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Diesel or not diesel? That is the question.Jun 18 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line slower, noisier, dirtier than petrol, but you can afford more maccy d' meals if you own a diesel.
Diesel, often looked at as smelly, noisy, slow lumps, whos only place is in that of a tractor. However, the truth is, they are slow, they are noisy and they are smelly, but they are also a lot cheaper to run than petrol or gas, depending where you are from. And that i think is the main thing about diesels, that should be concidered. Now i am sure everyone knows what a joke fuel prices are in the UK, i know i do, i have to live with them, but diesel has, as far back as i can remember, always been the cheaper fuel. Petrol prices are alot higher at the moment than diesel, and this is a big thing worth looking at when deciding between the two. However, is that enough? Me personally wouldnt touch a diesel, yet i know people who would swear by them and wouldnt even think about anything else. So first off, lets look at the main difference between them in terms of the mechanics of the engines. The diesel engine is know as the 'compression engine' which in basic terms means, the fuel is ignited by compressing the fuel mixture making it spontaniously combust. Where as a petrol engine is know as a 'spark ignition engine' where a spark is used to ignite the fuel mixture. Both methods work just as well and at the end of the day achieve the same goal, they make the fuel go bang. But there are other differences which can be advantagous or disadvantagous. For one the diesel engine is alot heavier. Due to the pressures involved, and the heat involved, as well as the internal mechanics of the diesel engine, it makes for a heavier lump than the petrol engine, this in turn means it has a smaller power to weight ratio, so in turn means a bigger engine is required to match the petrol engine, but this is only a small factor. The diesel engine is not as powerful as a petrol engine, and i wont go into the mechanics of the two and the complicated calculations etc, but at the end of the day, a 2litre petrol will produce more horses than a 2litre diesel. However, the diesel produces more torque than the petrol. So its a thin line between which is better. So if you take this into account, then the petrol engine is much better for people who want a car that will do impressive 0-60 times and can hold off competition on the freeway, my 2.0 straight 4 petrol, can see a V8 5litre diesel off the mark without having to thrash it, whereas the the diesel will suit people who want to pull heavy loads, or dont mind being slow off the mark and dont mind waiting to reach a sensible speed, but dont have to worry about the big hill. As well as power, the diesel is more expensive. In the short term, a diesel engine is more expensive than a petrol. For a start the diesel powered cars are generally more expensive to buy than a petrol, and more of a down side is the parts are alot more expensive than a petrol. However, the diesel is more reliable due to it is less complicated internally and heavier build and generally lasts longer than a petrol, so again, it becomes difficult to determin which is better. At the end of the day, if you do alot of driving on long stretches and put alot of miles on your clock, then diesel may be the way forward, but if you do alot of town driving, and short runs, then petrol may be more for you. Economy. Always a key factor in cars these days, and with fuel prices as they are, its not suprising. Gone are the days where you could fill your car up for the price of a Mars bar and still have change for a pack of ciggies. These days filling up is a big expenditure, especially in the UK where a gallon of petrol can cost near on £4 (approx $7 give or take). So here is where the diesel has a big advantage over the petrol. The diesel is alot more economical than the petrol as a rule, although it does depend on your driving habbits. And driving habbits can be the key here. Because the diesel is alot slower than the petrol, it tends to follow, that drivers of the diesel drive the car harder, in order to match the petrol. Well you do dont you? i mean no one likes to be shown up to badly by a car equally matched in engine size. So here again the merits can be summed up by, if you drive hard, you like to give it some welly off the lights, and dont like going slow, then you wont advantage much from owning a diesel, and due to the incresed power a petrol would probably do you better. However if you arnt into that, your, dare i say the word, 'boy racer' days are gone, then a diesel will help put alot more food on the table, so to speak. Appereance is another thing, ok, not priority number one, but still, it is something else. Generally, the diesel is noisy, and the exhaust is that all to familier cloud of black smoke when it is throttled. You can usually tell a diesel when it pulls off by the cloud of black smoke it leaves behind. This isnt a problem with the engine, it is just a dirtier fuel. Granted, these days it isnt so much of a big thing, as the fuel is getting cleaner and the engines are getting quieter, but it hasnt gone yet. Tuning. Now to alot of people reading this, the potential in the way of tuning isnt probably your interest. But to some it is, especially to me, so i figured it was worth mentioning. The petrol is more tunable. ie you can get better power increases from a petrol than you can from a diesel. The big thing diesel owners go for is turbos. And that is the way to match a petrol for power. A turbo charged diesel would match a standard petrol, if not slightly better it, and thats why most diesel cars these days are turbo charged, to help keep up with todays modern petrol engines. I cant remember the figures for power increases of turbo charging a diesel, but it is a fair bit. However, that is about your limit with diesel. And that isnt so much due to the engine, but more to do with the lack of suppliers of tuning parts for diesels. To sum it all up: The diesel isnt as powerful as the petrol, but has more torque than a petrol. The diesel is more economical and fuel is cheaper than petrol, but costs more in the short term due to high purchase prices and expensive maintanance, but they are more reliable. The diesel is heavier, noisier and dirtier than a petrol, but this may not always be the case, and is changing. Turbo charged is the only way to go with diesel. If you want to match the petrol engine. As long as you dont try and race a petrol engine equally matched, you should be ok. ie dont go racing a 2.0l turbo petrol in your 2.0 turbo diesel, you will be beaten. So who wants a diesel? well i would say people who tow heavy loads. eg, big boats, trailers. Or people who carry heavy loads, so maybe farmers, builders, etc. People who want economy and dont care about power and speed as much. And dont get me wrong, the top end speed of a petrol is no better than a diesel, in fact the diesel probably has a higher top end, it just takes longer to get there. They i would say are the people most likely to benefit from a diesel. Me personally, i like acceleration and performance to much to want a diesel. They just dont perform enough for me, but then, thats just my opinion.  |
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