Honda Accord, Ridgeline to receive diesel power [1.5.7]

[rdharper]

Originally Posted by codex57

So we have a way to properly deal with nuclear waste? I've never had a problem with nuclear safety. I just never knew if they had a good way of dealing with waste. They never talk about nuclear plants in the US, but news reports out of what's happening to Russia and their plants don't paint a rosy picture. Of course, they have no money to do any maintenance/clean up properly so it's hard to know what to make of that info.

This is an endless "debate" because of the ignorance of the public... fed by the far left to suite their own agenda... and perception of "reality".

In any event, transportation of radioactive waste is a trivial technological problem. Long ago made safe.

Radioactive waste thrown in the air every year by coal technology is dangerous. Tons of material that goes directly into the air we breathe. None of that happens with nuclear tech.

Breeder reactors produce no radioactive waste, as it cycles its own waste into new fuel. This is an even better solution.

Nuclear technology to produce power has been in continuous use since the 50's. How many persons have died as a result?

How about the same question for carbon fuels?

Which technology has zero emissions?

Come on people. Wake up.

[Cajun Country Ridgeline]

Diesel fuel just went up to $4.01 per gallon in my town and 87 octane gas is $3.38 per gallon. How do I justify 16% increase in fuel for more torque?
Is the performance going to be that much better? I find most diesel engines quite loud.

It is killling the independent Trucker's on the road today, this very high price for diesel fuel.

[Sparkland]

Yes, I just noticed yesterday that diesel fuel reached over the $4.00 mark. That made me cringe since I owned a 1984 Toyota Camry diesel (the only year they made it) when diesel was under $1.00.

The oil industry is a scam. I am fully into conservation but we are being had.

Amazon.com: Black Gold Stranglehold: Jerome R. Corsi,Craig R. Smith: Books

Interesting reading.

Brad

[DougNuts]

Originally Posted by Cajun Country Ridgeline

1) How do I justify 16% increase in fuel for more torque?

2) Is the performance going to be that much better?

3) I find most diesel engines quite loud.

1) With 30% more mpg? How many times must this be covered?

2) Yes

3) That's been addressed.

[djeaux]

Originally Posted by DougNuts

1) With 30% more mpg? How many times must this be covered?

For the past 5 full tanks, I've averaged 19.5 mpg driving an 80/20 highway/town mix. With 87 octane currently selling for $3.43/gal locally, that works out to 17.6 ¢ per mile.

Assuming a diesel would get 30% better fuel economy, I might expect to get 25.4 mpg. Diesel is currently selling for $3.99 locally, which works out to 15.7 ¢ per mile.

I'm averaging a fuzz over 21,000 miles a year, so my money savings would be $399 annually on diesel. I financed for five years, which would give me an expected "return" of $1,995 over the duration of the loan. I've been told that a diesel Ridgeline would cost at least $3,000 more that a gas engine, so using that benchmark, it would take seven and a half years to see a payback based on fuel savings.

This does assume that the price differential between gasoline and diesel would remain pretty much the same as the two fuels increase in price.

I would suspect, though, that the resale value of a diesel Ridgeline would be higher simply because most folks don't do the math over a long run & just see that diesel is a couple of centavos cheaper per mile & therefore perceive diesel as being more cost effective...

(I suspect that the rumored 3.7L upgrade would improve fuel economy as much as diesel, to be truthful...)

[srqwhitepearl]

towing will go up to 7500 lbs .. more horsepower but mostly an increase in torque. better gas milage...cleaner air....

[dk miller]

towing will go up to 7500 lbs

Where did you get this from?

And if it were true, and we were actually towing more than 5K lb would we be choosing a RL for the job? I would use an F250 for that, but to each his own I suppose.

I still think the RL meets my needs just as it is. Power and torque--OK. Boat at 3Klb, Check. 4WD on the slippery ramp, check. Fuel, 18 mpg overall for the first 16K miles, OK. Expected motor life 200K check. Will I outlive my RL?, doubtful.

I don't mean this to be an argument against diesel power, just that for my personal situation it seems to be a solution in search of a problem.

[Hound]

I don't think the addition of a V6 diesel will modify the towing capacity of the Ridgeline, without further modifying frame / chassis set up as well as associated drive line components. Besides I'd rather keep the existing tow rating and opt for a diesel designed for better mileage than the gas unit.

Mind you the 3.5 gets decent mileage as it stands.

[Sparkland]

What about the added cost for maintenance of the diesel engines? I know they run forever, but the oil changes will undoubtedly be over $100.

In 1994 my Toyota Camry diesel got about 40-42 mpg. Since the Honda Civic gasoline engine already is rated at 36 mpg the cost difference is negligible.

Nothing wrong with diesel as far as the environment goes but I do not think cost savings will be there. It certainly beats burning our food source with less mpg, (ethanol).

The hybrid is not the answer either as the cost of the battery replacement might be exhorbitant.

Have a great evening.

Brad

[2Hondas]

Hopefully, we will see a 3.0 or 2.8 L turbo diesel. This engine would produce around 200 HP and 300-330 ft/lb Torque. It also should provide 30 mpg on the highway in a Ridgeline. This engine would be more than enough to tow 5,000 pounds and provide plenty of torque for US driving. If anyone is looking to tow more than 5,000 pounds they should be looking at a larger truck, for safety reasons alone. Larger trailer towing would work best with a heavier truck to minimize the effects of the larger trailer on the tow vehicle.
If Honda tries to take the 3.5 and convert it to deisel, they will be making a huge mistake, I believe. The 2.4 (2.2?) liter they currently have designed likely could be increased to 2.8 L pretty easily. A slight design of the automatic transmission would also improve mileage with a diesel engine.