Diesel Engines

[Stephen Cherry]

I'm really itching just to get a new BMW because, well, I like 'em.

Well, there's all the justification you need.

[Chris Padilla]

Yes...but a diesel or not???????????

[Stephen Cherry]

Yes...but a diesel or not???????????

I've heard that the diesel pulls like there is no tomorrow. Why not test them both out and see which one you like the best.

[Shawn Pixley]

I've had three diesel cars. The first was a '74 Peugeot 504 wagon (no turbo). It got 340,000 miles on the original engine with essentially oil changes and standard maintenance. I was killed by bad fuel in Sprague Washington in 1987. We now have two diesel. LOML has a Jetta Wagon TDI - single turbo. Very nice. I have a BMW 335d - twin turbo. The technology of diesels in Europe is far above others. When I have rented a car in Europe it is almost always a diesel. They run much smoother than the older technologies. The accelleration is better and is less damaging environmentally. The low sulpher fuel doesn't smell like the older version. So far, no repairs and maintenance was included in the purchase.

My wife averages 36-37 mpg. I average ~34 though I have gotten 42 on an open highway. No my car wouldn't out perform my S2000 that I traded in, but is doesn't lack in performance. My car has 265 BHP and 490 ft-lbs of torque. Diesel here costs somewhere between the price of 87 to 89 octane.

My only real wish is that BMW would import the 135d GT (hatchback). I like small cars, even though I am tall. That is a truly excellent vehicle.

[Chris Parks]

I've heard that the diesel pulls like there is no tomorrow. Why not test them both out and see which one you like the best.

The new common rails have awesome performance for their size. One thing though is that working on them presents real personal injury risk as the fuel rail pressures are about 15,000 PSI.

[Jim Matthews]

INo my car wouldn't out perform my S2000 that I traded in, but is doesn't lack in performance.

As the second Iron Man movie has shown, convertibles are very handy for hauling large objects...
I don't suppose you carried rough lumber for your projects in the Honda?

[David Weaver]

1.3k is a very favorable figure compared to the premium you pay for the diesel option in a truck.

[Steve Meliza]

1) Around here about half of the gas stations carry diesel, but only a few are reliably cheaper so I frequent them on my monthly fill up. Cost is currently $3.90 which is the same price as regular unleaded, but not that long ago it was the same price as premium.
2) I can only speak to the costs of maintaining and repairing gas vs. diesel on a full sized picked. The diesel was far more expensive to maintain as the fluid capacities are enormous and the pair of fuel filters are something like $100 each. Neither needed any significant engine repairs, but the EGR valve on the diesel was $300 just for the part.

Diesel does provide a fuel savings even in the winter. My daily commute is 12 miles each way with about 80% of that on very busy highways. The truck averages about 14MPG on that drive in the winter and 15MPG in the summer. Using the block heater on cold mornings helps a bit with fuel economy. My sedan that is rated 20MPG city and 30MPG highway gets me about 23MPG on that same drive. I'd gladly but a diesel commuter car if we had more to choose from.

[Matt Meiser]

I have a diesel compact tractor and don't have trouble getting fuel in any direction I'm headed. Not every station has it but at least half if not more do. Haven't been paying attention to price lately as my switch to a zero turn for mowing and the lack of snow the last two winters has drastically reduced my diesel consumption. Here, the local station where the farmers go has a separate diesel area with several pumps. That area tends to be a greasy mess from spilled fuel. The also carried Biodiesel for a long time which I ran in the tractor at the recommendation of the JD dealer. Sometimes I'd get a good whiff of "french fry" from the exhaust. When the subsidies went away so did the Biodiesel but I noticed last time it was back.

Not sure if this is true of a diesel car/truck but I hate changing the oil in my diesel tractor as the sooty stuff it the oil makes a mess and is a pain to clean up. I've taken to wearing gloves as getting it off my skin is the worst. I can't get it off concrete even with a several day soak in soap and pressure washing. Luckily my hours are low enough that a once-a-year oil change is way under JD's recommendations.

[David Weaver]

1) Around here about half of the gas stations carry diesel, but only a few are reliably cheaper so I frequent them on my monthly fill up. Cost is currently $3.90 which is the same price as regular unleaded, but not that long ago it was the same price as premium.
2) I can only speak to the costs of maintaining and repairing gas vs. diesel on a full sized picked. The diesel was far more expensive to maintain as the fluid capacities are enormous and the pair of fuel filters are something like $100 each. Neither needed any significant engine repairs, but the EGR valve on the diesel was $300 just for the part.

