German Car Zone

here they are:

1. Only a diesel vehicle can tow, be a work truck, drag race, sled pull, off-road race, and still be a reliable daily driver.

2. Diesel fuel is 15 percent more energy dense than gasoline.

3. A diesel releases less carbon dioxide into the air because it is more fuel efficient.

4. Diesel fuel does not evaporate as easily as gasoline, so it is much safer in accidents.

5. The Army uses diesel fuel.

6. The Navy uses diesel fuel.

7. The Marines use diesel fuel.

8. The trucking industry uses diesel fuel.

9. The aviation industry uses diesel fuel.

10. The mining industry uses diesel fuel.

11. The railroad industry uses diesel fuel.

12. The maritime shipping industry uses diesel fuel.

13. The U.S. Coast Guard uses diesel fuel.

14. The construction industry uses diesel fuel.

15. Diesel engines are like garbage disposals-they'll eat any type of oil-based fuel.

16. It's easier to recycle a diesel engine compared with a gasoline-electric hybrid.

17. After a few decades, someone will pay you for your junk diesel engine.

18. Due to their complicated construction, people will have to pay to recycle their gasoline-electric hybrid.

19. Diesel vehicles do not need complicated evaporation emission control systems.

20. All types of plastics can be made from biodiesel and vice versa.

21. Biodiesel could help off-roaders and racers who are dealing with emission and noise laws.

22. A diesel only compresses air in its cylinders, so fuel does not contaminate the oil like in a gasoline engine.

23. A diesel only compresses air, so carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons do not form in the crevices of the cylinder wall like in a gasoline engine.

24. A gasoline engine needs large amounts of fuel to get it started in cold weather (think about using the choke). If you do a lot of stop-and-go driving, your car will never get its estimated fuel economy.

25. A diesel produces maximum torque at low engine speed. This makes it perfect for getting heavy loads moving.

26. A diesel is more reliable because it does not have to deal with a spark ignition system.

27. An article written by the Health Effects Institute suggests older diesel engines produce safer emissions. Although older engines produce more emissions by mass, their particles are larger and less dangerous.

28. You'll never have to worry about pre-ignition in a compression ignition engine.

29. Biodiesel has 34% more energy densitythan ethanol.

30. The largest and most powerful internal combustion engine in the world is a diesel (Wartsilla-Sulzer RTAA96-C).

31. If you're a fish, it's better to have 100,000 gallons of biodiesel spill into your river than 1 ounce of gasoline.

32. A diesel vehicle holds its value better than a gasoline one.

33. A mechanically injected diesel does not need electricity to keep it going. If your alternator fails, a diesel engine will get you home.

34. It is easier to turbocharge a diesel engine.

35. It is easier to supercharge a diesel engine.

36. Gasoline engines produce deadly concentrations of carbon monoxide. By contrast, diesels produce little carbon monoxide.

37. Diesel fuel is a lubricant. Gasoline is a solvent. What would you rather spray on your cylinder walls?

38. India's Tata Energy Research Institute said clean diesel beats compressed natural gas (CNG) on cost and delivers the same amount of "toxic" pollutants.

39. Compressed natural gas has 75% less energy density than diesel fuel.

40. The best batteries are 85% less energy dense than diesel fuel.

41. The diesel BMW 520D luxury car beat the Toyota Prius economy car in fuel economy tests.

42. Diesel dominated at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

43. If you're driving up a steep hill or carrying a heavy load, a diesel engine is less likely to stall.

44. Since diesels are built to withstand high compression, they are built with stronger pieces, which makes them last longer.

45. Rudolf Diesel built his engine to improve mankind.

46. With no ignition system, the mechanical diesel engine will not interfere with radios, communication devices, or pacemakers.

47. Diesels are better in remote areas and third world countries because they can run on vegetable oil and are less complicated than other drivetrains.

48. Since a diesel is more efficient, it generates less noise and waste heat.

49. Diesel fuel and exhaust just smells better.

50. Diesel engines require less fuel to drive a given distance or do a certain amountof work. Less fuel burned is less fuel refined, less fuel transported, less fuel stored, and less fuel spilled.


The Sacred Seven

1. A typical gasoline engine has a throttle plate. This unfortunate feature restricts its cylinders from completely filling up with air, except at wide-open throttle. This creates a vacuum in the intake manifold and pumping losses for the engine. A diesel, on the other hand, allows its cylinders to take full breaths of air during every intake stroke and instead relies on increasing the amount of fuel to create torque. The average gasoline engine spends 16 to 40 percent of its total power on overcoming its own air intake restriction (throttle). The word "throttle" is exciting for some reason. Perhaps with more knowledge, its meaning will change to what it represents-a wheezy and inefficient way to control power.

