Diesel Engines Forgotten Treasures
You can find very few engine configurations that provide more gas mileage and power. There are few engines that supply this in addition to dependability. Today, individuals across the ocean are enjoying the fruits of diesel technology revolution.
Diesels have experienced a fantastic history here in the United States. In 1980, GM modified their 350ci gas V8 to function on diesel fuel. The end result however, had not been that good. These engines provided much better fuel economy but little else. They had been very slow, and not really dependable.
Mercedes Benz however, had greater luck in the eighties with an array of automobiles offered with diesel motors. These great vehicles offered incredible durability even though they were rough, made some noise, and smoked quite a bit. Volkswagen provided diesel also, though they had a tendency to spew blue smoke from the tail pipe.
All through the 90s, Benz and Volkswagon provided diesel vehicles in the United States, with every generation becoming cleaner, more stable, and a lot more powerful than the last. As a whole, they were a difficult sell as they still lacked the horsepower that many were seeking.
These days, Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar, Volkswagen, Ford, and several other manufacturers are selling diesels to several markets all over the world. To put it simple, forget everything you know or think you know about diesel engines within the United States.
These modern engines benefit from hundreds of technical innovations. There are several diesels in Europe that provide much better acceleration than their gasoline counter parts. BMW’s 120d features 163bhp, goes 0 – 60 in under 8 seconds, and achieves 49.6 mpg.
Benz offers the C320 CDI SE which has 224bhp, and over 360 lb foot of torque. This car gets slightly below 48 miles per gallon on the road, with an acceleration of 0 – 60 within 7 seconds. All through North America, you will not come across a gasoline engine that offers this special blend of gas mileage and exceptional performance.
The key reason why diesels haven’t caught on in North America comes down to one word – sulfur. We have too much sulfur inside the diesel here in the United States. This cheap grade of diesel fuel will run havoc on the more sophisticated diesels supplied overseas and cause an increase in emissions.
There is hope however, as refiners will soon be producing what’s known as ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel. This can help to lessen the sulfur content from 500ppm to 15ppm.
This advancement of alternative resources is actually a growing industry. The cross over back to diesel fuel is just the starting point of this “green” life style. An increasing number of companies like amega global are starting to develop products that are also economical and efficient. To find out more, search: amega or amegaglobal.
