S3 E11. Kubota turbo diesel Saturn extreme fuel economy. super high MPG

Season 3 Episode 11. Today's experiment is to get the most mileage we can from this custom built Kubota turbo diesel powered Saturn coupe. How many MPG will this 2046 pound car get? tune in and find out!
Hi Ya folks! Beware of a GIVEAWAY SCAM. This channel is NOT doing a Giveaway and we are NOT asking for personal information. If you get a message asking for info, please ignore it.
Jimbo
The walls in our new studio are bare, if you want to send swag please send it to:
Robot Cantina
207 S. Sedgwick Ave
P.O. Box 28
Haven KS, 67543

[@marjoh669]

I kid you not, as soon as you said ”Attract the attention of the cops” I heard sirens and saw a police car with the lights turned on go by🤣🤣

[@user-tk1lf5hi6f]

did you bust caps in their asses?

[@petermorey4197]

2.5 hours at 45 mph. We appreciate your commitment. 😴

[@briangall8442]

We should build a simple manual 4 speed tranny up to the 40 hp kubota! Roads in Quebec are not safe over 80 kmph! Weld up a galvanized frame and panels! We could build a beautiful little extend a cab truck, for under 24,000 dollars! Safe strong and rustproof! I know we could!

[@runed0s86]

Most speed limits are 35-45mph.

[@dennisyoung4631]

Try traveling at ~ 12 to 16 mph longer distances on a Ebike. (Did 45-48 miles last Friday under this regime. Furthest I’ve gone is about 58. Want a battery charger I can take with if I go further afield.)

[@jeffharper7579]

If I remember years ago I heard fuel mileage is based on driving at 45 mph.

[@iancormie9916]

You got the same milage as one of those mopeds you mentioned.

[@reidster87]

The 3 cylinder diesel exhaust clatter at idle makes me smile. I have a 1986 JDM Mitsubishi tractor with a 990cc 3 cylinder and it sounds about the same. That thing is so dang simple to work on.

[@drippingwax]

My 2005 Camry has clattered since I changed the oil. I really need to look into that!

[@jkline398]

@@drippingwax kzbin.infoH6TBPeiJAOI?feature=share Scotty literally uses this in camry's all the time, great stuff. ATS Chemical CRF 505 Fuel additive for your gas tank. You can put their CRO 505 Oil treatment in your oil fill before changing oil too, it gets rid of clatter. Here's Scotty's full video on it kzbin.info/www/bejne/mauUhWmenZamndU

[@elitecpudoc329]

The amount of knowledge Jimbo drops for free is well deserving of a like and follow. Still one of the most underrated auto youtube channels.

[@tcmtech7515]

A lot of it is old-school knowledge that has fallen out of the public knowledge base. People were doing stuff like this with old-school tech 40+ years ago when fuel prices spiked back then.

[@gBuckKOM]

Literally learned how 02 sensors work from this channel more than ever.... the oversimplified explaining is the best!

[@tomh9391]

Though I agree with you that this channel is under rated, the info he provides is elementary at best. It's very dumbed down and isn't very technical. I'm a tech school graduate, as well as a ASE Master Technician. This is all stuff you should know before you get to any tech school or entry level jobs... Just a FYI.

[@adriancliton9706]

Education should be a human right

[@tcmtech7515]

@@adriancliton9706 Why not pay for other's education yourself, if you feel so strongly about it?

[@justinsane7128]

I could use a stealth belly pan 🥘

[@geoffburrill9850]

I knew a girl who had one of those.

[@CharredSteak]

"C'mon girdle, hoooold..."

[@bytesandbikes]

​@@CharredSteak It's not too much mass, just the gravity is up too high 😅

[@comedyflu]

To hide the keg, right?

[@justinsane7128]

@@comedyflu pony keg 🐎

[@kansasrose2909]

The history of engineering is really the history of breakages, and of learning from those breakages. I was taught at college 'the engineer learns most on the scrapheap'.

[@dongordon2754]

I applaud your effort to drive the long roads to nowhere to just get a single distilled MPG number. Thanks Jimbo!

[@robotcantina8957]

Thanks!

[@mommapanda5736]

@@robotcantina8957 With every subscriber, Jimbo's spirit grows stronger As he races towards a future that's wild and free In this world of metal and fire, he's the lone ranger But he'll never back down, he'll never flee In the cantina, where the engines roar Jimbo finds a place to even the score With his foot on the pedal, and his eyes on the prize He'll ride to the limit, until the sunrise On the dusty roads of Kansas Where the winds howl and the sun blazes Jimbo races towards the horizon With the hope of a new adventure, a new season.

[@welshlyn9097]

Do YOU have to have M O T !S LIKE US IN THE UK.

