my winter transport

maddiedog · Post by **maddiedog** » Sun Dec 18, 2011 5:18 pm

That's possible too, but the initial cost of purchase, and therefore also the taxes, would be much higher.

I don't think I could ever get a Landy, you can't get diesels over here and the gas ones here have left too bad a taste in my mouth.

The Toyota FJ Cruiser is really awesome, it has the same chassis as the Hilux and is just as indestructible, but again, can't get it in diesel.

spongebobnopants · Post by **spongebobnopants** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 11:07 pm

maddiedog wrote:That's possible too, but the initial cost of purchase, and therefore also the taxes, would be much higher.

I don't think I could ever get a Landy, you can't get diesels over here and the gas ones here have left too bad a taste in my mouth.

The Toyota FJ Cruiser is really awesome, it has the same chassis as the Hilux and is just as indestructible, but again, can't get it in diesel.

Up till the 2010 FJ they required premium gas. 2010 and forward got direct injection and you can run 87oct. With the price difference between diesel and 87 it's probably a wash. And newer diesels are going to be direct injection and with the government forcing bio mixtures over 6%, it just trouble waiting to happen. Not worth the headache IMO. Have you considered an older H3 Alpha or H3T Alpha?

maddiedog · Post by **maddiedog** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 8:44 am

I want a diesel for durability and reliability more than for fuel economy (although fuel economy is a plus). The option of full biodiesel intrigues me too, I have a friend that has a VW rabbit and a F250 that both run entirely on biodiesel. He hasn't paid for fuel in years, he just loads up a vat he has with used oils from local fast food chains, strains it, processes it, and uses it. Sure there was a $1000+ investment up front, but he has saved that 10 times over in the last 3 years.

I don't particularly like the H3... If I got a gas SUV, I'd just go with the FJ or a Tacoma, I think... More likely the Tacoma, because FJs can be costly.

spongebobnopants · Post by **spongebobnopants** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 9:18 am

Your talking recycled... The soybean bio that Illinois is shoving down the throats of folks here's crystallizes and clogs newer direct injection systems when it gets cold out. If your talking older school diesel, your probably fine. Newer gasoline motors like in the FJ/Tocoma will yield you the similar reliability IMO and outlast the body.

I didn't have it in me to get a GM ever again after the government bailout, but it turns out the H3 is one damn capable vehicle, but I'd only consider the rare Alpha with V8 and front locker. In stock format they have better ground clearance/approach/descend and turning radius than the FJ.

If you end up going with and FJ, consider '08 and newer. Up to some '07's they had weak rear ends and many complaints about fender bulging (ie: frame not holding up). Who knows, could be all the yahoo's jumping them. Lol.

Alibally · Post by **Alibally** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 1:05 pm

We have a couple of customers at my work that use old veg oil from the local fish and chip shop. You can smell them coming from about 2 miles away. But seriously if you are going to use old veg oil then the vehicle should be serviced more often. You will always get some fuel bypassing the piston rings and going into the engine oil. Diesel evaporates at a far lower temperature than veg oil so it won't dilute the engine oil as the veg oil will. Engine contaminated with veg oil won't lubricate the engine correctly so premature wear can occur. It's not recommended for the cdi. (common rail injection) engines as the tolerances of the injectors and high pressure pumps like a good quality diesel as it also lubricates the pump as well.

spongebobnopants · Post by **spongebobnopants** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 5:28 pm

Alibally wrote:It's not recommended for the cdi. (common rail injection) engines as the tolerances of the injectors and high pressure pumps like a good quality diesel as it also lubricates the pump as well.

bingo these things are upwards of 2000psi and if you clog the injectors you're kinda screwed. VW has been using these since '06 in the states IIRC.

maddiedog · Post by **maddiedog** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 6:05 pm

Hmm, maybe I should do a bit more research then. Perhaps that's why my friend's cars are both old...

He was suggesting biodiesel was the way of the future... Perhaps not. I'll look into it more...

