Benefits of using Diesel

Benefits of using Diesel

In Europe, diesel cars make up about 50% of the total cars on the road, however only about 3% in the US. While petrol engines rely on ignition and a spark to create velocity, diesel engines use compression. Air is drawn into the motor and subjected to high compression as it heats up.

The fuel emits less carbon dioxide gas, which is the main contributor to greenhouse gasses creating a global warming problem. The engines do, however, produce higher amounts of nitrogen oxide which can be linked to serious health hazards and also produces more smog.

The fuel also contains more energy than petrol which means that users tend to acquire 20 - 40% better fuel economy, allowing some diesel cars to travel as far as 700 miles on a single tank of gas, due to being one of the most dense and energy efficient fuels on the market. They even deliver better fuel economy than gasoline-electric hybrid motors. Initially, diesel fuel was a lot cheaper than petrol by the gallon, however prices tend to be roughly the same on today's markets, but providing these higher prices don't succeed the 20-40% margin set by the stronger fuel economy, diesel will remain cheaper overall than traditional gasoline.

The engines are designed to withstand more compression, and therefore, tend to last a lot longer before they require major reparation work than standard petrol engines. Mercedes Benz holds a record for clocking over 900,000 miles on a car's original diesel engine. Engine reliability and lifetime longevity can have serious benefits to trade-in and resale values. When you do have to pay for maintenance, it can be a little more costly as diesel engines tend to include more technology than petrol engines.

Modern diesel engines tend to be faster from a standing start. Because of how the diesel fuel is burned, more torque is provided to the driveshaft. For the same reasons, diesel engines tend to have an increased haulage capacity, making it a popular choice for larger vehicles and for commercial trucking companies. They may be faster off the starting line, but petroleum engines tend to be faster overall, however diesel engines tend to be stronger and more enduring, despite being a little slower.

Technology is constantly improving for diesel engines and they are forever becoming cleaner and emitting lower emissions due to specialised catalytic converters, advanced sisters and other devices cutting down and destroying toxic emissions. These advancements have also eliminated some of the earlier problems with diesel linked to excessive noise problems and have also reduced maintenance costs. They are also less likely to spew black smoke out of the exhaust, which made early users believe the fuel was dirty and worse for the environment than petrol.

Diesel cars retain their value a lot longer than their petroleum counterparts. According to ALG, compact diesel cars held 63% of their value after 36 months, whereas gasoline cars only retained 53%.

Since 2006, every car to win the 24 hour race Le Mans burned diesel instead of petrol, proving it's ability for endurance and longer journeys over petrol cars.