2. Diesel has history on its side. In 1824, Nicolas Leonard Sadi Carnot wrote the book Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire. It answered the question: How much work can you get from a certain amount of heat? He found the amount of work was not infinite and devised a theoretical ideal engine, which laid the foundation for the study of turning heat into mechanical energy. Carnot influenced Rudolf Diesel, and that is why his engine had such a high compression ratio.

3. Diesel engines have a higher compression ratio. Gasoline engines wish they could match diesel's 17:1 to 20:1 ratio, but if they push it past 10:1 (approximate), a gasoline engine's air-fuel mixture detonates before it's supposed to and could destroy the engine. The reason higher compression ratios equal more power is because of the increased cylinder pressure they offer. Let's say you have two identical single-cylinder engines with different compression ratios. If you added the same amount of fuel to each engine, you would get more horsepower from the one with a higher compression ratio. Plus, the lower-compression-ratio engine has more combustion-chamber surface area, which gives the heat more area to escape, instead of pushing down on the piston. Less waste heat equals more horsepower through greater efficiency.

4. A diesel runs leaner air-fuel ratios than a gas engine. Run a gasoline engine too lean and there will be problems like overheating, loss of power, and a non-functioning catalytic converter. In the worst-case scenario, a gasoline engine seizes and the catalytic converter gets destroyed. In order for a modern gas engine's catalytic converter to work properly, it needs a minimum 14.7:1 air-fuel ratio. What's more amazing, is gas engines dump excess fuel under wide-open throttle to cool combustion. A diesel is just the opposite. When fuel is added to the engine, the exhaust gas temperature goes up, and when it runs lean, the temperature goes down. At idle its possible for a diesel engine to run an air-fuel mixture as high as 100:1, and the worst that can happen under these conditions is the engine stalls due to lack of fuel.

5. A diesel's exhaust system will last much longer than a gasoline engine's exhaust system. Remember how we just said a diesel runs leaner? An added benefit is less water in the exhaust system. Water corrodes, so having dry exhaust is key to long exhaust pipe life. Water is not in fuel, but hydrogen is, and it combines with oxygen from the air during combustion to produce water vapor. If the outside air temperature is low enough, condensation occurs inside the pipe(s) and muffler(s), rusting them from the inside out. LexCarb LLC came up with an engineering solution to capitalize on this situation and it is called an On-board Water Recovery Unit. The Army quickly took notice, since it would help with logistics, specifically providing EPA-approved drinking water. Another use includes fueling an onboard hydrogen generator.

6. People who need performance need diesel. Take a look at those who do serious work-what they have in common is diesel power. For example, the military, trucking, railroad, mining, construction, and aviation industries all use diesel fuel. The United States is the only country in the world dominated by gasoline. In fact, we use more gasoline than the rest of the world-combined!

7. Diesels beat hybrids. The only way a gasoline-powered car can compete with the fuel economy of a diesel is when it is paired with an electric motor. Like all electrical devices, an electric motor produces an electromagnetic frequency (EMF). EMF has been linked to causing all kinds of health problems, including cancer. Imagine truck drivers sitting right on top of this device most of their lives. There might be a shield of some type to protect people in the future, but for now, it's drive hybrids at your own risk.


Diesel Fuel Advantages - Diesel Engine - Diesel Power Magazine

Nice list, but Biodiesel is fatal for the high-tech diesel and their injection systems. To bad that around 5 % Biodiesel is mixed into the standard diesel here in germany - otherwise there were no problem with Mercedes new 4-cylinder (220 CDI and 250 CDI)!

There are some things wrong with that list, but I won't go into that. I think the main issue people keep on forgetting is the fact that it's not about the fact that a Diesel is better than an electric car or something, but the fact that diesel is a fossil fuel and will run out.

So, the main point being missed here is the "Renewable" part.

I won't advice people to read this list or the article, there are numerous mistakes and some of the things they say are pure rubbish.

But i'll advice them to buy a diesel... A BMW one...

It's a worthwhile read - even if some of the statements are sweeping and exaggerated - and there are some truths therein.

But take some of the points made with a pinch of salt.

Anyone seen a supercharged diesel? Ever?
Direct injection and turbocharging had a monumental impact on the performance of diesel engines. The same technology too will bring the petrol engine back into contention in terms of output to efficiency ratios.

Eventually they will combine the 2 types of engine into one, just like what MB has in the F700 concept.

So, how is this gonna make me buy a diesel car?

(no offense)

Yes. Mazda had a 'Comprex' supercharger on the 626 in the 90's.
Pressure wave supercharger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For some reason "Diesel" has always been a dirty word over here. Audi even recognized in in their commercials.

If it's not gasoline or Hybrid, I really don't want it.