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
Jeff - No, I am not 105 :).
I agree that the overwhelming choice of engine for heavy duty work is the diesel. My point has been that a claim that a gas engine cannot do the same amount of work as a diesel is incorrect. Yes, it will rev higher and burn more fuel than a diesel, but it will work the same. In spite of what seems intuitive, 500 HP at 1000 rpm is exactly the same as 500 HP at 5000 rpm or 10,000 rpm or .... you get the point. 500 HP is 500 HP regardless of what rpm it is generated at. Certainly, you will have to change the gearing to accomodate the different rpm, but as long as the engine is permitted to produce the 500 HP, you will get the same results.
Chris - I agree with most of your point, but HP is the only measurement of engine power. Torque is not power. HP can be derived from torque if we know the rpm, but torque itself is not power. It is true that, for a given set of tranny and RE ratios, a higher torque engine will get a larger load moving than a lower torque engine of the same HP, but that is because the higher torque engine can develop more HP at low rpm than the lower torque engine to get the load moving. With the exception of the 3500 DRW (and then only with the allison), the 8.1 is rated the same as the DMax. Part of the reason, I believe, that the DMax is rated higher in that one case is because it develops more HP than the 8.1 at low rpm.
Bert
I agree that the overwhelming choice of engine for heavy duty work is the diesel. My point has been that a claim that a gas engine cannot do the same amount of work as a diesel is incorrect. Yes, it will rev higher and burn more fuel than a diesel, but it will work the same. In spite of what seems intuitive, 500 HP at 1000 rpm is exactly the same as 500 HP at 5000 rpm or 10,000 rpm or .... you get the point. 500 HP is 500 HP regardless of what rpm it is generated at. Certainly, you will have to change the gearing to accomodate the different rpm, but as long as the engine is permitted to produce the 500 HP, you will get the same results.
Chris - I agree with most of your point, but HP is the only measurement of engine power. Torque is not power. HP can be derived from torque if we know the rpm, but torque itself is not power. It is true that, for a given set of tranny and RE ratios, a higher torque engine will get a larger load moving than a lower torque engine of the same HP, but that is because the higher torque engine can develop more HP at low rpm than the lower torque engine to get the load moving. With the exception of the 3500 DRW (and then only with the allison), the 8.1 is rated the same as the DMax. Part of the reason, I believe, that the DMax is rated higher in that one case is because it develops more HP than the 8.1 at low rpm.
Bert
