While i was out around the town today i saw a sign for a performance shop i hadn't been to or heard of before.  I stopped in to see if they'd be into sponsoring the BD Subaru and came upon some great first hand knowledge that i didn't have before.  This shop actually works on a WIDE range of stuff, mostly swamped with custom motorcycles (choppers and some other unusual things) and Subaru's.  A very random shop, very cool though, and the guy i chatted with was very helpful.  When i brought up bio-diesel the guy instantly stopped me and let me know he was not a supporter of bio-diesel and really was quite against it.

The shop had torn apart some customer volkswagen's that had experienced some severe wear (he wasn't real specific as to what exactly, but i assume injection pump) and he said one engine was actually replaced completely.  This wasn't a testimony overloaded with facts, but it just goes to show that we still need some testing, development and standardization in the bio-diesel field.  This has also started a new hunt, see what common problems are coming from bio-diesel and if the problems are coming from commercial bio-diesel, home-made bio-diesel or both.  Figure out these problems and what we can do to fix them.  His comment about it was that the fuel doesn't lubricate properly.  So, i'm gonna hit the internets and see what i can dig up.

This also has inspired me to start making some batches of fuel and see what kind of variations i can get in cetane as well as lubricity.  Maybe find a chemical engineer to shine some light on some options for adding a lubricant to the process.

These are the kinds of problems that should be sorted out in motorsport though.  Bio-diesel is a safe, clean fuel.  Try making a batch of fossil based gasoline, diesel or kerosene in your kitchen....i don't think your wife or neighbors is gonna be real happy. Not to mention sustainable.  It just needs some work to be developed.  All these trials were done a long time ago with diesel and gasoline so people tend to count that against it, but it's part of the process and in motorsports, the process can be sped up safely.  Trial an error on a racetrack will quickly weed out problems with the fuel in terms of equipment endurance, fuel quality consistency, and proper cetane properties.  With more people trying to figure the stuff out, the faster the development will be.

I am very excited about this new perspective and am very motivated, now more than ever, to go get those sponsors and get this car built.  It's going to be quite an adventure over the next year and i'm very excited about it.