veggie oil?? (was RE: Audi 5000 Diesel conversion)

[Franco Barber]

The Italian car magazine QuattroRuote (www.quattroruote.it)
did a long (8 page) article in their August 2005 issue regarding
the use of vegetable oil in place of, or in combination with,
diesel fuel, and the effect it can have on the engine.

I'm sorry but I don't have a link to an online copy of the article,
and it's impractical to copy or quote all 8 pages of it, but in
summary:

- the article focused on "colza" oil.
  I had never heard of colza, but I found an explanation of it here:
  http://36.1911encyclopedia.org/C/CO/COLZA_OIL.htm
  It's apparently a type of turnip that is extensively cultivated
  in northern europe.
- a mix of 70% colza/30% diesel reduced smoke/particle emissions
  by 50%, saved about 19% in cost (a savings of 254 Euro/20000 km),
  and reduced performance (e.g.acceleration) by a few percent.
- a long term test was performed using a mix of 70% colza/30% diesel
  in a Fiat Punto 1.9 JTD (diesel).
a) After only 7300 km the test had to stop because the vehicle lost power.
b) Disassembly of the engine showed that the turbo shaft had broken!
c) The piston rings were all gummed up and the colza oil had gotten
   past the rings into the oil.
d) The "stuff" in the colza oil had gotte into the engine oil, changing
   the lubrification properties of the oil so that it had an
   equivalent SAE rating of 140.
e) All of the oil passages in the engine had massive buildup of wax and
   other bad stuff, resulting in a lubrication failure.

The pictures of the engine aren't pretty.  Build up everywhere,
pistons, injectors, valves, turbo, etc.

This is in the August 2005 issue.
I think it's possible to see copies of the article on the web
pages, but you have to register, it's in italian, it's not clear
what form the archive is in, and it didn't seem like it would be
possible to post links to it, so I didn't follow the lead.
I can possibly post a couple digital pics of my copy if there is
a lot of interest.

Franco


-- 
Franco Barber                   feb at febsun.cmhnet.org
95 A6Q w/Gamma CD mit RDS!      Columbus, Ohio  USA
95 A6Q 5spd w/HCB-30 bluetooth car kit!