News

HPR Bio Diesel Stations Now Open

NESTE Oil is now offering Propel HPR (High Performance Renewable) for sale at the pump. Propel fuels (propelfuels.com) has launched what they claim to be “California’s most advanced diesel fuel.” Propel’s Diesel HPR uses Neste Oil’s (nesteoil.com) NEXBTL renewable diesel, a low-carbon renewable fuel that meets petroleum diesel specifications for use in diesel engines, realizing the benefits of better performance and lower emissions.

“Diesel HPR exceeds conventional diesel in power, performance and value,” said Rob Elam, CEO and Co-Founder of Propel. “Propel is committed to offering Californians the most advanced low-carbon fuels that meet our high standards for quality and value.”

Similarly, California Air Resources Board Chairman Mary D. Nichols noted, “This renewable diesel joins a growing suite of new, cleaner transportation fuels in California, thanks to our Low Carbon Fuel Standard and forward-thinking companies like Propel.”

Energy Resources Manager for the California Energy Commission Tim Olson also feels positive about this new pump addition. “We are pleased to see the introduction of a low carbon fuel at California retail fueling stations,” he said. “Our state needs several options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector and this cooperation between Propel Fuels and Neste Oil provides a tremendous opportunity to de-carbonize diesel fuel and help achieve our climate change goals.”

Diesel HPR will be available at 18 Propel locations in Sacramento, San Jose, East Bay, Redwood City and Fresno. Locations, directions and real-time pricing can be found on Propel’s mobile app, available in the Android and Apple app stores. A complete list of locations is also available at dieselhpr.com/locations.

Their new bio diesel, Diesel HPR, will eventually be available at Propel locations across Northern California.

Volkswagen and BorgWarner Turbo Partnership

Two of the big names in diesel have partnered for the betterment of the diesel community. Volkswagen has contracted with BorgWarner to provide them with the turbochargers for the newly developed 1.4-liter, three-cylinder diesel engines.

These engines are small and fuel efficient, and the Borg Warner Turbos will help up the power to a respectable 74 and 89 horses for the two expected engine variants. These new mills are expected to be over 20 percent more fuel efficient than the 4-cylander it’s slated to replace.

In addition, BorgWarner’s latest VTG turbocharging technology is said to provide improved engine response at minimal rpm: “BorgWarner’s patented S-shaped guide vanes regulate VTG turbine output by changing the inflow angle and speed at the turbine wheel inlet.”

John Deere Diesel Generators

John Deere Power Systems (JDPS) is expanding its generator drive power solutions with the introduction of four new PowerTech prime power generator drive diesel engines. The new engines meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Final Tier 4 emissions regulations without the need for a diesel particulate filter (DPF).

These diesel engines utilize a John Deere Integrated Emissions Control system equipped with cooled exhaust gas recirculation (CEGR), a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) and a selective catalytic reduction (SRC) system, and join the existing lineup of Final Tier 4 generator drive engines that use the same technologies plus a DPF.

Product enhancements including increased power, low idle speeds, dual frequency ratings and easy paralleling enhance customer performance for prime markets. Low idle speed capability reduces fluid consumption and decreases wear on the engine during transport or start-up and shutdown checks. Electronic controls enable easy synchronization when operating generator sets in parallel, while offering flexible dual frequency operations of 50 Hz at 1500 rpm or 60 Hz at 1800 rpm. In addition to generator sets, these engines can provide power to selected constant speed applications.

The New PowerTech generator drive engine models and power ratings include:

• PowerTech PSL 4.5L: 128 kWm
• PowerTech PVL 6.8L: 160 kWm and 192 kWm
• PowerTech PSL 6.8L: 216 kWm and 240 kWm
• PowerTech PSL 9.0L: 273 kWm, 326 kWm and 345 kWm

John Deere plans to begin production of the PowerTech PSL 4.5L V6 generator drive engine in late 2015, while the PowerTech PVL 6.8L, PSL 6.8L and 9.0L generator drive engines will enter production in 2016.

