Houston based company to provide B5 for the entire race series including the 18-wheel transports and generators. [xfloat=left]http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2009_Jetta_TDI_Cup_participant.jpg[/xfloat]Wayne Gerdes – CleanMPG – Feb. 25, 2009 Just one of the many racing spec’ed Jetta TDI’s on the track during the 2008 TDI Cup. Herndon, VA. -- After introducing the Tier II/Bin 5 capable clean diesel technology in the form of the 2009 Jetta TDI to the race track in 2008, Volkswagen announced it will use B5 biodiesel to power the race cars, transport vehicles and generators during the 2009 Jetta TDI Cup season. Houston-based HYPERFUELS will supply B5 biodiesel for the series, which is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). “We are extremely pleased to have HYPERFUELS as a partner for the 2009 Jetta TDI Cup series. SynDiesel® B5 biodiesel has been fully approved for use in all Volkswagen TDI powered vehicles that are available at local Volkswagen dealerships today,” said Clark Campbell, Motorsport Manager, Volkswagen of America, Inc. “The addition of SynDiesel B5 biodiesel in the Jetta TDI Cup race cars further demonstrates the feasibility of biodiesel as an alternative fuel source for American consumers and supports the clean and green racing of the Jetta TDI Cup series,” added Campbell. The Jetta TDI’s engine uses a “common rail” direct injection system which improves fuel economy over gasoline engines and reduces sooty emissions by up to 95 percent from previous VW TDI’s, even under race conditions. During the 2009 season, the Jetta TDI Cup cars will consume approximately two tanks of B5 biodiesel during a given race and overall carbon emissions produced by the series will be reduced by 2,583 pounds as a result of the B5 fuel. "HYPERFUELS is excited that the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup and SCCA Pro Racing acknowledge that the addition of biodiesel creates a clean performance racing fuel," said Jess Hewitt, President, Gulf Hydrocarbon, the parent company of HYPERFUELS. "If we can help take biodiesel awareness and performance to the next level, then everyone wins. It's cleaner burning, yields a faster burn, produces less emissions and is easily accessible. I can't imagine a better fuel or better cars to showcase the performance and benefits of biodiesel," added Hewitt. The SynDiesel B5 biodiesel that HYPERFUELS is supplying is a synthetically made diesel fuel, with a 63 cetane rating, storage life of up to 10 years and 20 percent more BTU’s than conventional diesel. The same fuel used in the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup racing series is available for purchase on Hyperfuels. Beginning with the season-opening race on April 25 at Virginia International Raceway, drivers will compete in ten events on eight road courses around North America in identical factory-prepared and maintained, race ready and spec’ed Jetta TDI’s powered by B5 biodiesel. The series champion will win $100,000. In addition, each driver who competes in the series will earn a Pro Racing license from SCCA at the conclusion of the season. The Jetta TDI Cup car is powered by a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder TDI clean diesel engine mated to a six-speed, double-clutch, automatic DSG transmission. The car is only slightly modified from stock with race suspension and brakes. 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Schedule Round 1 & 2 -- April 24 – 26 - Virginia International Raceway - Alton, VA (with Grand-Am) Round 3 -- May 15 – 17 - Miller Motorsports Park - Tooele, UT (with ALMS) Round 4 -- June 19 – 21 - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course- Lexington, OH (with Grand-Am) Round 5 -- July 24 – 26 - Autobahn Country Club - Joliet, IL (with Speed World Challenge/Atlantics) Round 6 -- Aug. 14 – 16 - Road America – Elkhart Lake, WI (with ALMS) Round 7 -- Aug. 28 – 30 - Mosport International Raceway – Bowmanville, ON (Canada) (with ALMS) Round 8 & 9 -- Sept. 11 – 13 - New Jersey Motorsports Park – Millville, NJ (with ARCA) Round 10 -- Sept. 25 – 27 - Road Atlanta – Braselton, GA (with ALMS)
63 cetane is amazing, most diesel in North America is in the mid to high 40's. It is also good to see synthetic biodiesel starting to be used. That is hopefully the way of the future. Saves food for eating, and can more closely resemble petroleum diesel in how it burns, possibly allowing for higher blends to be used.
I wish more racing organizations would get away from leaded fuels and start going to something like this.
The main source of biodiesel is soybeans. Soy is one of the words primary food sources, in one form or another. So again we are putting food in competition with fuel. The best answer is conservation, not consumption. From Wikipedia: quote [edit] Biodiesel feedstocks Virgin oil feedstock; rapeseed and soybean oils are most commonly used, soybean oil alone accounting for about ninety percent of all fuel stocks in the US. It also can be obtained from field pennycress and Jatropha other crops such as mustard, flax, sunflower, palm oil, hemp (see List of vegetable oils for a more complete list); Waste vegetable oil (WVO); Animal fats including tallow, lard, yellow grease, chicken fat,[37] and the by-products of the production of Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil. Algae, which can be grown using waste materials such as sewage[38] and without displacing land currently used for food production. Oil from halophytes such as salicornia bigelovii, which can be grown using saltwater in coastal areas where conventional crops cannot be grown, with yields equal to the yields of soybeans and other oilseeds grown using freshwater irrigation[39] unquote
Maybe I was not clear. Synthetic biodiesel is a second generation biofuel that can use agricultural waste and run it through a biomass-to-liquid (BTL) process to make biodiesel. The benefit is that the waste does not have to be food. Soy biodiesel is a first generation biofuel that definitely does compete with food sources. I agree that the best answer is conservation, but we aren't going to be able to conserve our way down to zero diesel use anytime soon. So I'm hoping that the fuel that does get burned can be less damaging that it was in the past.
Yes, I understand the promise of synthetic biodiesel, but I don't think much of that is going on right now. Like many of the great NEW energy ideas, it is just getting off the ground. Currently much of our biodiesel is coming from soybeans. As free markets go, it is the same old problem. New techniques and methods flounder when fuel gets cheap. I'm not sure this is the case with with synthetic biodiesel - I'm guessing a bit. What is the current cost of synthetic biodiesel? And yes we won't be able to conserve our way out of our dependance on petroleum, but that is the most timely and most effective immediate improvement. But, it seems to me that about 90% of Americans either don't understand that, or don't care, or both. We just have to keep up our education efforts and keep pushing for some worthwhile research. I like to think that each and every soul here on CleanMPG will have some influence over someone.
It looks like I was mistaken earlier. SynDiesel B5 appears to be a synthetic diesel fuel blended with regular non-synthetic biodiesel made from canola. I don't know how much synthetic biodiesel is actually being made or what it costs, but my assumptions would be there isn't much yet and it is expensive. There is a bit of it going on in Europe and the Audi R10's fuel at Le Mans 2008 had some BTL in it.
wow how do i join the race! omg and you can use dsg D: nm you need 5 figures to even quaify http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/motorsports/sccp_0812_mark_pombo_vw_tdi_cup_racer/index.html
