Cleaner mower, speedboat engines ordered

[mthieme]

Re: Cleaner mower, speedboat engines ordered

Your friend must not mow often to have 7' weeds and 2" saplings. Maybe that's why he did so poorly - his mower hadn't been started since 2004.



Maybe they could sink 'em - no more pollution.

Well, about half of his property are horse fields that don't get mowed regularly.
One field he doesn't put horses in or mow. The fields with horses of course have natural mowers, but the horses don't eat weeds.
But, in the end it's really a bit much for even a larger suburban riding mower.
Further to south of me where things start to spread out a bit and the average yards might be say 5 acres (or more), it is not unusual to see farm tractors doing the job.

Of course, my point was that newer is not necessarily better.

 

[mthieme]

Re: Cleaner mower, speedboat engines ordered

Well, if we sink the jetski's, what else will us poor old retired folks be able to tow with the VW rabbit diesel, or 98' Dodge Neon (like mine), or any other econobox, to the lake to play with? I'm doing my bit for economy, & emissions!

A D class hydroplane comes to mind!

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Cleaner mower, speedboat engines ordered

Well, if we sink the jetski's, what else will us poor old retired folks be able to tow with the VW rabbit diesel, or 98' Dodge Neon (like mine), or any other econobox, to the lake to play with? I'm doing my bit for economy, & emissions!

Well, with my 12' aluminum boat, I don't worry. I can tow that to the lake with anything capable of holding a hitch. As long as they let me keep my old 6hp 2-stroke outboard, I'm a happy guy. I sure won't like it if I have to buy a new one.

Typically, though, they grandfather in the older stuff. That's a good thing in Minnesota...land of the wheezing old outboard. Saw an old guy on my favorite lake fishing out of a small wooden rowboat with some old Evinrude or Johnson with horizontally-opposed, exposed cylinders. Ran pretty well. Put my '92 Johnson to shame.

 

[achris]

Re: Cleaner mower, speedboat engines ordered

Well, with my 12' aluminum boat, I don't worry. I can tow that to the lake with anything capable of holding a hitch. As long as they let me keep my old 6hp 2-stroke outboard, I'm a happy guy. I sure won't like it if I have to buy a new one.

Typically, though, they grandfather in the older stuff. That's a good thing in Minnesota...land of the wheezing old outboard. Saw an old guy on my favorite lake fishing out of a small wooden rowboat with some old Evinrude or Johnson with horizontally-opposed, exposed cylinders. Ran pretty well. Put my '92 Johnson to shame.

Watch this space... It's coming... Eventually they will make the emission laws tight enough so that the older engines won't be able to be used... You can still own it, just not use it in a public place... They have already done that in a lot of places in Europe for example... Have a look at Switzerland, Lake Bodensee.. The engine manufacturers have been modifying engines for use there for years...

It will be coming to you soon... Just like a movie...

Chris............

 

[MikDee]

Re: Cleaner mower, speedboat engines ordered

Watch this space... It's coming... Eventually they will make the emission laws tight enough so that the older engines won't be able to be used... You can still own it, just not use it in a public place... They have already done that in a lot of places in Europe for example... Have a look at Switzerland, Lake Bodensee.. The engine manufacturers have been modifying engines for use there for years...

It will be coming to you soon... Just like a movie...

Chris............

Well Chris, aren't you a Ray of Sunshine!
Just bustin on ya Chris, I know the day is coming, I just don't wanna admit it

 

[Uraijit]

Re: Cleaner mower, speedboat engines ordered

I have a 1971 Oldsmobile 98 with a 455 4 bbl, when properly tuned it will get 21 mpg on the hwy. I dont see any great improvements in the past 30 yrs. In 1978 the chevy chevette got around 30 mpg? Today auto makers are boasting 30 mpg vehicles

Im sure the emissions may be a little better today but not sure. The last time I had the oportunity to compare 2 vechicles was about 12 yrs ago, it was a 1968 oldsmobile cutlass 350 4 bbl to a 1985 Mercury Marquis with a 302 throttle body injection. The '68 olds had better emissions

In the next couple years the Scuderi Group should be coming out with air hybrid or split cycle motor, hopefully that may make a difference, but Im sure it wont be cheap.

