Gasoline has long been the default fuel of road transport. Diesel was long used for big trucks and agricultural equipment and really only became a mainstream option for road-goers later on. In the years since, it’s been loved and loathed in equal measure. But more and more, I’ve been finding myself a fan.
In today’s world, diesel is a fuel non grata. It’s too polluting and it needs to go, say several cities around the world. Gasoline isn’t exactly an environmentalist favorite right now, but in certain quarters, enmity for diesel is on a whole other level.
Since buying a diesel of my own, though, I’ve come to love the heavy stuff. Diesel’s not a shouty, volatile fuel like gasoline. It’s smooth, suave, and not prone to explosive outbursts. Silly metaphors aside, it provides a driving experience all it’s own, and one that I find particularly valid for day-to-day life. This is both an explainer and my love letter to diesel, and it’s my wish that it sticks around for a good time yet.
Grunt Is Good
So why do I love diesels so much? It’s because they rock for daily driving. That low-down torque comes in clutch on the regular. When you’re trying to push off from a stop, it’s nice to feel the shove of a diesel engine doing its thing. It’s even better if you’re hauling a big load, towing a trailer, or pulling a stump out of the ground.
I’ve driven so many petrol-powered cars that need to rev out to get going. Indeed, most of my favorite gas cars have had big grunty inline-sixes that had that torquey shove that I liked. But in a diesel, you don’t even need six cylinders. My BMW 320D has a diminutive 2.0-liter diesel with a single turbo hanging off the side. It does great with 243 foot-pounds of torque. My old Falcon barely made more than that from 4.0 liters of displacement.
Around town, I’m cheering. My compact sedan pulls well whenever I lean in to the throttle. I just wish I had a manual, because that would make it a real keeper. The auto box doesn’t let me enjoy enough of that diesel thrust. Honestly, driving it makes me understand how Volkswagen won so many fans with its diesels before everything went so horribly wrong.
Out on the highway, things get even better. My little diesel engine hums away, whipser quiet thanks to the the sound deadening under the hood. Meanwhile, my fuel economy starts reaching towards that magic number of 50 mpg. I’ve never quite gotten there yet, but I bet I could if I had the three-pedal model. Around town, it’s down a little, but it’s still a darn sight better than most gas cars I’ve ever driven.
Passing in the Beemer ain’t bad, either. My diesel isn’t as quick as the petrol sixes, but it does just fine. It’s got enough boost to get around a caravan or two, no problem.
Admittedly, I’m mostly a fan of diesels with forced induction. That extra air makes all the difference. Without it, you can end up struggling to pass buses on the highway. Whack on a turbo or two, though, and you have an engine that can pull for days.
A great example comes to us via Toyota. A couple years back, I drove the 70 Series Land Cruiser with the old turbo V8, and that thing felt amazing. It was tough to stall with so much grunt under the hood. Put the boot in, and it whined its way up to speed like a freight train on a critical war mission. It’s addictive.
Another nice thing about diesels is that they can be delightfully unpicky about fuel. You can literally grow plants and turn them into biodiesel to run your car if you’re so inclined. Heck, I’ve got a mate running his older diesel truck on filtered vegetable oil, and it only took a few basic mods. He’s now driving long country miles on the cheap on a literal waste product of the food industry.
How Do They Do It: A Diesel Primer
If you haven’t heard the Good Word on Diesel, let me bring you up to speed. It’s a potent fuel that’s actually more energy-dense than gasoline. For every gallon of diesel, you’re getting 13% more energy than you could get out of a tank of gas. Right away, you’re ahead of the game when it comes to fuel economy.
Diesel is less volatile than gas, but that’s actually a good thing. This lets diesel engines use compression ignition, rather than spark ignition as used in gas engines. It also lets them run at incredibly high compression ratios, often in excess of 22:1. This allows diesel engines to run a very lean burn, with the combustion gases having a high expansion ratio thanks to the high compression. Thermodynamically, it makes Diesel cycle engines the most efficient type of combustion engine out there. Or, in simpler terms, you’re getting better fuel economy. Chuck on a turbocharger or supercharger to force some more air in, and you’re doing even better.
