Give me your thoughts on the 2015 vw golf tdi. The price you think you should be able to get the SE model for. Reliability you think it should have and any other comments you may have. I'm thinking very seriously about getting one this week. Thanks in advance.
wayne

Pm kjjet, he got one new Jetta tdi and he's very excited about it. Also, rumors say that we may see a 4wd Jetta or golf at some point...

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2005 kj CRD, samco, suncoast tc, provent, Kennedy lift pump, GDE ECO full torque, 2nd gen filter head, 245/70/16 a/t tires, mopar light bar, fumoto oil valve, OEM Skid Plates, ARB Front bumper and HD OME, tru cool LPD47391 40k GVW tranny cooler (stock cooler delete), FF Dynamics e-fan and shroud, rocker arms replaced, HDS2 190F thermostat.

Make sure it always has clean fuel, the TDI club (.com) has been talking about high pressure fuel pump issues (HPFP) and failures due to contaminated fuel that can be VERY expensive.

It may be a Bosch defect, or it could be operator error or some combination, but they seem somewhat fragile based on this anecdotal evidence.

I like the Chevy Cruise better if I had to buy a new one. Then comes the Mercedes E class diesel. Then the Dodge diesel.

I am pretty sure after 5 VW's I never want another one. It is all of the little things that brake that get to me, light bulbs, switches, covers, decals, On one of my earlier edition the throttle cable broke it was awful.

Bob

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2006 Liberty CRD -- Spare tire replaced with Veg tank, semi filter for veg, FPHE, Electric common rail line heater, fill vegetable oil tank every 3 days. ORM, EHM comes out in front of the passenger rear tire. Wife has new job and 20 mile round trip to work. I borrow her Jeep a lot and live in South Florida.

I hear plenty of people complain about those kinds of things too, but by the same token, I have driven the snot out of two different TDIs and haven't had any of those kind of problems. I also haven't had any catastrophic failures... Unlike a Jeep CRD.

I'm not familiar with the Chevy Cruze diesel, but I'm also thinking that my next vehicle may be a Chevy Volt instead, and maybe (just maybe) a diesel hybrid instead if someone finally finds their nuts enough to build one. Not one of these 'chem-engine-connected-to-the-wheels' designs like all the current hybrids, but a series hybrid like a train. Generator engine makes power to run wheels ONLY through electric conversions, so engine always runs at same rpm or varies load based on desire from charger once the batteries are depleted.

But the Volt seems to be a decent vehicle, I've also heard and seen noises about a VW Hybrid, but I don't know anything about that either yet.

My next car will be electric or an Elio. The next Volt comes out at the Detroit auto show, January. Elio is saying 2015. I am use to getting 100-150 mpg, running on Veg oil. My last diesel Mercedes was powerful and ran on Veg Oil.

The train concept should show up in Semi-trucks. Probably with hub motors in the wheels for better turning and steam generators that run off the constant rpm diesel exhaust to make more power for the batteries. But that is rather far off.

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2006 Liberty CRD -- Spare tire replaced with Veg tank, semi filter for veg, FPHE, Electric common rail line heater, fill vegetable oil tank every 3 days. ORM, EHM comes out in front of the passenger rear tire. Wife has new job and 20 mile round trip to work. I borrow her Jeep a lot and live in South Florida.

I agree with geordi,
I have often wondered why no has ever built a diesel train locomotive design concept truck. Such a simple design, a diesel motor to run a generator to supply power to a motor at each wheel (ak 4 wheel drive when needed) and charge batteries that could run all accessories... Engine would run at a constant speed in most load situations...
There are lots of industrial equipment out there today that already uses this concept!!!

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Supporting Vendor and Moderator of LOST
05 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited
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Yeti StgIV Hot Tune
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Carter Intank-pmp
2mic.Sec.Fuel Filter
Flowmaster/NO CAT
V6Airbox/noVH
GM11 Bld.fan/HDClutch
IronrockArms/wwdieselMount
98 Dodge Cummins 24 Valve

Never happen, GE owns all the patents on Aux Gens and Main Gens that are worth a doo doo, and they aren't talking to anyone.

