Gas or diesel class c
Trying to decide between diesel or gas class c. Have diesel truck so really appreciate the power and mileage cost, but upfront and model cost have us looking at gas models mostly with Ford V10. What i...
Forum Discussion
D.C.,
Right on .... however maybe ya just plain gotta be an American Iron Lover to appreciate the V10 in a Class C.
Folks seem to think engine torque is superior to torque where it counts - at the drive wheels. Horsepower plus the right gearing are what, together, make torque at the drive wheels. The last time I checked, most light truck diesel mills do not come near the maximum horsepower of the good old 2-Valve V10 in our rigs. What they provide is less horsepower - but higher engine crankshaft torque at low RPM - so that the gearing to make any given required drive wheel torque can be less aggressive. Propelling a given weight up a given grade at a given speed requires a given amount of horsepower to get the work done, regardless of the spinning crankshaft torque where the horsepower is originating from.
HOWEVER that being said, folks seem to be afraid of RPM to get the horsepower out of an engine for making torque through gears. A diesel takes care of this fear .... as it produces it's (lower than the V10's) horsepower and higher (than than V10's) crankshaft torque by thumping along at a relatively low RPM. FWIW, the later 2-valve V10 is not necessarily a crankshaft torque slouch at it's approximate value of 420 ft-lbs..
Diesels have/had some definite advantages for meeting certain criteria due to the nature of how they have to get the energy out of their fuel. But much of their historic advantage has been eliminated through modern manufacturing methods that can now produce high RPM gas engines that last a long time with lighter engine weight. For many diesel applications, their only advantage left now is the fact that their basic fuel contains more energy per unit volume. So unless fuel suppliers swamp out this advantage with pricing - they can carry one along the road requiring less fuel cost per mile.
As for me, I like the spirited response and higher RPM whine of ten cylinders spinning fast. It's more "exciting". :B
Right on .... however maybe ya just plain gotta be an American Iron Lover to appreciate the V10 in a Class C.
Folks seem to think engine torque is superior to torque where it counts - at the drive wheels. Horsepower plus the right gearing are what, together, make torque at the drive wheels. The last time I checked, most light truck diesel mills do not come near the maximum horsepower of the good old 2-Valve V10 in our rigs. What they provide is less horsepower - but higher engine crankshaft torque at low RPM - so that the gearing to make any given required drive wheel torque can be less aggressive. Propelling a given weight up a given grade at a given speed requires a given amount of horsepower to get the work done, regardless of the spinning crankshaft torque where the horsepower is originating from.
HOWEVER that being said, folks seem to be afraid of RPM to get the horsepower out of an engine for making torque through gears. A diesel takes care of this fear .... as it produces it's (lower than the V10's) horsepower and higher (than than V10's) crankshaft torque by thumping along at a relatively low RPM. FWIW, the later 2-valve V10 is not necessarily a crankshaft torque slouch at it's approximate value of 420 ft-lbs..
Diesels have/had some definite advantages for meeting certain criteria due to the nature of how they have to get the energy out of their fuel. But much of their historic advantage has been eliminated through modern manufacturing methods that can now produce high RPM gas engines that last a long time with lighter engine weight. For many diesel applications, their only advantage left now is the fact that their basic fuel contains more energy per unit volume. So unless fuel suppliers swamp out this advantage with pricing - they can carry one along the road requiring less fuel cost per mile.
As for me, I like the spirited response and higher RPM whine of ten cylinders spinning fast. It's more "exciting". :B