[@Jtkapsar]

@@welshlyn9097 the usa doesnt have mot but some states have inspections, most done and some places in some states have emissions check , the places without either you can do whatever you want to your car

[@MichaelJordan-jv6ic]

If you would just create a complete Styrofoam shell to encase the vehicle I'm sure you could reduce drag by at least 0.001%. And then paint a Saturn on it, and I'm sure that the cops would never notice! Love that Kubota sound, btw.

[@drippingwax]

Think Flight increased fuel economy by 18% with a foamboard boat tail and showed cops driving past without paying any attention. The video code is 4ykw_8lpjco.

[@sandasturner9529]

💀💀💀

[@jacobcarlson4010]

The problem with styrofoam is that, because it’s made of a bunch of beads all stuck together, there are countless little imperfections that will cause turbulence in the air right against the surface; thus INCREASING the amount on aerodynamic drag per mph of speed.

[@MichaelJordan-jv6ic]

@Jacob Carlson hmm, interesting point. What material would you recommend? Perhaps a plastic shell?

[@preachers4135]

@@MichaelJordan-jv6ic Saturns are a plastic shell.

[@jeffzekas]

Weird to think that back in 1970, when I drove a 58 VW beetle, getting 25 miles per gallon was considered amazing, now it is considered mediocre. Reminded of this when he said that the Saturn wagon gets 32 miles per gallon. Oh, and as an aside: My 58 VW had a dipstick for checking fuel level, the gas gauge was a factory option back then.

[@robertdiazcaron9985]

My truck averages 25mpg

[@drippingwax]

​@@robertdiazcaron9985 When I had my first car, a Honda, a date named Linda who had a more annoying voice than Fran Drescher asked "What fuel economy do you get?" "I aver--" "Every car I have owned got 60 MPG. My classic beetle, my Escort ZX2," and I think she mentioned a third car that wasn't known for fuel economy.

[@brianmurphy8790]

A wash, a polish and some pinstripes should work wonders for aerodynamics. I estimate a 400% improvement in economy and performance.

[@MattsMadnessOfficial]

Thats not bad at all, mine drove on the governor at around 46 with no load unless going up hill and I was getting right around 98mpg on used oil ,it was nice driving 2 weeks on a gallon of free fuel lol, with the bigger engine and turbo thats not bad at all

[@billhanna8838]

Iv had several yachts & just love those motors , Mainly for the simplicity - No Computer , Reliable , Very efficient @ cruising revs BUT Simplicity & cheap spares .

[@demandred1957]

Another channel, where I feel safe leaving a like before even watching the video.

[@eriklarson9137]

I hear you. Those things cost a TON! Don't want to accidentally leave one on a video you are not 100% satisfied with!

[@rawimpact]

Glad you found your safe space fruitcake

[@demandred1957]

@@eriklarson9137 Who hurt you??

[@michaelblacktree]

Same here. Robot Cantina videos are always fun and interesting.

[@niks9840]

@@eriklarson9137 🤣

[@markt9028]

Thank you for putting up metric units, Cheers from Australia.

[@davidellis279]

I did like this experiment,I had a 1985 Non Turbo Ford Escort 1-6 Diesel new back in the day before all this environmental bollocks we have now in the UK and elsewhere. That car NO MATTER how hard you drove it did a regular 65mpg,take it steady and 72 was achievable,great little performer too,would do 80mpg all day on the Motorway,I regularly did a 700 mile round trip to Scotland and back without missing a beat,great little vehicle.

[@whitewolf30f]

Many years ago, my current husband was thrilled when he did the supposedly impossible and got a '78 Camaro 5.7L to return 24 mpg at 65 mph. He still loves such things, but I can't see how it matters if there's no acceleration. Or, if it ain't fun to drive, mpg really doesn't matter

[@garagecedric]

Except for kansas unrealistic lack of bends, the speeds are actually pretty typical legal speeds of a country road here , around 70-80km/h. Good numbers anyway! And thanks for the metric numbers :)

[@GoldenCroc]

I would say exactly the same, beat you beat me to it. Also, the consumption is just as expected for a small diesel engined car.

[@chete4479]

Metrics are Key for the rest of the world ! , very considerate and grateful 🥲

[@justinderksen6907]

Was sitting on the couch, drinking my coffee waiting for this episode!

[@Cabooseified]

Doesn't want to draw attention. Slaps a bunch of stickers on the passenger rear window. Joking aside, thank you for this series! I look. Forward to notifications from you on Sunday! Your Projects are just amazing to watch!

[@davef.2329]

Think positive. On the moped, if a shower comes up, well, you're soaked. You hit a deer, and you go to the ER or the coroner's office. The Saturn's the winner hands down. I used to have a '93 Geo Metro XFi bought new to use as an airport car. Fully stock, it was good for hi-40s, low 50s MPG. I wonder what something like this powerplant would have done for that car? Incidentally, I sold that car after 20 yrs, and someone from Washington State bought it sight unseen, flying down to S. Florida to drive it all the way back home. Got a message a couple of weeks later about how it made the trip flawlessly, averaging 57 MPG, and praising what a great car it was.