Trust the railroad mechanical guy.

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Silver 2006 KJ 2.8L CRD Limited:
GDE ECO Tune / Fumoto Valve / E-Tecno GX3123 7v Glow Plugs / 2nd Gen Fuel Head / Mishimoto RED Hoses / Rockers/Lifters @ 114k / Hayden FC + 11 Blade Nylon / Sears P1 Battery / Transgo 45RFE-HD2 Reprogramming Kit / Timken Front Bearings

See, if that is the reason that the design hasn't ever been built as a proof-of-concept, then I can accept that reason. It is a bulllshit reason, to avoid a patent fight with GE, but at least that makes more sense than the reasons I usually hear from the pro-hybrid crowd like "too much loss in the electrical conversions" or "every device is only 80% efficient so you lose 20% each step of the way."

Those reasons show that the person suggesting them hasn't a clue about how high voltage battery power works. Tesla figured it out, and they aren't dealing with 20% losses per step of the chain.

But by the same token, Tesla might also be obnoxious and disruptive enough to actually try to build something. I believe that if it was a question of patent, that GE would certainly want to investigate what anyone would be doing... BUT there are also limitations on patent fights. If it isn't being made using a copy of the design, or for the same purposes... Then that eliminates a couple big angles for lawsuits. The theoretical construct of "engine-makes-rotational-torque" plugged into the front end of an alternator (which is really nothing more than a driven magnet spinning inside a coil of wires) produces single or 3-phase AC power. Not much more technical than that, and I DOUBT that GE is getting a license fee from every generator manufacturer. It needs to be regulated for the desired use... But at that point, it is just a power source.

The back end control systems for making that back into rotational energy at the wheels... THAT is something that Tesla has developed, and I'm sure they have it patented to themselves... Now if the kilowatts are coming from a battery source or an active generator source... I don't think it steps on GE's designs.

Aren't they using turbojets in the newest engines? Or are they still just BIG honking diesel piston drives for that genset? - I'm genuinely curious about that. It would seem more efficient to use a turbojet to drive the powerhead.

GE doesn't hold all the patents on series -hybrid diesel technology.
Progress Rail uses CAT gensets in its locomotives.
And those giant CAT dump trucks working in the open pit mines, they uses series - hybrid gensets also.

I'd like to think that if series - hybrid diesels were to work in OTR trucks, CAT would have tested that and proved it's worthyness.
But I also know that many European companies have tested and are still working on series hybrid designs.

Yes GE has done turbine gensets and they work great. They also use a lot more fuel. Alternators can't spin at turbine speeds. Gear reduction is needed and therefore efficiency is lost.

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U.S. Army Retired

The thing is, big diesel trucks are doing an IMMENSE amount of work, where the biggest loaders like those 797 trucks are (or even the itty-bitty class 8 trucks next to them!) have the room in the engine bay for the monster gensets to do that work.

Class 8 trucks instead, are somewhat limited in road weight and dimensions, yet still have 60k lbs of widgets to bring from A to B. That is a lot of work to ask of something that maybe doesn't have the room for large enough electric drives.

Comparatively, something like a CRD has a lot of space under the floor area that could be used for a battery pack of *modest* size, to take up the peaks and valleys in demand, while a moderately-sized-yet-smaller-than-the-2.8L diesel genset creates 10k or 15k of electric. NORMAL operations don't require the full horsepower of an engine, but they do ask for lots of torque to get up and go. Cruising could be only asking 15 or 20 hp, depending on speed and load, but not a huge amount more. 20hp is 14kw... So this has to be doable on a smaller scale.

http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/all-our ... belong-you Tesla released their patents. I would buy one if I did not have such a poor paying job.

