Car Articles

Read articles on cars and car industry. Get fully updated on all information related to cars. Read exciting happening in the Indian and Global Car industry, tips to help you and more...

Old Articles

Mobility for the Physically...

The Diesel in your Car Engines

Named after the inventor, Diesel operates using a diesel cycle. The diesel engine is used mostly in trucks, boats and buses because of its outstanding compression ratio, mileage, durability, and pulling power. Diesel was invented in Germany in the 1890s by Dr. Rudolph Diesel. During the past few years, small diesel cars are becoming more accepted as car engines, which account for more than 50 per cent of car sales in some European countries. Diesel engine is not only gaining popularity in the European market but also in the Asian and American car markets.

Diesel engines are different from petrol engines, which are spark-ignition engines. Petrol engines draw in a mixture of petrol and air, compress it, and then ignite it with an electric spark. This process will result in explosion, which in turn produces power. Diesel engines are internal combustion engines, which uses the heat of compression to start the ignition that helps in burning the fuel. The diesel engines have these advantages which make them user friendly.

Fuel economy: One great feature of the diesel engine, which makes the diesel engine cars more superior than the petrol engine cars, is the fuel economy. With no much effort the diesel engine cars can easily match the fuel efficiency of a hybrid car. The car will run more kilometers per litre and the added attraction is that diesel is not as costly and so the diesel engine car is more economical than a car with a petrol engine.
Torque: The torque of a diesel engine is much higher than a petrol engine that too at very low engine speeds. A small four cylinder engine can very easily produce pulling power that is produced by a six-cylinder petrol engine. Even though torque gives diesel cars excellent passing power, the horsepower of a diesel will not be as high as petrol engines and this is because cars operated by diesel engines has less operating speed while compared to that of a petrol engine. And this less horse power is because of that the diesel is build from components that are heavier than that of petrol and so they cannot spin as fast as petrol. Unlike the older diesels, which produced power only at low engine speeds, the modern day diesels are turbocharged and this helps them to generate power at a broader RPM range.
Durability: The diesel engines will have longer life than other engines. And a very good example for this is the heavy duty trucks, which has diesel engine and runs more distance than other vehicles at more challenging conditions. And not only the heavy vehicles, but even the cars that are powered by diesel run more kilometers with no major engine problems.

Alternative fuels: Without much alteration, the diesel engines can run on pure vegetable oil and non-petroleum-based fuel such as the biodiesel. There are many manufacturers that actually supports the operation on biodiesel mixes up to 20 per cent and this will not tamper warranty given by the car manufacturer. And there are a huge number of diesel engine cars that run on 100 per cent biodiesel with no problems.
Safety: The diesel fuel is less volatile than petrol and will not ignite unless otherwise in a severe pressure or in very high temperatures. This quality of the diesel makes it safer than other fuel. It is extremely important as there are cases where the petrol tank has exploded in crashes, but with diesel engines the exploding chances are very rare as diesel very rarely caches fire.

Even though used throughout the world the diesel has some disadvantages too.
Noise: The petrol engines do not produce noise but the case is different with diesel engines. Most of the diesel engine vehicles are noisy. For the diesel engine vehicles most of the noise comes from within the engine. Certain customers finds this sound buzzing and extremely irritating to the ears. It’s not only the noise but there is also a peculiar smell for the diesel engine cars which is disturbing for some.
Expense and Weight: The diesel engines are heavier than the petrol engines and the reason for this is that the diesel engine takes up a higher density ratio than petrol engines and so they should be built stronger. It also uses high-pressure direct-fuel-injection systems and it is more expensive to build this. And this could be a reason why the diesel variants of a particular model are more expensive than the petrol variants.
Messy fuel: The diesel does not evaporate as easily as the petrol and so it is a very messy fuel. It is very difficult to wash off the diesel from hands or clothes. Not only this but the fuel is very smelly too which leaves a bad odour in the interiors of a diesel car.
Smoke: Diesel engine cars are usually smoky, smelly, and sluggish, and these are qualities which is not appreciated by most of the car customers and this is very similar to the heavy trucks.