61–70 of 157 posts
What i allways ask myself is for example if someone has an old car which polutes more than a new one, what would polute more to buy a new one or to continue to use the old one. Because producing the new car releases a lot of polutants as well. I have never investigated this.
What does "badly tuned" mean? I feel like there is a need for a lot more clarity. Anyone have the source study (or know what it is). I'd like to know more.
It seems there's more to it than just badly tuned - it seems how to drive also effected the results: "The most surprising thing we found was how broad the range of emissions was," says Evans. "As we looked at the exhaust coming out of individual vehicles, we saw so many variations. How you drive, hard acceleration, age of the vehicle, how the car is maintained – these are things we can influence that can all have an…
And 99% of those 25% are probably in the developing world, and the ex-USSR. I've been all over the planet, and I have yet to see trucks which emit thick black smoke straight from the engine (no exhaust system) like the ones Russia and other ex soviet states are absolutely chock full of. Edit: Also, only place on earth I've ever seen a petrol pump with the choices of 60, 80, or 85 octane fuel. Pinkpinkpinkpinkpink.
They took measurements in Toronto
>Researchers at the University of Toronto looked at 100,000 cars as they drove past air sampling probes on one of Toronto’s major roads.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why would mandatory smog checks never be politically feasible? They are not just a California-only thing.
I find carbureted vehicles the most bothersome (the exhaust stinks of fuel at city speeds), so I guess enforcing emissions standards wouldn't solve the problem (because of grandfathering/exceptions).
The problem is you can drive a vehicle that's burning coolant or oil and just spewing a cloud behind it and nothing is really stopping you. I'm not sure if you can actually get a ticket for it or not.
It should be "Gallons per mile" not "Miles per Gallon" I read this article a few years ago, and following article illustrates the point very well. http://www.mpgillusion.com/p/what-is-mpg-illusion.html
And 99% of those 25% are probably in the developing world, and the ex-USSR. I've been all over the planet, and I have yet to see trucks which emit thick black smoke straight from the engine (no exhaust system) like the ones Russia and other ex soviet states are absolutely chock full of. Edit: Also, only place on earth I've ever seen a petrol pump with the choices of 60, 80, or 85 octane fuel. Pinkpinkpinkpinkpink.
If youv'e ever seen a pump with diesel, you've seen a pump with 15-25 octane [1]. Also, I wouldnt confuse octane with energy content -- pure ethanol has an octane rating of 100+, despite having lower energy density than pure gasoline [2].
And 99% of those 25% are probably in the developing world, and the ex-USSR. I've been all over the planet, and I have yet to see trucks which emit thick black smoke straight from the engine (no exhaust system) like the ones Russia and other ex soviet states are absolutely chock full of. Edit: Also, only place on earth I've ever seen a petrol pump with the choices of 60, 80, or 85 octane fuel. Pinkpinkpinkpinkpink.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I find carbureted vehicles the most bothersome (the exhaust stinks of fuel at city speeds), so I guess enforcing emissions standards wouldn't solve the problem (because of grandfathering/exceptions).
There are very few carb'd cars on the road these days in the USA. They were mostly phased out in the 80's and 1990 was the last year of passenger cars that had carbs (and there were only 4 or 5 if I recall) The problem is you can drive a vehicle that's burning coolant or oil and just spewing a cloud behind it and nothing is really stopping you. I'm not sure if you can actually get a ticket for it or not.
The thing is, living in Michigan, I notice a lot more older carburated trucks than I do smoking modern vehicles...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
These "badly tuned" cars could also have worn out valve seals/piston rings which can cause excess amounts of oil to burn during combustion, adding to the chemicals spewing out the exhaust.
(Worn seals & rings leads to oil burning, not excess fuel consumption)