Furthermore, diesels tend to make prodigious torque. That’s because diesel engines typically have a long stroke length and high average cylinder pressures. Diesels tend to rev low because they need big heavy components to withstand those high compression ratios. With lower rev limits, it’s possible to create an engine with a long stroke without ending up with excessive piston speed. Put a great deal of pressure on a piston, and have it turn a big lever arm attached to the crankshaft, and you get big torque. It’s that simple.
Sticking Around?
Diesel isn’t perfect. Pollution remains a problem as with any fossil fuel. Burning diesel releases carbon dioxide, along with other harmful gases like oxides of nitrogen and even sulfur dioxide, to a degree. None of these are good. There’s also the matter of fine particulate pollution, which can have negative impacts on respiratory health.
These problems are contributing to diesel’s downfall in some quarters. German cities started banning older diesels in 2018, as did Paris a year later. In most cases, though, it’s being condemned along with gasoline in new legislation. In Australia, the federal capital has already announced a ban on selling new gas and diesel vehicles from 2035. Over in Sweden, Stockholm wants ICE cars out of the city center by 2025. In the EU as a whole, petrol and diesel cars are already on the chopping block, but now the block will look to ban sales of almost all new diesel trucks from 2040 onwards.
It seems unlikely that some saving grace will come diesel’s way. Short of worldwide civil unrest that disrupts the EV transition, we already have the technology to clean up most transport that currently relies on fossil fuels. I reckon we’ll have diesel around for some time yet, particularly in heavy-duty applications. But we’re nearer the last dance than the first one.
[Editor’s Note: I think it’s worth noting that diesel engines also have the unique – and potentially environmentally friendly – ability to run on almost any sort of oily sludge. Like, famously, used french-fry or other cooking oils! And, if you’re the sort of person that likes to imagine improbable scenarios of danger and resourcefulness, it’s good to remember that home heating oil and jet fuel like JET A are very close to diesel, so you can fill your car with either of those in your heroic disaster fantasies. – JT]
It’s not all bad, of course. EVs have plenty of torque, just like diesels, and can make great dailies themselves. Cleaner air is good for us all, too.
Even then, when I’m sitting in my own electric car, some decades in the future, I’ll still think back to my first diesel. “Man, that thing really hit the spot,” I’ll say. “I just scraped Melbourne to Adelaide on one tank, not a whisper of a complaint. What a car.”
Image credits: Top Shot Markus Spiske Njhyuieliim via Unsplash License, Lewin Day, BMW
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I loved my pre-scandal MK4 TDI wagon 5spd. It was gold with brown leather. When I cracked the oil pan on a massive jump, I traded it for a bottle of burbon to a friend. I don’t make great vehicle choices, but they are pragmatic.
That sounds gorgeous. Practical too.
47mpg all the time, no matter how hard I drove it. You don’t realize how great they are until you look back or go searching for a replacement. We’re shopping for a new vehicle now and they are all full of screens and suck. Rounded hatches also chop off dog heads and make cargo space useless. OK, rant over.
Same here. Bought a 2015 Q5 TDI a few months before the scandal, and I consider myself lucky.
My other car is an EV and the enjoyment difference is night and day. Keeping it 5eva, cause it’s one more than forever.
Preach!
Totally agree. Have an old 2006 Citroën C5 with a 2.2 litre twin turbo advertised at 170 hp, good for 0-60 in eight seconds, and cruising at 130 kph all day on 60 litres of fuel…. It is the low down grunt which works, being able to floor it to overtake a slow caravan, and knowing you will always have space to spare.
Petrol (gas) equivalent is rowing into low gear until the engine is screaming and then flooring it….
You’re forgetting one of the best things about diesel… the smell. I’ve loved it ever since I was a little kid.