I had a 1981 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight, with a 350 in it. The thing weighed as much as my 2001 Chevy Tahoe does, and got about 23MPG on the highway. My Tahoe gets about 18 (on a good day), and cost about 6 times what the Old "luxury car" sold for in its day...

That's 20 years of "progress" for ya...

Anybody who thinks the small improvements we've seen were due to government interference, needs to have their head examined--or at least take a simple economics class...

 

[captlee]

Re: Cleaner mower, speedboat engines ordered

Watch this space... It's coming... Eventually they will make the emission laws tight enough so that the older engines won't be able to be used... You can still own it, just not use it in a public place... They have already done that in a lot of places in Europe for example... Have a look at Switzerland, Lake Bodensee.. The engine manufacturers have been modifying engines for use there for years...

It will be coming to you soon... Just like a movie...

Chris............

Run for your lives!!! LOL

Sounds tougher than gun laws... we're going to have to get permits for our outboards I guess? hehehe

 

[mthieme]

Re: Cleaner mower, speedboat engines ordered

Somewhere I read where Honda was complaining that the Accord should be getting 10-12 miles per gallon more. Evidently to comply with US safety requirements, they claim it's necessary to add 1200# more to the car to meet these requiremetns.

(Personally I don;t see 1200# of safety equipment on an Accord, but they make an interesting point).

 

[Uraijit]

Re: Cleaner mower, speedboat engines ordered

It's not necessarily "equipment", but safety features. They're required to be over-built, which increases their weight a great deal.

Another case in point. During the mid eighties, some of the "safety" regulations were relaxed, so the bumpers on the Oldsmobiles (and other vehicles) were drastically reduced in weight.

Ever picked up a catalytic converter? Those things ain't light. And they're not cheap to produce either. They've got platinum in 'em. And we all know what's happened with the price of platinum over the past couple of years...

When did it become the role of government to protect us from ourselves?

I wonder what's going to happen when they realize that motorcycles don't offer very good crash protection... Are they going to start forcing us to add 1200 lbs of safety equipment, like roll cages, and seatbelts?

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Cleaner mower, speedboat engines ordered

Watch this space... It's coming... Eventually they will make the emission laws tight enough so that the older engines won't be able to be used... You can still own it, just not use it in a public place... They have already done that in a lot of places in Europe for example... Have a look at Switzerland, Lake Bodensee.. The engine manufacturers have been modifying engines for use there for years...

It will be coming to you soon... Just like a movie...

Chris............

Maybe so, but not for some time, at least in Minnesota. We used to have emissions tests for cars every couple of years, the way California did. Well, studies showed that it didn't improve anything, so Minnesota dropped the inspections, letting normal vehicle attrition take care of the old vehicles.

Given the number of old 2-stroke outboards out on Minnesota lakes, the lawmakers are going to think twice about forcing all those boaters and anglers to buy new outboards.

Minnesota's a liberal state, but when it comes to fishing, it's way conservative.

No doubt you're right and the old ring-ding two-strokes are on their way out. You just about can't buy a new one, except for the e-tecs, and some little tiddlers. Eventually all of the old ones will die, except for the 50s and 60s johnnyrude small twins, which some old geezer like me will still be running on some lake in Minnesota on the walleye opener when the sun expands and swallows the darned planet.

 

[QC]

Re: Cleaner mower, speedboat engines ordered

Not sure why I have avoided this thread since this is kinda what I do for a living. The ABSOLUTE fact is that all engine technologies have gotten progressively more efficient and substantially cleaner simultaneously. There are exceptions, but they are temporary as competition always causes developments that offsets efficiency lost in the name of emissions.

Cost? Another discussion . . . Stupid emission regulations? Yet another discussion . . . BTW, any comparison of vehicle cost that does not account for inflation is kinda meaningless.

 

[cheburashka]

Re: Cleaner mower, speedboat engines ordered

Not sure why I have avoided this thread since this is kinda what I do for a living. The ABSOLUTE fact is that all engine technologies have gotten progressively more efficient and substantially cleaner simultaneously. There are exceptions, but they are temporary as competition always causes developments that offsets efficiency lost in the name of emissions.