[@althejazzman]

Jimbo's awareness of h8s own niche audience has reached it's peak, knowing what us geeks enjoy, and knowing how unique his projects are.

[@tomalophicon]

Its*

[@althejazzman]

@@tomalophicon Oops. I could correct it but then I would lose the heart.

[@tomalophicon]

@@althejazzman lose*

[@althejazzman]

@@tomalophicon Haha oh dear. I'm failing hard here.

[@snap_oversteer]

3.2l/100km is very good for what it is, first generation TDIs in cars like Mk3/Mk4 Golf, Jetta etc. can get to around 4l/100km when driving slowly on open roads, altough more realistic economy when driving normally is around 5l/100km outside city.

[@hojnikb]

Yeah. The highest economy i got from a diesel is in a 3 series 2.0 litre. 55mph on the highway, tucked behind a lorry, i've managed 3.1l/100km. With a lot more power than this kobota or any of the factory 1.9tdis. So it's not all about engine size or power, it's about how efficient the engine is (commonrail helps a lot here) and what gearing you have. At 55, i'm only turning about 1500rpm (some 3 series go even lower) which is right in the engines sweetspot of efficiency.

[@kansasrose2909]

There’s nothing I believe in more strongly than getting young people interested in science and engineering, for a better tomorrow, for all humankind.

[@billietyree2214]

Back in 84 I drove my old mercury station wagon from the Southern tip of Illinois to Roanoak Va for a job interview. I was still about 60 miles from Roanoak when a seam on top of the radiator split. I was desperate to make the interview so I crimped the seam together as well as I could with a pair of Vicegrips, found a discarded bottle I could use to carry water, refilled the radiator and drove on. I found that if I didn’t exceed 45mph the water didn’t drain out so fast. I proceeded to my interview at barely highway speed. When the interview concluded I had to choose an overnight layover and a day spent in repairs, or a really slow drive back to Illinois. I chose the slow drive. Wasn’t too bad, traffic was light and I certainly stayed in the slow lane. But the surprise came when I got home and started to tally up the cost of the trip, the car that normally did 15mpg gave me 21 mpg on the way home. Now I make it a habit to stay in the slow lane and not exceed the speed limit.

[@turbochardged]

It sucks people pick apart your videos. Honestly, I'm enjoying the journey of this series. Keep up the tinkering and keep having fun!

[@robotcantina8957]

I'm glad you are enjoying the experiments! criticism from the viewers is fine, it helps me figure out how to explain stuff.

[@mommapanda5736]

@@robotcantina8957 With every subscriber, Jimbo's spirit grows stronger As he races towards a future that's wild and free In this world of metal and fire, he's the lone ranger But he'll never back down, he'll never flee In the cantina, where the engines roar Jimbo finds a place to even the score With his foot on the pedal, and his eyes on the prize He'll ride to the limit, until the sunrise On the dusty roads of Kansas Where the winds howl and the sun blazes Jimbo races towards the horizon With the hope of a new adventure, a new season.

[@sgt.marcuspstacker2287]

Don't pay attention to the haters I don't see them making videos like this!

[@ocdman202]

“The upshot of all this is that we live in a universe whose age we can't quite compute, surrounded by stars whose distances we don't altogether know, filled with matter we can't identify, operating in conformance with physical laws whose properties we don’t truly understand.”

[@mommapanda5736]

Isnt the upshot of all this that this is all just a crap shoot anyway?

[@theclearsounds3911]

It might be interesting to see what mileage that Saturn will get once the wheels are aligned! A 0-60 test would be interesting, too. Even if a bit underpowered, some people wouldn't mind if it will go the speed limit. 73MPG is very impressive!

[@brianhiles8164]

I do think that developing a hyper-efficient, lightweight (3-cylinder?) turbo-diesel engine, optimized for use in a narrow rev range (which would yet increase fuel efficiency), mated to a generator, would make an excellent range extender for an EV vehicle.

[@dfabeagle718]

I think the giant hole in the hood might garner some attention... lol. I wonder about pushing the headlights out to the bumper edge to remove the air pocket there. The belly pan looked good!

[@The_DC_Kid]

Had a 1990 Mazda 323 1600 cc 5-speed that I tested back when the speed limit was 55mph (but I drove at 60). On a 300 mile flat road excursion it got 44.1mpg. Met a guy a gas station who said his son has a car like mine and when he asked about the mileage I was proud to tell him. He was driving a VW Rabbit diesel and he blew me away when he said he got 58mpg.

[@Hamokk]

I really like the external desing of 1990's Saturn. What I like more is the mechanical fiddling. Also Jimbo has a very soft and soothing voice.

[@IstasPumaNevada]

Yeah, it bums me out how GM pulled the rug out from under Saturn. They were neat cars.

