What Makes Diesel More Efficient?

Engines come in all shapes and sizes from steam to internal combustion and one cylinder to v-12. The diesel engine however, is one of the oldest in the industry. Rudolf Diesel took out the first patent in 1892 but started working on it about 10 years earlier. He took some oil and refined it to make diesel fuel. He then put it in a sealed container and compressed it to make it ignite. The diesel engine is used in almost all applications known today. From construction, have equipment, lawn mowers, everyday cars and trucks, to semis, boats and trains. The diesel engine is an excellent motor that provides enormous power, excellent fuel economy, and if taken care of reliable for life. First off, I’m going to explain how the diesel engine

Because of how the fuel burns, diesels are up to 40% more efficient that gasoline engines. Diesel also has about 11% more energy by volume increasing the fuel efficiency. Compression ratios also tend to play a factor. The average compression ratio for gasoline engines is between eight and twelve to one, while the compression ratio on a diesel can vary from twelve to sixteen to one or more. For example, my 1996 Chevy truck has a ratio of 9.5 to 1, while my father’s 2011 Dodge Ram Cummins has a compression ratio of 17.3 to 1 get an average of 5 to 10 better fuel mileage. Due to the higher compression ratio. The engine is able to extract more power out of less fuel. There are also tuning that people can do to the engine to increase the fuel mileage of diesel engines. Another way that diesel engines are more superior to gasoline engines is the durability of the engines. Diesels are put under much more stress and usually do more difficult of work. Because of this they are deemed to be overbuilt. With higher cylinder pressures and more boost levels they are built with heavy duty parts. With stronger engine blocks, forged steel crankshafts, connecting rods and even pistons they are less likely to break under heavy load. Most diesel engines can last on the road to around 500,000 miles to even lasting well of 1,000,000