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October 23, 2005
Biodiesel is for racing...
Portland Tribune
October 21, 2005
Club Bio opens BY JEFF ZURSCHMEIDE For the Tribune's Accelerate section
High performance and diesel used to be opposite concepts. I had a friend in high school who drove a diesel Volkswagen Dasher. You had to measure the 0-to-60 mph time of that car with a calendar. But that was long ago, and the world of diesel engines has come a long way. Bill Isbister and other biodiesel advocates in Northwest racing want to see the venerable "rattle can" motors make the jump to serious competition. "I founded Club Biodiesel in 2001 to get biodiesel on track literally. We did the first Clean Air 1/4 Mile run at PIR with biodiesel in 2002," Isbister says. "I want to get biodiesel and the new diesel technology into the mainstream, and racing is the quickest way to do it." There are two successful diesel racing programs going on right now. Ken Rakoz of Centralia, Wash., has a diesel-powered rail dragster, and Dan Carchano from the Seattle area campaigns a Mercedes-Benz diesel in Sports Car Club of America racing. The Rakoz machine is powered by an 8V92 Detroit diesel engine. The 736-cubic-inch engine that's 12 liters, by the way features twin turbochargers, nitrous oxide injection and a supercharger. The behemoth engine makes 1,200 horspower and weighs 2,300 pounds. "I built the whole thing myself. This engine normally revs to 2,200 rpm. We're cranking this one up to 3,800 rpm and running 118 mph in 11.8 seconds in the quarter-mile," Rakoz says. Carchano's Mercedes is a consistent winner in SCCA Solo1 competition, which involves single-car time trials on a racetrack. "As the only oil-burning entrant on the grid, and the first diesel-powered Solo1 racer in the SCCA nationwide, it has raised a few eyebrows and now has fueled a fascinating debate on the future of diesel in the world of circuit racing," Carchano says. With the recent rise in fuel prices, interest is rising in fuel-efficient diesel engines and biodiesel fuels. Biodiesel is typically made from soybeans, a renewable grown in quantity in the United States. "America should be a lot farther ahead of the curve than it is. Biodiesel should be in all forms of racing, and I hope I can get it into club and pro racing," Isbister says. "The crown jewel will be the BioSpirit of Oregon, a Mercedes silhouette racer that will beat and establish new speed/fuel mileage records at all race venues, here and abroad," Isbister says. Rakoz is a passionate advocate for biofuels. "We're so dependent on the oil companies, and every time they have a little disaster, they use it to raise prices on us," Rakoz says. "If we can raise feedstock and make our own fuel, we're not dependent on anyone else. There's a trickle-up economic benefit when we produce our own fuel." In the search for alternative fuels, cars have been converted to use batteries, liquid propane, pedal-power and even used french fry cooking oil. The advantage of biodiesel is that if you have a diesel engine, you can use the new fuel without making any change to your car. You can even use biofuel by itself or in combination with standard diesel. "To convert to biofuel, you just pick up the biofuel can instead of the diesel can. There's no conversion cost," Isbister says. If all this has piqued your interest, there's an event Sunday at the Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center where you can learn about biodiesel cars and trucks. The inaugural Northwest BioFuels Car Show & Conference runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 23 in Hall A. Admission is free if you arrive via TriMet bus or MAX, which goes directly to the Expo Center. Bring two cans of food to donate to the Oregon Food Bank and receive one ticket for drawings that will occur throughout the day. There will be speakers, exhibitors and even an area with biodiesel-powered cars for sale. "This is something that all Oregonians can support. Let's clear the air and support American farmers," Isbister says. You can find out more about Sunday's biodiesel car show and conference by going to the Web site www.energyelement.com. And you can find out more about biodiesel in general at www.biodiesel.org. jeffz@portlandtribune.com
Posted by Martin at October 23, 2005 02:05 PM
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