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Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute: Vegas Style!

by John Espino
Friday, May 21st, 2010

By John Espino

Bosch AFVi Conference
Banks Sidewinder Jetta TDi in Las Vegas
Banks Sidewinder Jetta TDi

A few of the vehicles at the expo
VW Jetta TDi Cup Edition
VW Jetta TDi Cup Edition


My latest stint with Bosch was last week at the AFVi Conference and Expo in Las Vegas. I was on hand to assist Bosch with their booth as a “technical representative of diesel technology”. Not a bad title of sorts, but in reality what it meant was that they’d point to me and say “I dunno… ask him”. So I was the answer guy, which is ok because I’ve gotten use to that role over the years making it a point to know something about everything in the business that I’m in. And the questions… WOW… they would range from all kinds of things that really tested my smarts, and my patience. Through it all there quickly became a common theme: Why aren’t diesels more accepted here in America?

The answer to the question is not too easily explained. It has very deep roots in the American culture that aren’t easily swayed, even though things are totally different with diesel technology now. You have your old memories of the Oldsmobile diesels, some other GM offerings and the negative legacy of diesel running around on the streets today. Each and all were smoky, noisy, smelly, dirty, and extremely slow. Even if someone has fond memories of a diesel vehicle they or a relative owned decades ago those same people will tell you how it bad the vehicle was. Let’s not forget school buses, trash trucks and most big rigs on the road today that all have those negatives emitting from them on a daily basis. I’m a diesel lover for multiple reasons, but if I get stuck behind an older one I’m ready to throw everything I know all away. But as you might know diesel has really grown up… matured if you will. It’s my job (well, one of the many) to communicate that with the public. So, I preach the gospel of today’s clean diesel. Even though I talk a mighty game most times it takes putting the doubting Thomas’ butt in the seat and letting them drive one for themselves. That’s what part of this event was for. That’s part of the magic of this expo… the ride and drive!

I had attended this same event and worked with Bosch back in ’08, and compared to this one Bosch was a little handicapped in the demo vehicle department. Back a couple of years ago Bosch was armed with a fantastic fleet of diesel demonstration cars and SUVs the likes not seen here in the States by us Yanks for ride and drives like this event’s. Switch to today and the pickings are a little slim, and a lot less exotic due to other directions taken by the company. Seeing what the field was going to be like I worked with my friends over at Volkswagen of America to fatten the fleet up. They responded well, so well that I had to tell them to keep a couple of cars because I was running out of space. Right now VW has clean diesel powered vehicles that are affordable, very thrifty and incredibly fun to drive. Their new crop of diesels showcases both VW’s and Bosch’s technology… all at a starting price that most folks can afford. When all was said and done we had a V-6 Touarge SUV, a TDI Golf, and a Jetta Cup TDI.

Speaking of fun to drive, I drove to Vegas in the Sidewinder Jetta which joined its VW brethren and saw action at the ride and drive event as well. Not only is the car a blast to drive, but the MPG was stealer! I filled up the day before, drove all the way to Vegas at a constant speed of 73-74 MPH and only used around a ¼ of a tank of fuel to get there. And get this: according to the Jetta’s info center I was getting 45.5 miles per gallon. 45 ½ MPG! What other car in this class can do that? And remember… the Sidewinder Jetta is all tricked out with a sick suspension, big wheels and low-profile Toyo Tires, a prototype air intake, an exhaust system, a Banks iQ, and a prototype performance tuner. The Sidewinder Jetta is the kind of car that isn’t an appliance, one that you can feel good about driving for various reasons.  There’s no apologies needed, and never any guilt.

