It's a hemispherical chamber, and most newer cars have them nowadays. Especially the lil imports. And they say we take their technology... HAH! lol

 

That is some crazy sludge. I have seen some pretty bad sludge, generally just by people not changing their oil. My Range Rover has it pretty bad. Cleaning it out has been a slow process, but it is getting better. Now it goes 100 miles before the oil turns completely black instead of 50! I've owned diesels that keep the oil looking clean longer.

$350 in gas for a 1600 mile trip doesn't sound too bad. Figure that's a bit under half what you'd pay flying a twin-engined piston aircraft, and maybe 3/4 what you'd pay in a zippy single. The best thing, though, is that when you divide up the fuel cost among the people who can go in an Excursion, a PSD version getting 20 mpg filled with 8 people ends up being 160 mpg. Try THAT with a Prius!

 

1) "SIR"....?Please do not "sir" me ( I CAN tie my own shoe-laces, do NOT dribble snot, and EARNED my $ 119. per month TRYING (usually successfully), trying to make creatures like you into something the United States Army MIGHT not have to file a "Section Eight" on.
2) SLUDGE You are correct about sludge and no oil changes. We dont see sludge any more on most engines, simply because most people these days, especially if their cars are on lease and/or they want to preserve their warranty rights, DO change their oil, at least occasionaly. Yes, as one photograph posted earlier proves, it is still POSSIBLE to "sludge up" an engine thru a combination of gross abuse and lack of maintainence.
3) CARBON BLOW-OUT
I have never worked on (or even driven ! for that mattrer) a Jag -12, so I have no idea how their ignition and fuel ingestion systems work. I think what is confusing some of you younger people who do not have much mechanical knowledge, is what happens when you "floor" an older car that does not have computerized ignition and fuel controls. Of COURSE you see big puffs of black smoke, but this has NOTHING to do with so called "carboning up". More recent vehicles with computerized fuel injection and ignition systems simply wont do this unless there has been a major malfunction.

In one photograph, there was a comment about 1930's Cadillac V-16's. For that "poster", let me correct you - neither of the two versions of the Cadillac V-16 ( 1930-1937) or (1938-1940) had four valves per cylinder. Both had only two. The carbon on the valve is interesting, indicating the engine must have been worn WELL beyond "factory running limits" in order to by-pass that much oil thru the valve stem seals. What I see in that photo of that valve is consistant with a combination of a VERY worn engine, and a non "approved" oil. For those of you who THINK there is a difference in oil products that can lead to sludging up, you are partially correct.

For liability reasons, no motor oil manufacturer is going to risk being caught violating SAE-ASTM standards. Obviously, if someone has a worn out "oil-burning" motor they are going to junk or over-haul anyway, no point in wasting the money using an "approved" motor oil. You can still buy so-called "non-detergent single grade" oils, which state very clearly on their labling they do NOT meet modern standards. Yes, if you combine those oils, with a badly worn-out engine, of course you can generate the kind of sludge you see in those photos.

Bottom line - those of you kids who like to make noise, should just be more honest and admit you dont care about technical issues; you just want to do what you want to do, instead of inventing these obviously silly reasons for it.

 

people miles per gallon (Pmpg):

Excursion @ 20 mpg x 8 people = 160 Pmpg
Prius @ 45 mpg x 4 (5 if you squeeze) people = 180 Pmpg

but then again the prius can't tow jack and you have to allow for the 'comfort factor ' Every vehicle has its purpose and its place. Even if you just drive an X because you want to, thats cool too.

Basically, if you are willing to pay for it, by all means, drive whatever you want.

I do like the argument someone mentioned earlier about kids driving like kids being a choice to spend more $$ in the long run just like driving an X over something smaller is also a choice that will cost more $$ in the long run. I guess its all perspective.

 

Now we agree again!

 

Yeah but in the X, he don't need to squeeze shi*

It will COMFORTABLY hold 8 and more if you put a reverse fourth row in. If he does that, what are we talking, 250pmpg?