Ew, really? I got stuck behind what I assume was an emissions-deleted diesel in a parking ramp a few years back and it gave me a headache. And I say this as a (non-deleted) diesel truck owner.
Yeah, no idea why. I’ve just always loved it. Moreso the raw diesel than the exhaust, though.
A Volt-style PHEV with a diesel engine would be fantastic. Have a lockup clutch that connects the engine to the wheels only at highway speeds to take advantage of that MPG. Other times, the diesel engine is just a generator if it’s used at all. In the city, you’re emitting hardly any fumes.
I suspect that configuration would sell about as well as the proverbial manual brown wagon in the US, but hey I can dream.
Peugeot built diesel electric hybrids and sold them as large station wagons for a couple of years about 10 years ago. Every one who bought one was happy, but they shut it down with diesel gate and because at the time they were in the financial shit. Still see one running around, owner says he gets around 3 litres per 100 km.
Oh wow I hadn’t heard of those. That’s awesome!
Peugeot built diesel electric hybrids and sold them as large station wagons for a couple of years about 10 years ago. Every one who bought one was happy
So only 11 years till we can bring them over in 2035.
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/pictures/peugeot-3008-hybrid4-worlds-first-diesel-hybrid/5/
i’m surprised we didn’t get more diesel hybrids tbh
As I understand it the problem was manufacturers didn’t see the point. Atkinson engines were as efficient as diesels and at least in the US diesel was more expensive than gas to the point the $/mile were higher.
Then you get into the emissions, weight etc..
Well, that’s true if your tank of gas has a 1 gallon capacity, but otherwise it’s not correct.
Diesels make up a notable chunk of my fleet. Currently, that’s three VW diesel wagons, a Touareg V10 TDI, a Smart CDI, and the bus.
When Smart was in this country, countless people complained that the fuel economy wasn’t good enough. Smart USA should have imported the diesel. Mine gets an honest 70 mpg around town and will still do better than 55 mpg at 80 mph. That’s 1G Honda Insight economy without a hybrid system.
Edit: 40 HP though, so slow enough to lose a drag race to a loaded garbage truck.
As my user name implies, I too have a lot of diesels in my fleet, including two VWs (an IDI Rabbit Truck and TDI Scirocco project), Mercedes R-Class, and Peugeot 505. The rest are electric, or undergoing conversion. While electric is the future, I still will keep older diesels around for the pure simplicity, fuel economy, and utility. Though really, all diesels should be turbo’ed. The fuel economy of the old VW diesels like the Rabbit in the lead image is legendary, over 50mpg if driven right.
Why do you say that all diesel should be turbod? There are several naturally aspirated diesels that I love, often specifically because they’re naturally aspirated.
AN IDI RABBIT TRUCK? Be still my beating heart.
and this is why your fleet ROCKS
Lewin’s explanation of why diesels make excellent torque is similar to what I’ve seen other places, and is conventional wisdom.
I’m also pretty sure it’s not very accurate.
It makes sense in an age where diesels make better torque than gas engines, but in the 80s nobody would have said that diesels make better torque.
Naturally aspirated diesels usually make similar or inferior low end torque compared to naturally aspirated gas engines, especially particularly torquey ones like the Ford 300 and the Jeep/AMC 258 and 4.0.
And engines like Powerstrokes and Duramaxes pull great, but is that really because they’re diesel? A 7ish liter turbo big block is gonna pull like a freight train whether it’s gas or diesel.
I think diesels make such good low end torque just because they can’t rev high, and so everything about their tuning(especially the turbocharging system) prioritizes low end torque to compensate for that.
I suspect you’re correct, though a major advantage of diesel here is that boost and compression aren’t limited by octane, so it’s possible to push 40+psi with a high-compression engine, which is what really makes the mountains of torque. To do so with a gas engine would likely require racing fuel.
Exactly. It’s not that a diesel on 40psi pulls harder than a gas engine on 40psi, it’s that it’s much more practical to do so with a diesel.
