Cummins built diesel cars able to get over 40 mpg. In 1934.

[Robert W]

It was 1934 and auto makers cars got 12 mpg. They said it was not possible to improve economy. Along came Cummins and he built diesel cars that got over 40 mpg. What happened to diesel cars is the question? Diesel at the time cost half what gasoline cost.

This link goes into details.

 

[toobfreak]

It was 1934 and auto makers cars got 12 mpg. They said it was not possible to improve economy. Along came Cummins and he built diesel cars that got over 40 mpg. What happened to diesel cars is the question? Diesel at the time cost half what gasoline cost.

Inventors have come up with hugely efficient autos many times and apparently, when there is a big breakthrough in fuel conservation, Big Oil buys the inventor out and buries the invention.

 

[1srelluc]

I don't suspect you would want to stuck behind a diesel car of that era. Those damn Volkswagen diesels of the 80s were bad enough. Damn they stank.

 

[Robert W]

Inventors have come up with hugely efficient autos many times and apparently, when there is a big breakthrough in fuel conservation, Big Oil buys the inventor out and buries the invention.

No escape from chemistry and laws of physics for gasoline cars. The engines of all of them run on a fuel to air mixture of about 15 to 1, 15 parts of air and 1 of fuel. Car designs to save fuel went to small lightweight cars. Fooling consumers.

 

[Concerned American]

I don't suspect you would want to stuck behind a diesel car of that era. Those damn Volkswagen diesels of the 80s were bad enough. Damn they stank.

And gutless.

 

[toobfreak]

The engines of all of them run on a fuel to air mixture of about 15 to 1, 15 parts of air and 1 of fuel.

15 what to 1 what? How do you combine units of liquid and gas? 15 parts by volume? Area? Weight? Does how you aerosol the gas into the air effect the performance? What if you compress the gas to higher than standard 14 psi? Or change the oxygen ratio of the air?

 

[Robert W]

15 what to 1 what? How do you combine units of liquid and gas? 15 parts by volume? Area? Weight? Does how you aerosol the gas into the air effect the performance? What if you compress the gas to higher than standard 14 psi? Or change the oxygen ratio of the air?

 

[toobfreak]

View attachment 1196785

Yes, yes, I know all that, RW, but it still does not say what the unit of measurement is! 14.7 parts of air to fuel by WHAT? Weight? Volume? How do I measure both liquid fuel and gaseous air by the same unit in the same container?

 

[Robert W]

Yes, yes, I know all that, RW, but it still does not say what the unit of measurement is! 14.7 parts of air to fuel by WHAT? Weight? Volume? How do I measure both liquid fuel and gaseous air by the same unit in the same container?

Grams is the measure used.

 

[toobfreak]

Grams is the measure used.

So then, it is a unit of weight. That makes sense. Put another way, the gasoline is aerosolled into suspension at about 1/15th its usual density to give it a dynamically combustible mixture with the air, there being enough oxygen at that point to combust all of the gas. But surface tension in the gasoline droplets pulls the gas out of suspension with time congealing it back into heavier and heavier droplets as smaller droplets collide and combine to form larger and heavier ones over time until it again falls out of suspension.

So, it is on the engineer to create the suspension as close to the point of combustion as possible before they separate again, this is why carburetors were eventually done away with for TBI (throttle body injection), and finally, injection right at the port of combustion for maximum efficiency. Neat.