What Sets Diesel Power Products Apart

Automotive Technicians Spill on What Makes These Engines Special

There’s a reason that you have to separate diesel power products from those made for gasoline engines—because despite running on some similar principles, diesel and petrol engines are as different as a PC and a Mac. (Think about those television commercials, and that should paint a good picture of how different we’re talking.) Your automotive technician knows this, and knows how to address the different needs of each. Here’s what you should know about how diesel differs from gasoline:

Operating Principles

So how are these two engines the same? Well, they both use internal combustion to drive a piston, which turns a crankshaft, which is connected to the transmission and wheels, making them turn. And that’s about it for similarities.

A gasoline engine achieves combustion using a spark plug. The fuel and air are mixed together (gasoline is highly volatile, meaning it tends to evaporate into the air easily), and the spark plug ignites them, producing a small explosion that sends pistons into motion. This happens multiple times in the space of a single second, making your car go.

Diesel engines, on the other hand, don’t need a spark plug. The diesel fuel and air will combust entirely on their own when compressed enough—this is called “compression ignition.” Because of this, the engine itself is simpler, but it also needs to be built more ruggedly, and often you’ll want to take it to an automotive technician who has experience with these engines.

The Results

What might come as a surprise to some people is that diesel power products are much more efficient than their gasoline counterparts. The average diesel engine is rated with 25% more fuel efficiency than a gas engine of similar size and power. Modern technological advancements have also made it more clean-burning than it once was, as well as producing engines that are quieter and more lightweight than before—an archaic disadvantage was the weight of the engine, but those bulky engines are a thing of the past.

Diesel engines produce less horsepower than gasoline, but they make up for it with a tremendous amount of torque. This gives it a powerful acceleration that has become very popular with drivers of cars and trucks alike.

Diesel power products are also, as mentioned earlier, built tough. Because the high compression requires more heavy-duty pieces to handle it as opposed to gasoline, the manufacturing has had decades of work put into making something that is strong and resilient, while making that powerful engine lightweight and efficient. The result is an engine that is incredibly reliable—it can take a lot of abuse before breaking down, and requires less maintenance in the long run.

When you do need maintenance, however, make sure to take it to an automotive technician who specializes in diesel power products!