So what was the reaction the people had when driving these cars? Utter amazement and surprise. One fellow was hooting and hollering as he slammed on the accelerator of the Sidewinder and slid around the parking lot. He told me that he would have never thought, never even considered driving the diesel Jetta… but was sadly mistaken about his preconceived notions. His exact parting words “I have an Acura that I love… and this thing can totally kick its ass! I’m getting me one of these!” Wow, that’s a pretty powerful statement. Although not everyone had the “Acura” comparison to make they all were very impressed, and confused I might add. Confused because they never knew until that moment behind the wheel that diesel was a new beast, and one that they’d gladly sign up for. They seemed conflicted because all their beliefs were… altered. Diesel was clean, quiet, powerful, fun and affordable. It was kind of like I introduced them to Santa Clause after so many years of knowing in their hearts that he didn’t really exist.

So did we get the message across? Yeah, but that was to a handful of people and there’s so many more with the same view. We’ll get ‘em.

Check out the following links for more info on the AFVi and Bosch:

AFVi Gears Up For Alternative Fuels and Vehicles Expo

AFVI 2010: Bosch is here to help diesels, everything else

Clean Diesels Gaining Consumer Acceptance as ‘Engine of Choice’

Check out VW’s line of diesel machines:
The Jetta TDI »
The Golf TDI »
The Touareg TDI »

Other VW links:  Dare to learn the fascinating truth about TDi clean diesel vehicles and news items »

Posted in Alternative Fuels, Banks Power | No Comments »

What’s Happening Lately?

by John Espino
Friday, April 23rd, 2010

What’s been going on here lately you ask? As always it’s been a bunch. Some of the stuff I can share, while other things I’m not at liberty to say. Here’s what I am at liberty to say:

2011 Ford 6.7 liter “Scorpion” Power Stroke:
We just got one of the new Ford beasts in here at Banks and the thing is awesome, eerily quiet and pretty powerful. It’s a major improvement over the 6.4 liter that’s now on its way out, and everyone we’ve talked to at Ford has high hopes for the engine. There’s a lot riding on this new masterpiece that’s been designed and built by Ford as the problems with the last two iterations were plagued with those nasty engine gremlins of legend. From what we’ve seen… and we’ve seen a lot… this is a winner and puts Ford officially back in the game.

About 4 minutes after the truck was parked in the shop it was swarmed by engineers from the Electronics , Mechanical and CAD groups. Each department began carefully examining and removing parts. Be on the lookout for some of the fruit of their labor really soon.  I had wanted to show you photos of the thing being worked on, but really…  you couldn’t even see the truck for goodness sakes with all the guys swarming around it. So instead I’m going to show you a photo of a cool mug I got from my pals at Ford and BOSCH who worked on the project. The other little thing in the picture is a temporary tattoo (flipped around in Photoshop for better viewing). At least it’s related.

ford_scorpion_mug_450Automotive Balancing Service merges with Engineering:
Since 1953 ABS has stood for something other than Anti-Lock Braking System to hot rodders. ABS has balanced some of the fastest, most high-performance engines the world has even seen. From the first engines Gale worked on to monstrously powerful diesels motorsports engines we make today all of have been balanced by ABS. A few years ago we acquired ABS and brought it into the fold as a subsidiary of Gale Banks Engineering (check out the ABS website).

For some time we’ve kept the business in a separate building, but we’re doing something really neat. We’re moving the entire thing and merging it with our Engineering department, the portion that handles our race vehicles and prototype engines to be more exact. It’s not being gobbled up, on the contrary it will be conducting itself as usual. It just makes more sense to have everything needed to build a performance engine, diesel or gas, in one spot. Streamlines things, if you will. An added bonus is that there are going to be more performance parts to our arsenal than just the usual. Heck… we’ve already done our homework, why not make it available.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, and that’s another story for another time.

Posted in Banks Power, Banks Vehicles | No Comments »

Plenty of things going on!

by John Espino
Thursday, February 18th, 2010

I know that our blog has been silent for several months, but it’s only because there’s been so much going on here at Banks. In a time when others are simply folding up the card table and are taking down the tent, we’re looking at what things we want to concentrate on next. Being that Gale Banks Engineering is an actual engineering firm and not simply a go-fast shack of speed parts, we are in a rather unique position where we can turn our attention to other places where we have the talent and expertise. We’ll never turn our backs on trucks, but it’s also not the only thing we’re about. No one-trick pony here!

