SSF556
SE Expedition Society
Not bad for a 5000+ pound AWD car.....I am getting a 2012 ML350 Bluetec in a month...I will report back on my numbers.
Diesel News: POST HERE
- Thread starter Scott Brady
- Start date
Not bad for a 5000+ pound AWD car.....I am getting a 2012 ML350 Bluetec in a month...I will report back on my numbers.
Automobile Magazine speculates that Audi will debut a new 4.2L V8 turbo diesel in the redesigned Q7 SUV, which will appear in the 2014 model year. The 3.0L V6 will continue as the base diesel in the big Q.
http://www.automobilemag.com/features/news/1204_audi_expands_the_q_range/
This news is interesting, as it suggests that the German auto manufacturers are about to expand their competition from gas engines to diesels. If Audi offers a V8 diesel, I expect Mercedes and BMW to answer. I expect a 4.2L turbo diesel should produce about 600 ft lb of torque.
Other manufacturers could follow suit. Toyota has a 4.5L V8 diesel. Ford has developed a 4.4L V8 diesel, and Cummins has a 5.0L V8 diesel sitting on the shelf.
http://www.automobilemag.com/features/news/1204_audi_expands_the_q_range/
This news is interesting, as it suggests that the German auto manufacturers are about to expand their competition from gas engines to diesels. If Audi offers a V8 diesel, I expect Mercedes and BMW to answer. I expect a 4.2L turbo diesel should produce about 600 ft lb of torque.
Other manufacturers could follow suit. Toyota has a 4.5L V8 diesel. Ford has developed a 4.4L V8 diesel, and Cummins has a 5.0L V8 diesel sitting on the shelf.
charlieaarons
Explorer
BMW already tried a V8 diesel in the 7 series sedan. The fuel mileage was much worse than the 3.0L 6 cyl and the power output from the 3.0L is "more than adequate", so they dropped it. This is in their European offerings of course.
What I'd like to see is more small diesels in small cars. i.e. BMW 320d; and more AWD/diesel passenger cars.
My next vehicle is a HZJ79 Landcruiser pickup from Proffitt's.
Charlie
What I'd like to see is more small diesels in small cars. i.e. BMW 320d; and more AWD/diesel passenger cars.
My next vehicle is a HZJ79 Landcruiser pickup from Proffitt's.
Charlie
greggNJ
Observer
Some pretty interesting diesel news here. My wife will be getting a new vehicle in the next year or two. She's been leaning toward the Q5 and I've been trying to persuade her get a Grand Cherokee. Seems like both will be available with diesel by the time we buy. It will be a hard sell to get her in a diesel, but a diesel GC would make a nice hand-me-down for me a few years later :smiley_drive:
John and Helen Taylor, hyper mileage experts from Australia, have just driven a stock VW Passat TDI 1600 miles from Texas to Virginia without refueling. That's a new record for the longest distance achieved on a single tank of fuel in a conventional passenger car, and translates to 84 mpg. (The EPA rates the diesel Passat at 43 mpg in highway driving.)
The Passat TDI uses VW's ubiquitous 2.0L four cylinder diesel. The Taylors chose a six speed manual transmission. To simulate a typical drive by a couple on vacation, the Taylors carried about 120 lb of luggage to the trunk.
The Taylors took turns driving during the day, in normal traffic conditions, along Interstate highways. The route began in Houston, passed east through the Gulf States, then north along the eastern seaboard to Virginia.
The Passat TDI uses VW's ubiquitous 2.0L four cylinder diesel. The Taylors chose a six speed manual transmission. To simulate a typical drive by a couple on vacation, the Taylors carried about 120 lb of luggage to the trunk.
The Taylors took turns driving during the day, in normal traffic conditions, along Interstate highways. The route began in Houston, passed east through the Gulf States, then north along the eastern seaboard to Virginia.
http://green.autoblog.com/2012/05/16/is-kia-considering-a-diesel-for-the-u-s/
Here's a web page that says Kia is thinking about adding a diesel to their Optima sedan. The diesel is a 1.7L that has 230 ft lb of torque in European trim, and returns about 40 Miles per US gallon on the highway.
The problem is that Kia already sells a hybrid version of the Optima in USA, and it has mpg and performance similar to the diesel. The Optima hybrid has a 2.5L 4 cylinder gas engine that produces 195 ft lb of torque, and an electric motor that can add up to 150 ft lb more. The EPA rates the Optima Hybrid at 40 mpg highway. The Optima Hybrid uses Lithium Polymer cells in its second battery, so the battery is smaller and lighter than the battery in most hybrid cars.
The Optima Hybrid costs about $6000 more than the base Optima, but it's better equipped. The Hybrid costs about $2500 more than a similarly equipped gas model. That's similar to the price premium VW charges for their diesel engine in the Jetta and Passat. And diesel fuel costs more than regular gas, of course.
