them ... indeed they're the best next step for "SUV Nation". However they COULD be made even better, especially in the fuel-economy category. > http://www.nbc4.com/automotive/15349520/detail.html > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > Autoworld. "It takes less cylinders (and) less pistons, so it doesn't burn > as much gas." Smaller car engine = smaller penis. Hey everybody, USians are getting smaller penises! >> http://www.nbc4.com/automotive/15349520/detail.html >> [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > >Hey everybody, USians are getting smaller penises! It's not the size of your engine, it's what you do with it. SignaturePlease don't give financial rewards to trolls - DO NOT CLICK on any URLs containing "calrog.com" >> http://www.nbc4.com/automotive/15349520/detail.html >> [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > >Hey everybody, USians are getting smaller penises! You MUST work for the oil industry ! :-) > http://www.nbc4.com/automotive/15349520/detail.html > [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > Idiots would do better to just drive slower but the media has brainwashed > them against that. It also helps to drive down hill everywhere you go. And if you have a good tail wind, open your doors; they'll act like sails. On Feb 20, 11:23 am, "Speeders & Drunk Drivers are MURDERERS" < > Idiots would do better to just drive slower but the media has brainwashed > them against that. You're one who proved that. BTW, We took a long trip this week and the car owner insisted that I didn't drive more than 5 MPH above the speed limit. I have never been so scared in my life. Thirty cars passed me for every vehicle that I passed. I was the most dangerous driver on the road. I finally let her take over ajd she boosted it up to a safer 80 - 85. |
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