Environmental impact-minimizing vehicle tuning is the

modification Modification may refer to: * Modifications of school work for students with special educational needs * Modifications (genetics), changes in appearance arising from changes in the environment * Posttranslational modifications, changes to prote ...

(or tuning) of

car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

s to reduce

energy consumption Energy consumption is the amount of energy used. Biology In the body, energy consumption is part of energy homeostasis. It derived from food energy. Energy consumption in the body is a product of the basal metabolic rate and the physical activi ...

General tuning

Hybridization Hybridization (or hybridisation) may refer to: *Hybridization (biology), the process of combining different varieties of organisms to create a hybrid *Orbital hybridization, in chemistry, the mixing of atomic orbitals into new hybrid orbitals *Nu ...

: change to a

hybrid electric vehicle A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a type of hybrid vehicle that combines a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) system with an electric propulsion system (hybrid vehicle drivetrain). The presence of the electric powertrain is intended ...

. One can use an aftermarket kit for the

powertrain A drivetrain (also frequently spelled as drive train or sometimes drive-train) is the group of components that deliver mechanical power from the prime mover to the driven components. In automotive engineering, the drivetrain is the components o ...

or use a

hybrid adapter Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...

trailer. * Modifying key engine-selection parameters in the Battery Management System of a hybrid vehicle. Vehicles as mild hybrids have a parameter for the threshold speed on which the vehicle is to switch from electric propulsion to the internal combustion engine. Introducing a higher speed as a parameter can reduce emissions and increase

fuel efficiency Fuel efficiency is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the ratio of effort to result of a process that converts chemical potential energy contained in a carrier (fuel) into kinetic energy or work. Overall fuel efficiency may vary per device, ...

(although it may increase strain on the battery). * Pluginization of hybrid or electric vehicles. A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid which has additional battery capacity and the ability to be recharged from an external electrical outlet. A

plug-in electric vehicle A plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) is any road vehicle that can utilize an external source of electricity (such as a wall socket that connects to the power grid) to store electrical power within its onboard rechargeable battery packs, which t ...

is basically the same, without an extra internal combustion engine. In addition, modifications are made to the vehicle's control software. The vehicle can be used for short trips of moderate speed without needing the internal combustion engine (ICE) component of the vehicle, thereby saving fuel costs. In this mode of operation the vehicle operates as a pure battery electric vehicle with a weight penalty (the ICE). The long range and additional power of the ICE power train is available when needed. *

Electric vehicle conversion In automobile engineering, electric vehicle conversion is the replacement of a car's combustion engine and connected components with an electric motor and batteries, to create an all-electric vehicle (AEV). There are two main aims for converti ...

. An electric vehicle conversion is the modification of a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) driven vehicle to battery electric propulsion, creating a battery electric vehicle. In some cases the vehicle may be built by the converter, or assembled from a

kit car A kit car is an automobile available as a set of parts that a manufacturer sells and the buyer then assembles into a functioning car. Usually, many of the major mechanical systems such as the engine and transmission are sourced from donor v ...

. In some countries, the user can choose to buy a converted vehicle of any model in the automaker dealerships only paying the cost of the batteries and motor, with no installation costs (it is called preconversion or previous conversion). * Modifying the engine to run an alternative fuel. These include

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon ...

conversion of gasoline-powered cars and Vegetable oil conversion of diesel cars. Cars with

Diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

s can be converted reasonably cheaply and easily to run on 100% vegetable oil. Vegetable oil is often cheaper and cleaner than petrodiesel, but local laws often levy harsh fines to users who fail to pay

fuel tax A fuel tax (also known as a petrol, gasoline or gas tax, or as a fuel duty) is an excise tax imposed on the sale of fuel. In most countries the fuel tax is imposed on fuels which are intended for transportation. Fuels used to power agricultural ...

es when acquiring their fuel outside regular distribution channels.

Liquid nitrogen Liquid nitrogen—LN2—is nitrogen in a liquid state at low temperature. Liquid nitrogen has a boiling point of about . It is produced industrially by fractional distillation of liquid air. It is a colorless, low viscosity liquid that is wi ...

, Hydrogen fuel conversions and

Ethanol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a h ...

conversions are other alternative fuel conversions that can be done with internal combustion engines. The first two will eliminate all vehicle emissions, while the third one will only slightly decrease emissions. * Replacing the

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal co ...

of a hybrid vehicle with a

hydrogen fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...

to make the vehicle completely emissionless; even in recharging mode. * Adding a

to a

battery electric vehicle A battery electric vehicle (BEV), pure electric vehicle, only-electric vehicle, fully electric vehicle or all-electric vehicle is a type of electric vehicle (EV) that exclusively uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs, wi ...

to increase its driving range. * Adding more electric batteries to a

to increase driving range. Besides placing more batteries, this operation often requires additional modification of the Battery Management System.

References

External links

Somender Singh's groove modification to IC engines to reduce fuel consumption
Popular Science {{DEFAULTSORT:Green Tuning Green vehicles Vehicle modification Vehicle tuning

General tuning

See also

References

External links