Precisely. Not to mention you’d need to run it extremely rich even with high-octane fuel, ruining any semblance of efficiency because most of the fuel is dumped unburnt just to prevent detonation, even worse if running ethanol/E85 with its lower energy density. Plus, the strain would require pistons and rods so heavy that you’d have made more power by just revving higher instead
Meanwhile, the diesel can do this with the usual lean mixture since octane isn’t a thing for them, achieving nearly equal thermal efficiency to what it would at lower boost levels.
Even that is changing. My 2.7l turbo gas engine in my GM truck can run up to 27psi of boost, on regular gas.
It drives like a diesel. I rarely need to go above 2000rpm in typical driving conditions all the way up to 125km/h.
That’s honestly impressive, the stuff that’s possible with modern fuel and spark management boggles my mind sometimes.
Have you owned or regularly driven diesels? Your argument runs contrary to my experience; I even have an apples to apples comparison for you. Back in the 90s I owned a 4 speed square body with a 6.2 na diesel, while my dad owned the same truck, only 350 tbi. Under normal circumstances they both averaged 16 mpg highway, and as expected the gas truck would destroy the oil burner in a drag race. But then you put a trailer on and the diesel trucks torque shined through. The gas trucks fuel mileage would be cut in half and you were constantly shifting to maintain speed up hills. The rattler was content to hold speed with a 1-2 mph hit on mpgs. There is a definite torque benefit to diesel, even na ones.
Yes, I have regularly driven diesels, but, more importantly, I have owned and regularly driven gas engines that operate in an rpm range similar to most diesels.
Your “apples to apples” of a 6.2 diesel vs a gasser 350 isn’t as apples to apples when you consider the 350 makes its best power at rpm higher than the 6.2’s redline.
My Ford 300 has a 4000rpm redline, but really it’s not happy past ~2500. Yes, you read that right, the useful rpm range is lower than many diesels. It pulls as well as any diesel of similar size. Ditto for the AMC/Jeep six, except for slightly higher rpm.
It doesn’t matter what the redline is, I offered you a direct, real world example of a user experience where an 80s na diesel had better torque than its gas counterpart resulting in a better user experience directly refuting your assertion that diesels don’t really have better torque, especially 80s ones. The 350 diesel debacle is the reason no one was talking about diesels back then.
I have also owned ford 300 straight 6s, and have owned over a dozen 4.0 xjs. I’ve also owned mercedes, international, gm, and Detroit diesels. The diesel engines are superior. It’s a shame America never warmed up to them.
I didn’t word this well enough, but the point I was trying to make is that diesels do not make more torque than a similarly low rpm gas engine, and that the reason most diesels make more torque than most gas engines is purely because they’re usually lower rpm. My point being that it’s an rpm thing, not a compression ignition thing. And redline very much matters for my point.
Diesel engines are awesome, especially because they are usually significantly more efficient than gas engines. But I don’t know where you’re getting the idea that America never warmed up to diesels. A large majority of new 3/4 and one ton pickups are diesel, which is an all time high. Sure seems like Americans warmed right up to diesel in the last 20 years.
I’ve spent most of my career thus far around diesel tractors and to a lesser extent diesel trucks. I still prefer driving my old gas pickups but I definitely recognize the towing advantages to diesel. Wouldn’t mind Cummins-swapping my ‘99 K2500 if the old Vortec 350 bites the dust.
The sound of a 7.3l PowerStroke is my favorite engine sound. But really, especially as a Pennsylvania resident, I’m mostly on the side of “glad to see them go.”
One thing that bugs me is living in one of our counties that does have emissions inspections, but diesel vehicles are exempt? Explain that one to me!
I personally prefer the sound of the 6.0 PowerStroke.