So the question facing Kia is, Are there enough customers for an Optima with diesel engine, when it doesn't offer real-world advantages over the Hybrid? Perhaps the answer is yes, if the diesel can be used in several models.
Here's a web page that says Kia is thinking about adding a diesel to their Optima sedan. The diesel is a 1.7L that has 230 ft lb of torque in European trim, and returns about 40 Miles per US gallon on the highway.
The problem is that Kia already sells a hybrid version of the Optima in USA, and it has mpg and performance similar to the diesel. The Optima hybrid has a 2.5L 4 cylinder gas engine that produces 195 ft lb of torque, and an electric motor that can add up to 150 ft lb more. The EPA rates the Optima Hybrid at 40 mpg highway. The Optima Hybrid uses Lithium Polymer cells in its second battery, so the battery is smaller and lighter than the battery in most hybrid cars.
The Optima Hybrid costs about $6000 more than the base Optima, but it's better equipped. The Hybrid costs about $2500 more than a similarly equipped gas model. That's similar to the price premium VW charges for their diesel engine in the Jetta and Passat. And diesel fuel costs more than regular gas, of course.
So the question facing Kia is, Are there enough customers for an Optima with diesel engine, when it doesn't offer real-world advantages over the Hybrid? Perhaps the answer is yes, if the diesel can be used in several models.
I wouldn't say it doesn't offer real world advantages over the hybrid. The 40mpg offered by the diesel is based on the EPA fuel mileage calculations. The thing with EPA fuel mileage estimates is that they are WRONG. In California, our gas vehicles get under the EPA numbers because of our stupid gasoline. But the diesel cars like the VW are getting much more than the EPA numbers in the real world. I know they adjusted the way they calculate those numbers back in 2008, but I think they need to do it again and it should be state specific. My wifes car picks up 5mpg as soon as we get on Oregon gas.
Bill Beers
Explorer
It would probably do even better on gas from somewhere else: We've been 10% ethanol year round since 2008. They did change it in 2010 so that gas stations that wanted to could sell unblended premium, (91+ Octane.) You can find those stations here: http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=OR
1911
Expedition Leader
My 2010 VW Jetta TDI gets 42 mpg pretty regularly close to home/around town and commonly gets 48-49 mpg on a road trip. Not babying it or "hypermiling" either.
Pskhaat
2005 Expedition Trophy Champion
How about a GASOLINE/PETROL compression ignition engine?
http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/40422/?nlid=nldly&nld=2012-05-17
Why would not the very same technology be just as applicable to Diesel for even more efficiency? There is some fundamental FUD in the article, but informative.
http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/40422/?nlid=nldly&nld=2012-05-17
Why would not the very same technology be just as applicable to Diesel for even more efficiency? There is some fundamental FUD in the article, but informative.
Nice find!
With modern computer control, the gasoline direct injection, compression ignition engine can work. Here's an article about GM working with a Chinese university lab on this sort of engine, using a technique of multiple injections of gasoline in each compression/ignition stroke. Multiple smaller ignitions produce less pollution byproducts, if I'm reading the article correctly.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/04/mpci-20120427.html
With modern computer control, the gasoline direct injection, compression ignition engine can work. Here's an article about GM working with a Chinese university lab on this sort of engine, using a technique of multiple injections of gasoline in each compression/ignition stroke. Multiple smaller ignitions produce less pollution byproducts, if I'm reading the article correctly.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/04/mpci-20120427.html
Regcabguy
Oil eater.
Oregon mandates 5% biodiesel in their diesel but I only ran it a short while before heading back to Ca. I have noticed an increase in mileage running Az and Ut fuel. It appears to foam up more than our eco crap.
The folly of ethanol is that it requires more energy to refine than it gives off in energy. The farmers are happy,but that's about it. A retired employee of the EPA was on tv saying there are 30+ gasoline blends the refiners must produce. He argued that emissions know no borders and that a half dozen would suffice easily. What a crock.
The folly of ethanol is that it requires more energy to refine than it gives off in energy. The farmers are happy,but that's about it. A retired employee of the EPA was on tv saying there are 30+ gasoline blends the refiners must produce. He argued that emissions know no borders and that a half dozen would suffice easily. What a crock.
ActionCamper
Supporting Sponsor
Just got the new ActionCamper bas vehicle, a 2012 Rubicon Unlimited Diesel Automatic which has in stock configuration 200 HP @ 3.600 RPM and 460 Nm @ 1.500 RPM. After we did the OCT tuning ( they work directly for Chrysler so this doesn't interfere with the warranty ) it has 226 HP @ 3.600 RPM and 510 Nm @ 1.500 RPM.
O.CT is a Swiss tuning company. They have products for German and USA vehicles, including Jeep. In this case, the jeep has a 2.8L VM Motori 4 cylinder engine, the 2012 descendant of the engine that appeared briefly in USA in the Jeep Liberty a few years ago.
Here's their web site http://www.oct-tuning.com/
Here's their web site http://www.oct-tuning.com/