Vapor carburetor????

[madokie]

http://www.fuelvaporcar.com/html/the_car.html
This three wheeler was built using a Honda CRX car.


Three wheels better than 4?:

The “alé” features a unique 3-wheeled configuration: 2 in the front, and one in the rear. The front wheels drive and steer the vehicle. This design enables the car to perform at a superb level, particularly in cornering, with the car easily pulling 1.7 g’s in corners during track testing on street tires. The three-wheeled automotive platform also aid in improving fuel efficiency and aerodynamics.

Vapor system:

The car’s key innovation's are the fuel vapor system and it's light weight aerodynamic body. This fuel vapor technology (which is in the patent pending process) allows the engine to run on “fuel vapors” rather than liquid fuel. The majority of gas engines today run 14.7:1 – (14.7 parts air to 1 part gasoline). This proprietary fuel vapor system allows the “alé” to run on a ratio of over 20:1 without compromising performance. According to the textbooks, this ratio is impossible, as a standard engine would not start or run on a air/fuel ratio this low. With a 10 gallon gas tank found on most vehicles, the “alé” can travel from Vancouver BC to San Francisco CA on one tank. Over 15 hours of driving without filling up.


Performance:

Not only does the “alé” have extreme mileage capabilities, but its performance is outstanding and better than many high-end sports cars. It accelerates from 0-60 in 5 seconds, and will pull over 1.7 g’s in hard corner's on street tires. Brad Zimmerman, head tech for the company stated during testing at the Mission race track, “I drove it hard for 4 solid hours, throwing it into corners, accelerating and braking hard. The car’s performance is spectacular. After all that hard driving, we only went through $10 in gas.”

[Jackpine Radical]

1. I want one.

Can I have one?

[philb]

22. How was the Honda CRX used? 92 miles per gallon claimed in articles

Aren't there other 3 wheeled vehicles in Europe, etc.?

[Redstone]

2. Here we go yet again. Let me state for the record: If it seems too good to be true, it is.

Just go ahead and google "fuel vapors" would you?

There IS no "300-MPG carburetor," never has been, and never will be.

Redstone

[madokie]

3. what is your credentials concerning this

or is it just a gut reaction.

[Redstone]

5. Years and years and YEARS of reading about these supposed breakthroughs, and not

ONE of them has turned out to be true.

Those are my credentials, in addition to a background in mechanical engineering, not to mention a well-functioning bullshit detector.

"If it sounds too good to be true..."

You know the rest.

Redstone

[TreasonousBastard]

4. Oh, please-- the Pogue carburetor...

has been around since 1928, and has been pretty well proven to be, if not outright fraud, a big mistake. I thought it was dead forever when after at least 50 years this 200 mpg vaporizing carburetor was much talked about but never once seen.

And three wheels-- try to get that approved by the DOT or anyone else actually testing cars for stability.

They say they are seeking investors. I bet they are.

[Redstone]

6. It will NEVER die, as long as people are gullible. And you KNOW how long it will be

before people stop being gullible, don't you?

Redstone

[TreasonousBastard]

8. Actually, once fuel injection became the norm...

I stopped seeing those Pogue promos and tinfoil screeds. Maybe, now with people who have never seen a carburetor, it's coming back as something "new."

(Should we be quoting PT Barnum?)

[Redstone]

10. Ah, but that was before the Internet presented a whole new universe of rubes;

I'm not surprised to see ANY old discredited BS show up again...how about the Great May 15th "Don't Buy Gas Day?"

Bullshit 30+ years ago, equally bullshit now, but people jumped on that bandwagon nonetheless, didn't they?

Redstone

[Redstone]

7. PS: I'd never trust any company whose website has such horrible grammar.

It's just not professional.

Redstone

[TexasProgresive]

9. I'm a little confused about vapor carburetor

All IC engines burn vapor or gaseous mixtures of fuel and air- liquid just doesn't burn. There are engines that run on LP and natural gas that are common in stationary applications like generators and pumps. As to the tricycle configuration I would have to see a lot of tests on it's cornering ability before I would trust any of my loved ones in it. I don't know if you remember that 3 wheeled ATVs were outlawed because they turned over so easily.

