The Ohio Random Thread... aka We Should Probably Be Working

[03zoomzoom]

Because the consumers should determine the market, not the government and what they *think* is best. They've got a history of implementing things that aren't so great.

Plus I'm anti-hybrid.

I'm not a hybrid fan either. I can get upper 30mpg with 123k miles on the protege. I have more of a problem with people driving the wrong vehicle. You can't tell me that all these people need a large SUV that gets 15mpg. If you need the extra room or like a higher ride height, there are many options that are smaller that will do the same job.

 

[magnumP5]

Also, your third point proves why your first point is a bad idea.

Point being, I like making my own decisions.

LOL +1

Hybrids FTMFL! We have a Jetta TDI that gets better fuel economy, emits less pollution, has more power, has more torque, has more interior space, looks better, etc. than any of the "economical" hybrids out there (read: Prius, Insight, CR-Z). We need to start investing more in the development of synthetic fuels than wasting time on this electric crap. If only the government would mind its business... I can't think of a single government regulatory agency, that is trusted/relied on/believed more than its private sector counterpart (where available). Crash test ratings, safety equipment... amiright?

Politics aside, I think I'm going to go through and start saving up for another set of wheels. Probably 17x8 RPF1's (too bad the 17x8.5's won't fit) with a +35mm offset. I plan on running 245/40R17 tires all around with 5mm spacers up front and 5, maybe 10mm in the rear. The 16x8's will be reserved for track duty as there are plenty of 245/45R16 r-comps available. I would just need to figure out how to transport them...

 

[thejeans]

Second, stricter fuel economy & emissions standards are decades overdue.

stricter fuel economy is bulls***, for an example, look at the strides the truck industry is making over say 15 years ago...
my dad had a 1994 ford f150 with a 305 v8 that would get 11 city 15 highway (on a really good day haha)
he now owns a 2010 dodge ram with the 4.7 v8 that gets 16 city and 20 highway (what hes averaging in the 8 months hes owned the truck)
plus its more powerful and alot more capable of towing now than before, not to mention all the RIDICULOUS creature comforts in trucks now a days

i had a 4cyl 84 ranger as my first truck would never see over 20mpg's
4 cyl. rangers now a days can see 30mpg's on the highway

if automakers can improve a truck which lets face is always going to be about as aerodynamic as a brick,and over 15 year has improved them to getting more in the city now than they did on the highway, thats pretty impressive

its just americans want comfort and fat/porky cars, we dont need the gov't to mandate fuel economy, id rather see that attention/effort go into something that actually matters

 

[Rockin03mp5]

First off, we elect officials to make decisions for us.

Second, stricter fuel economy & emissions standards are decades overdue.

Third, consumers are largely uneducated and dumb. The general public is not capable of making informed decisions.

Lastly, I think you're being a bit melodramatic.

this^ for once i agree with you.

and electric vehicles are way better than synthetic fuels right now. (by synthetic do you mean ethanol... or stuff made in a lab that doesnt turn our food into fuel and raise our food prices?)
the electric car is still in its infancy. however, trains and large construction equipment has been diesel electric for years. (very much like how they are trying to run the volt) i think this is a viable option until they can make batteries that hold more and charge quicker. electric motors are far more efficient than internal combustion engines in terms of energy input to energy output. gas has a lot of energy, but it is turned into heat and emissions in an ICE.

right now it is mainly battery technology that needs to catch up. the carmakers wont do that themselves since it costs so much. it will be a slow process, but they are already making some improvements. the reason the hybrids do not have power right now is that the batteries cannot hold enough, so they have to put small electric motors in them so they dont drain it so fast.

i do agree that the TDI is the way to go right now though. hybrids just dont do well on the highway, and that is most of my driving.

ive done some research on the volt too, and it seems like a cool car. i would lease one for a couple years for 350 a month. that is the same payment as my 5 right now. what they need to do with the volt is get the extended range (when it runs on the gas engine) miles per gallon up to above 40. they say right now it is 30-35 depending on how you drive.

and politics aside... they are at least giving them time to get mileage figures up. look at europe. 10 bucks a gallon equivalent in some countries. almost all of that is taxes, and their cars get 60 miles per gallon average. the government could do that here... but thankfully they dont. i see why too, cause in europe, you drive 100 miles and you are in another country... while here... you are still stuck in OHIO!

 

[hat1018]

Hybrids can shampoo my crotch! Give me suck, squeeze, bang, blow. Period.

