Engine braking Gas Vs Diesel
Just wondering why gas engines have better engine braking than diesel. No real reason, just wondering. With the higher compression of the diesel I would think that diesel would be better but understan...
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I still don't buy into this whole idea that gas engines are so much better at engine braking.
On the farm, I spent many years hauling loaded wagons from the field to the barn that weighed upwards of 10 tons. It was generally downhill back to the barn so much of the trip involved "engine braking."
For many years in the '80s and early '90s, I hauled with a gasoline powered tractor, and "engine braking" was only good for a couple of seconds at the top of the hill. From there on you rode the brakes the rest of the way down the hill to keep the engine from overspeeding.
In the mid '90s we got a diesel tractor about the same HP and weight as the gas tractor we had been using. That diesel tractor handles the load SO MUCH BETTER. It holds the same loads almost all the way down the same hills at the same speeds with almost no braking needed.
Same thing can be shown with an empty tractor. Going down the road, you pull back the throttle of the gasoline tractor, and it just coasts, driving the engine. Without brakes, you'd sail right on by the driveway. Pull back the throttle on the diesel, and it's like you threw out the anchor.
On the farm, I spent many years hauling loaded wagons from the field to the barn that weighed upwards of 10 tons. It was generally downhill back to the barn so much of the trip involved "engine braking."
For many years in the '80s and early '90s, I hauled with a gasoline powered tractor, and "engine braking" was only good for a couple of seconds at the top of the hill. From there on you rode the brakes the rest of the way down the hill to keep the engine from overspeeding.
In the mid '90s we got a diesel tractor about the same HP and weight as the gas tractor we had been using. That diesel tractor handles the load SO MUCH BETTER. It holds the same loads almost all the way down the same hills at the same speeds with almost no braking needed.
Same thing can be shown with an empty tractor. Going down the road, you pull back the throttle of the gasoline tractor, and it just coasts, driving the engine. Without brakes, you'd sail right on by the driveway. Pull back the throttle on the diesel, and it's like you threw out the anchor.