So what’s on tap you ask? Well, diesel technology is always advancing… and so do our tuner products. What can we do to get the most out of today’s diesel without harming the emissions or the vehicle? Diesel injection systems now are much smarter than they were just last year. You can’t just hose a stream of fuel into a combustion chamber anymore to get a kick in the pants because the sensors and ECU will put a stop to it immediately. I’m sure you can go “bandit” and start pulling parts, but that ends up messing everything up including your engine. A recent example of how to do it right is our Sidewinder Jetta project, which just keeps getting better.

See, when the Robert Bosch Corporation came to Banks and asked if we could inject some excitement into the rather (and I say this with respect) pedestrian Volkswagen Jetta TDi, the answer was “heck yeah.” It wasn’t all about adapting our tried and true tuner technology that was developed in-house, it was how do we take this great car and make it a kick to drive. Since this was a new Piezo injection system the task was a bit harder to get performance. Because all of the know how is under our roof we were able to take on the task and produce a unit capable of giving you a stupid grin and scaring your passengers at will. Then we merged our prototype tuner with the new Banks iQ, developed a custom cold air intake and exhaust system, and finished it all off with a special wheel and suspension package. Powerful, grippy, economical and fun are not words usually used to describe the same car… but it’s a recipe we have used here for decades. It was quickly inducted into the Bosch demonstration fleet where it became a favorite of journalists and automotive engineers alike. We even keep a version of the Sidewinder Jetta in our own fleet where it serves as a test bed for even more upcoming diesel technology and electronic systems.

There’s also the continued development of new environments and abilities for the Banks iQ. I can’t begin to tell you all the cool stuff we’ve been working on for that… at least not in this entry. It’s a product that has almost endless possibilities. Almost like a sketchbook that has blank pages to draw on right after your last masterpiece. It’s a great feeling to be so involved in what has become the fastest selling product in the company’s history.

Let’s see… what else? Oh yeah, there’s marine engines, turbo stuff, military projects, new electronic products, continued racing development, crate engines, projects with OEs… whew! I wasn’t fibbing when I said there’s a lot going on, and I’ll do my best to let you all in on it in future entries. Stay tuned.

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Arm Wrestling or Q and A

by John Espino
Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

arm_wrestling

Some of you might have had the chance to see the webcast, while others… well you were probably at work since it was in the middle of the day. For those of you who missed it, or were working for the man, I’ll post video on the whole thing once I get it in. There were great presentations from all of the panel members, including one from BMW explaining how today’s diesel works. Very simple explanation, and easily understood.

All in all there were good questions asked that had good answers in return, except for two that I found sounded a little combative under the surface.

The first one was from a fella from the Air Resources Board who asked the question about the numbers of diesel powered vehicles sold within the recent months. He didn’t really want percentages or an answer prepared by the marketing department. He wanted hard numbers, and it seemed if the numbers didn’t meet his expectation then modern diesel was a total flop today and in the future. That’s kind of difficult to answer or think about really when the first real wave of current diesel powered passenger cars just arrived around eight months ago (give or take). Add that to the fact that they were introduced at the same time that the economy started swirling down the tubes and you really don’t have favorable factors. Does that mean it’s over? Nah… only that it’s getting started. Come on, will ya? What do you think he’d say if he was told that the numbers matched those of the Prius? I imagine that his world would come to an end.