 

[Rockin03mp5]

if they did that... would you buy one then?

probably not cause you can just get some random chick to do that for $10 in Cinci... so i hear. lol

 

[hat1018]

if they did that... would you buy one then?

probably not cause you can just get some random chick to do that for $10 in Cinci... so i hear. lol

Allthough there may be some females to do this for me, I was refering to the fact that hybrids suck and any one of the auto manufacturers can build an engine that could make more than enough power/torque, and get plenty of MPG from an ICE!

 

[CTt3P5]

crossing my fingers yes they would be michelles haha

shes thinking about it, haha

i hope she decides she wants to make the deal, if not ill be a little sad, but atleast the3 will still look good runing the ms6's

I see....hope it works out for ya.

I've got Ivans old eBay rear strut bar but am buying his CS front/rear strut bars so you can have my/his old one if you like? $10 and I'll help you mount it if you guys end up swapping exhaust at Lewis Motorsports. (Is the LMS thing getting old yet? Haha) But yes, I'm very happy with my suspension setup as we are practically identical.

Thanks Evan...may just take you up on that offer. Right now though I'm trying to source some quick release brackets....I want to maintain the versatility of the hatch when I need it. So far I've had no luck and thinking I'd have to source my own hardware. LMS fo' life! lol

I'm not a hybrid fan either. I can get upper 30mpg with 123k miles on the protege. I have more of a problem with people driving the wrong vehicle. You can't tell me that all these people need a large SUV that gets 15mpg. If you need the extra room or like a higher ride height, there are many options that are smaller that will do the same job.

I agree....a lady here at the office drives an Excursion everyday and everyday leaves a bit early to pick her kids up from school, takes them home and then comes back to work. IMO if you live close enough to do that, you don't need to drive an Excursion to work!!!

Hybrids can shampoo my crotch! Give me suck, squeeze, bang, blow. Period.

Larry, tell us how you really feel? hahahahahahaha



Morning everyone....TGIF!!!

 

[Rockin03mp5]

so... why dont they?

the electric car isnt perfect, but nothing comes out perfect and costs cheap when it first comes out.

my wifes old 98 corolla used to average 35-38 mpg. the current corolla doesnt even get that on the highway. cars have gotten fatter and more powerful. a lot of the fat is safety features though.

 

[hat1018]

All i am saying is that over the hand full of years the gasoline powered engine has been mass produced i would venture a guess that they can do whatever they want as far as power/mpg goes.

 

[magnumP5]

Today's ICE's are incredible compared to those in the past. Sure my parent's old '80 Golf could get nearly 50 mpg but it also had like 50 hp. Like Levi stated we have truck engines generating over 300 hp (400 in some cases) that are getting over 20 mpg!

My main problem with hybrid technology is that it isn't solving the problem, it's just moving it. Instead of burning fossil fuels in your car, you're relying on electricity generated by burning fossil fuels in the power plant in the next county. This isn't fixing any problem. Simply put, we need a new energy source.

In the short term, personally I'd like to see more advancement in sythetic fuels. This does not mean ethanol from corn, but ethanol can be produced from a synthesizing process. The process has been around since WWII (look up Fischer-Tropsch) and basically it involves breaking down hyrdocarbons (any organic matter) through gasification and then reorganizing and reforming it however you want. The cool thing about this process is that you can technically arrange the hydrocarbons in any manner you want therefore creating any fuel you'd want with zero impurities (like sulfur). This process has been applied to aviation fuels (kerosene) for quite some time, but I haven't seen it applied to the lesser-refined forms of petroleum like gasolene and diesel fuel. Currently the process is very energy-intensive (much like producing ethanol from corn) and it doesn't completely solve the pollution problem, but I feel it's the correct direction until another source is readily available (generated?).

 

[ucMP3]

Wow, lol.

So, I'm gonna lay this out there. I hate SUVs, bcuz 99% of people who drive them don't need them (And don't know how to drive them). Hybrids are pointless bcuz it just changes the location of pollution (cars to powerplants). I think we agree on this.

Companies can't be relied on to make decisions outside the scope of making profit. Gov't is forced to make decisions, bcuz free markets don't work when you enter a large global market that has needs beyond economic prosperity. Great theory, but Mr. Reagan was wrong.

At least in the short term, unless we overhaul the entire gov't system, we have to rely on them to regulate things. Now maybe they aren't going about it the right way. But don't go around getting butt hurt bcuz they're trying to relieve our HUGE dependence on oil and also reduce our impact on the environment. Like someone already said, they could just increase taxes to achieve the same goal on our end.

Or we could just stay in war in the Persian Gulf to control the oil supplies, that would probably stop this conservation bs. O wait, we already do that too... lol

I <3 politics

 

[GiJoe]

Good morning Ohio.

