Derf Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 No offense ursle, but you could be getting a lot more economy and be more kind of the environment if your Prius was diesel powered rather than a hybrid. That said, since you fortunately own a new enough model, you can mod your Prius to recharge from a standard AC outlet! Then _no_ emissions (depending on how you drive) with out the distance limitation of a purely electric car. Check out www.calcars.org. It depends how you produce your electricity. In Québec, we use hydroelectricity, but in the US, oil and coal are more common. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrCR Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 No one familar with the G35 eh? :( Dr. D., when you say truck with a shell, do you mean pickup with a cap? The Xterra is a 5 seater SUV just like the 4Runner (albeit a tad smaller). I drove when as a loaner and I liked it but compared to the 4Runner, it is rather unrefined. Dr. D used to be an OK substitute for DrCR, but I believe we have a newer member that goes by that username FYI. Again, looking for a truck with a shell that can also carry passengers. Xterra fits that pretty well. No where near as refined as the 4Runner and that's (along with the lower pricetag) is exactly what he's looking for. That is, when a diesel model is available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.T. Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 I picked up the Cobb AccessPORT. Its a neat little device that plugs into the OBD2 port in the dash and lets you flash your own maps. They are very active in developing and refining their maps and I have been very happy with the results so far. Their stage 1 map netted me an additional 35hp, and really increased driveabiltiy (area under the torque curve :D ). They also have an economy map that you can switch to at any time, but I rarely do since I have too much fun at Stage 1. I'll probably use the econ map for the long drive to the mountains.[/QUOTe]nekdut - how about a long-term review on the AccessPORT? I am debating... not sure if the cost justifies the performance. I have an '05 GT, most of my driving is highway and I average 27.5mpg in stock form. I am affraid that if I add the tuner, I will drive it hard and my mileage will go to crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJFluff Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 My S10 Crew Cab works wonderfully in snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJFluff Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 My truck and my wife and tons of snow, life is good. <a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f400/jonjansen15/truck.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 No one familar with the G35 eh? :( Dr. D used to be an OK substitute for DrCR, but I believe we have a newer member that goes by that username FYI. Again, looking for a truck with a shell that can also carry passengers. Xterra fits that pretty well. No where near as refined as the 4Runner and that's (along with the lower pricetag) is exactly what he's looking for. That is, when a diesel model is available. Sorry for the mixup on names. Too many doctors. Regarding the G35, I have several friends who drive them. One of them is a neighbour who is 6'8" and the G35 was just about the only sport sedan he could fit in. I also have a neighbour with the coupe model. All are very happy with the cars. I love the interior on them. They are excellent value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartron Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 It depends how you produce your electricity. In Québec, we use hydroelectricity, but in the US, oil and coal are more common. Yeah, but not all of the electricity we use is hydroelectricity. If I remember correctly something like 90% of it is hydro. I'll try to track down the number. 'later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derf Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Yeah, but not all of the electricity we use is hydroelectricity. If I remember correctly something like 90% of it is hydro. I'll try to track down the number.'later... 96% according to this: http://www.hydroquebec.com/production/qui_nous_sommes.html It's not 100% but it's pretty good IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P06781 Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 96% according to this: http://www.hydroquebec.com/production/qui_nous_sommes.htmlIt's not 100% but it's pretty good IMHO. I think oregons BPA Hydropower is about 40% of the states total. Hydro power has drawbacks also as it can be pretty bad for the salmon runs.... All energy solutions have drawbacks . I follow the http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/energy/ to keep up with current developments in hopes of a good solution. James Fraser has a more of a positive view on the world's future energy crunch than some of the other "Peak Oil" websites. His blog is a worthwhile read and good reasource for anyone to keep aware of whats coming up. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P06781 Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 nekdut - how about a long-term review on the AccessPORT? I am debating... not sure if the cost justifies the performance. I have an '05 GT, most of my driving is highway and I average 27.5mpg in stock form. I am affraid that if I add the tuner, I will drive it hard and my mileage will go to crap. I have put about 10000 miles on my GT with a AP and custom a map . It really wont affect your gas mileage and usaully improves it. Only your right foot will more tempted go faster . So if drive the same as before you probabaly will get better mpg. No mechanical problems so far as the tranny seems well-built although my wagon has the early 05's stinky clutch that comes and goes. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.T. Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 my wagon has the early 05's stinky clutch that comes and goes. Yup, I have that one also. I guess my main questions is: Is the Access PORT really worth the $645 price tag? I am sure it is a matter of preference. I just cannot decide it I want the AccessPORT or a new Coiler. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted October 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Yup, I have that one also.I guess my main questions is: Is the Access PORT really worth the $645 price tag? I am sure it is a matter of preference. I just cannot decide it I want the AccessPORT or a new Coiler. :( My '(Outback XT) 05 seems to have gotten over the stinky clutch - it had the same problem up till about 4500 miles. I've been driving sticks most of my life. I have an AP as well, and use the standard Cobb State 1 91 octane map. Only about 500 miles since installing the AP. The Cobb Stage 1 map actually takes a little of the bite off in 1st gear, and at lower RPMs in 2nd gear. This results in slightly better fuel economy around town (driving 30mph and under, from 19 mpg to 20.5 mpg measured using fillup-to-fillup arithmetic) The real performance increase comes in 3rd and 4th gear, where it pulls harder from about 2800 RPM up and offers a really smooth feel well past 5000 RPM. The slight lag after downshifting from 5th to 3rd for passing is gone. For highway driving, I seem to get roughly the same mileage before and after installing the AP - 25.5 MPG driving at ~65 MPH on a round trip on hilly roads. (I noticed this car seems to do better on a hilly roundtrip than a level one... the extra gas required to get up the hills is more than offset by the saved gas coasting down the hills. The same was not true with any of the cars I previously owned as an adult - '95 Saturn, '98 Durango, '02 Maxima. It's impossible for me to do a full tank of highway driving on level ground here in Bend, but my sense is that it would do abouut 23.5 MPG based on the MPG display) However if I had to choose betwwen an AP and a Coiler, I would still choose a Coiler :) I may upgrade my exhaust system next spring - might as well put another season of winter road grime on the current parts first, and it's not like I need more power in the winter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted October 2, 2006 Report Share Posted October 2, 2006 so the financier helping me possibly has pointed out the Mitsubishi outlander. Very similiar all around to the outback it seems, but much cheaper, especially with year-end incentives. anyone familiar with these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrCR Posted October 2, 2006 Report Share Posted October 2, 2006 Don't know about that particular model, but Mitsubishi is kind of know to be on the opposite end of the spectrum of Toyota and Honda when it comes to quality and reliability, if you catch my drift. I would spend my very hard earned money on the Outback myself if that was the kind of vehicle I wanted, looking for a used model to match a lower budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonerider Posted October 2, 2006 Report Share Posted October 2, 2006 so the financier helping me possibly has pointed out the Mitsubishi outlander. Very similiar all around to the outback it seems, but much cheaper, especially with year-end incentives. anyone familiar with these? All cars have year-end incentives now. Here's a review I found and another. Seems like it's more of a compact SUV when a wagon like the Outback, so matched more against a Forrester, or a Toyota RAV4. The reviews seems to say that the RAV4 is better as it's about the same price, has more horsepower, gets better mileage. Still it sounds like a solid car (although I agree with DrCR that the Toyota is probably more reliable). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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