944J

Don't count on it developing. I can see my self getting a 90's merceded e300 model to run on veg oil.

jns

I wish you the best on this project. It sounds awesome. There IS a way and you CAN do it. No kidding about the propane in a diesel as there are kits made for diesel trucks, and probably other diesel vehicles, that will definitely help you keep up with traffic in a tire-smoking, ear-to-ear grin sorta way. I can picture that SVO emblem on the back of your car which normally refers to (?) special vehicle... something (option?). That would be a funny twist on things. How about going for a diesel-on-veggie-oil/electric hybrid for serious fuel savings. You can do it.

Imo000

Of course there always IS a way as long as he can afford it. If you throw enough $$$$ at it, anything is possible. My impression was that the original post was about an easy and cheap conversion on a $500 944. In this case that IS NOT possible.

Electric-Hybrids are ONLY good in the city. On highway driving their MPG goes way up cause the system doesn’t have a chance to recharge and the car has to run on the gasoline or diesel engine. That’s’ something that Toyota is not advertising. For commuting, Diesel is the way to go, or even a really fuel efficient gasoline car like the Echo will be better than a hybrid. Also, the Smart car is not really as good as the hype suggests. They have the same or worst fuel mileage as a TDI VW.

Trucho-951

edit:

Here is a nice video clip of some diesel truck racing:

http://www.dpccars.com/car-movies/02...DragRacing.htm

BigNNasty

Not to shoot down any hopes 944J, but your veggie oil isn't going to be free forever, if and when you do this. First, clueless folk will probably just give you the stuff to get rid of it. Then, they are going to catch wind that they can sell this "gold" to you, and make their money back on what they spent on the original veggie oil. Nothing is free. Also, a 5-6 a gallon at the store for veggie oil, I'd rather drive a 5.7L gas hogging machine, and love every minute of it.

Also, the earth isn't really going anywhere, so no need to worry about it. I mean, Earth has been here for about 4.6 billion years, give or take 100 million. Now, in this time we have had; earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, volcanos, plate techtonics, meteor showers, nuclear explosions, war fare...and around 70-80 years of automobiles. I don't think a little gas burning motor and some airisol (sp?) cans are going to do anything. If Earth has survived for 4.6 billion years already, it isn't going anywhere, anytime soon. Planet earth has seen much worse things in it's life time then your little 2.5L motor, making you pretty much some microscopic piece of dust on earths shoulder. In the end, Earth isn't going anywhere; you are.

So, as the ending statement, please stop trying to save the earth when it has already managed a rougher 4.5 billion years, then the 100 million or so that any life has been on it.

KuHL 951

Although the source of used fryer oil is a novel idea, I think you will find it is hard for the average guy to get it in dependable deliveries. There are companies all over Cal that do nothing but wheel machines into fast food places at night and drain/filter/and renew used oil. They can get 2-3 days use in some cases. After the oil has passed it's useful time the same portable machines take the old stuff away after paying a nominal fee. Most companies aren't all that interested in helping out someone trying to do the unordinary...they are in it to make money and provide reliable convenient disposal. It's worth a try but the source of veg oil fuel is not that readily available and most will not give it away anymore. There's a guy in Davis running his biodiesel Mercedes for over 3 years now but he has sponsors that donate it through research organizations. A 944 that smells like fries, onion rings, and fish sticks would be something though.

FSAEracer03

After reading just the first page... I want to shake your hand. Find a turbo deisel motor and do it!

God, I love wiley conversions!! Anyone remember the electric 944? People who give the finger to purists, I salute you.

I'm keeping watch of this thread.

944J

I'm trying to save myself and my children and my friends

And have a cool car too.

944J

It would be great if mcdonald's sold it for 50cents a gallon.

I'll have some fries and fill up my car while you are at it...

ApexCars

At least where I am, it's not too hard to get the oil. Restaurants have to pay people to come get their used oil. They are charged by the gallon for pickup so if they have someone who comes by and has his own method of collecting it for free, they cn usually get some. There are also a few biodiesel stations around where you can fill up just like at any other station. Willie Nelson is behind the stations. I have a friend with an F250 that checks on the prices and its usually about 5 cents a gallon cheaper for biodiesel than real diesel. Of course he buys which ever is selling cheaper.

I also don't believe modern cars are making a lasting impact on the planet but it would be nice to reduce some of our dependence on foreign oil.

Also, wasn't the Audi racecar running some kind of high tech diesel? I haven't researched it but I heard one of the announcers saying that it was some type of diesel that was somehow converted from gas to liquid by changing the chemical compound or something like that?

944J

Yeah I'm sure there aren't enough veg cars here to take up the supply of waste vegetable oil and they are happy to get rid of it or have me buy it for .25$ a gallon.

