Diesel fuel economy is a lie . . .

[QC]

Re: Diesel fuel economy is a lie . . .

Let me be even more simplistic . . . Fuel price matters!

 

[mthieme]

Re: Diesel fuel economy is a lie . . .

Nobody can argue with that!
I've noticed that the car manufacturers seem to be shying away from diesels - at least here in the US. After the first energy crisis, slowly but steadily diesels showed up in more and more passenger vehicles. I only see them now in my truck is bigger than yours! Is it just the Hybrid fad, or is it some other cost issue? I was impressed with the Ford Focus post. Seems they would sell like hotcakes no matter what they burned at 65 mpg.

 

[NoKlu]

Re: Diesel fuel economy is a lie . . .

SuperNova, There is a diesel Suburban. Very rare but you could get a special order. Don't know if you can still order them but I have seen a few up here in Canada and they were factory made.

 

[seven up]

Re: Diesel fuel economy is a lie . . .

The diesel engines gained their reputation for longevity through the naturally aspirated versions. Big difference. Not any new information that just broke.

 

[QC]

Re: Diesel fuel economy is a lie . . .

Well I am not sure about that ^^^^^ Nattys can live long too as they are usually pretty weak, but there are many, many, many Turbo diesels with over 1,000,000 miles between overhauls. Even those above 250 bmep, which is a cylinder pressure measurment of performance/torque (roughly equates to 100 lb/ft per liter). You can barely buy a natty anymore

I would never suspect that diesel is dead or even dying. You are going to see more in the US not less. They are better on Greenhouse Gasses, and they have NOx figured out now too. The European diesels are super, amazing performance now say in an Audi A6 or a 5 series etc. A flippin' Golf diesel these days runs like a GTI. There are a lot of long term economic, environmental and less tangible drivers that will favor diesels including safety, and longevity even in the high performance versions.

The fuel price thing though will always be part of the discussion. No one except mega greenies cares only about efficiency, ultimately you care about economy . . .

 

[SuperNova]

Re: Diesel fuel economy is a lie . . .

SuperNova, There is a diesel Suburban. Very rare but you could get a special order. Don't know if you can still order them but I have seen a few up here in Canada and they were factory made.

Maybe they still make them in Canada, I don't know about that. Here in the U.S., they USED to make a diesel Suburban, but not anymore as far as I'm aware.

 

[bowman316]

Re: Diesel fuel economy is a lie . . .

forget the chart, what really matters is that diesel is 1 dollar more per gallon than regular gas, which means you are loosing the 30-40 % effiecncy in fuel costs. This is true for only trucks, bucause genarators are a different story, diesel is designed for electricty generation

 

[QC]

Re: Diesel fuel economy is a lie . . .

Are you talking about red diesel?

 

[angus63]

Re: Diesel fuel economy is a lie . . .

Red Diesel? Yep, remember him well, he was a running back out of USC, played with the Colts 1928-1936, swell fella!!

 

[Bondo]

Re: Diesel fuel economy is a lie . . .

Oh, and another funny point, if you buy into CO2 and Global Warming etc. then running diesels would make us more "green".

But today, with fuel prices as they are, most applications theoretically have a higher operating cost with diesel vs. gasoline.

Ayuh,... I've been breathing Diesel Smoke,... All of my Life....

Whether it's from out of the Ground,..
Or from a Plant,...
I imagine I'll be smelling it for a Long time to come....

Does anybody have any ideas about the Compressed Natural Gas thing,..??
Is it even Practical with heavy equipment,+ heavy trucks,..??
Also,...
I've heard that CNG is Lighter than air, unlike Propane,..?? Is that True,..??

 

[QC]

Re: Diesel fuel economy is a lie . . .

Does anybody have any ideas about the Compressed Natural Gas thing,..??
Is it even Practical with heavy equipment,+ heavy trucks,..??
Also,...
I've heard that CNG is Lighter than air, unlike Propane,..?? Is that True,..??

Yes, I hope so, and yes . . . We should take this one off-line

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: Diesel fuel economy is a lie . . .

Ayuh,... .........................................................................................

Does anybody have any ideas about the Compressed Natural Gas thing,..??
Is it even Practical with heavy equipment,+ heavy trucks,..??
Also,...
I've heard that CNG is Lighter than air, unlike Propane,..?? Is that True,..??

Bondo, you're playing into QC's strong point. That topic keeps Mrs QC in replacement shinny trinkets. .................A QC??

 

[DJ]

Re: Diesel fuel economy is a lie . . .

CNG and Propane are doable on just about any internal combustion engine, even diesels. Ask QC, he is an expert.

I will say this about the two.

CNG

1. Has about 65% of the BTU's of gasoline when comparing gallon to gallon.

2. In an automotive application, range suffers greatly.

3. CNG must also be pressurized to 3600 psi. to get enough on board to be useable.

4. CNG does NOT fire off in extreme cold.

Propane

1. Propane is about one to one (with gasoline) on performance, BTU's and is a low pressure gas.

2. As mentioned, propane does not like EXTREME cold.

Two of the US automakers entered the propane and CNG market about six years ago. They produced the vehicles for the gaseous fuel party and nobody showed up. Less than 10,000 vehicles were sold per year (combined) in a 15 million vehicle per year market.

Honda makes a CNG vehicle and has sold about 2000 per year. It is a terrific LOSER for them.

It costs MILLION$$$ to certify an engine family, on a new fuel, for "on road" automotive use (cars and trucks under 10,000 # GVW).

REAL interest has to be there, with real commitments, for automakers to go down that road again.

I'm not saying they won't. The technology is there and even some of the hardware. However, any new offering(s) would have to be re-certified for 2010 and 2012 emissions laws (EPA). Not to mention re crash testing every vehicle model for new NHTSA standards for 2012.

If you were making the product decisions-WOULD YOU?

 

[QC]

Re: Diesel fuel economy is a lie . . .

Bondo, you're playing into QC's strong point.

Yeah, Ole Bondo's like my straightman . . . Dude, I am staring at those questions saying "he's flippin' flippin' with me . . .

That topic keeps Mrs QC in replacement shinny trinkets.

Nothing can keep Mrs. QC in shiny trinkets . . . I was diggin' in the trash again today Man, I love 'dat chick

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Diesel fuel economy is a lie . . .

Nothing can keep Mrs. QC in shiny trinkets . . . I was diggin' in the trash again today Man, I love 'dat chick

Nothin' says "I love you" more than a little bit of dumpster diving