[@marcusdamberger]

@@IstasPumaNevada In the end most of the cars in their lineup were rebadged Opel's.

[@ocdman202]

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.

[@dangerousdave5915]

Whew! That's a lot work in that statement! I think I'll take a nap....😴😴😴😴😴

[@kansasrose2909]

@@dangerousdave5915 remember, it costs nothing to subscribe...👍👍👍

[@dangerousdave5915]

@@kansasrose2909 Nice!😆

[@simpleman806]

Here's an idea. Try running biodiesel(used vegetable oil) in the Kubota. Since it's an older diesel engine, it should be pretty straightforward. Filter it out, and might need some methanol or anti gel additive mixed in. The fuel economy may decrease, but it'll be cheaper than diesel fuel.

[@imchris5000]

good luck getting cheap veg oil anymore. the cat got out of that bag 20 years ago now big corps buy all that fryer oil

[@shawnsatterlee6035]

Blah... Crank up the injector pump some and inject propane into the intake! Why this hasn't happened yet is ridiculous! Who cares about economy? Because ya know there is many of Kubota powered cars out there n all just wanting to know how to get better milage! 🙄

[@bobroberts2371]

Veg oil is a dead end, it gums up injector pumps and makes a real mess.

[@ANATURALDREWSASTER]

Filtering red diesel and dying it green is cooler.

[@hatman4818]

I'm going to modify my Delica Stsrwagon turbodeisel to run on veggie oil. More as a SHTF option or if theres a fuel shortage. Whenever I get a homestead going though, I want to experiment with producing my own veggie oil from scratch. You can get about 50% of the oil out of nuts just from a press, then the other 50% using solvents like hexane. The hexane is recycleable, industrial veggie oil producers get about 99% of their hexane back. I would like to find a biochemical alternative though, make the process truly fossil fuel product free. Anyway, I'd be interested to see how much crops it actually takes to fill up a tank.

[@chrismooneyham5279]

Impressive Job!!! An old friend of mine had a late 80's VW Rabbit Diesel tha got close to 50 mph highway. That was pretty impressive for then, still seems fairly impressive to me compared to the standards of today.

[@ocdman202]

“The gift of language is the single human trait that marks us all genetically, setting us apart from the rest of life.”

[@badgerpa9]

I went for the free sub today and even maxed out the beni and rang the bell. A few years ago I followed a channel that did this with a Isuzu motor off of a generator. The 70 MPH is realistic, excellent job explaining your testing for a first timer.

[@steffankaizer]

its amazing how valuable this kind of work is to all of mankind and people dont realize it. he simply has no incentive to consciously fake anything. it cant all be perfectly accurate but its our best bet honestly

[@ericlauck5883]

I worked in a underground hard rock mine and the most used vehicle were the small kabota UTV's with the same engine in your car. These UTV's would be ridden hard and put away wet, going up miles long 12% incline ramps at full throttle with the temps right at overheat were the norm. We didn't have EGT gauges but I wouldn't be surprised to see that your engine can take way more than your throwing at it judging by your coolant temp

[@bnight.7996]

Very glad I found this video. Not only am I a huge diesel fan but I’m missing Kansas. I used to drive a very rabbit diesel basically between Dodge city and Wichita. One direction I definitely got better fuel economy. I still joke that you can do the drive with nothing but brakes and a wind jacket, assuming you don’t have to stop for lights or signs. Thanks again for the views and interesting content.

[@ocdman202]

“The Moon is slipping from our grasp at a rate of about 1.5 inches a year. In another two billion years it will have receded so far that it won’t keep us steady and we will have to come up with some other solution, but in the meantime you should think of it as much more than just a pleasant feature in the night sky.”

[@weldeddaydreams]

I really appreciate you including the metric conversions on all your numbers.

[@mpccenturion]

24 yrs ago. 1982 NA 1600cc VW - 4 sp - diesel - at under 50 mph - 62 mpg. I ran 300 km and proved it multiple times. Driving around old farm country Quebec. Cheers - Your info is great!

[@MrErik038]

I love your effort. Makes me realize how extreme my driving is, driving 170km for 2 hours a to b and back again. So 340km. Driving for 4 ours. Milage overall is 1 liter to 19,8km whit a 3 cylinder 1 liter natural aspirated petrol engine.. Emegain it whit a turbo on it.. Everyday i notice annoyed people overtaking me becose i drive 80-85 km per hour. Even trucks pas me bye. And i DONT CARE! Nobody gives me free petrol at the pump.. and i do keep stricktly on the rigth-side of the road. Greeting from Holland

[@kansasrose2909]

I take the vision which comes from dreams and apply the magic of science and mathematics, adding the heritage of my profession and my knowledge of nature's materials to create a design.

