Forum Home
PC World Chat
Thread ID: 60872	2005-08-16 07:14:00	Carless Days.	Elephant (599)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
381616	2005-08-17 05:46:00	EG: My toyota corolla station wagon is 87hp, and will go at 160, possibly more (wouldn't know). Officially it says it can do 200. But yet one has to go wide open throttle in fourth gear to do 80 up some uphill motorway bits. Make it weak enough to have a top speed of 120km/h and it will only be able to do about 50 up that bit of motorway, which is no good.. my subaru legacy says it can do 240km/h - 250km/h on the clock, it would never do this.sources say it cuts out at a 180km/h (i am not the source :p)due to it being chipped out. many of the new jap cars are being chipped out now.	Prescott (11)
381617	2005-08-17 05:46:00	There's no way to make them slow. An electronic limiter can be easily bypassed, and engine size won't work: If you want a car to cruise at 100km/h at reasonable (2500rpm) revs, that means that at redline it can be going over 200km/h. So all that's left is engine power. Problem is, if you make bog-standard cars with a top speed of say 200-250km/h any less powerful, they'll be slow at accelerating and have difficulty climbing hills. EG: My toyota corolla station wagon is 87hp, and will go at 160, possibly more (wouldn't know). Officially it says it can do 200. But yet one has to go wide open throttle in fourth gear to do 80 up some uphill motorway bits. Make it weak enough to have a top speed of 120km/h and it will only be able to do about 50 up that bit of motorway, which is no good. A friend of mine has a very steep driveway which the car can JUST get up in first gear. Make it less powerful and it couldn't do it at all. Think about this - limiting a car like this would mean it wouldn't really be able to tow at all. That is why cars have high top speeds. I'll conceed the practicalities of the idea - leaving aside the impact on vehicle acceleration and engine strain, any physical inhibiter can be bypassed by those with technical knowledge - Of course, in an ideal world, where most people have vehicle speed limiters, those who have bypassed them would become immediately apparent to law enforcement when they used there unlocked resources. As you progress the concept, though, it becomes intriguingly similar to the situation with handguns...but that's another story.	Lizard (2409)
381618	2005-08-17 05:49:00	.	Metla (12)
381619	2005-08-17 05:59:00	Does anyone really believe that there is NOT an alternative type of fuel, for when oil is not available? Are all those stories of home built/made/designed/whatever are all bullshine.? The ones that big business bought out quietly.? It will all boil down to money, & who will get it. I cannot believe in this technological age that there is nothing in the wings waiting to be trotted out, at a price of course. A very cynical PJ.	Poppa John (284)
381620	2005-08-17 06:09:00	. . . . Are all those stories of home built/made/designed/whatever are all bullshine . ? The ones that big business bought out quietly . ? Yes, all crap, in the same league as everlasting razor blades, and engines that run on water, perpetual motion, little green men and UFOs , believe that, you'll believe anything :)	Terry Porritt (14)
381621	2005-08-17 06:48:00	Does anyone really believe that there is NOT an alternative type of fuel, for when oil is not available? Are all those stories of home built/made/designed/whatever are all bullshine.? The ones that big business bought out quietly.? It will all boil down to money, & who will get it. I cannot believe in this technological age that there is nothing in the wings waiting to be trotted out, at a price of course. A very cynical PJ. Queensland is experimenting with ethanol mixes (from 10% right up to pure 100%). Has the dual purpose of keeping the subsidy-sucking sugar industry alive. I also note the increasing prominence of 50 - 100 cc mopeds here in Brisbane. Those babies easily climb the hills around here. I'm planning to get one (new $1500 - $5000). But best of all is the good, ol' fashioned, fat-burning transport called walking. Has the dual effect of keeping you fairly safe from the greatest killers - the fat-related diseases. Biking, then moped are the next alternatives for longer distances.	vinref (6194)