On the subject of emissions, I own a 2003 E-350. Somehow, while Ford was required by emissions regulations to switch to the far-cleaner 6.0 in their pickup trucks, they were allowed to use up their remaining 7.3L engines in the van and van cutaway. The vast majority of them were ambulances (I do not believe you could purchase a gasoline-powered Ford with ambulance certification until about 2008). What is remarkable to me is my van has zero aftertreatment of the exhaust; just a muffler. There is no mention of a catalyst on its EPA sticker either. It’s just speculation on my part, but I think the 2003 E-350 diesel was the last vehicle sold in the United States that was not required to have a catalytic converter. This is also the main reason why I drive mine sparingly.
Interesting!
I should add, I can’t particularly comment on the 6.0 because I don’t think I’ve heard one (at least, not in person). Especially not like a 7.3, which I’ve actually driven a short distance.
When I heard GM was discontinuing the 2.8l Duramax (and extended cab) in the Colorado for the 3rd gen update, I pulled the trigger on a ’22 Colorado ZR2 diesel / extended cab. First diesel I’ve ever owned. Unfortunately, diesel prices have hovered around $3.50-$4.00/gal so I’ll likely never make up the difference in pricing, but it’s nice getting 400-500 miles per tank. Being a ZR2, it has all the aero of a barn door so mileage can vary quite a bit, but it’s hovered around 22-23mpg overall in the 41k miles I’ve put on it so far. I’ve seen as low as 18mpg on the freeway, trying to push 70mph into a stout headwind with a kayak on the bed rack, to a hair over 30 cruising 55-60 on two laners. It does take a bit of planning ahead for passing maneuvers, 180hp isn’t much to work with at speed.
Gas here is also around $3.40 while diesel is only $3.90 or so. It’s been wildly variable since Putin’s idiocy though so the last couple of years have not been the best for diesel ownership.
I purchased a 2016 Touareg literally on the last day that the diesels were available for sale (I originally wanted a Golf Wagon, but those were already off the market). Still gets 27 – 29 mpg on winter tires and winter fuel. In my state, diesel is running $0.30/gallon less than RUG, so it makes even more sense for me.
My grandmother had a diesel Rabbit like the one pictured in the header. Same school bus yellow color too, just without the side graphics. She bought it new in the early 80s and drove it until she died 20 years later. I was just a wee lad and it was the first diesel I experienced. It was noisy and lazy dog slow but what a cool car.
My very portly grandfather had one as well. I was little and he had me “feed carrots” to it more than once.
Being in the NE region, it got a block heater put on it in the winter because….. glow plugs.
I’d never owned or driven (okay, briefly drove an old 300D) a diesel car until I got my 2014 Sportwagen TDI four years ago. I love it. I love the torque, and I love that highway trips score 40+mpg and that my overall tank average almost never drops below 36mpg. Having the manual definitely helps. I know a lot of folks hate the whole DPF system, but it definitely does the job. My fiancees Mazda3 has considerably more soot on its tailpipes than the VW. It sounds like the DPF system is fairly robust on those, I’ve heard horror stories of course, it’s
a VW after all, but plenty of folks are getting 150k+ out of their system without issues. Given that the car only has 60k on it and I drive all of 8,000 miles a year at most, I’ve got a while.
I’m planning on chipping it: should boost me up to around 160hp and 280ft-lbs of torque, and the best part is I can keep all my emissions system intact. I have no interest in removing emissions equipment for additional power gains.
The horror stories on DPF equipped vehicles mostly come from owners that chip their diesels. Those high-performance tunes typically produce a lot more soot, which the DPF will happily remove until it can’t.
The horror stories come from 2 things-
I love my stupid JSW, despite all the issues it’s cost me. But the deeper I get into it, the more things I do to it, the more I love it. I’m planning to put at least another 100k on it before I get anything else.
And Clark, you might think about getting the 170 turbo kit. They’re not terribly expensive, and it’ll work a lot better than your stock 140 if you’re planning to tune.
I will definitely look into the turbo! I’m going to go with a Malone tune, I’ve heard nothing but good things about them and there’s an installer about 10 minutes from me. But I’m holding out, my Dieselgate warranty is still good till July. I’m the same way about mine, it’s stupid and yet I love it. I’m just pissed that the clear coat is starting to
bubble on almost every panel. I’m due for a lot of money in paint work. Tornado Red. Fortunately I do a fair bit of highway driving, so I’m hoping my DPF hangs in there for a while.