Ok, maybe I was just being a little defensive about the above mentioned question. Perhaps I took it a little wrong, but the next one… you couldn’t mistake the “snarkiness” of it. It was actually from the web and from a nationally recognized vehicle authority magazine. The question was “if diesel is so good then why have companies like Honda, Toyota, Kia, Hyundai and the domestic brands all shelved their plans for diesel vehicles?” Funny thing is that two of the ten best engines for the year according to Wards Automotive were diesels. Most of America still doesn’t know that diesel is totally different than it was just a few years ago. Diesel is not smoky, slow and noisy anymore, yet that is what the majority of the public thinks. To me it’s kind of like you got dumped by a red head and now you think all red headed women are just as bad, so you avoid them at all costs. How do you change the mindset? There’s one catalyst: money. Many auto companies are trying to restructure and reorganize in today’s dismal financial climate, so introducing diesels is now set on pause as they all struggle to make a profit and survive. It takes money to train, set up the sales force, parts distribution, etc. Combine that with the fact that each of them would need to promote a costly ad campaign to change minds and you have a “wait and see” kind of attitude. This is really unfortunate because not only do they all have wonderful diesel products that they all sell overseas, but the German auto companies are left holding the bag right now. Those companies are continuing to introduce new diesel product into their dealership network here, and are making it fairly affordable. VW has the Jetta, which when topped out with options goes for around $24,500. Not too bad, and they are setting to release diesel versions of their other popular cars. So as for the question… kind of a blunder coming from an automotive magazine. They should have a better vision of the domestic automotive marketplace than most of the people in the room. Maybe they’re afraid of red heads, too? Who knows?

Anyways, a good meeting after all was said and done. It was also the best one of the day. More to come later as I get my hands on the panel’s presentations.

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Posted in Banks Diesel Power, Banks Power, clean diesel | No Comments »

Destination: Capitol of California

by John Espino
Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

capitalofcalifornia

I’m writing this from my hotel room in Sacramento, Ca. See, Gale and I were invited to participate in an event Bosch is putting on here at the state’s capital called California Diesel Days. The intention of this outing is to raise the awareness of the legislative group in the toughest and most mandated “Green” state in the Union. Here, there are many on Capitol Hill who only believe in electric and plug-ins or hybrids as the only path to the future, and that diesel technology is where it was 20 or more years ago. The only thought of clean diesel here is when a trash truck or a school bus doesn’t have the engine running. Here the notion about diesel performance is totally preposterous, because a diesel vehicle can’t get out of its own way. That’s why Bosch, Audi, Mercedes, BMW, VW… and Banks are here to talk about just what makes today’s diesel a clean, environmentally (and peppy I might add) alternative to what’s accepted as the standard. Diesel needs to be a part of a level regulatory playing field for all technologies that reduce CO2 emissions, and not excluded. To this end there have been visits to various Congress folk already and a series of roundtable talks planned. Gale, in addition to being a part of the group that visited and made the case for diesel, is the moderator for one of the events planned.

diesel_pump

We talk about Clean Diesel, but exactly does that mean? Well, aside from the stance that we at Banks make about black plumes of smoke bellowing out of an exhaust pipe is nothing to be proud of, and foolish I might add, there is another part to the clean diesel story. Clean Diesel refers to the fact that diesel engines are cleaner than ever before due to today’s advancements in fuel delivery and the fuel itself.

The engines of today are vastly superior to what we had just years ago, and go far beyond what old man Rudy Diesel ever thought of. In fact if he were here today he’d say something like “Nargh… eragh… brains” because he’d be a zombie. Aside from that little “undead” fact I frankly think he’d be blown away at how far his invention has progressed. What started out as a little motor that ran on peanut oil powers most of industry today. Think about it: nothing in your possession made it to your hands without it being trucked. Even a Prius car was delivered to the dealer by a big rig. But I’m getting off the subject a bit. Zombies just have that effect on me.

truck_trailer

The diesel engine of today is one of the world’s most efficient internal combustion engines, period. Today’s technology equipped diesel engines use precision electronics, common-rail fuel injection systems, VVT, advanced VG turbos. The result is a quiet, efficient, clean powerful engine that returns excellent fuel economy. How much MPG you ask… try about 30% or more than traditional means. With today’s diesel engines and today’s ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel a reduction in harmful CO2 emissions by 25% + can be achieved.

clean-diesel

Today is going to be a pretty jam packed day of meetings, but it should prove to be a worthy effort. We’re on a mission, but need to be polite about it. Some of these folks just don’t know the facts, and that’s why we’re going to go over them today. There should be some great things coming out of today’s meeting, and I’ll have photos and links to post soon. Stay tuned… there’s more to come.