381622	2005-08-17 06:58:00	But, what is interesting, both in this thread and the one about who people may vote for, are the feelings of some who think we are living in some sort of socialist dictatorship. Then there are others who don't want much restriction on personal freedoms and choices, quite laudable I suppose. Like, ....I fail to see how removing my freedom to choose whatever car I want is going to help others. If I've worked hard for this money, I should be able to dispose of it how I wish to within our nation's legal framework. . Funnily enough before 1984, New Zealand and New Zealanders were probably the most controlled and over regulated in the whole of the western world. Most didn't really know what freedom meant. Everything was controlled. Just have a read of this: "Muldoon’s system of control and regulations – “Fortress New Zealand” – had failed to insulate New Zealand from the global economy. We had the most centralized economy outside the Soviet bloc. New telephones took six months to install. They took three weeks to repair. One third of all mail was not delivered on time. Our rail system was about as efficient as India’s. You had to apply to the Reserve Bank to buy foreign currency to go on holiday. Overseas magazines were hard to find. Ridiculously high marginal tax rates encouraged ridiculous tax fiddles. Unemployment was 6%." www.salient.org.nz The National Government of Muldoon was somewhat to the left of Mao Zedong. When I went to Germany for 2 weeks in 1981 from DSIR, the approval had to be countersigned by Muldoon himself. :rolleyes: In the UK, if a problem arose with equipment supplied to a European firm, I'd just get on a plane and go. Even earlier, you couldn't just go out and buy a new car, there were all sorts of reserve bank funding hurdles to overcome so I've been told. Then, ironically, as the world is becoming increasingly overpopulated, we have had the lurch to right since the early 80s with increasing expectations of greater personal freedoms. This at a time when those population pressures are going to incur even greater controls and restrictions on personal choices and liberties. So what we shall increasingly see is Lohsings "the nation's legal framework" willy-nilly being modified to restrict freedom of choice. This will come about regardless of which political party is in power, it is as inevitable as night follows day. Already in Europe and England restrictions and charges on vehicles entering cities have removed freedoms taken for granted, say 30 years ago. Similarly other restrictions in other walks of life have proliferated as the population has increased. Sigh, we just have to resign ourselves to being controlled. Even the bush isn't free anymore, what with DOCs so called "Great Walks" and increasing pressures of tourism. Next thing I know is we'll have to pay or queue up to be able to enter the Tararuas, but then again, there may not be the petrol to drive to the nearest access point. :)	Terry Porritt (14)
381623	2005-08-17 07:43:00	You forget that law abiding people don't need restrictions,and those that dont give a damn,still wont give a damn. Law abiding people are law abiding for a reason, they HAVE restrictions.	Jeremy (1197)
381624	2005-08-17 09:36:00	Yes, all crap, in the same league as everlasting razor blades, and engines that run on water, perpetual motion, little green men and UFOs , believe that, you'll believe anything :) Terry.........I cannot agree with you. There has to be some kind of "Propulsion Fuel" to take over WHEN oil as a fuel runs out. Big business, as in car manufacturers, will not allow it. What will happen when there is no more petrol? Will Joe Citizen accept that situation? I think not. All Air & Land transport depends on Oil Fuel, at the moment. Something MUST take its place. I very much doubt that we are in that "Beam me up Scotty" situation. Not yet anyway. So is there life after Petrol ??????????/ PJ	Poppa John (284)
381625	2005-08-17 09:58:00	Well, you could pray hard at the Density Church, and if you have enough faith, and if you believe strongly enough, then maybe, just maybe faith will be enough to keep your car going :) Then again there are those who practice yoga and levitation, we could have a few of those in each aeroplane . We could consign all new immigrants to 12 months at the treadmills as a sort of probation, similar to the Australian directed labour scheme whereby assisted immigrants were sent to work on the Snowy Mountains scheme . It would be possible to grow enough organic material, like rape seed, or sunflowers, to manufacture small quantities of diesel type fuel or alcohol enough that only the very wealthy could afford to buy and run their vehicles on a limited basis . There have been designs for modern sailing ships using cylindrical sails, these could be used for transport of limited tonnages of only the very barest essentials . Unfortunately New Zealand threw away its manufacturing base during the 1980s/90s, and as we wont be getting much from China after the oil runs out, we are heading for bad times . The Methanex plant consumed most of the Maui gas/lpg condensate for short term monetary gain, and for which NZ didn't see much of it, and there's not a lot of gas left anywhere now . Hydogen fusion maybe the only hope, but it is remote . The power produced from that could be used to produce hydogen as an engine fuel . The notion that big business has over the years bought up world shattering inventions and suppressed them is a farcical idea, belonging as I say in the realm of little green men and UFOs :) Edit: lets have a tune Heading For Better Times ( . redhotjazz . com/songs/lewis/headingfor . ram" target="_blank">www . redhotjazz . com)	Terry Porritt (14)
1 2 3 4 5 6