using non premium fuel

[SubSlr88]

Originally Posted by rawlus®

solar won't work as the tech is too inefficient and too much of the world is not adequately positioned to take advantage of solar.

RIGHT! That's why there is a whole town in Sweden that is strictly SOLAR, plus geothermal heat and cooling from the ocean! LOL You really need to check your facts.
Oh yeah, Sweden must be 'adequately positioned', huh?

[oldmike]

Yea, yea, MA must be tilted on it's axis!!!

People, people!!!! REGULAR FUEL!!!

Come on ...
You can do it!!!

[Old smart]

Originally Posted by Old smart

Not only are the 3B21(IL3-1.0L) pistons skirts of the slipper design, but the crowns are "squish" design. Some pretty high-tech thoughts from Mitsu concerning the pistons.

One of the two rationales for using "squish pistons" is to help control detonation in high performance engines (and knocking, pinging or detonation is the root subject of the regular/premium octane argument). The other reason is to improve the efficiency of the burn by shaping the fuel in the air-fuel charge.

[Smart Car Geek]

Originally Posted by rawlus®

a solar car would require every square inch of exposed surface to be coated in solar panels

Not true. The solar panels could easily be stored externally like Honda is currently doing ;)

[bull8042]

Originally Posted by Smart Car Geek

Not true. The solar panels could easily be stored externally like Honda is currently doing ;)

Hey Mike, he said "solar" again....
We need a "Beavis & Butthead" smilie....

[DJWFLORIDA]

What about synthetic oil? Its twice as much as regular oil but supposedly increases the life of the engine with better lubrication......anyone know about that?

[bull8042]

Originally Posted by DJWFLORIDA

What about synthetic oil? Its twice as much as regular oil but supposedly increases the life of the engine with better lubrication......anyone know about that?

YUP! Been there, done that here... No debate, it comes with synthetic, manufacturer recommends synthetic, you should use synthetic....period.

[Vjklander]

Make everyone happy, put in 4 gallons of regular, then fill with premium.

[rawlus®]

"I don't think Honda's solar-panel business will ever make economic sense, or be a large money loser either," says Yasuhiro Matsumoto, an analyst at BNP Paribas in Tokyo.

[Smart Car Geek]

Originally Posted by DJWFLORIDA

What about synthetic oil? Its twice as much as regular oil but supposedly increases the life of the engine with better lubrication......anyone know about that?

Well yes and no. It depends on the brand that you get. As with anything else there are good and bad brands. The two best syn's currently are Mobil 1 and Pennzoil Platinum. When we switched to syn oil and tranny fluid (Platinum for the engine, Mobil 1 for the tranny) our milage went way up. We're getting 30 MPG in our Taurus SEL now. Keep in mind that to do it right you'll need to change more than just the oil, you'll need a good filter like the K&N filter, but when we checked they currently don't make one for the Smart (you can put in a request though). Switching out the tranny fluid is also very important if you're looking for better performance and milage. BTW- wally world sells Pennzoil Platinum for little more than standard oil. Every now and then you'll see a rebate on it too. As soon as K&N releases the new oil filters for the Smart we'll be switching to 100% synthetic