petrol or diesel
- Thread starter xtrailman
- Start date
Although the differential has widened and narrowed the gap, the overall cost of a diesel vehicle is still lower than it's petrol equivalent - however - the differential will continue to widen as there's a world shortage of diesel due to increased demand in developing countries. As refinery capacity can't be increased like Saudi oil production this diesel shortage will only get worse.
Petrol turbos are either designed as performance engine, tuned for top-end power or designed to get large engine performance from small engines - neither are tuned for bottom-end torque - a conventional large capacity petrol is probably better than a petrol turbo for towing.
Petrol turbos are either designed as performance engine, tuned for top-end power or designed to get large engine performance from small engines - neither are tuned for bottom-end torque - a conventional large capacity petrol is probably better than a petrol turbo for towing.
Since having a diesel, I wouldn't contemplate towing with a petrol any more (not unless is was a bigun). The diesel is quicker, still cheaper to run and can't be beaten for low end torque for towing.
Im with Emmerson Big petrol engine works well for me
Coming back from Agde at the weekend our 3.2V6 Vectra towing a Challenger at 93% ratio, so not light creamed all other tugs going up the A75 up through the Cevennes, Massif Central.It really had the that low down power/torque. We covered just over 2000 miles in 2 weeks from Dieppe to Pyrenees to Agde and back to Dieppe at just under 23mpg and towing on the autoroutes at 65mph on cruise. This mpg may not be startling good but the towcar cost
Coming back from Agde at the weekend our 3.2V6 Vectra towing a Challenger at 93% ratio, so not light creamed all other tugs going up the A75 up through the Cevennes, Massif Central.It really had the that low down power/torque. We covered just over 2000 miles in 2 weeks from Dieppe to Pyrenees to Agde and back to Dieppe at just under 23mpg and towing on the autoroutes at 65mph on cruise. This mpg may not be startling good but the towcar cost
towed with both,diesel wins every time,25ish mpg with petrol 35 mpg with the oil burner plus a far better towcar,plus you have to bear in mind you don't tow 52wks of the year so what about that trip to tesco or work,around town i used to get less mpg with a 2.0 petrol than i did towing,with the diesel it is a bit more.
According to Honest John on the Telegraph motoring page Diesels are no the reliable workhorses they used to be. He reckons modern diesels are so complex that lots are suffering from failures of:-
Dual Mass Flywheels
Clutches
EGR Valves
Turbos
Injector pumps
Injectors
Fuel pumps
Having to pay for one of these will wipe out any yearly MPG saving.
Dual Mass Flywheels
Clutches
EGR Valves
Turbos
Injector pumps
Injectors
Fuel pumps
Having to pay for one of these will wipe out any yearly MPG saving.
Funny, but last time I looked petrol cars also had clutches, dual-mass flywheels and injectors.
Also there are more than a few with turbos.........
Why not just drive an automatic with carburettors then?
O.K, whats an automatic Allegro weigh then?
Also there are more than a few with turbos.........
Why not just drive an automatic with carburettors then?
O.K, whats an automatic Allegro weigh then?
- Mar 10, 2006
- 3,274
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Thank you for your feedback.
I wouldn't argue against, for e.g., a v10 4 litre petrol engine (or lpg) being the better engine for towing.
However, the problem is , and always has been, ether the prohibitive cost to buy new, and a poor residual value.
So ok buy second hand you say, good idea in theory, but for numerous reasons, not for me.
I have however towed with a turbo petrol, my last car.
This engine towed my van with ease , and at a greater rate of knots than my present Xtrail diesel.
The 1.8 turbo petrol gave max torque from 1950rpm to 4500rpm,not many if any 4 pot diesels will do this.
So I don't agree that turbo petrol engines are not tuned for bottom end torque, that my have been the case in the past, but not today.
The VW group I believe are intending to convert all their engines to turbo power, the benefit being lower emissions.
So in conclusion both my last and present cars do the job of towing my van.
The petrol engine is still the most refined off the two, and if it avoids the higher road tax brackets, and the price differential between the two fuels continues to widened, then my next car could once again be a turbo petrol. Trust me the turbo petrol is every bit as flexible to drive as a diesel.
I wouldn't argue against, for e.g., a v10 4 litre petrol engine (or lpg) being the better engine for towing.
However, the problem is , and always has been, ether the prohibitive cost to buy new, and a poor residual value.
So ok buy second hand you say, good idea in theory, but for numerous reasons, not for me.
I have however towed with a turbo petrol, my last car.
This engine towed my van with ease , and at a greater rate of knots than my present Xtrail diesel.
The 1.8 turbo petrol gave max torque from 1950rpm to 4500rpm,not many if any 4 pot diesels will do this.
So I don't agree that turbo petrol engines are not tuned for bottom end torque, that my have been the case in the past, but not today.
The VW group I believe are intending to convert all their engines to turbo power, the benefit being lower emissions.
So in conclusion both my last and present cars do the job of towing my van.
The petrol engine is still the most refined off the two, and if it avoids the higher road tax brackets, and the price differential between the two fuels continues to widened, then my next car could once again be a turbo petrol. Trust me the turbo petrol is every bit as flexible to drive as a diesel.
"creamed all other tugs"with all due respect Simon f and with out doubt a nice car,but i dont think it would "cream" an eqivelant size modern diesel,in pulling power anyway.this debate has been brought up on here before.people could go on forever,but diesel progress has left petrols behind.when we start seeing large (20litre plus)industrial petrols at work instead of diesels ill stop ranting on.diesels naturally rev lower,diesel burns longer in the chamber producing flatter,longer power pulses.due to this they last longer.exactly whats required of a working engine.who in the right mind would wont to rev an engine to 4000rpm to get anywhere with a van on.with a modern car diesel 2000rpm peak torque.no changing gear,save the driveline.no choice.
It's not about which type of engine is better, it's about which fuel is available.
Diesel cars will soon be dead in the water - there's not enough fuel for them - the developing countries like China have increased demand immensely and will want more. Refineries can't just make more diesel instead of petrol however much crude oil the Saudis sell us.
Diesel cars will soon be dead in the water - there's not enough fuel for them - the developing countries like China have increased demand immensely and will want more. Refineries can't just make more diesel instead of petrol however much crude oil the Saudis sell us.
well surely the difference between diesel and petrol is the refining of it,and the order of the processing of it.so what now re-engine every diesel powered machine out there?how much oil is left in the north sea?
Supply and demand determines prices - the demand for diesel is more than petrol and will continue to grow.
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