[@sc1338]

I appreciate you not trying to impede traffic

[@mmg6282]

Diesel engines are the most efficient engine designs in the world. The fuel is easier to produce less volatile, which means it’s safer. And it cost less to produce. Unfortunately, the government makes us pay more for it. Nice work Jimbo. By the way, driving through rural Kansas ain’t really that boring. This time of year you got the trees budding out, wheat fields filling out, we got farmers working out in the fields, spring turkeys, young deer, all beautiful.

[@keithwiebe1787]

It's only more efficient in the "no load" mode. Diesel fuel naturally has more BTU's per gallon and that is where the extra fuel economy comes in. My Ranger diesel got 30 mpg driving 45 miles to the town he works out of back in the 80s. My new Maverick hybrid will easily get 33 at 70mph and if I slowed it to 45 would probably get 45 mpg. Better than the other Saturn.

[@burninrubba65]

This is the most interesting automotive KZbin channel right now. Very well thought out videos with all the data presented to you in a nice format. You don’t need 1xxxhp cars to catch people’s interest. Although a 1500hp sc2 would be pretty sick

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

Hell if it had 150 it would be cool 😂

[@robotcantina8957]

LOL... we are working on it... so far we are making 30ish hp and the rest of the 1470hp should be simple.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

@@robotcantina8957 that's a lot of stickers lol

[@tcmtech7515]

@@goosenotmaverick1156 Easily doable with todays tech and likely would not need anything more than a 2L engine to do it.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

@@tcmtech7515 I was thinking aiming for 150 with the Kubota would be more Robot Cantina style lol you could easily just drop a 200hp 4 cylinder in there no problem. They could do the 1500 with a K series done right. Lol but I can watch that on other channels. I came here for the weird haha

[@billk9628]

If you look up, Opel GT, they built two cars for the 24 hours of Lamans race. During the race the two cars averaged 144MPH, and I believe it was 114 MPG. Both were 1.3 liter turbo Diesels, and electric drive train. It was about 2004ish when it was done. We are all being sold a line of crap when they say we have to stop running petroleum products for fuel. Not the case! We have to start using them properly, and things will change! These ideas have been around for decades, but the powers that be don't want us to know!

[@davidweeks1997]

You've got LOTS of stickers, so there's no way this can fail.

[@nitro9452]

id rather watch this guy than literally any motorsport any other KZbin channel has unrealistic builds.

[@paulmryglod4802]

I built a belly pan, front air dam, and side skirts for my Saturn wagon as an experiment. I drove from FL to NY and averaged 40mpg at 75-79mph highway. Car was loaded with kid, wife, camping equipment. I was pretty happy and as soon as the material cost broke even, I removed it.

[@s0rc3]

I love that this exists, you can watch a guy in rural Kansas drive a 20 year old Saturn wagon 200mi.

[@mommapanda5736]

"Difficulty" is the name of an ancient tool that was created purely to help us define who we are.

[@ocdman202]

The art of doing nothing “How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then to rest afterwards.” -Spanish Proverb In our busy world, it may seem like doing nothing equals laziness. In reality, taking a bit of time every day to simply do nothing can take effort-especially when you’re not used to it!

[@TheWolfiet]

I freaking love that car and with a bit of TLC I would legit daily drive this thing.

[@ragdolltrucking]

I don't want to detract from the fun of putting a Kubota in a Saturn, Buti can't help but wonder how much easier it would have been to put a smart car diesel engine in it. Which is also a 800cc turbo diesel

[@MobiusHorizons]

I think the thing people don't understand about lean burning is that it isn't just as simple as "more lean = more hot" in the gas world and "more fuel = more hot" in a diesel, but instead there is a hot no-go zone somewhere leaner than stoichiometric that is the hottest, and anything richer or leaner than that will be cooler. In practice you don't generally go past this no-go region with a given engine, so people don't talk about it very much. But it does lead to some interesting possibilities like lean burning sky active X gasoline engine. Realizing there is a reason that the rules get reversed helps me a lot.

[@kansasrose2909]

Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society. The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute.🚙🚙🚙

[@titankooyman3638]

I live in a small town in Utah and from one end of it to the other is only a few miles and the top speed of any of the roads is 40 mph. I drive to the city, but my wife just stays in town and she hasn't had her 2000 Toyota Camry faster than that since I bought it. This would be a perfect vehicle for someone like her.

[@johngifford7725]

This is awesome! We just bought a Subaru Forester, and I drove from Wichita to the north end of Cheney Reservoir along 54 at normal speed and came back on these same roads. At 45mph, that little car got 33mpg. We just moved here from California. Our 'bugout' strategy (flee Cali) was always hybrid vehicle based. I've always planned and prepared for central CA to Texas with no refuel. 40mph was part of that strategy. This is going to be a great video.