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2006 Liberty CRD -- Spare tire replaced with Veg tank, semi filter for veg, FPHE, Electric common rail line heater, fill vegetable oil tank every 3 days. ORM, EHM comes out in front of the passenger rear tire. Wife has new job and 20 mile round trip to work. I borrow her Jeep a lot and live in South Florida.

A coworker has a tesla, he paid for that sucker a bit over 70k. But I'll be honest, once you're inside that car, it looks like a Star Trek ship... I was like "wow" for the hole period I was in that car. The console display is as big as 2 iPads. It accelerates way faster than a Shelby cobra. It a very nice car, but for 70k, I'll fix the jeep for the rest of my life and have plenty money left for fuel around the world few times and lots of vacations. Another issue he said he has is long trips, you need to stay on main highways with tesla charging stations. Go on side roads, you may need to call AAA. A fast charge option is few grands more, otherwise it takes about 20-40 min to charge, depending on battery options (he has the "cheap"/stock battery pack, he gets about 220 miles with a charge - which I'd say is super good).

Hopefully the price will go down as more manufacturers will embrace the idea. For keeping within 100 miles of your home, it's a great vehicle, if not the best.

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2005 kj CRD, samco, suncoast tc, provent, Kennedy lift pump, GDE ECO full torque, 2nd gen filter head, 245/70/16 a/t tires, mopar light bar, fumoto oil valve, OEM Skid Plates, ARB Front bumper and HD OME, tru cool LPD47391 40k GVW tranny cooler (stock cooler delete), FF Dynamics e-fan and shroud, rocker arms replaced, HDS2 190F thermostat.

I know it sounds easy, remove the transmission and replace it with a generator, but it isn't as easy as it sounds. It would require approximately 120 KW generator to replace the drive train of a KJ.
Just for reference, here is a 100 KW genset.


Not exactly a drop in replacement and doesn't include batteries.
Yes, a better configuration could be engineered but we haven't even began to discuss the types of motors would work best and what voltage.

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U.S. Army Retired

Yes, that is a big generator, but two things:

First, the powerhead on that is the black section. Not so big, compared to the LOW injection pressure OLD SCHOOL pushrod diesel powering it, eh? That looks like a military generator, skid mounted and bare like that. I've got an enclosed one just like that, it is a Whisperwatt 15kw, and it is an Isuzu diesel driving the powerhead... Which I suspect they used the same powerhead on the 25kw genset, and just didn't put large enough injectors or breakers on it - the powerhead is way larger than it needs to be for just 15kw, even three-phase. I've never even heard that generator struggle when powering things. Thinking about it, the powerhead actually could be almost the same size as what you have pictured.

Second...

You don't need 160hp for every drive experience. Hardly ever, actually. Accelerating from zero is the hardest work, and traffic / city is what kills the battery life in any hybrid or E-vehicle. If they could just drive in a straight line, they would be able to go LOTS farther. So with that in mind, I'm using the factory-advertised specs for the Tesla so I have some exceedingly conservative numbers.

The Tesla has an 85 kwh battery pack, which at 375 volts from the pack, IF it was capable of dumping all its power in 1 hour would be 226 amps, but you also would have just driven WAY more than the speed limit. Certainly not the 265 MPH that the advertised range might suggest if you could do it in one hour... So their range is advertised at 265 miles... What is the actual real-world that your friend can get? Until we know that, I'll keep using their numbers.

If we instead say you were driving at 60mph for 265 miles, that equals 4.4 hours. 85000 watts divided by 4.4 hours turns to just about 20,000 watts of actual consumed power. Per hour. Lets allow for some loss, that is where the other 5kw went. A 20kW powerhead doesn't need to be that physically big, but when you convert it back to HP... surprise: 26hp. The major benefit to electric is that it has full torque available from zero RPM - which is why they accelerate like rockets. As long as the motor has the torque to move the vehicle... It is just a question of how quickly (input voltage) you want to go.