Same Bat-time… same Bat-channel!

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Posted in Banks Diesel Power, clean diesel | No Comments »

Swimming at the Boat Show or Taking the Marine Engine Plunge

by John Espino
Monday, March 30th, 2009

Well, it’s been a long time coming but we finally were there: the Miami International Boat Show. Well… we visited the thing for a few years in a row as a guest of General Motors, but this year we were on display and officially showing off our marinized Duramax diesel engine which we will be testing soon.

Miami Boat Show

Reaction to our latest engine offering ranges from very favorable to excited, and we couldn’t be more happy. Three words were mostly used by many at the show to describe the engine: “interesting”, “brilliant” and “cool”. This engine offering has been a long time coming in both its availability and that it marks the return of Banks to the open seas. It surprised even us when General Motors first came to us a few years ago and asked us if we’d be interested in working on their first-class Duramax diesel engine. After many meetings (both face to face and on the phone) the agreements are signed and after a “momentary” absence we’re ready to make a “splash”.

Many don’t realize just how involved we once were in the marine industry, so it comes as a shock the house of automotive aftermarket scientists would know what we’re doing when it comes to producing a proper engine for boat usage. Those who are familiar with the fact we once ruled the seas… well they are the guys who “remember when” and couldn’t help but have that stupid smile on their faces.

banks marine remember when

You know the one, the kind that a boy would get after his father hands him a book of matches on the 4th of July and says “take over lighting the family fireworks, you’re old enough.” Look at yourself in the mirror right now… Yeah, that’s the one!

Behind the engine in our booths was a “super-graphic” of some Banks marine history: ads, competition boats and milestones. Pretty awesome when you look at it, and there’s plenty more history that wasn’t up there. I mean come on, you can only put so much in a booth. Trust me, the years of experience are there… and that winning and powerful soul will be in every engine we build. Soon you folks will be treated to lots of videos of us building engines… and making waves. Stay tuned, there is way more to come!

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Posted in Banks Marine Diesel Engines | No Comments »

Greener than green or bio-shocked

by John Espino
Saturday, March 28th, 2009

There are certain moments that you remember from your youthful days that are so vivid that you can actually recall every detail of that point in time: what you were wearing, what something smelled like, etc. These events can be good, bad, important or just plain trivial. As for me I have many of those “scrapbook” memories taking up valuable space on the hard drive in my head, but one especially stands out in this day and age that we’re in.

black starI remember it was a Saturday morning in 1980 (queue the wavy video, go out of focus and play the harp music) and I was watching the rather horrible cartoon called “Blackstar” on the local CBS affiliate. Back in those good ‘ol days the television stations did their best to try to cram in a little education on Saturday mornings along with toy and cereal commercials that weren’t afraid of letting parents and children know that it was fortified with sugar, coated with sugar and had a magnificent prize in each box… which also was laced with sugar. They had a five minute bit (with no songs… unlike School House Rock on ABC) that ran during the commercial breaks called “In The News”. Although these were on multiple times during my cartoon worship time there was one that really caught my attention. The fuel problems, or simply the lack of said fuel, were still pretty fresh in my little fertile mind. I remember well the days of odd and even, long lines where you could sit for hours waiting your turn to fuel up, and green and red flags signaling if there was fuel or not at the pump.

1973 gas crunch

1973 gas crunch

It wasn’t like months back where fuel was too damn expensive because people are guessing how much it’ll cost in the future (stupid!)… there just simply wasn’t enough. So when the reporter came on the air and said that there was a way to make fuel out of algae he had my full attention. What sounded like pure sci-fi was just so simple in all reality. I remember the report showing that massive amounts of algae could be grown and harvested extremely fast and when compressed (squished) it yielded an oil that could be used as a fuel. He didn’t say it, but he was talking about bio-diesel. One day soon… we would grow our own fuel, it would be cheap and we wouldn’t have to rely on any outside sources. We can start to plan the party and tell everyone to kiss off! Our days of oil dependency were almost at an end!