[@GoldenCroc]

Results were *_exactly_* as expected in this video as well, just as the last time. I take it you didnt expect the results because of you are not used to drive small diesel engined cars slowly? I guess most people in the US wouldnt be. In any case, as most europeans with small diesel hatchbacks will attest, this is exactly par for the course in extra-urban driving at these speeds. Which can only be a good thing, because that means stuff is working as it should. Cheers!

[@sc1338]

I always kinda hated those old Saturns but now I like them 😂

[@ocdman202]

“Science is founded on uncertainty. Each time we learn something new and surprising, the astonishment comes with the realization that we were wrong before.”

[@Neil-ru7kw]

my 89 Nissan Sentra , which I bought used 4 years ago for 1200$ , and has 248k , gets 44 mpg at 55 mph . 1500cc 4 speed , 35 psi in tires . ( I have a steady throttle foot ) . Cheers !

[@mattparker9726]

10:18 @Robot Cantina I have literally 0 mechanical knowledge, so to me, I really appreciate when you "dumb" it down. I'd like to learn this stuff, but I'm well behind the curve so to speak.

[@johnsherry6021]

Hey , another Kansas fella here! Glad I found this channel!

[@airborneSGT]

Here I am sick as a dog but absolutely glued to this video. Great job!

[@bladenrexroth2555]

Love to see what that engine would do in a GEO metro hatchback coupe. Its probably 1/2 the weight of the saturn, more aerodynamic and could probably get 100 mpg doing 65 mph.

[@hendo337]

It would need tall gearing.

[@bladenrexroth2555]

Specs say a GEO is 1800 pounds

[@theeoddments960]

@@bladenrexroth2555 probably drops a couple hundred pounds after engine and gas tank removal

[@drippingwax]

@@theeoddments960 I remember how much stuff he removed from the already-light Insight and when he first bought the Saturn he talked about weight reduction, but I don't think that he removed anything besides the engine and gas tank, although that engine weighed 213 pounds.

[@drippingwax]

@@bladenrexroth2555 The 1997 Saturn weighed 2,309 to 2,386 pounds. If the manual is the lighter version, then the Metro would be 22% lighter, and all things being equal, should get 11% better fuel economy by virtue of being lighter.

[@TrilogyBPM]

I have never looked more forward to Sunday mornings, thankyou robot for the stellar content ❤

[@Glissade195]

I'm so glad that there are people like you making videos like this. It can settle so many dumb late night arguments before they really get going. Also your narration is really coming along, my only critique is that you say "well" too much before you speak and it's a bit of a distraction.

[@kencrow5799]

I owned a vw bug 5 sp turbo diesel that got 57.3 mpg while driving 75 miles per hour from near houston to oklahoma. Almost 400 miles. All freeway driving with the a/c on. I loved that car.

[@ExSkyCyclePilot]

In the 1980s, I owned a Ford Escort with a naturally aspirated four cylinder diesel engine, and a VW Jetta with a turbocharged four cylinder diesel engine. Both cars got 45 MPG consistently in real world driving, and would break 50 MPG on longer trips. And back then, I was able to buy diesel for 50 cents a gallon, which means I was burning about two cent's worth of diesel per mile.

[@turbovolvos40]

My first saturn was a 1994 Saturn SL2, and I always seemed to get 32 miles per gallon no matter how I drove, but I really only drove one way, HARD.

[@SkylineFTW97]

I almost bought an orange SC2 5 speed at auction, but I passed on it for a 1997 Toyota Camry with the 1MZ-FE V6 and 5 speed manual. That car got 18-22 MPG, but it was a Toyota for the low price of $400. I couldn't refuse.

[@eriklarson9137]

@@SkylineFTW97 And if not wrecked, the Toyota is still going. Saturns? Well...

[@SkylineFTW97]

@@eriklarson9137 Nah, old Saturns are pretty robust. Especially with manual transmissions. The S series cars were pretty good, but GM killed them off after 10-11 years in favor of the inferior Ion. Probably didn't help that the S Series was competing with the Chevy Cavalier. Also a good car, but not as interesting.

[@theeoddments960]

@@SkylineFTW97 rust is the one killer of all these gm fwd cars. Down south these things are everywhere but I’ve got an 02 bonneville with 160k miles and it’s all rusted out underneath. Minnesota car. Damn shame it’s a really nice car lol

[@MDAdams72668]

@@eriklarson9137 Saturns are great and super cheap to maintain cars I have 3 2dr 3dr and a wagon 230, 310, 100k on them 98, 2001, 99 years. They are all manual (since automatics are all wear items) and my average cost per mile is $.11/mole (including purchase, tax/tag, repair and maintenance, insurance, and fuel) they have composite body panels and never rust or dent and being monocoque design are extremely safe(I was hit head-on at 55 in my previous wagon and suffered only a bruised sternum) The car was destroyed but the driver's compartment was completely intact(in fact it got a little bigger) despite the front wheel being pushed back to the d/s door

[@davidnorth3411]

My diesel has the 617 turbo ,it won’t get the 50 plus mpg but will drive around the world an the average of 30 times , just great engineering, have owned 30 or more of them as a hobbiest . My best diesel fuel saver was an 1984 190d , had the 2.2 with 5 speed , 42 mpg was its average . Glad your bringing the current study , it’s the everyday working mans worry , fuel prices .

