Diesel vs gas......................
OK folks, there have been a few to many diesel vs gas threads that have shall we say gone to "Hell and a hand basket"! So if all of you would put in you BEST, no flaming reasons for going gas vs diese...
Forum Discussion
Wow! That is alot of math. It will take me a while to go through it all. In actual practice I can understand what you are saying. I have talked to many people driving or hauling the same amount of weight,22,000#-26,000# GVW or GCW, and as one guy said,"It doesn,t matter what engine I have, I get 8-9 mpg." No one in our groupe pulls away from the other. Makes you wonder if diesels are worth the money.
Roger
Don't get either Bert or I wrong, diesel has one indisputable advantage, fuel economy. A diesel will get 20-40% better mileage on the road and use 50% less fuel when idling. Combine that with cheaper fuel most of the time and that's pretty significant.
On the flip side, they are going to be heavier and more expensive. But, if you tow a lot, there is a definite economic incentive for diesel. That's why commercial rigs use them.
And, unfortunately, the subscripts and superscripts that I used didn't translate to this format at all. The Sv2 in the road load formula should be Vehicle Speed (S subscript v) squared. If some things confuse you, I'll be happy to clarify (I'm sure Bert will too).
And just remember, power and torque are 2 faces to the same coin, mathematically, so comparisons based on one will carry over to the other.
For instance, I was reading a review of a motorcycle I like. The writer commented that the extreme acceleration was due to a torque curve that started at something like 100 lb/ft of torque and stayed flat to 1800 rpm. Good low end torque.
True enough, but look at what happens to power. At those engine rpms, the power shoots up from 15 hp to 34 hp in 1000 rpms (I think peak power comes on at 6000 or 7000 rpm). This is for an 800 lb. bike with negigible rolling resistance and miniscule air resistance. The power required to move the bike is very small. Either way you look at it, torque or horses, it's a rocket.
Again, neither Bert nor I claim diesel or gas have absolute advantage. There are pluses and minuses and to each his own, depending on your needs and preferences.