Check your calendars folks… it’s now the futuristic year of 2009 and we still don’t have that “green” fuel I was promised. It seemed so easy and the right thing to do, but just like the astro-base we were supposed to have on the moon (still a very bitter subject for me) it never came to be.

Yeah, that five minute deal made quite an impression on ‘lil Johnny to say the least. For a while there I remember talking about this great innovation that was coming soon to anyone who’d listen, but I couldn’t find any information on the subject anywhere. So I went to work at the local library (remember… this was in the ’80s and Al Gore hadn’t created the Internet yet) trying to find out about renewable fuels… and mind you I was ten. “Renewable fuels, what is that?” they’d ask. So frustrating! Anyway, when it was time for the science fair at my school I knew what I was going to be doing an exhibit on. The result of my report and display was taken as if I was a being from the future. Puzzled, teachers asked me for more information. I followed this project up the next year with my plant that screamed when you touched it (and registered that touch and the pressure of it on an oscilloscope, but that’s another story). Needless to say I got labeled as one of those “smart kids“, which didn’t do much for the ‘ol social life.

But yet I digress… let’s get back to the subject of bio-fuels, shall we?

These kinds of alternate fuel ideas are still around and have been explored more, but almost in secret as the general public doesn’t seem to be really aware of them. Posted below are some links worth checking out, like the reintroduction of the algae fuel (hell yeah!) and little microbes that eat trash… and poop out fuel. So whether it’s running microbe poop in the tank or stopping the pool man from cleaning up your next stash of fuel, our future can be green and clean. Now all we have to do is develop these technologies more… and stop the folks from guessing the cost of our current fuel so that we can get where we need to be: a crappy and slimy.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/11/04/microbe-fuel.html

Report on microbes and fungus fuel

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/09/14/dartmouth-researchers-create-new-ethanol-producing-bacteria/

Ethanol-producing bacteria

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/02/02/cellulosic-ethanol-could-get-a-boost-from-a-sea-grub/

Lil sea trash eaters

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/08/24/ohio-state-university-fuel-cells-use-cow-power-or-puke-for-po/

Cow barf power?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article4133668.ece#comments-form

Microbe Poop

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbLACcUN4fQ

I think the reporter said something about algae fuel in this piece… but for some reason I was distracted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i82CXQX4yq4

Why couldn’t I find this stuff when I was 10?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxNeBQCRv1c

Algae jet fuel?

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Posted in Alternative Fuels, biodiesel | No Comments »

Speed Addicts or The Cool Factor

by John Espino
Friday, June 13th, 2008

Power is an interesting and cruel mistress: Get a taste of it and not only do you want more, but you often spend valuable brain cells and neurons scheming of a way to get it. Call it lust — and an addiction if you will. Power can come in many forms, but I’m of course thinking of horsepower. Being who I am, where I’ve worked and what I’m surrounded by on a daily basis, it’s no wonder I have these thoughts fermenting in my skull. Be it for work or for personal gratification, I can’t stop thinking about the mechanisms that can bring about “more.”

I know power is a weakness for me, and I freely admit it. Sometimes you think about doing the dumbest things to get or produce power, but your brain makes up reasons why you’re justified in the quest. A common excuse for tearing into a project that trumps all reason is this: It’d be cool. That’s it; because it’s cool always eases reason, money and wife issues alike. Here are some samples of my own projects (I’m only going to subject you to three of them):

  • I once bought a brand-new Ford Festiva, and after it was broken-in, I turbocharged it. Maybe I’ll write something on that later, but the result was that it was “cool.”
  • I was watching my son drive around in his Grave Digger Power Wheels the other day and thought how damn slow it was. It was actually painful to watch it lumber about the yard getting stuck on even slightly off surfaces. Brain to John: We can fix it, make it faster and able to handle rough terrain. Dude, he will be able to smoke those plastic tires! Maybe I can install a button on the dash that lets him switch from stock to 24 volts. Yeah, that’d be cool!
  • I drive a blown car “econo,” and it’s pretty darn quick. It just might be one of the quickest cars in the employee parking lot, but it could go even faster with some help. Why not add a turbocharger to make it twincharged? Throw on an additional fuel rain and injectors, a 50-hp shot of NOS - yeah, that’d be cool!