[@gerennichols6075]

Belly pan; nailed it! More than 50% of drag is UNDER the car. You cannot get less aero than 4 wish bones dragging air air across stationary pavement.

[@jiritichy6855]

I had a co-worker, who lived in city of Phelan(hi desert of southern California) and he was commuting to our work in city of Walnut. That was (as I remember he was telling me) 60 mile ride each way. Now, we are talking about year 1983-4-5? He bought himself a new Ford diesel truck (I do not remember if it was straight 6 or V8 ). He was telling me, he was getting just about 60 miles per gallon.He was spending 2 gallons a day(in those times there was barely any smog controls).....

[@ninple]

Has anyone ever mentioned to you the Urba Centurion, which used the 3 cylinder Kubota engine? It was a custom fiberglass body on a Triumph Spitfire chassis. They sold the plans in Mechanix Illustrated magazine in the early 1980's. Anyway the Saturn is turning in similarly impressive fuel economy numbers without needing a custom body.

[@drippingwax]

Good old Robert Q. Riley! I have his site open now! Someone mentioned adding hub motors to make it a plug-in hybrid and I couldn't remember their term for their hybrid. Through-the-road? There was a discussion on the Centurion on Ecomodder and I searched for the car to find Riley's website.

[@ocdman202]

Working like a robot all day long Every circuit's buzzing, humming like a song But when the sun sets, the work is done We head to the cantina, where the fun's begun🤠🤠

[@ocdman202]

robots, robots, working all day Cantinas, cantinas, where we go to play Dancing and drinking, forgetting our cares robots and cantinas, the perfect pair

[@ocdman202]

We kick back and relax, the night's just begun Drinks flow freely, and we're having fun The music's loud, the rhythm's strong And all our worries are forgotten before too long

[@ocdman202]

In the morning we'll return to our duties Our batteries recharged, our minds refreshed and ready To tackle the challenges that lie ahead But for now, let's enjoy the night instead

[@ocdman202]

robots and cantinas, side by side Working and playing, we take it all in stride Until the next night, when we'll do it all again robots and cantinas, forever friends.

[@HKlink]

As a German, I love a good Diesel! Feels like Americans usually don't appreciate them, so it's always nice to see someone who does :)

[@paperman9708]

We like it in our full sized trucks. I don't know why it isn't more common for small cars though. It just doesn't make sense at all actually.

[@MiGujack3]

I want to see that Kubota in a motorcycle, now that would be insane mpg. Besides, a diesel motorcycle is just cool.

[@rv9990]

Damn. Indeed! Would be very interesting to see this!

[@tobermoryattraversiamo9575]

Some guy rode around Australia on one a few years back. Can't recall the make of it though, but some companies have built diesel versions of sorts though nothing caught on mainstream unfortunately! .A steam powered bike is very funky if you search YT for it

[@martinneumann7783]

Great fuel economy results. My tiny Citroën C1 (3 cylinders, 998 ccm, 68 hp, Toyota Aygo or Daihatsu Sirion engine) needs between 4.5 to 5.5 liters on 100 km (52.25 to 42.75 mpg). Thanks again for the conversion lines in the pictures. It really helps a metric German to understand immediately…

[@GoldenCroc]

Yep, but as you know thats a gas engine. WIth a diesel it would easily equal this.

[@timothybayliss6680]

My 2009 corolla would get 5.8l/100km at 110km/h. Under these conditions it would get closer to 5.3l. The best I did on a tank was 5.4l/100km

[@kansasrose2909]

@@timothybayliss6680 Yes, I am a subscriber and I don't miss any of ROBOT CANTINA'S videos!!👍👍👍

[@martinneumann7783]

@@timothybayliss6680 That's a quite good result! Let's save fuel!

[@kclefthanded427]

I trust the real-world MPG more than what manufacturers thinks it could get unrealistically

[@ocdman202]

ROBOT CANTINA we love these videos 👍👍👍 please keep them rolling, Sunday is fun day and the entertainment fantastic.👈👈👈

[@wildmanmo37]

I grew up in a small town called Haven. the places you go look just like that area. Brought back a few memories. Good video.

[@keithwiebe1787]

I used to work there in the late 80s for 4 years at the Ford dealership.

[@wildmanmo37]

@@keithwiebe1787 Yea I lived there in that time frame.

[@VroomBox42]

In the 1980s I had an ‘84 VW Jetta turbo Diesel that combined averaged 55MPG consistently.