I was halfway through reading your comment about clear coat and wondering if it was a red car hahaha. I’m in the same boat, but the bonnet only.
I have a Malone tune on mine, and would highly recommend it, I’m not super familiar with all of the tunes out there, but doing the research let me to Malone, and it’s been great. Car feels excellent to drive after the tune.
I would hold on to the DPF as long as I could (I did) and really only think about deleting it once it cracks (which is what I did). I didn’t initially want to, but man there was no way I was going to pay to replace that thing.It was cheaper to just delete it. You can still keep your cat, which cuts down on the smell and fumes, but you will immediatly notice the difference in your car breathering better. I have a friend that has almost 500k miles on his with very little work as a result. If you get to that point and have any questions, just hit me up. There’s a number of things you’re going to have to look into down the road (Thermostat, Timing belt, rear coils breaking for no reason etc). I’m by no means an expert, just a dumbass that loves his dumbass VW and wants to keep driving it as long as he can.
Yeah, idk why the paint issues are so pervasive. I have a theory–it was a New York car originally and since it was a Dieselgate buyback, it sat in a parking lot for close to three years. I think it had salt and road grime all over it because the underside was gross when I got it and it was still on snow tires. Between that and three years of full sun, maybe that’s what caused the paint issues. I keep it washed and waxed so hopefully I can hold off on paint for a while. The bubbles are very small.
You know, I’ve thought about what I would do if the DPF goes out. I’d probably delete it at that point too, honestly. My goal for this car is to make it a GTI-esque wagon. I had a 2009 GTI and loved it, since the Sportwagen rides on the same platform I should be able to get it pretty close! Timing belt is actually on my list to do this year. I will definitely let you know if I have questions — thanks!! A dumbass who loves his dumbass VW, yeah, right there with ya.
I think my paint issues are just because I live in Texas and the sun here is a complete bastard.
If you’re planning on doing the timing belt yourself, watch this video first to decide if it’s something you want to tackle. It’s one of two I used as my guide:
https://youtu.be/fAi667H7M2Y?feature=shared
I bought a kit from fpc euro, I can’t remember exactly which one, but it was around $300 and it came with everything including a new water pump. Totally worth the money savings, even if it is a bit of a nightmare
Yeah, my car lives outside unfortunately but when my fiancee goes to work I pull the Jetta in for most of the day, since I work from home. That should help slow the clear coat failure.
I’m not afraid of a nightmare! I’ve owned nothing but water-cooled VWs since I turned 16 lol. (And one air-cooled Beetle I’ve had for nearly 20 years). I’ve seen there’s several kits and even kits that include all the tools you need. Will definitely be checking out that video when the time comes, probably later this spring.
They are expensive. I replaced my first DPF at 185,000 miles; I suspect partially because I succumbed to temptation and bought a tuner 10,000 miles earlier. My younger DPF-equipped vehicles are at 138,000 miles and 93,000 miles, but I’ve left them stock. So far, so good.
You’ve had some seriously good luck my friend, I envy you
My wife and I each had a TDI SportWagen; the only difference other than color was that mine was manual. I could get 50-52mpg from that car on longer trips without trying. We sold both back to VW because my wife broke even, and I made money on the deal. I miss that car, but I console myself with my diesel tractors.
That’s a nice ride. I haven’t had too many DPF problems, as I get my highway miles in.
If I had the Toyota V8 though… I’d be in trouble. That thing needed to stretch its legs fairly regularly.
There are a lot of diesel drivers out there that give diesel lovers a bad name; but I do truly love them. The 300sd is one of the greatest cars ever built. Period. If I could afford the stand alone tcu I’d swap my 4.0 in my xj for a om617 in a heart beat. My next vehicle purchase will likely be a diesel Hiace; and like Mercedes Streeter, I want a diesel motorcycle seriously bad.