The worst part of all this is starting to collect the pieces so that you can actually make it happen. Why is that bad? Well, for one thing you could get carried away and your “small” project could morph into something more perverted than its original plan. Sometimes there’s not enough time, or maybe you’re going to need the help of others in order to implement your mad scheme. Maybe you need special tools. Dunno, but I have to say the worst thing is to not act because the ideas, the parts and your brain begin to taunt and mock you. Either you do it or you just lock the thought behind the same door where you put those bad childhood memories. There are no other choices.

So I guess I’m going to have to start with the simple schemes. Sorry, Son, but your monster truck just isn’t mean enough and as such needs a little testosterone. Should I build a roll cage for it while I’m making modifications? Maybe a ramp so that he can catch some good air when he jumps the driveway to the other side of the yard. Yeah, that’d be cool!

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Diesel Roundup or Boschs Armada

by John Espino
Monday, June 2nd, 2008

Howdy thar, partners. A couple of blog entries back I gave the lowdown on Gale’s and my venture with Bosch in Las Vegas during the Alternative Fuels & Vehicles National Conference, but I didn’t get to write much about the demonstration vehicles we had there for our Ride & Drive event. Bosch has corralled a pretty impressive array of diesel steeds for the press to drive and write about. The idea is to get out not only the word but also the feeling one gets from driving any one of the examples of modern-day diesel - and to let people know that they’re available on the market today.

I kinda gushed about my all too short time in the BMW 123d, but there were plenty more examples to be impressed with. As a Banks insider, I managed to get ahold of the spec sheets for each of the vehicles Bosch has in its stables. I’m not going to post any photos of Bosch’s diesel fleet because, really, they look like what you will find in any dealership here. No special wings or warp-drive engines protruding from the body; rather, a plain-Jane kind of look by today’s “look at me, I’m driving a car that looks like a shuttle craft from some sci-fi movie because I love the Earth and bunny rabbits” style. And why not look like you are from this planet while driving something fun with no compromises? It’s a car, not a statement.

Anyways… Where was I before I started to rant? Ah yes, the diesel vehicle spec sheets. They’re all here, so take a look and think about it for a little while. Yes, the price of diesel has now risen to stupid levels, just like gasoline, but when you look at the mpg compared to the stats on the standard powerplant that’s available in the same vehicle you’ll see that you can go farther, and in the long run for less dough, on diesel than on gasoline. Do the math. Figure in that most new cars today that are worth a darn to drive use super unleaded fuel, and the argument becomes even more in favor of diesel. Those that run on regular unleaded fuel often remind me of a boring kiddie ride. I’ve been to Disneyland; I’ve been on the People Mover and Autopia “attractions,” and they’re not very fun for an adult. Why drive one of those two examples when you can drive Guilt-Free PerformanceTM every day?

Check the specs and see how diesel is kicking gas:

2006 Smart ForTwo
2007 Audi A6
2007 Audi A8
2007 Audi Q7
2007 BMW 745d
2007 Chrysler 300
2007 Honda Accord 2.2i CTDi
2007 Jeep Cherokee
2007 Mercedes Benz E320
2008 Audi A4
2008 BMW 123d
2008 BMW 535d vs 540i
2008 Honda CRV CTDi
2008 Mini CooperD

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Accelerated Breathing or Product Evolution

by John Espino
Thursday, May 29th, 2008

You know the feeling when you have a cold and your nose is all plugged and it’s a doggone burden to even breathe? Well, I imagine that is kinda how your vehicle must feel day after day with the stock intake and exhaust system that it was born with. It doesn’t stop there, because if it’s turbocharged, it just might have a terribly restrictive intercooler to boot. With all of the backup in airflow, it’s a wonder your vehicle even moves, and with you behind the wheel demanding more performance to move around that Sunday driver in front of you, the situation is only exasperated. It’s no wonder why the mileage is not really quite what that window sticker said your ride was supposed to get.

