Are gas engines ever going to catch up?

parkersdad wrote:

RinconVTR wrote:

parkersdad wrote:
You don't see 18 wheelers with gas motors. That tells me all I need to know

Not comparable unless you're driving the same number of miles or running the same working hours.

Personally, I trust test done by these guys at The Fast Lane Truck (and Car) because they test on the same highway using the same tools, consistently. Unlike people on forums. Watch some of the real low diesel MPG numbers going up "the gauntlet" and how they tow vs gas motors. They all do fine, but clearly some are better than others.

http://www.tfltruck.com/

http://www.tflcar.com/tag/towing/

It is comparable because I do most of my towing in the mountains. And if you watch those towing tests you speak of the diesels have 18,000 pounds behind them and the gas motors 10,000

Both pulling near what they are rated for.

Should they instead both pull a 60k tractor trailer?
Or should a semi tractor pull a 10k trailer to be fair?
Neither is built to pull either.

If you're trying to equate weight directly with MPG, well I guess semi's would be in the negative numbers. Reality is, they do 5-6mpg all day long pulling enormous weights. Steep grades is about half that, which is not far off from some of those pick-ups seeing 3-4mpg up the grade, is it?

Also take note of RPM's in those videos. Pulling up grades puts every engine within HP peaks, not torque. So that neck snapping 700lb/ft+ at 1600ish RPM isn't helping much when its spinning at 3000rpm up the mountain.

Same with big rigs...they make 1000lb/ft+ of torque at very low RPM, while HP numbers are not very impressive. At speed, HP gets you up that grade.

Look up other towing tests those guys have done, such as the new 2014 Grand Cherokee with EcoDiesel. It's a slow old dog on the road!

To each their own, and I'll stick with gas. I cant stand the smell of diesel nor do I want the trouble of winter fuel gelling and high maintenance costs of all the extremes now required to pass EPA regs. (Look it up...ITS INSANE and big $$$$!!!)

During this cold-cold winter, I lost count how many new cars and truck owners I know who had gelling issues because one or more stations didn't have anti-gel additive in their tanks. So now these owners are buying extra additive themselves Fall thru Spring...but only after a costly drain and refill of their fuel system at the dealer. Have fun with those diesels...I'm staying FAR-FAR away.