[@daleolson3506]

I was going to congratulate them on making a Volkswagen

[@Chip1189]

Why would people be upset with your driving a diesel car? I mean VW made them. There are diesel trucks everywhere. Why would it matter to other drivers?

[@kmack282]

America is the least diesel consumer vehicle per capita of any country. Period. People don't know, and can't drive stick.

[@jacobcarlson4010]

The fact that aerodynamic drag is the biggest factor in fuel economy needs to be much more common knowledge. Too many people griping about how much it costs to fuel up their Yukon, or RAM 1500, or F150, but never for a second considering that the vehicle itself is most of the problem.

[@rbmwiv]

You know stickers make them more aerodynamic lol 😂!!!! Awesome video cool build.

[@RoadgamerTV]

It could be nothing better than a good cup of coffee, a delicious piece of cake and a new video from Robot Cantina on a Sunday afternoon !! 🤣👍Thx for this new video Jimbo and greetings all together from Berlin Germany ✌

[@sebastianiragorri6884]

exactly same feeling

[@mommapanda5736]

@@sebastianiragorri6884 coffee sounds good about now!

[@freedomiseverything2767]

If my car got that kind of mileage and complain about the current gas price

[@robotcantina8957]

Coffee and cake sound good.! enjoy!.

[@muleoutpost8156]

​@@freedomiseverything2767 if trump were still president, it'd cost 1/2 as much😢

[@brandonrohrer7914]

Loving it. You should build a scooter using that engine

[@drippingwax]

That would have an awesome power-to-weight ratio! :)

[@acedaryl2]

Saturns burning oil is a universal constant. I would still buy my old Saturn back in a heartbeat.

[@Nobluffbuff]

You are almost there, man... The last remaining evolution will be a diesel/electric combination.

[@deanbryan3034]

The old saturn has sure come a long interesting way. Great job! A couple of ideas for a fuel gauge, 1 a stick haha with a mark for full. 2 a clear tube T off from the outlet and to the top 3 a outboard boat motor tank with a gauge or just the gauge fitted to your tank

[@drippingwax]

Fuelers basically use yardsticks to measure gallons in a tank, but you need to calculate where to put the lines unless the tank is rectangular. Or, as I mentioned elsewhere, fill up the tank before and after each run! :)

[@DieselDoktor]

Man, I absolutely love this kind of content. Where you don’t ask “why” but rather “can we”. Good shit. 👍

[@ApowerRO]

casually proves that they could make something reliable and cheep but they choose to make high dollar expensive toys for adult children. Your a bad ass.

[@JoshuaSolanes]

Of the various channels I follow, you're one of the ones I'm most excited to see new videos from. Always fun, unique, and informative. Thank you!

[@1234567890CAB]

Just so everyone knows, MPG is miles per gallon and a gallon of diesel contains more energy than a gallon of gasoline, so you can always do a bit more with the same volume of diesel. To make it more confusing, a gallon of diesel weighs more than a gallon of gasoline, so that means a pound of gasoline takes up more space and holds more energy than a pound of diesel. For automotive purposes volume, or how much space something takes up, matters more and so these fuels are measured by liter or gallon.

[@nerd1000ify]

The best way to compare engine economy (outside the vehicle) is g/kW.h, grams fuel burned per kilowatt hour work done. It helps compensate for the different densities of the fuels.

[@bobroberts2371]

According to the Energy Information Administration Electricity 1 kilowatthour = 3,412 Btu Natural gas 1 cubic foot = 1,039 Btu2 1 therm = 100,000 Btu Motor gasoline 1 gallon = 120,238 Btu3 Diesel fuel 1 gallon = 137,381 Btu4 Heating oil 1 gallon = 138,500 Btu5 Propane 1 gallon = 91,452 Btu Wood 1 cord = 20,000,000 Btu6

[@nathanhale7444]

I had an 84 s10 that came with an Isuzu diesel and 4 speed transmission. It ran great, was fun to drive and had more torque than you can shake a gas pump at. But it's top speed was 60 if you were on a downward slope but I'd hear a little voice in my ear saying " Captain she's gonna fly apart" at 55.

[@motorhead281]

FLY HER APART THEN!

[@ThePeacePlant]

I, I Captain👏👏👏👏

[@DMSparky]

Love checking in every now and again and seeing these great videos!

[@bigiron4018]

To elaborate on the EGT thing: The biggest difference between a gas and a diesel is that a gas engine’s power output is controlled by a throttle body(air metered) while a diesel has no throttle body it is controlled by the fuel(fuel metered). To be going slow it then must be running very lean. And since lean doesn’t cause issues in diesels to the degree of gasoline, it works.

[@PinkFZeppelin]

I believe new bmws don’t have throttle bodies, they use valve timing

[@bigiron4018]

@@PinkFZeppelinvalvetronic from bmw controlled lift so they didnt have a throttle body, but they stopped in 2012