 

[o0n8]

hello kansas

"from factory till death a land rover will produce less emisions than a prius" -Clarkson, they (top gear) also did a test showing the prius gets worse mpg's than a m5 behind it around the track. Hybrids are for stop and go city traffic but that's now how they are marketed because cities built after the start of the oil age were built out not up. so really the prius is pointless


side note, anybody else watch cnbc? I'm in love with the aussie chick

 

[Rockin03mp5]

good morning kansas!

and synthetic fuels sound like they still have a ways to go to be a good replacement as well. ethanol cannot be transported in the same fashion as gas, at least not with the current pipelines gas uses. it pics up water which isnt good in your engine. electricity needs to be created, and right now, the cheapest way is burning coal. it is ugly, but a huge coal plant powering millions of electric cars (it should be able to since they can power millions of homes) is more efficient than every car having its own burning power plant. and once the energy is created, there is already the infrastructure to get it to your home. (although the electrical grid is about 40 years behind what it should be).

oh, and synthetic fuel would still need hydrocarbons or some form of organic matter, which would still have to be grown, which would still take up farmland. i suppose you could use ditchweed or something, but around here, or in MN where im from, they bale that grass and use it as feed for animals too. either way, i do not think it is the best option.

so, are either of them a good option for most people right now? probably not. although, i would love a first gen insight. you know, the one that got 60 mpg and was a manual. it would just be my commuter car. otherwise, yes, hybrids suck butt and i would never buy one until they make them less of an appliance. the CRZ is a novel approach, but not good enough mpgs considering it still isnt fast and doesnt get better mileage than the old CRX even.

there is a lot of work to be done. but calling them fail at their infancy is not going to get us away from our dependence on fossil fuels. money spent now, even if it sucks to do so, is cheaper than 10 years from now. then it will cost twice as much, or worse the way the dollar is falling right now. not to mention gas is relatively cheap right now. cant wait to see everybody complaining that the government didnt do enough when gas is $10 a gallon. that is always how it is. when something happens, the government either did too much, or not enough.

 

[Rockin03mp5]

hello kansas

"from factory till death a land rover will produce less emisions than a prius" -Clarkson, they (top gear) also did a test showing the prius gets worse mpg's than a m5 behind it around the track. Hybrids are for stop and go city traffic but that's now how they are marketed because cities built after the start of the oil age were built out not up. so really the prius is pointless


side note, anybody else watch cnbc? I'm in love with the aussie chick

i remember that top gear episode. they took the prius out of its element. of coarse it will not do well. now, put that m5 in a city, idling for 2 hours, and it will get way worse gas mileage than the prius. nothing is perfect and you should buy for what you need. you, just like me, do not need a hybrid. i drive mostly highway and a regular engine can do about the same.

 

[CTt3P5]

i remember that top gear episode. they took the prius out of its element. of coarse it will not do well. now, put that m5 in a city, idling for 2 hours, and it will get way worse gas mileage than the prius. nothing is perfect and you should buy for what you need. you, just like me, do not need a hybrid. i drive mostly highway and a regular engine can do about the same.

There in lies the problem....IMO a good 90% or so of Prii'...Priusus...ah hell you know what I mean....are bought as a status symbol 'oh look at me, I care about Mother Earth'....BS! Wed. night on my way home, I was doing 70mph in the center lane and got passed by a guy in a Prius in the slow lane....I watched him weave across all three lanes both behind me and once he got in front of me. Def. not what a Prius was designed for.

 

[o0n8]

that was the point i was making, the prius is marketed with great gas millage but it's in the city that it gets the great gas millage. Most cities are sprawled out so there really isn't a lot of stop and go and sitting in traffic (at least in Columbus) L.A. different story, the prius would be good there.

 

[Rockin03mp5]

that was the point i was making, the prius is marketed with great gas millage but it's in the city that it gets the great gas millage. Most cities are sprawled out so there really isn't a lot of stop and go and sitting in traffic (at least in Columbus) L.A. different story, the prius would be good there.

yeah, here in michigan, they arent very useful either. now in atlanta, where i lived for a short time, they would be quite useful. i sat at the same light 3 times. it would take me 30 minutes to go 5 miles. sucktastic!

 

[Lewis7789]

Hybrids can shampoo my crotch! Give me suck, squeeze, bang, blow. Period.

"As Good as it Gets" quote. One of my favorite movies of all time.

Thanks Evan...may just take you up on that offer. Right now though I'm trying to source some quick release brackets....I want to maintain the versatility of the hatch when I need it. So far I've had no luck and thinking I'd have to source my own hardware. LMS fo' life! lol

No pressure. It will just be sitting in the garage. I heard some cats use the quick release hardware from mountain bike hubs for the rear strut bar. I keep meaning to look into this more.