Goodyear Donates Gondola from Spirit of Goodyear Blimp

The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company announced that it will donate the gondola from the Spirit of Goodyear blimp to the Crawford Auto Aviation Museum of the Western Reserve Historical Society.

The gondola is the compartment underneath the blimp’s envelope where the pilot and passengers ride. It’s 23 feet long and weighs 3,400 lbs.

Built in 1982, the blimp gondola saw service on three airships, logging more than 41,000 hours of flight during its 31-year history. From 1982 to 1992, it was mounted on the blimp America based in Spring, Texas. Its residence then moved, and from 1992-1999, it was on the Stars & Stripes in Pompano Beach, Florida. Finally, from 2000-2014, in its final years before retirement, the blimp was on the Spirit of Goodyear in Suffield, Ohio.

In 2014, the gondola won a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as “The Longest Continuous Use for a Blimp” for its 14 year run with the Spirit of Goodyear. After covering its final event, NASCAR’s 2014 Daytona 500 race, the blimp was retired.

Dave Beasley, Goodyear’s director of airship operations, offered his thoughts on the blimp’s current resting place: “The Crawford Museum is an ideal venue to exhibit one of Goodyear’s most successful airship gondolas.”

Goodyear has donated other airship components to museums, such as the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.; the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut; MAPS Air Museum in North Canton, Ohio; and the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida.

The Crawford Auto Aviation Museum receives thousands of visitors each month and houses a tremendous archive of aviation, automobile and ancillary automobile products.

For more information about the Western Reserve Historical Society’s Crawford Auto Aviation Museum, visit their website at: wrhs.org

Ford to Offer Factory-Installed LED Strobes on 2015 F-Trucks

Ford is offering a factory-installed strobe warning LED light kit for all models of 2016 F-Series Super Duty trucks for customers—such as utility, road construction or municipal crews—that require enhanced vehicle visibility while working on-site. The no-drill option is warranted and not susceptible to corrosion issues that can be a result of poor aftermarket installation.

The front- and rear-mounted amber-lens strobe lights that have been evaluated for any applicable regulations and industry standards can be seen as far as 1,000 feet away during the day and as far as a mile away at night. The strobe lights installed on F-Series Super Duty trucks in use at worksites are designed to warn motorists and others that workers may be present and to proceed with caution.

Hino Adds New Model    

Hino Trucks, a Toyota Group Company, has announced the addition of a Class 4 155 model to its product list.

The 155 model has a GVWR of 14,500 lbs and is powered by Hino’s award winning J05E-TP engine, rated at 210 HP. The Hino JO5E Series Engine produces 210 HP and 440 lb.-ft. torque, engineered for maximum performance and fuel economy.

The Class 4 cab-over also comes standard with an industry leading 5-year, 175,000 mile Powertrain warranty. Hino will also offer a double cab version of the class 4, marketed as the 155-DC model.

The 155 and 155-DC is available at Hino Trucks dealers.

DeltaWing Car Offers 74MPG and a Diesel Model

DeltaWing Technology Group, Inc. has released the results of an independent engineering analysis of a four-passenger road car concept based on the patented DeltaWing narrow front track vehicle architecture.

The data shows it would achieve an unadjusted EPA fuel economy rating of nearly 74 mpg Highway and over 57 mpg combined rating. If it were available today, those figures would not only make it America’s most fuel efficient internal combustion engine vehicle, it would meet the 2025 CAFE standard!

These ratings are based on an internal combustion, 1.4-liter gasoline engine, which is said would make the DeltaWing four-passenger model even more fuel efficient than all of today’s available hybrids.

But even more, the DeltaWing platform can be fitted with all-electric or hybrid powertrains, today’s smaller and lighter high-efficiency gas, diesel and compressed natural gas (CNG) engines, and even tomorrow’s hydrogen fuel cells. This allows the engine to reduce EV range anxiety and help put more EVs on the road, further reducing emissions and helping improve air quality

DeltaWing Technology Group recently commissioned Meszler Engineering Services to model fuel economy performance of a four-cylinder, 138-horsepower DeltaWing four-passenger automobile. DW