The Smart Drive

Garage filter test setup

This past weekend I gave my garage WVO filter setup a test run and took some video. Last night I compiled it and uploaded it to YouTube, check it out. There will be a more in-depth post about this, soon.

SVO Update

The last post was on the electric vehicle project, now time to move on to the SVO Golf project. On this project things have been slowly moving forward for the same reasons as the EV, life, work, winter, skiing and things like that have slowed a lot of the progress. In the last post I said [...]

Electric vehicle update

So I’m not the worlds most diligent blogger, but that doesn’t mean things aren’t going on. First some explanation. Last summer I started working at EeTrex, a startup company working on hybrid electric plug-in conversions in Boulder, Colorado. I work on building battery management systems (BMSs) for lithium-ion batteries. Management systems for batteries is something [...]

SVO system connected and under test

If you have been following the history of the SVO Golf here on The Smart Drive you will know it was a total mess when it was purchased. The original Greasecar kit installation is no exception to this. It’s clear to me, the previous owner (or who ever installed the kit) had a limited understanding [...]

The Effect of Tire Pressure On Fuel Economy

Test vehicle: 1997 Geo Prizm with automatic transmission; 130000 miles on vehicle Test tires: Kumho Solus KR21; 175/65r14 The variable for this test was tire pressure. For the control test, the pressure was set at the factory recommended 33 psi in each tire. The subsequent test was done with the pressure set at 45 psi. For each [...]

TDI update and new contributor

It’s been a while since I have posted anything on here, sorry. The TDI is running well and now has 1,440 miles on the new engine. I changed the oil at 700 miles and plan to change it again this weekend. The car has been running on standard petrodiesel for now to break it in, [...]

Quickpost: Good SVO Overview

This is a good SVO overview for anyone who wants to know the basics of running a car on SVO. I would have to disagree with the idea of shutting down and starting a car on SVO in the summer. After the repairs to The Smart Drive’s SVO vehicle I would STRONGLY suggest [...]

Introducing the 2001 Golf TDI SVO

Well, I didn’t really plan on getting two alternate fuel vehicles within a month, but life is funny sometimes. Yes, after way too many months in the shop, the 2001 Golf TDI SVO vehicle is up and running. It has become clear to me now that this car was on it’s last legs when I [...]

Golf TDI Update

The engine is done! The short block was re-assembled at the engine shop and and has been delivered to the VW shop to be put back in the car. The VW shop started putting some of the long block together this week and found an issue with the clutch pressure plate. While [...]

The Electric Car Arrives

The electric car is here! If you are not familiar with The Smart Drive’s electric car, check out the post on The Electric Car Experiment. For a quick summary, The Smart Drive’s electric vehicle was built in 2001 and competed in two road rallies in the Northeast in 2001 and 2002. Since 2002 it [...]