Diesel does provide a fuel savings even in the winter. My daily commute is 12 miles each way with about 80% of that on very busy highways. The truck averages about 14MPG on that drive in the winter and 15MPG in the summer. Using the block heater on cold mornings helps a bit with fuel economy. My sedan that is rated 20MPG city and 30MPG highway gets me about 23MPG on that same drive. I'd gladly but a diesel commuter car if we had more to choose from.

I wish they would bring back the old dodge cummins sized pickup from the early 1990s. Not specifically dodge, but everyone. I just looked up the F250 and the curb weight is about 7000 pounds with the diesel in it. The old cummins only had half the power of the new diesel engines, but you could get 25 miles per gallon on the highway with them. I recognize the old 12 valve cummins wouldn't pass emissions these days, but maybe something equivalent to those pickup sizes would be good. I guess the lure of charging $40-$50k for a 7000 pound pickup is too great and none of the manufacturers are going to spend the money to spec and design two emissions compliant diesel trucks.

When I was younger, I fancied having a diesel pickup as our second vehicle, but the direction they have gone has just killed that. And now (after not getting a diesel car a decade and a half ago because of diesel availability), there is a station with diesel a half mile from my house. It is a bit more costly here (road diesel) than gas, though, still can't figure out why.

[Brian Elfert]

There are a number of reasons pickups with diesel engines don't get 25 MPG anymore. Diesel engines have more HP and torque today. The new emissions standards mean less MPG, but the 2010 and later engines seem to be better at MPG. Pickups are also larger with most being crew cabs. Dodge never had a crew cab back when they had the Cummins originally.

[Stephen Cherry]

There are a number of reasons pickups with diesel engines don't get 25 MPG anymore. Diesel engines have more HP and torque today. The new emissions standards mean less MPG, but the 2010 and later engines seem to be better at MPG. Pickups are also larger with most being crew cabs. Dodge never had a crew cab back when they had the Cummins originally.

All the manufacturers sell good mpg pickups, they just don't sell them in the US. Probably because they have tried it in the past, but nobody bought them.
http://www.toyota.com.au/hilux/speci...-diesel-manual

[Jerome Stanek]

There are a number of reasons pickups with diesel engines don't get 25 MPG anymore. Diesel engines have more HP and torque today. The new emissions standards mean less MPG, but the 2010 and later engines seem to be better at MPG. Pickups are also larger with most being crew cabs. Dodge never had a crew cab back when they had the Cummins originally.

Most of the of the crew cabs I see are no bigger than the full size pick up they just have a shorter bed My V10 f350 crewcab single wheel was 6800 Lbs.

[David Weaver]

I don't think anyone is willing to make a small diesel engine right now that meets emissions standards. There's really no reason that VW's 2.0 liter diesel (or whatever it is now) couldn't drive a small pickup, given they have spent the money on developing something that can be sold in the US, except that it would make no business sense for them to provide it to the makers of small pickups, they couldn't market a pickup, and they would probably want the world for it in terms of price.

But a hilux would be great, even if they'd have to use another make of diesel engine to meet emissions standards.

[Chris Padilla]

The new common rails have awesome performance for their size. One thing though is that working on them presents real personal injury risk as the fuel rail pressures are about 15,000 PSI.

I was reading that the fuel rail pressure were slightly less than double what you posted there.

1.3k is a very favorable figure compared to the premium you pay for the diesel option in a truck.

BMW had an "Eco Credit" of 3.5k on the d last year but it is no longer available. However, my dealer feels strongly that that will bring it back as sales are likely to be sluggish without it. I have ~9 months before I need to order the car so lots can change. This puts the i at a 2k premium over the d and would really wet my appetite.

Not sure if this is true of a diesel car/truck but I hate changing the oil in my diesel tractor as the sooty stuff it the oil makes a mess and is a pain to clean up. I've taken to wearing gloves as getting it off my skin is the worst. I can't get it off concrete even with a several day soak in soap and pressure washing. Luckily my hours are low enough that a once-a-year oil change is way under JD's recommendations.

This is the kind of stuff I want to hear about the diesel: oil changes and filters. I guess they use more oil and I guess the oil is pricier? I use an oil extractor to suck out the oil through the dipstick tube in my vehicles and I love it. I assume I can still do it this way but I dunno. Sounds like fuel filters are pricey as well and need changed fairly often? I changed the fuel filter on my 530i at 100k and it was $60.