Hey--quit ruining threads by tossing in expert opinions. If someone tells me his Grandma's Hupmobile straight eight got 85MPG and he could suck on the tailpipe all day long without even a cough, that's enough for me.

 

[WizeOne]

Re: Cleaner mower, speedboat engines ordered

Somewhere I read where Honda was complaining that the Accord should be getting 10-12 miles per gallon more. Evidently to comply with US safety requirements, they claim it's necessary to add 1200# more to the car to meet these requiremetns.

(Personally I don;t see 1200# of safety equipment on an Accord, but they make an interesting point).

A friend of mine just bought a 1991 Honda CRX HF with 123k mi on it. It has a 1.3 liter engine with a 5 speed and A/C. W/O the A/C on, he gets 54 mpg on the highway and about 46 mpg in mixed town and Fwy miles. Although it is small and low slung (just what you don't like to shoehorn yourself into once your over 50) it is very zippy to drive and is effortless to drive at Hwy speeds.

It is acknowledged that they could not duplicate that car today, specifically due to the added weight of federally mandated safety stuff. I think the figure stated was in the 700# range.

It's really a shame. It would be interesting to see any accident/injury statistics of the whole Honda CRX line. They also made them in non HF (high fuel efficiency) models but they were all about the same weight.

 

[QC]

Re: Cleaner mower, speedboat engines ordered

LOL @ the chebster . . . How do you say your cheburazzamatazz? Phonetics please . . . And what does it mean? Yes, I know there is a thread for that

 

[cheburashka]

Re: Cleaner mower, speedboat engines ordered

LOL @ the chebster . . . How do you say your cheburazzamatazz? Phonetics please . . . And what does it mean? Yes, I know there is a thread for that

Che-boo-rah-shkuh. It was my cat's name, and the cat was named after a character from a Soviet-era children's program. He's a hairy little thing with big ears who doesn't quite fit in anywhere. The older I get, the more I resemble him.

 

[QC]

Re: Cleaner mower, speedboat engines ordered

I bet when you call him you say "here kitty kitty" Sorry for the hijack . . .

 

[arboldt]

Re: Cleaner mower, speedboat engines ordered

In the late 80's- 90's my parents owned 3 or 4 Ford Tauruses, and they chided me that, with a full-size car, they were getting 32 - 36 mpg, and I was getting 15 - 18 in a Dodge Caravan.

You don't hear much about full-size standard productoin cars getting that kind of mileage.

 

[cheburashka]

Re: Cleaner mower, speedboat engines ordered

Well, back on topic, I'm wondering about some of the newer engine management innovations and how they could possibly do anything but make an engine run more efficiently and cleaner. One example I can think of off of the top of my head is computer-controlled fuel injection, which directly monitors multiple factors which affect the engine. How can a carb even come close to that?

I agree that a lot of the safety systems weigh a car down and make it less efficient. A lot of that is fending off the behemoths that are out on the road today. I used to drive a Geo Metro until I read somewhere that a higher percentage of Metro drivers die in accidents than drivers of any other vehicle. Metro vs. SUV isn't a pretty picture.

 

[QC]

Re: Cleaner mower, speedboat engines ordered

One example I can think of off of the top of my head is computer-controlled fuel injection, which directly monitors multiple factors which affect the engine. How can a carb even come close to that?

It can't that's why you can't buy one any more . . They are a lot cheaper BTW, so if they did work why wouldn't profit-grabbing vehicle manufacturers use them?

A lot of that is fending off the behemoths that are out on the road today.

Don't forget that "behemoths" translate into much better emissions and economy if the seats are full. Moose hunting, hockey moms sometimes have the the whole team along . . . Even if it is half the team it beats a two seater's passenger seat mile emissions . . .

 

[cheburashka]

Re: Cleaner mower, speedboat engines ordered

Don't forget that "behemoths" translate into much better emissions and economy if the seats are full. Moose hunting, hockey moms sometimes have the the whole team along . . . Even if it is half the team it beats a two seater's passenger seat mile emissions . . .

I see your point, but I'd rather be hit by a minivan with nine people in it than a Navigator with nine people in it.