I’m a big fan of 617s myself (as well as the SDs: an ‘82 was my diesel gateway). They’re robust, and, if not exactly simple, straightforward to work on as they were built with serviceability in mind. I looked at many swaps in the 20 years I had them, and, aside from weight*, it seems the weird oil pan is an issue in most applications. I’d love to see one in an XJ!
*pulling one complete with trans was a very nervous creaky endeavor. Pretty sure we had the HF cherry picker about maxed out
They sell a adapter kit to put them in xjs, i think rock crawlers like them. The stumbling block for me is since I use my xj for mail delivery I have to keep it a 4wd automatic and getting a stand alone tcu that makes the aw4 play nice with the diesel is expensive.
Aw, man, I wanted a manual XJ anyway—now you have me thinking …
I remember seeing a homemade manual controller for the ZJ, wonder if that would work in the XJ? I guess it would be a bit of a pita, though
Why does mail delivery have to be automatic?
Because I have bad knees and starting and stopping 300 times a day would kill me.
Okay. That’s what I figured, but I was curious if there was some weird postal office requirement.
I love and miss diesels too, especially the inline six turbodiesels. Very little vibration, smooth sound and very flat torque curve, yet still decent fuel economy. The expression “pulls like a freight train” applies perfectly.
Unfortunately in the US, the majority of diesel culture is the obnoxiously loud, deleted and straight piped heavy duty trucks.
I understand why to delete, but why does it have to be also so loud?
I love the simplicity and minimal reliance on electricity Diesel provides. However, I hate the smell of diesel, I hate that it doesn’t evaporate (it ruined a good pair of work gloves of mine), and diesel fuel injection systems give me the heebie jeebies (don’t google image search Hydraulic Injection Injury).
Ironically while diesel civilian automobiles may be the first to phased out from being able to be sold new to civilians I expect them to be the last civilian ICE vehicles on the road. They last long but more importantly where gasoline infrastructure will wither and die, we’ll still need diesel gas stations to refuel semis.
While the Devil on my shoulder is a speed Demon, the Angel on my right enjoys putt putting about, and diesels make for wonderful putt putt machines.
I’m with you on the Hydraulic Injection Injuries. I’ve wanted a diesel for a while but man with DI, it really scares me if I ever needed to do any work on them.
Ehh, you don’t need to be too scared. It would only happen if you’re working on it while it’s running(don’t know about you, but I don’t do that very often) AND you do something to puncture an injection line.
I generally don’t leave things on while working on them to, either. Knowing my luck though, because I’m not as competent as some would like to believe, I’d probably screw something up.
Maybe I need more self confidence!
Of course I had to google it. That’s some scary stuff.
Two thumbs up. If I’m lucky enough to find a rust-free mini pickup of old, it’s getting a Cummins Recharge swap.
I can’t agree, at least on a personal-car level. Diesel dust makes me sneeze, and it makes everything around it smell of oil. And unlike gasoline’s smell, which goes away as soon as it evaporates, the diesel smell lingers… forever.
We also must acknowledge that diesel is not going away anytime soon. You can’t run big trucks, trains, ships, construction & mining equipment, or big-assed generators on gas, and electrifying those things is a very long way off. So unless we want to shut down about 90% of our economy, we can’t rid ourselves of diesel.
The first not-slow car I drove was a Citroen BX19 Diesel. 1.9 NA wasn’t fast, but it felt like a rocket compared to my 602cc 2CV. I have fond memories of driving my mum’s Diesels.
But I prefer petrol. Lack of torque is God’s way of telling you to change down a few gears, or fit a turbo, or double the swept volume. But changing down a gear is free.
You can get petrol to burn nicely with compression ignition. Get the compression ratio right and you can get any liquid fuel to burn like that.
