Diesel engines why not more available in smaller vehicles ?

You're right. I was looking at older ones for an off-road swap and got my codes mixed up because that one is rated for the same horsepower I have. Ours is a 2003 with automatic, leather and moon roof. About 104k miles and no salt or snow driving with our MK4 - My 4wd's always handle the snow and ice events instead of the low slung VW.

Bedlam wrote:
My VW TDI 1.9 AHU is going strong after 15 years. My DW got tired of driving the same wagon, so I have been using it when I don't ride my motorcycle. I should sell it, but it is a nice ride when it's raining...

AHU is in 97 and 98 jetta tdi's only, state side. If it's a jetta wagon, the motor on a 2000-2003 jetta wagon is an ALH. How many miles on your ALH and is it driven on salted roads?

My VW TDI 1.9 ALH is going strong after 15 years. My DW got tired of driving the same wagon, so I have been using it when I don't ride my motorcycle. I should sell it, but it is a nice ride when it's raining...

ShinerBock wrote:
Back on the topic of diesels in smaller vehicles. The warranty on my 328d is finally up and I decided to celebrate with remap tune and a new downpipe. Should bring the 2.0L diesel to about 220hp/370lb-ft at the wheels(roughly 250hp/425lb-ft at the crank), but I will do a few dyno runs to make sure. That is a **** ton of torque in a compact car that weighs less than 3,500 lbs.

Oh darn, I guess I won't be legal in California anymore. Good thing I never plan on going there.

What year is your 328d and how many miles on it? I just picked up a used 2015 VW Passat TDI SEL with 25k miles on it in TX for $16,500. Granted, front wheel drive, and 150 HP 240ft lbs torque, but it's great at 80 -85 MPH on interstate, and easy on fuel, too.

Just breaks your heart too, doesn’t it? :)

Back on the topic of diesels in smaller vehicles. The warranty on my 328d is finally up and I decided to celebrate with remap tune and a new downpipe. Should bring the 2.0L diesel to about 220hp/370lb-ft at the wheels(roughly 250hp/425lb-ft at the crank), but I will do a few dyno runs to make sure. That is a **** ton of torque in a compact car that weighs less than 3,500 lbs.

Oh darn, I guess I won't be legal in California anymore. Good thing I never plan on going there.

Copperhead wrote:

John & Angela wrote:

I have always wondered about the E85 thing for some of those same reasons. Like I say, I’m not an expert on this kind of things. It just goes against the grain to grow fuel on land that could feed people. And it is heaviliy subsidized. But again, there is probably more to the story than I see.


John.

I realize, on the surface in regards to those who have never really done the research, that it seems that food for humans is being jeopardized by taking corn and making motor fuel from it, but that perception is simply due to ignorance, which is usually not the fault of that person.

Of the entire U.S. corn production per year, only 20% of it is used for human consumption. Of the 80% that is left, about 40% of it is used for ethanol production. And of each bushel of corn that is used for ethanol production, 17-18 lb of food products, primarily for livestock, is still gleaned from the process. Mater of fact, that residual feed from ethanol production is more highly digestible by livestock and poultry than straight corn is, and it has a substantially higher protein percentage than base corn.

And there are many other byproducts of ethanol production. Various high quality polymer plastics are produced, and even insulators for common spark plugs are dependent on products produced from ethanol production.

And if food was an issue, then corn prices would be much higher. Compared to 1996 corn prices, if adjusted for inflation to today, corn prices would be roughly $4.50 a bushel. Instead, corn prices are in the $3.80 range. That reflects that there is more than enough corn to go around and the food supply has a more than an ample supply.

And corn prices are not subsidized, as there has not been any corn price supports paid out this century, and there has been no ethanol producer subsidies since 2011, when they were discontinued at the behest of the ethanol producers themselves. Ethanol is traded on the commodity exchanges just like any other fuel.

Granted, there has been some subsidies still for ethanol blender pump installation, but that is for retailers. Ethanol producers do not sell at the retail level. Also, there are government supported crop insurance programs, but those are not just for corn but for all crop producers, including the lettuce you eat in your salad. And it probably would be more efficient to use sugar cane and sugar beets as the major source products for ethanol production. But Government is the main road block to that idea.

As a side note: some argue that it wastes more water to produce ethanol. Well, it takes almost the same amount of water to produce petroleum fuels as it does ethanol.

All of this information is readily available.

I appreciate the time you took to type out this very informative post. There is always more to the story from what we see in the headlines. Thank you.

John.

chrispitude wrote:
I really, really hope Ford puts a small diesel in the Expedition EL. What a great little family/TT hauler that would be...

And kill its decent payload rating with the heavier, super LOW HP baby diesel? Great idea...

John & Angela wrote:

I have always wondered about the E85 thing for some of those same reasons. Like I say, I’m not an expert on this kind of things. It just goes against the grain to grow fuel on land that could feed people. And it is heaviliy subsidized. But again, there is probably more to the story than I see.


John.

I realize, on the surface in regards to those who have never really done the research, that it seems that food for humans is being jeopardized by taking corn and making motor fuel from it, but that perception is simply due to ignorance, which is usually not the fault of that person.

Of the entire U.S. corn production per year, only 20% of it is used for human consumption. Of the 80% that is left, about 40% of it is used for ethanol production. And of each bushel of corn that is used for ethanol production, 17-18 lb of food products, primarily for livestock, is still gleaned from the process. Mater of fact, that residual feed from ethanol production is more highly digestible by livestock and poultry than straight corn is, and it has a substantially higher protein percentage than base corn.

And there are many other byproducts of ethanol production. Various high quality polymer plastics are produced, and even insulators for common spark plugs are dependent on products produced from ethanol production.

And if food was an issue, then corn prices would be much higher. Compared to 1996 corn prices, if adjusted for inflation to today, corn prices would be roughly $4.50 a bushel. Instead, corn prices are in the $3.80 range. That reflects that there is more than enough corn to go around and the food supply has a more than an ample supply.

And corn prices are not subsidized, as there has not been any corn price supports paid out this century, and there has been no ethanol producer subsidies since 2011, when they were discontinued at the behest of the ethanol producers themselves. Ethanol is traded on the commodity exchanges just like any other fuel.

Granted, there has been some subsidies still for ethanol blender pump installation, but that is for retailers. Ethanol producers do not sell at the retail level. Also, there are government supported crop insurance programs, but those are not just for corn but for all crop producers, including the lettuce you eat in your salad. And it probably would be more efficient to use sugar cane and sugar beets as the major source products for ethanol production. But Government is the main road block to that idea.

As a side note: some argue that it wastes more water to produce ethanol. Well, it takes almost the same amount of water to produce petroleum fuels as it does ethanol.

All of this information is readily available.

I really, really hope Ford puts a small diesel in the Expedition EL. What a great little family/TT hauler that would be...