The company Alkol Inc located in Brazil has developed a new system called 1HourFlex that can convert your car to run on any amount of ethanol or gasoline(E85) in less than one hour.
The system is composed of three components:an Ignition Remapper to alter spark plug firing time, a Cold Start System to quickly start on cold days and an Electronic Converter that alters fuel injection timing. Alkol CEO Al Costa said that the secret is technology from Brazil, where half of the cars have been running on pure ethanol for a few decades. For about 15 years his company has been using the system to convert vehicles in Brazil and is seeking $2 million to implement its technology in the U.S.
“We do not really like to sell the components. That’s not our main business,” he said. “Our business model is for you to drive in [to a pump station] and have a coffee, and by the time you’re done, we’ll have completed all the necessary modifications to your car.”
According to Biofuels Digest the systems will debut in the US market with a price point around $900. In October 7 at a Biofuels Markets Mexico & Central America event in Mexico City, Alkol’s officials will bring to light more information about their plans.
While E85 is at least a step in the right direction, it does not really solve our issues. I drove a Dodge Dakota that ran on E85 and there was very little benefit. It was just as costly to run, as gasoline, by time you calculate the MPG loss, and it was harder to find at gas stations.
I much prefer an electric car kit to convert a car to run 100% on electricity. These do it yourself kits can be a little as $300 if do your research and are not as hard as you might think to install.
Hey larryhagedon, it´s you who needs to go back to the drawing board, as you obviously did not understand what each of the 3 components does. 😛
I agree though that this system could be made in just one box: it would even save installation time.
As for price I visited their website and they only sell to corporations and the government and do not sell to the common joe, so what do they care?
In cold days the car won’t start 1st or 2nd, but 3rd times no problem. (if the weather very cold it may take 1 or 2 mins to warm up the engine) I think it’s not so big price for the economic useage. Of course the higher compression ratio helps. If you have problems with the cold start you can try warmer spark plugs. I use NGK 7 range, but at winter the 6 or 5 can be good.
The value being sold is that the technology causes a car to run more efficiently on ethanol.
As far as I can see all three technologies do the same thing.
What possible value is there to me in the hardware coming in three pieces instead of one unit? Why would 3 parts make the hardware worth twice as much?
Looks to me like the expensive company needs to go back to the drawing board and refine their technologies. Looks to me like they need to be able to compete with the companies that produce the unit already fully assembled in one piece for less than half their price.
“Just simply raise the fuel pressure (15-20%). It helps in the most cases…”
And how do you turn on your car in cold days? I doubt it that just increasing the fuel pressure would solve that? Apparently this solution tackles that problem? 🙂
Apparently that larry guy did not read that this is a 3-part system, whereas the competitors he mentions only offer 1, so no wonder the price difference. 🙂
In Hungary, there is a company who did the same years ago. That thing called ” Hunflex”. The price is around 300$ and the bigger version is around 800$ but it makes your car Flexifuel, so U don’t have to switch between petrol / E85. I use a more cheap and simple method to do the cars run on E85. Just simply raise the fuel pressure (15-20%). It helps in the most cases…
Nice, but at least two Americans companies have been selling the same thing for years at less than half their price.
With enough advertising I guess it could work.