Are diesel engines really better than those running on gasoline?
I’ll differentiate one from the other, and see for yourself which one is really a better pick.
Gasoline or petrol cars are running on engines called ‘spark ignition’ engines. On the other hand, diesel engines are called ‘compression engines’ as they use compressed air to burn into spark in order to start. Compression ignition is used to burn fuel. This fuel is injected to the combustion chamber in the final compression stage.
In gasoline engines, Otto cycle is used which ignites a fuel and air mixture using a spark plug. This fuel and air mixture burns and expands, forcing the piston to go down. Fuel and air are pre-mixed prior to compression. Pre-mixing backwards electronic age used to happen in a carburetor. Presently, pre-mixing is already fuel injection that is electronically-controlled. Despite the high speed of gasoline engines due to fuel and air pre-mixing, it has limited compression, which translates to lower efficiency.
Higher compression ratio in diesel engines results to better fuel efficiency compared to that in gas engines. Compression ratio is a very big factor in raising efficiency in fuel consumption. At engine idle and at low power, diesel engines are usually more efficient than the equivalent gasoline powered engines. This is because diesel engines do not have the butterfly valve or throttle which usually closes at idle. That is the basic reason why most engines in railways, agriculture, and marine are on diesel which can be left idle for so many hours, and even for so many days.
Diesel engines also last longer than gas engines and for its entire lifetime, savings of fuel will accumulate higher due to the fact that it lasts longer. This is because gasoline destroys lubrication while diesel won’t.
Engine weight affects speed, and since diesel are built heavier, gas engines are always lighter, and would therefore be faster when it comes to cars at high speed. Although, cars which are built heavier have more torque.
It is also a known fact that diesel engines consume 30% lesser fuel than gasoline engines which would have lesser consequent carbon emissions. Believe it or not, diesel engines are also a lot safer as these produce almost no carbon monoxide, which makes these engines safer to the environment.
Tests are able to show that Nitrogen Oxides are higher in new diesel engines compared to that of new gasoline engines. However as both engines cover approximately 50,000 miles, their oxides tend to level. Later on, gas engines produce higher oxides than diesel engines beyond 50,000 miles. Believe it or not, diesel engines always have more advantages over gasoline cars, economically speaking.
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