I wish we got the 1HD-FT in the US for the 80 series. I think the 1FZ-FE is fine and all, but even though the HP is lower on the diesel, I hear that it drives better and returns nearly twice the fuel economy. I really enjoyed my 2011 sportwagen TDI when I had it. 50 mpg and no adblue, of course we know why now, but at the time it was great. I also love that VW bought it back from me for nearly what I paid for it after 5 years.
Diesel vehicles create a great deal of cancer causing particles. All people that breath should rejoice at the demise of diesel vehicles. https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/summary-diesel-particulate-matter-health-impacts
Side benefit though, Nox is a global cooling agent.
Good thing I don’t breath, so I don’t have to rejoice at the death of diesels.
Also, diesel exhaust is unlikely to be the biggest source of fine soot particulates in my life.
Ahh, a fellow chimney sweep 🙂
Worth noting that all of the studies they cite there were done 12 years or longer ago. A lot has changed in diesel emissions standards in the years since.
Also worth noting that modern small turbos create a lot of the same emissions as diesels but aren’t required to run the same emissions equipment. It would be interesting to see a study of modern emissions and find out how diesels compare to gas these days.
From what I have read those turbo GDI engines need particulate filters because they do have similar particulate emissions as you mention. California has done a great job making diesel big rigs cleaner by requiring newer engines with better emissions equipment. Sadly I live in a state adjacent to California that now gets all the highly polluting trucks that are no longer legal in CA. I used to live near LA and visit sometimes. The emissions requirements have been amazing. A co-worker of mine that worked in Long Beach in the 80’s didn’t see the mountains to the east for 2 years due to pollution. A classmate of mine could not play outdoor high school sports some days in LA when he was growing up due to air pollution and sometimes came home coughing when the air quality was marginal. It is easy to forget why there are strict emission laws. They work and improve life for everyone collectively. The reason that diesel is dying as a fuel is that it is too expensive to make it burn clean enough to preserve our air quality.
The reason that diesel is dying as a fuel is that it is too expensive to make it burn clean enough to preserve our air quality.
This is a really good point. For some reason, GM seems to have made a very competitive diesel in their 1/2 ton truck and Suburbans that runs less than $1,000 over a 5.3L V8. I’m not sure if they cracked the nut on making the equipment cost competitive or if they are simply lowering their margins to increase their average fuel economy numbers.
Circa 2003, I had a gas Jetta* and my boss had a turbo diesel, which I had access to on days when I biked. It was interesting & fun to get to compare & contrast the two. The mileage was, of course, ridiculous on the diesel, but the pull on the highway was something else.
*I had seriously looked into a diesel for myself, with biodiesel intentions, but I was buying new and didn’t want to void the warranty on a brand new car.
I, too, love the cult of compression ignition. I’ve only owned 1 (1994 Chevy Silverado half-ton), but I’ve driven several. Had my first wreck in a VW Caddy diesel.
My personal favorite was my dad’s ’78 Grand Wagoneer Golden Eagle that had an Isuzu 4 cylinder turbo diesel stuffed under the hood. It was done by a local diesel mechanic, so it actually worked pretty good. Top speed was maybe 80mph, but it would get upwards of 26mpg or better!
I miss that beast…
That thing totally sounds like a beast! Would’ve been wild to see it.
It was a beast! It had a 2″ body lift to fit the engine under the hood. It looked a little funny because it still had slot mag wheels with regular all season tires. It wasn’t fast, and it felt like you were gonna scrape the door handles if you took a corner at more than a walking pace.
As someone who likes to ride a bike, I’ll be happy when diesels are gone. So gross every time one rolls by. Also, as a Flames fan, your lead image text sads me out.
As a convertible driver, I feel the same.
BroDozers particularly.
My diesel Golf is actually the car I miss the most, and wish I hadn’t sold. It was a great little car, and lots of fun to drive, and it never gave me a single issue.
I also had a Mercedes GLK250, and that wasn’t a bad car, either. Plenty of grunt, great highway mileage, and the drivetrain was trouble-free for many years. The electronics, somewhat less so.