Finest, greenest, & safest taxicab in the world. The story of cab 2545

THAT IS TRUE AMERICANS ALWAYS TIP GOOD ..... maybe its the orange connection off what feeds the rest of the car... cut off fuse i believe . hey bud check your squirreltourbine at the back the one that cool's the hybrid bat

 

lay thick garment piece rugs on top of the compartment to brake the impact . it'll give you help chucking luggage in the back without blasting it apart !! it is strong the back !!!

 

any cabdriver out there that made 500000 miles on the same battery .... tell us if the car was driven hard like a NY cab ... i think it is better to drive the car normal than juicing the hell out of the battery for mileage .i sacrifice of the big dream of driving for free !!! to save the battery and really get the best out of the car ?!

 

i hope i am not imposing . i think you got a good thread going and i like to square away to the point .

 

i'm enjoying your thread cab, i hope i'm around for more milestones. all the best!

 

Do you know if there is a different tax on the equivalent energy of diesel, gasoline, and liquid propane? I was considering converting a motorcycle to propane using normal sized cylinders, and I found out that when refilling them I would be asked if they were for motor vehicle use, in which case an additional car fuel tax would be added that would make the final price more similar to gasoline.
Similarly in Germany for many years the home heating oil equivalent of diesel fuel was not taxed, but they added a dye in it and would randomly stop diesel cars at checkpoints and check for the dye, arresting the scofflaws.

 

Thanks! Just deciphered my VIN. Our 2012 was made at Toyota Auto Body, but how many people check this out before purchasing a car? I was blissfully ignorant.

 

You can get caught up in tricky tax rulings. For example, make bio-diesel in Australia and you are expected to pay the excise. (I don't know if DIY are targeted by the ATO or just commercial producers.) But if you can claim a tax credit on diesel because you are a primary producer, then some of that diesel could accidently fall out of your tractor into your car's fuel tank for a big discount.

Here's respective fuel prices in West Australia FuelWatch - Home for Regular, 95 RON, Diesel, Liquid Petroleum Gas, 98 RON, Bio diesel, E10 P100 (whatever that is) and E85. (I don't live in WA, it's just an easy website to refer to.)

Product Metro Average
ULP 154.8
PULP 164.9
Diesel 161.0
LPG 83.7
98 RON 171.0
B20 156.3
E10 151.8
P100 170.0
E85 149.6
So LPG has been the fuel of choice for taxis for many years because it has always been half the price. LPG cars used to produce about 75% and power and torque at about 50% more fuel consumption that their petrol originals. Recent LP injection Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore are producing power and torque about the same about fuel consumption only 20% worse. Ford has several models that are LPG only (not dual fuel) and produce slightly more power, presumably by exploiting the 112 RON with careful injecting.

The fuel excise rates Schedule - (1 August 2013) are:
$0.38143/L Petrol, diesel, heating oil, kerosene, biodiesel (yes, even if you make your own apparently)
$0.08869/L gasoline used in aviation
$0.09835/L kerosene used in aviation
$0.075/L LPG
$0.1567/kg LNG, CNG
Ethanol blends are subsidised and are usually 3¢/L cheaper than the equivalent ULP (91 RON).

LPG is common in taxis and private cars and Australia has massive reserves of the stuff. CNG is used in new buses and starting to be used in 2-3 ton trucks.

Here's details of the fuel tax credits available to "primary producers" etc. In general, you can claim the excise back if you are using the fuel to produce stuff. I think that many run their diesel 4WD and an increasing number of diesel cars from the same 220L drums as the tractor and get a 38¢ per litre discount.

Fuel tax credit rates and eligible fuels | Australian Taxation Office

 

Wow! Hard facts! Love it!
We have spent several months exploring eastern 1/3 of Australia and West Australia is next on our list. For all its quirks, I like the Prius and will try to rent one to see your part of it.

But my question is, has anybody Down Under converted a Prius to run on liquid propane ?
If so, how is it working?

I chatted with mechanics here in US who have done that conversion to traditional cars and they said it was relatively simple. The higher effective RON of propane should work fine with the pseudo-Atkinson cycle engine (I hope!). Anyone know for sure?

 

I would very much doubt that there's an LPG Prius in existence. Not every engine should be converted to LPG and few are made specifically for it (Ford being an exception Ford Australia - Falcon & G Series MkII - EcoLPi ).
Just as importantly, where are you going to put the tank? Fill that space with extra batteries and turn it into a plug-in instead.

Remember, the 13.0:1 compression ratio is effectively reduced to 10:1 or so by the intake valve remaining open for longer during compression. The engine has a 13.0:1 expansion ratio. So you'd have to change the valve timing too if you expect to get better performance from a different fuel.

 

Oh but there are a few LPG Prii in existence;

Toyota Prius 2nd Gen. - converted to LPG hybrid | PriusChat

I looked into it when using my car as a taxi, but the £1,500 conversion was barely worth the hassle considering the amazing fuel consumption and cost savings I already got. I know a few taxi drivers who did use LPG in their cars (not Prius) who had mixed results. It costs half the price of petrol here in the UK too but it's just so much hassle as to be barely worth having.

Personally though, I think all the London Cabs should be made to be LPG and not diesel. That one act would clean up the air there.

 

I stand corrected.
LPG is quite popular in Australia and until the Prius and Camry hybrids and the Škoda turbo diesel appeared, every taxi ran LPG and had a small boot because of it. LPG-only LPi taxis have more luggage space, more power and torque and are only 20% less fuel efficient (ADR test).
LPG is a nice way to save money on fuel but until recently it meant a fairly large reduction in power and torque and fairly large increase in fuel consumption.
My vote was for PHEV retrofit.
BTW, LPG + diesel conversions are becoming popular. A mix (not substitution) of 30% LPG + 70% Diesel seems to improve the combustion for cleaner, cooler and with less particulates. DIYers who experimented with water injection and Brown's gas and found no improvement are now swearing by (instead of at) LPG.