Many moons ago, when I worked in the Installation department here at Banks, folks would often ask what we do to get more power and economy out of a vehicle. I simply explained it like this: You have a fantastic athlete under the hood, that being the engine, which is designed and bred to be a winner. The factory tells that athlete that he has to wear an extra heavy backpack and carry arm and leg weights. Next, they tell him to run a marathon, but he has to run the race with a piece of tape over his mouth and an index finger up one nostril. What do you think will be the outcome of the race for the poor fellow under these conditions?

Larger air tubes on the upgrade

I told customers that while we could not do anything about the added weight, we could effectively remove the tape from this athlete’s mouth and tell him to stop picking his nose — just breathe as God intended him to do. Some people asked whether the problem could be solved with a chip? Yeah, that’s like taking that same athlete with the same problems as previously described and telling him that he needs to drink five or more pots of coffee and a six pack of Monster drinks and then run the race. Forget that it’s a machine for a second and think about what that would do to a person. It’s worse-case scenario for motorhomes. There, you put a house on an engine that was designed for a van or truck, fill it up with all your stuff, and hook a boat or car to it. Whew…

We’ve been taking a systems approach here at Banks for forever and a day. Automotive performance starts with the engine’s ability to inhale and exhale unlabored, and even better yet when it’s done with cooler, dense air. Only after you’ve taken care of that part of the equation can you add tuning enhancements. This way, the attributes of the tune can be fully realized, liberating the athlete under the hood. An unexpected and added bonus to a less asthmatic vehicle is better fuel mileage, which in today’s world is on the top of everyone’s list.

This past weekend, we took those same “suck it in/spit it out” principles and applied them to a rather different kind of vehicle for Banks: a Mitsubishi Evolution. Being that it was a “skunkworks” project, why not do something besides a diesel truck? We’re gearheads, and we are supposed to color outside the lines.

The Evolution is a perfect example of a highly tuned, factory-engineered rocket on wheels that is already way too fast for its own good, but could we do more? We started by replacing the stock exhaust system with a CAT-back three-inch mandrel-bent system that used a straight-through muffler. Next, we removed the factory intercooler and the turbo compressor outlet pipe. We replaced the EXTREMELY restrictive stock cooler with a thicker core that incorporated larger air tubes and finished it off with a larger diameter compressor outlet pipe that had fewer bends. We dropped in a free-flowing air filter, shut the hood, and then started ‘er up. The result: low and midrange power that sucker punches you into the rear seat with little effort.

Upgraded intercooler, left, and the stock version
Upgraded intercooler, left, and the stock version

Beefy intercooler and compressor outlet on Mitsubishi Evolution
Beefy intercooler and compressor outlet on Mitsubishi Evolution

Thin black strips on stock intercooler -- talk about restricted airflow!
Thin black strips on stock intercooler — talk about restricted airflow!

Ease on the throttle and provide a little boost, and in a blur you are propelled to redline. With each shift, you’re already in the sweet spot of the next gear. And all of this was done by just improving the way the car breathes; no tune…yet. That’s the next step. And what did the owner think? He raves that it’s a different car now and much more fun to drive. For an Evo, that’s saying a lot.

So there you have it, Banks principles applied to yet another car (and a different than usual one for us). Could this be a new product area? No…maybe…yes…maybe…

Check out the following articles on maximizing airflow for improved power:

Airflow — The Secret to Making Power

How Air Flows

Why Big Density Makes a Big Difference

First Air, Then Fuel

Airflow Equals Fuel Economy

Cool Air Equals Power

Making Your Motorhome Better Than New

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