diesel exhaust problems (article)

[bluenote]

I saw this on Yahoo, and thought it might be of interest to some of you.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020904/ap_on_he_me/diesel_exhaust_cancer_3

Are we likely to see diesel fuel prices skyrocket as it becomes "cleaner" and lower in sulfur? Maybe bio diesel will come on strong and we won't have as much to worry about?

[SoCalDMAX]

I also saw that this AM. Funny how this study just came out to support the gov'ts need to clamp down... I also read a study done in Canada that showed the CNG buses that CA is using is putting out more pollution than diesel buses... when it rains, the (hydrogen sulfide?) the CNG buses put out turns to sulfuric acid, just great!

I'm excited about biodiesel, I'd love to see farmers have more to market soybeans, etc to. Not to mention smoother running, more power and better lubrication. Sign me up!

Regards, Steve

[ThePend]

Ok.......How many here sit in front of their exhaust pipe and inhale the exhaust fumes???? :D :D :D You can put your hands down now.

Yeah...Yeah, I do too. But you gotta love that diesel power. And with the right exhaust, the sound too.

The good thing about owning these trucks is that youre not low enough to smell anyone else's.

A rose by any other name....... would be a diesel. :D :D :D

[tjc]

bluenote

"Are we likely to see diesel fuel prices skyrocket as it becomes "cleaner" and lower in sulfur? Maybe bio diesel will come on strong and we won't have as much to worry about?"

Prices have already been going up up up recently in the SW, I'm sure not any cleaner though.

Have others been seeing this?

[WOJO 1]

I have seen an increase here in Reno. Diesel was about .10/gal cheaper and now it is the other way around. I was curious as to what caused this. I hope it turns around sometime soon.

[ThePend]

WOJO

Its called Middle East Tension. And the fact that crude went over 30 bucks a barrel last week. I would imagine its just going to keep on going up and up, until the middle east quiets down again.

[Norquist]

Now what? A class action law suit
;) from some tree hugger?

[andy911]

I'm no tree hugger and I hate to give the oil baboons any excuse to jack up the price of diesel, but there is an upside to pushing for low sulphur fuel. There is a lot of advanced Diesel Engine technology that already exists in Europe & Japan but is off-limits to North America because low sulphur fuels aren't yet generally available here.

Anything that makes hi-performance diesel engines available to a greater number of people benefits us all. It promotes competition between manufacturers and ultimately gives us more choice and better performance at lower prices. :cool:

The D/Max is a great engine that already employs a lot of hi-tech features and it has already forced F**d & D**ge to play catch-up. Power levels are increasing and the truck specifications are getting better (GM 2003 spec. deletions excepted!! :mad: ). Having more diesels on the road in BMW's, Mercedes, etc. will promote the concept and speed up development. Volkswagen is already talking about bringing in their V10 Turbodiesel in their new Toureg SUV..... Bring 'em on I say, the more the merrier :D :D

Andy

[ram/tx]

Diesel fuel price here is $132.9. Unleaded Regular $129.9. Use to be the other way around until the last couple of weeks. Hope this isn't a sign of the times. :mad: :mad:

[bluenote]

I watched diesel vs reg. unleaded prices for almost a year before I bought my Dmax (mid-Michigan). Although the prices went up and down at different times, the average price was close to the same. However, once I bought my truck (Oct. 2001), diesel prices here remained below gas until about 2 weeks ago. They are either even, or a few cents higher now, depending on the station.

[Paintdude]

Diesel prices must go down..The trucking industry is getting killed by the high prices..All freight prices will go up and all goods along with it..Inflation.....I seen deisel this weekend for 1.44 and gas was 1.29.. :(

I always thought the trucking industry would keep diesel prices affordable for us non-commercial users...

[Maxxheadroom]

paintdude
we here in ca would love to see $1.44 on a consistant basis, now $1.49-$1.65 on average

[Jelisfc]

Sometimes prices will fluctuate because of problems at refineries or pipelines feeding your local market. I hauled bulk fuel in 1993 (The first round of low sulfer diesel). When one of the two local refineries literally ran out of 87 octane gas the MPLS/St Paul metro gas prices went up until they could get production back up.

Andy911, Explain something to me. You said "There is a lot of advanced Diesel Engine technology that already exists in Europe & Japan but is off-limits to North America because low sulphur fuels aren't yet generally available here." What does sulpher content have to do with it? I like Audi's and have driven a diesel A4 in Italy. They sell the same engine in every other continent except North America. I'm sure not every contry in the world has low sulpher fuel so it's probably more the acceptance of diesel vehicles more than the quality of the fuel. Please enlighten me if I'm wrong.

[ 09-05-2002: Message edited by: Jelisfc ]</p>

[andy911]

Jelisfc:
Sorry for the delay in replying, I was on the road yesterday.

My understanding is that the sulphur in the diesel fuel causes unacceptable emissions (for Europe) which would be a problem for the control systems they use. Many countries in Europe have very tight limits on soot emissions and have developed special catalytic converter type devices to reduce or eliminate the soot and (I think) nitrous oxide emissions. Since the engines are designed from scratch to work with these emission systems it probably wouldn't be economic to adapt them for the higher sulphur content fuels here in N. America.

There are some great diesel engines available in Europe for Audi's, BMW's, Mercedes, Saabs, Volvos and just about every other European manufacturer, from cheapo econoboxes to luxury sedans. They even have some US vehicles (some built in Europe) with diesel options that we don't get. All Jeeps and some Chrysler models like PT Cruiser, Neons & Minivans are available with diesel or turbo-diesel motors :cool: .

With gas costing 2 or 3 x US prices, diesels are a big attraction for their economy, but because many europeans are perennial lead-foots, they have developed hi-performance turbo-diesels to keep them in contention on the autobahns :D :D

I'm not saying we really need a diesel Neon over here, but a wider choice of diesel vehicles would be nice, especially if they can offer 185hp, 280lb-ft torque, 7.8 sec 0-60mph and close to 35 mpUSg (BMW 3-litre diesel). :eek: smile.gif

Andy

[MNBowTie]

I say don't believe everything you read. Just follow the money trail, or is it a stink trail. There is an agenda here. Just like the anti- tobacco and second hand smoke crowd. This article is nothing more than marching orders for the environmental whacks.

IMHO