be the change you want to see

Eco-Logical Vehicle xformation

Detlev Obst

Detlev Obst

— 1 min read

Earlier this week I went out to have my smog check done… good news: my jeep passed the emissions test with flying colors; bad news: there’s a valve cover gasket leak. .. and “for only $185, we’d like to fix it for you”. If it were a head gasket, OK, I’ll have a mechanic do the fixing, but with a valve gasket, heck, I’d rather do that myself! So as I went to Kragen to get my $35 gasket, truly the most expensive rubber I’ve ever purchased in my life, I got to thinking about fuel economy again and inquired about it. Come to find out, the clerk happened to know of someone in San Diego who converts vehicles for about $700. As I walked off with my rubber gasket I thought it’d be interesting to research this and see what’s new out there.

This is what I found:

  1. HOW TO convert your vehicle
  2. video about Coskata, a new PA company which uses anything from recycled tires to corn in manufacturing E85

Most of the tips I’ve already implemented in my Wrangler:

  • K&N conic air filter with wider intake
  • MaxFlo exhaust
  • high mileage engine oil
  • decent spark plugs (don’t recall the brand)
  • proper tire inflation
  • proper alignment

To some this may seem like a lot of trouble BUT I do like to tinker —then again, taking the engine apart for fun and putting it back together it TOO MUCH tinkering for me. 3 points still hold me back from purchasing a new vehicle:

  1. I have 0 debt at the moment ie own my current vehicle and not looking forward to getting into debt again
  2. Current technology that’s available is not yet that impressive. There are vehicles eg the Tesla and the Aptera, but they are still either cost- or range- prohibitive.
  3. The jeep is the most terrain versatile vehicle out there compared to standard sedans and yuppy SUVs.

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