Wander into the Tesla store in your local mall (or wherever the nearest one happens to be) and they will have the frame and pack setup on display, with the two drive motors visible at the back wheels. Check those out - Those are the motors that are capable of all this, now it is just a matter of the power supply. They are barely larger than 14 inches across, by about 16 inches deep. I don't know what they weigh, but that is a secondary issue right now - they can obviously move themselves and a total of 4500 lbs of car.

Seriously, I think this can be done. Even if you were to equip a vehicle with THREE of those motors, two for the wheels and one for the chem engine to power, with a smaller pack to be "continuously topped up" by the chem engine... You have a way of possibly making this happen. The size of the generator is the main thing to figure out, but with some refinement and engineering, other than the weight question as shown above (with that old style generator) I think this isn't that far fetched an idea for today.

Geordi, my co-worker drives about 220 miles per charge, he admits is a bit hard footed and also looks at the computer estimation every time for the range. But he said it tends to be pretty accurate.

Btw, Harley Davidson will have an electric bike soon, project livewire. They advertise it as sounding like a turbine, I think they even went through few major cities with that prototype, but well, Cleveland wasn't one of them...

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2005 kj CRD, samco, suncoast tc, provent, Kennedy lift pump, GDE ECO full torque, 2nd gen filter head, 245/70/16 a/t tires, mopar light bar, fumoto oil valve, OEM Skid Plates, ARB Front bumper and HD OME, tru cool LPD47391 40k GVW tranny cooler (stock cooler delete), FF Dynamics e-fan and shroud, rocker arms replaced, HDS2 190F thermostat.

I totally with you man. I'd like to see it happen.
If I had the money to take on a project like this and do it myself, I would gladly do it.

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U.S. Army Retired

I agree with all that was stated:
I do believe that a diesel electric hybrid at some point will be in a truck of the future. It makes sense to provide good fuel mileage and to provide the necessary torque to move heavy loads when hauling or towing...
Seems like a lot simpler drivetrain, no transmission, transfer case, or differentials, just a drive motor at each wheel and traction control like you would not believe.
On board computer could control all motors and only apply power to certain motors as needed. Ideally one motor would move it down the road in normal steady speed situations. Dual or four motor applied power for zero speed starts and bad weather situations....
Sure sounds like a good design to me.

A friend of mine who is from England was a truck driver over there has told me of how they use electric brakes in big trucks and buses that is mounted around the main driveshaft. It is basically a large flywheel mounted to the driveshaft with stationary electromagnets mounted around it. Power is applied by a column mounted stick control to slow the vehicle when stopping. He says they rarely even used the foot brakes when stopping, the electro brakes did all the work...

_________________
Supporting Vendor and Moderator of LOST
05 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited
Ironman Springs/Bilstein/Shocks
Yeti StgIV Hot Tune
Week's BatteryTray
No FCV/EGR
Samcos/ProVent
SunCoast/Transgo
Carter Intank-pmp
2mic.Sec.Fuel Filter
Flowmaster/NO CAT
V6Airbox/noVH
GM11 Bld.fan/HDClutch
IronrockArms/wwdieselMount
98 Dodge Cummins 24 Valve

Electric braking is even easier for electrically-moved vehicles. Just cut the power feed to the motor and it free-wheels, but instead, connect a "demand" to the motor like a charging unit that wants power. Now the motor is a generator, and the more power you can ask from the motor, the stronger the braking force will be.

This is how they do it on big trains, and when you see the heat pouring off the top of the engine - it isn't because the engine is working hard, it is because they are braking hard! The trains' motors are tied into a big heating grid in the top of the engine, and that is what provides the demand for power, dragging down the speed of the train so they don't need the service brakes.

My family's Mercury Mariner hybrids (twin to the Ford Escape) each drove for about 150k miles... On the ORIGINAL PADS from the dealership!