[Redstone]

11. BINGO! You recognized the Bullshit Buzzword.

And found the other flaws in this Utopian Vehicle as well.

All you need to do is to follow the link and read the wretched grammar on the car's website to understand that this in NOT something to take seriously.

Redstone

[A HERETIC I AM]

12. Unique 3-wheeled configuration?

The “alé” features a unique 3-wheeled configuration: 2 in the front, and one in the rear.

If you can say unique as in "Swiped from the 1960's"


Unique? Only if you have this guy driving for you;

[IDemo]

13. Dad drove one of these when we lived in Italy ->

around 1961

[TexasProgresive]

14. No doubt mispeelled-an Izetta

There were a few driving around Houston in the late 60's. Just like the one in your picture.

[Redstone]

15. Isetta. You were close. Who'd have thought that BMW would have gone from that, to

being the Ultimate Yuppiemobile?

Redstone

[A HERETIC I AM]

17. Actually, i found that pic above by googling "Cousin It" because i remembered he drove one in the

Adams family movie. It further turned out the one i pictured above was made by Messerschmitt.

http://images.google.com/images?um=1&tab=wi&client=firefox-a&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=messerschmitt%20car

The Isetta does not have the front fenders the Messerschmitt has.

[dipsydoodle]

20. They've been around a lot longer

than that - 3 wheelers that is. I think Morgans may have been the first :

http://morgan3w.de/

[IDemo]

16. Here's the three wheeler I wouldn't mind having

http://www.carver-worldwide.com/Movies/LoadMovie.asp?S_ID=64&nc=1

[philb]

21. Looks like a motorcycle with a cover; for fun more than practicle

Though it could also be useful as a comuter vehicle for one person or for 2 persons(one each) with incompatible schedules.
What kind of gas milage is it supposed to get?
What are the pros and cons of 2 wheels in front versus 2 wheels in back?
What about safety, stability?

[TheMadMonk]

18. 300 mpg (with a standard weight vehicle) is indeed BULL. However,...

...using properly vapourised (as in in it's gaseous state) petrol, can significantly increase the fuel efficiency of a 60-70's era carburetted engine, to roughly the same efficiency as one using direct fuel injection.

Liquid fueled infernal combustion engines, as a rule, burn atomised (broken up into a mist of ultrafine droplets) fuel, not fuel that has been vapourised into a true gas.

By vaporising the fuel and premixing it thoroughly with air, it burns more smoothly and completely and leaner. As an added bonus, engine design is considerably simplified, since there is no need for the specially shaped piston faces and head chambers (term?) that are necessary today to ensure good fuel/air mixing.


However there are downsides to the system. They are finicky: too hot and pre-ignition rears it's ugly head, too cold and it runs like a chaff cutter, if it runs at all. And given that the usual heat source is the exhaust, there is a need for an auxiliary heater until the engine reaches operating temperature.


I'd like some independent confirmation on this critter, but there are not truly outrageous claims being made here. Reading between the lines, the claimed fuel efficiency is roughly 80-90 mpg. Which ain't half bad. But then again the vehicle weight is considerably less than even a compact. Furthermore because passenger weight will be a fairly significant portion of the combined vehicle weight, that economy will vary considerably with the number and size of passengers.


As for those of you choked on the "unique" and "revolutionary" superlatives, you, like a good many around here need to recalibrate your BS/sarcasm/hyperbole detectors. FFS how much notice do you take of the new/improved/etc. tag on your ruddy dish-washing liquid? It's bloody marketing hype. Get over it.

[Doc_Technical]

19. Engine-"High mileage Honda engine"??????

Does this mean that the Honda engine has a high number of

miles on it?

[philb]

23. No, they are gearing up for production of new vehicles; high gas milage