Diesel cars have left a bad stereotype in people’s minds, but diesel technology has long been improved to become cleaner, more powerful, and even in some cases diesel engines have greater advantages than gasoline engines, in ensuring It is clean and environmentally friendly while still ensuring strong performance. Let us analyze the difference between gasoline and diesel engines for you.
Differences in Mechanical Principles
Diesel and gasoline engines are both internal combustion engines, which means they both introduce fuel into the engine, mix it with air, compress it, ignite it in different ways, and then drive the pistons down to turn the crankshaft, which is connected to the vehicle’s transmission , and eventually turn the wheel. The piston then moves up in the cylinder, pushing the combustion gases out of the engine and exhaust pipe as exhaust, and this cycle is repeated many times per second to achieve the purpose of continuously outputting power.
A big factor that determines power is the number of cylinders. The more cylinders an engine has, the smoother the engine runs, the more efficient the fuel burn, and the more power the engine can generate. However, the more cylinders an engine has, the more complex the engine and the less mechanically efficient it is. Even the way the cylinders are configured has an impact on performance, vibration and other factors, both diesel and gasoline engines.
The key difference between diesel and gasoline engines is the way they are fired. In a gasoline engine, air and fuel are compressed, and at critical points in the cycle, the spark plug ignites the mixture. But in a diesel engine there are no spark plugs, instead, when the diesel and air are squeezed enough, the extreme compression generates enough heat to make the mixture burn itself. This is called “compression ignition” and it is the basis of how diesel engines work. Gasoline engines can also use compression ignition, but with an effect on the engine itself, only diesel engines can make good use of it.
difference in price
If gasoline is compared to water, diesel is like a more viscous syrup. This difference makes diesel more powerful than gasoline, but also more expensive than gasoline. However, for the same journey, the amount of diesel used is less than that of gasoline, but considering the subsequent maintenance content, the fuel cost of diesel and gasoline engines is almost the same.
But diesel users have another option: biodiesel. Biodiesel sources are non-petroleum sources such as our common frying oils or vegetable oils. In fact, the first diesel engine used peanut oil derived diesel, and the difficulty and safety of homemade diesel is much better than the danger and complexity of homemade gasoline.
Getting your diesel car to run on biodiesel requires some minor modifications as it takes into account the percentage of biodiesel in your fuel, blending biodiesel with regular diesel for maximum efficiency and depends on the cost of manufacturing equipment, oil source As well as the time cost, it also causes the price to be different for everyone.
Power Output: Horsepower vs. Torque
Horsepower and torque are the most direct data reflecting diesel engines and gasoline engines. Horsepower is a measure of power, and torque is a measure of the torque of the engine on the driveline. Large cars use diesel engines because their powerful torque helps them move heavy loads well. However, the horsepower of the diesel engine is not high, and it is slightly weaker than the gasoline engine of the same level. This is also the reason why many sports cars use gasoline engines.
But people have passed the pursuit of horsepower. Today’s consumers prefer torque. When you step on the accelerator, the diesel engine responds quickly with an excellent gearbox, which can bring consumers a very secure and strong performance. Although diesel engines cannot easily break through the limits like gasoline engines, these limits cannot be used in real life, and diesel engines that are closer to reality are the real caring.
reliability
Because diesel engines use compression ignition, a force that can easily destroy gasoline engines, diesel engines are very rigid, and at the same time do not have too many complicated parts, they are very reliable and do not require careful care. Moreover, the weight loss defect of diesel engine has been overcome with the development of technology, and its weight can now be equal to that of gasoline engine.
Also, a diesel engine is simpler than a gas engine because it operates without a spark plug and associated electrical system. So some of the current models can use diesel, but at the same time retain the performance of the gasoline engine, both the gas mileage and the reliability of diesel.
And the good thing about a diesel engine is that it’s so durable that it doesn’t need maintenance for a long time, and even maintenance and repairs are much less expensive than gasoline engines.
Pollution
Traditional diesel cars are disliked because of pollution, but with continuous improvement, today’s diesel engines have become very clean and are widely used in large rigs, pickups and cars. However, due to the inherent limitations of diesel, it cannot burn as cleanly as gasoline, but the automobile industry is gradually reducing the sulfur and other pollutants in diesel, so that diesel models can also become common models.
And there has been considerable progress in dealing with pollution. Many diesel models use a unique additive called Asiatic, also known as AdBlue. AdBlue is a urea-based liquid additive that is stored in a small fuel tank in the car and is used to treat diesel exhaust to make it cleaner.
noise
Early diesel powered models were as noisy as tractors. Even the Mercedes-Benz at the time could not avoid this problem, but with the advancement of technology, the NVH problem of the diesel engine has disappeared from the diesel engine with its black smoke. Most diesel cars don’t drive much differently than gasoline cars, and passengers won’t even feel the difference if you don’t tell them in advance.
Summarize
Perhaps the diesel engine used to be synonymous with pollution and noise, but now it has gradually gotten rid of these old-time problems, and with its closer to life characteristics, diesel engines are more suitable for ordinary people than gasoline engines, as long as it meets the The emission standards issued by the country, then you don’t need to worry too much about it, after all, the reliability of diesel engines is obvious to all.
