Diesel Festiva

[old yellow]

What would be your thoughts on a Diesel Festiva with eather a 2.4L 61HP@2800 RPM and Torque 156 lb-ft @ 1400 rpm turbocharged engine or a 2.4L 66HP@2800 RPM and Torque 167 lb-ft @ 2000 rpm Turbocharged/air-to-air aftercooled engine?

or what are your thoughts about a Diesel Festiva in general?

I know that the Diesel Festiva would get at least 65 MPG highway but I don't know really

[crazyrog17]

My thoughts?

Stronger trans to handle the torque. Difficulty mating and mounting the power train. Run it on biodiesel.

[Pu241]

Me thinks this:

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?39646

[sketchman]

Diesel fuel is apparently always going to be more expensive than gasoline and both are techs long overdue for obsolescence. If I was going to do any conversion, it'd be electric. There is a very nice prototype one on youtube that the builder says is quite usable, and he demonstrates that fact nicely. If he'd just been more intelligent about the layout from a safety standpoint, it would have been a perfect example of where modern econoboxes should be today if manufacturers and the safety nazis didn't have their heads up their wazoos. For instance, he could have ditched the gas tank(if he didn't) and put the batteries in a vented box in the same spot with a big hole in the floor and a secure lid over it. Kept weight low down and acid bombs out of the passenger compartment. It's the little things.

Here.

[sketchman]

And here.

[sketchman]

Just noticed how many batteries he had in there. Been a while since I'd seen the vids. Still, at least most of them that he stuck in the back could be where the gas tank was and the spare tire well could have been sacrificed and another box put where it was.

Anyway, it was a nice start.

[Pu241]

Diesel fuel is apparently always going to be more expensive than gasoline and both are techs long overdue for obsolescence.

I disagree.
It isn't the price per gallon it's what you can extract from the fuel.
The efficency of a turbo diesel engine is higher than that of most gasoline engines.
Additionally, how many batteries do you need to give the range of a 10 gallon diesel or festiva gasoline engine?
Yes, you can charge it every night.
How many charge/discharge cycles can you get out of a set of batteries, before you need new ones?
Diesel engines will also operate on a range of fuels, try that with a gasoline engine.
I do agree that better battery technology is needed.
Currently the energy density of even the best battery is nowhere near that of either diesel or gasoline engines.
Also, where do you think the electricity comes from to power your electric vehical?
I vote for advanced gas nukes to suppliment the electricity you will need to power the US fleet!
You on board for that?
And don't try and push the photovoltaic solution for charging your electric car, make the calculations on how many panels you'll need and what their cost is, and a 15 to $20K gas/diesel car will look like a bargin!
I will also stipulate that its not all about economics, but few people can afford the cash outlay to be "green".
Yes, it can be made to work, but most people cannot use the electric vehical for all their needs and will still have to have a hydrocarbon burner.

[sketchman]

Fossil fuels don't come back in the span of humanity's existence, so as "good" as any of them may be, they are at best a bandaid.
Diesels run on a lot of stuff. That would be great if something of those stuffs could be economically renewable and still be "good for humanity" in every way. That's an oxymoron IMHO, at least right now.
I can't control how electricity is made, nor can I realistically influence the direction the big boys decide to go with it in the future. $$$ and politics(arguably the same thing, no?) does that for us.

Till the ones controlling the direction decide that they've begun milking a dry udder, and they get serious about alt fuels AND something comes of it that Joe Blow can afford to invest in, I think a makeshift E-Stiva done right is the way to go.
I'd also rather plug in my car before I go to bed every day if needed than stop at a fuel station once a week or more.

Not sure on cycles of the batteries. There's something I need to research further.

I do know several people with diesels(or who have had them) and their opinions seem to agree. The difference in price negates the difference in economy on small scale(non commercial, non heavy equipment type stuff). No personal experience, though.

I'm still running gas because it's easy, but I'd still go E before some other HC flavor. Just my opinion, I guess.

[PhoenixSHO]

Diesel FTW

Electric , I suggest you watch top gear the episode with the Peugeot and the nissan leaf. Batteries aint the future , hydrogen is. After you watch that , you may think: umm maybe I should go diesel.

[sketchman]

^I've seen that episode. An excellent example of head up wazoo on the parts of manufacturers. Whether the tech really isn't here yet for electric to beat dyno juice or they're trying to ease it in to max profits, I don't honestly know. Whatever the case, the real world backyard examples make it seem much closer than the big guys are showing us.

I'll leave the future to reveal itself in its own good time. Meanwhile, seeing commercial failures of EVs doesn't make me any fonder of diesel. Just less fond of commercialism, but that's another can of worms altogether.

[Bert]

If some real smart sucker can separate water into Hydrogen and Oxygen at very little cost (ie "free") then we will all be saved. Just a few years ago Arnie (Calif Gov) was gonna run a series of Hydrogen refill stations all along the Pacific Coast. I think we're all dreaming at the moment, while diesel owners are laughing. I'd love to have an electric car and I'd love not to have to figure out where the electricity was coming from nor wonder why batteries are so short-lived and expensive to replace.

[Winfield1990]

I'm awaiting for the mzr-cd's to come into the US which are scheduled to 2014. Then eventually I'll be able to swap in a ~180hp ~300tq FWD turbo diesel into my festiva from a wrecked donor. Their sky-active turbo diesels are aluminum block and head also.

[william]

I was just looking at these on line z series diesel
Would be awesome! There pretty cool little engines low compression as far as diesels go.

[Winfield1990]

I don't know when but also we're going to be getting electronic solenoid valves also. At a local plant we are shipping cam-less heads to Italy for their Fiat 500's and other vehicles but I know that being 1 of the models. So we will soon be 4stroke/2stroke hybrids , switching to 2 strokes under high boost even if its aftermarket programming to kickstart the change over.

[MiltonHavoc]

I have been reading into the izuzu (?) Diesel that came in their cars. Seems they are readily availible. Even here in the states. They are a tiny 4 came in the mark 1. People swap them into ford rangers all the time so there is hope.
Diesel is the way to go hands down.
Two other vehicles of mine are going turbo diesel: my 280zx and if I can find a decent one either a late 70's bronco or a c10 or scottsdale. Both lifted of course!