Thanks for the tips on the FJ models, spongebob. I doubt I'll be able to afford one any time soon though.

gn2 · Post by **gn2** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 6:17 pm

Shortly after TopGear did a feature on running diesels on straight vegetable oil, the price of said vegetable oil in supermarkets shot through the roof.

Woolley · Post by **Woolley** » Wed Dec 21, 2011 1:23 pm

im seriously thinking about putting the used oil out my fryer into my golf now

EddieC · Post by **EddieC** » Wed Dec 21, 2011 1:44 pm

I think for the older diesels, all you have to do is run it through a coffee filter.

Woolley · Post by **Woolley** » Wed Dec 21, 2011 1:54 pm

Mines a 1998 golf so should be fine. I'm a bit apprehensive though...

maddiedog · Post by **maddiedog** » Wed Dec 21, 2011 2:48 pm

I'd do a bit of research. My buddy's Rabbit is old (80's model) and all he did was put a heater to heat the oil before it goes through the carb and add a larger tank with a built-in removable filter to get all the crap out... He then can dump straight veggie oil in (and used to), but for the last few years, he has been using two big tanks with some sort of chemical to process the fuel to make it burn cleaner.

I think the purpose of the heater is to try to prevent the oil from evaporating, like Alibally suggested may be a problem.

My friend's a gearhead, but even still, the Rabbit has over 300k miles, probably half of which has been on veggie oil. He's doing something right, or the thing would have been dead years ago.

Woolley · Post by **Woolley** » Wed Dec 21, 2011 5:08 pm

Theres probably some dumbass law against it here. And it would probably make my insurance void. Cus you know, it could cause accidents. Just like a spoiler...

gn2 · Post by **gn2** » Wed Dec 21, 2011 5:30 pm

(UK) The only area of legislative concern is taxation.

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPort ... e=document

Woolley · Post by **Woolley** » Thu Dec 22, 2011 9:41 am

gn2 wrote:(UK) The only area of legislative concern is taxation.

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPort ... e=document

That whole page is exactly what pisses me off about this country. Why the hell should we have to tell the government and pay extra money just to put something different in our fuel tank??? I mean it's MY car, why cant I put whatever I want in it? It's ridiculous.

gn2 · Post by **gn2** » Thu Dec 22, 2011 12:10 pm

Woolley wrote:I mean it's MY sheep, why cant I put whatever I want in it? It's ridiculous.

The law exists because a democratically elected government enacted it.
Similar tax laws exist in most other countries.
As the old saying goes there are but two things you can avoid, death and taxes.

Fiah · Post by **Fiah** » Thu Dec 22, 2011 12:20 pm

maddiedog wrote:I'd do a bit of research. My buddy's Rabbit is old (80's model) and all he did was put a heater to heat the oil before it goes through the carb and add a larger tank with a built-in removable filter to get all the crap out... He then can dump straight veggie oil in (and used to), but for the last few years, he has been using two big tanks with some sort of chemical to process the fuel to make it burn cleaner.

I think the purpose of the heater is to try to prevent the oil from evaporating, like Alibally suggested may be a problem.

My friend's a gearhead, but even still, the Rabbit has over 300k miles, probably half of which has been on veggie oil. He's doing something right, or the thing would have been dead years ago.

carb? if it runs on vegetable oil, it's a diesel

afaik the purpose of heating the oil is to make it lower the viscosity enough to enable it to be injected

maddiedog · Post by **maddiedog** » Thu Dec 22, 2011 12:21 pm

Good catch, I'm still thinking in terms of gas engines.

gn2 · Post by **gn2** » Thu Dec 22, 2011 3:09 pm

Diesels can have carbs though.
Back when I were a lad I built model planes which had diesel engines with carburettors.

Woolley · Post by **Woolley** » Thu Dec 22, 2011 3:58 pm

We're clearly getting massively ripped off if all thats needed to make a car go is cheap, simple vegetable oil. But I suppose that was never a secret.

The Honda PCX / Forza / ADV150 / SH Forums