I'd only do it in the 944 if I could find a relatively high horsepower turbo diesel that would fit and balance.

There are between 8 and 34 millions of cars in LA, not to mention cities like Mexico City and other's around the world and their pollution is really affecting the global climate and people's health and quality of life.

Imo000

Read my first post!!!! McDonalds doesn't use vegetable oil in their friers. They use Vegetable Shortening (looks like lard at room temp.). This porduct CAN NOT be used in an egine. If you did you research properly, you would know this basic fact.

High HP diesel engines are only avalable in pickup trucks and those engines will not fit under a 944s hood.

You want a cool looking veg. oil buring car?!?!?! Get a Smart Car and convert that. I'm sure everyone will be looking at you then!

944J

this guy owns 4 mcdonald's and runs his VW New Beetle on his waste oil:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11809771/





Fry fuel: McDonald’s franchisee runs cars on it
Leftover grease from his franchises powers his diesel cars
IMAGE: ROBERT TOMEY ADDS BIODIESEL TO HIS CAR
Chris Wilson / Amory Advertiser
Robert Tomey fills his diesel Volkswagen with biodiesel made from the leftover grease at McDonald's franchises that he owns.
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By Emily Le Coz
Updated: 1:10 p.m. ET March 14, 2006

AMORY, Miss. - Most drivers fuel their vehicles with gasoline. Robert Tomey powers his with French fry grease.

The owner of four McDonald's — in Amory, Aberdeen, Houston and Vernon, Ala. — recently converted his Volkswagen Beetle and the company's Ford pickup truck to run on used vegetable oil drained from his fryers.

It's a little messy to pour into the gas tanks and smells a bit like popcorn when leaving the exhaust system, but the fry grease powers his vehicles the same as regular diesel.
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And perhaps even better: Tomey once spent more than $350 a week for diesel — he now spends next to nothing.

"I couldn't believe it was that easy," Tomey said while pouring gooey grease into the tank of his silver Beetle. "It's incredible. I want everybody to do this."

Pacing between the Ford and the Beetle parked outside his Amory McDonald's, Tomey envisioned an alliance of Northeast Mississippians running their cars on his grease. If they make the conversion, he said, he'll supply the fuel. He's got enough of it to power 20-30 vehicles annually.

10,000 gallon supply
"I throw away 10,000 gallons of grease every year from all my locations," Tomey said. "I have more than I can use."

Such an alliance is likely, said Steve McMullen, service manager at Aberdeen Ford, which converted Tomey's vehicles.

The conversions worked so well, he said, it'd be puzzling if more people didn't do the same thing.

McMullen and his team installed the converter kit that Tomey bought from a popular online vendor, Greasecar. First they outfitted the Ford. Then, after Tomey saw that it worked, they installed a second kit for the Beetle.

Instead of compromising the integrity of the vehicles, the conversions actually boosted performance, McMullen said.

"The engine runs cooler," he said. "I think it's because the flash point — the ignition point — of that grease is lower than the diesel fuel."

System uses two tanks
Converted vehicles using Greasecar have two gas tanks. Drivers pour diesel into the regular tank and vegetable oil into a separate tank. In the Beetle, for example, that tank is in the trunk.

A switch installed in the cab allows drivers to alternate between the two fuel systems. When Tomey starts his Beetle he activates the diesel tank to warm the car and heat the vegetable oil.

"If I didn't heat it in this weather, it'd be too thick to run through the engine," he said from inside his running car. "After it heats up, it gets to the same consistency as the diesel."

At that point, Tomey flipped to the second tank and the car pumped pure vegetable oil into the motor.

"If I filled both tanks with this stuff, I could go 1,500 miles without ever stopping for gas," he said. "I've already gone 600 miles and used only a couple of gallons of diesel."

Purge process a must
Before shutting down the vehicle for a prolonged time, Tomey switches back to the diesel tank to purge the oil from the motor. That prevents vegetable oil from hardening in the fuel lines.

The entire conversion cost about $1,350 per vehicle — $795 for the kit and $550 for the installation. Tomey will recoup that cost in about eight months with the money he'll save on diesel.

But it's not about the money as much as it's about political independence from overseas fuel sources and environmental sustainability, Tomey said.

Vegetable oil doesn't pollute the environment the way diesel fuel does, according to Greasecar. And getting oil from the local McDonald's or other restaurants willing to donate it cuts out Big Oil suppliers that tap the Middle East.

Alternate fuels exist, Tomey said, people just have to look for them. If the current gas crunch has done anything, he said, it's converted a few more vehicles and a few more minds.

"Almost everywhere I go, people are asking me questions about my cars," said Tomey, whose Beetle sports a Greasecar bumper sticker and a license plate that reads "Frybrid."

"They're curious, and that's good."
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.