 

lol exactly. If you need to transport that many people a van might even be a better idea. But I'm with you. I drive an X and love it. I just like to fight for the underdogs on here too just to get some balanced views. :-)

like i said, as long as people are willing to pay for it, i think they can drive whatever the heck they want to :-)

Isaac

 

Issac, u forgot to add the trailor mpg (Tmpg)

 

Yesterday I flew a Piper Aztec (twin-engined, 6-passenger plane) to Maine and back. I'm not sure what the return fuel consumption was on the way back, but on the way there it was 90 gallons. That came out to about 6.5 mpg, at $4.50/gallon for AvGas. We got there in 3.5 hours, though. Driving it would've been almost 800 miles. Good thing it was someone else's dollar paying for all that fuel...

How's that for fuel economy?

 

U would of used 3 tanks of gas in ur truck or 132 gallons. That piper u used 180 gallons. $3.10 x 132 gallons = $410 or $4.50 x 180 = $810. U could of saved alot of dough driving the v-10, but u werent paying for the gas so thats awesome.

 

You got it. We all make our choices. Really, I see that as one of the reasons why cars are moving towards being disposeable. Many people don't necessarily want to keep cars for 250,000 miles, because they break. So people will instead drive a car 75,000 miles and then sell it. So long as the car lasts that 75,000 mile mark, the first owner doesn't care about much of anything else. I can see the argument - if you don't have time or have other things as your priorities (job, family, etc.), taking care of your car is a pain.

The other thing I find amusing is how some people will actually overmaintain their cars, and then watch those items that they overmaintained fail. Example: One person I know flushes his coolant yearly, changes his oil at 2,000 mile intervals, and changes trans fluid at 10,000. He calls it cheap insurance. This guy also drives very sanely and conservatively.

75,000 miles on his Jeep that he's owned since new: Radiator needed to rebuilt and the transmission is now dead.

What amazes me is when I see some people who don't maintain a thing on their cars, and they're running at 150,000-200,000 miles, and the things are actually still running and driving fine, despite having original everything (well, maybe not motor oil). Boggles my mind, I know I wouldn't be that lucky.

 

I don't follow that argument. You are not that smart and I am not that stupid. So, if you ditch the car at 75K because you think something is coming around the bend and I see that is generally the case, why would I offer you much for a 75K car? If I see that car becomes costly at 85K, I know that is the lifespan of the car so I will NOT give you much for it. Therefore, it IS your concern because of that simply because I know that we are near the end of it's life and if I am getting such a vehicle, I certainly won't pay you much for it as we can see in KBB.

Maintenance is good. Overmaintenance is costly. There is no benefit to changing oil at 2000 miles if 5000 miles will do. I'd get an oil analysis before I go any further than manufacturer recommended changes on EITHER side of the fence.

As you said, it is luck. A guy bought a brand new Lexus and didn't get it out of the dealer lot before it died and all sorts of problems occured. I don't know but I would assume he is pissed.

 

One of my coworkers bought his wife a fancy lil 2 seater mercedes car new, 2 weeks later it was dead. Seems the part taht broke wasnt available yet and he had to wait almost a month for the part. Traded it in as soon as it was fixed. So really, you can have bad luck with anything.


On another note, theres a certain dinasaur in this thread thats about as sharp as a marble when it comes to modern automotive technology. But we wont name any names. Ok ill be the adult and end it here, no more comments about that anymore, dont wnat to start any fights or anything.

 

Well I just joined this group on Saturday and must say I was a little turned off by some of the comments but then started thinking for the most part you guys are fun!! Anyway, I have a 2000 excursion 7.3 diesel and LOVE it!! I'm gonna have to work on the power lock thing but other then that I'm very happy!! Like I said in my firsy post I get over 20 MPG and as long as I can stay in that range I drive with a smile on my face! And you know what? I'm 46 and sometimes it's fun to make noise and have fun!!! Keeps me young!!

Beth

Proud owner of a 2000 Excursion that makes noise and makes me smile!!

 

I guess if you want to play, you gotta pay. BTW Beth, is your handle trying to say Size Matters?