Diesel News: POST HERE

[haven]

Car and Driver magazine tested the 2014 Audi A6 sedan with AWD and 3.0L turbodiesel that produces 428 ft lb of torque. Result: 0-60 in 5.1 seconds, quarter mile in 13.9 seconds, braking 70 to zero in 159 feet, and 0.94g on the skidpad. Not bad for a sedan rated to return 38 mpg highway. C/D recorded 29 mpg during their lead-foot driving. The bad news: An as-tested price of $67K.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2014-audi-a6-tdi-diesel-test-review

 

[Kaisen]

The bad news: An as-tested price of $67K.

The diesel is a $2400 premium..... at 11 mpg better than the 3.0T gas, that might be recouped quite quickly.

$67K is what this class of car goes for nowadays, Mercedes E-class, BMW 5 series, Cadillac CTS, etc..... all $60K+

 

[haven]

Truck Trend has a review of the 2014 Audi Q5 SUV with 3.0L turbodiesel. They recorded 0-60 mph in 5.7 seconds, the quarter mile in 14.4 seconds, while measuring 23.5 mpg city, 33 mpg highway. The article compares the Q5 with the Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel, and it's no contest as long as you're driving on something that looks like a road.
http://www.trucktrend.com/roadtests/suv/1405_2014_audi_q5_tdi_first_test/

 

[Redline]

What fantastic numbers those are, 14.4 quarter mile with 33 mpg potential, plus modern handling...this is not the 1970s!

 

[haven]

Here's an interesting comparison of gas vs diesel. In Europe, Ford just introduced the 2015 Focus ST hot hatchback with two turbocharged 2.0L engines, one gas and one diesel. The gas engine produces 252 hp and 270 ft lbs of torque. The diesel is rated to produce 182 hp and 295 ft lb.

The ST with gas engine runs 0-100 kph in 6.5 seconds. The turbodiesel takes 8.1 seconds. Top speed with the gas motor is 154 mph; 135 mph is the top speed of the diesel. Both vehicles have 6 speed manual transmissions, but I don't know if the final drive ratios are the same for the two cars.

To the credit of the diesel, it returns 64 mpg (Imperial gallons) ( about 53 mpg US gallons) on the European mpg test cycle. That's about 50% better fuel economy than the gas engine ST returns. And, with particulate filter and DEF injection, the diesel produces significantly less CO2 emissions.

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/06/29/ford-focus-st-diesel-goodwood-poll-official/

 

[haven]

Volvo has a history of building interesting electric hybrid cars. Now the technology will extend to the XC90, Volvo's top of the line crossover. The next generation XC90 will have an internal combustion engine driving the front wheels, and a plug-rechargeable electric powerplant turning the rear wheels.

Buyers will have a choice of two diesel engines: a four cylinder 2.0L turbodiesel (190 hp, 300 ft lb of torque when the torque of the electric motor is included; 56 mpg in combined driving) or four cylinder 2.5L twin-turbodiesel (225 hp, 345 ft lb; 47 mpg in combined driving).

The most powerful drivetrain uses a 2.0L gasoline engine that is both turbocharged and supercharged. When combined with the output of the electric motor, this powerplant produces 400 hp and 470 ft-lb of torque. Few American V8 engines achieve this sort of power.

The new XC90 will be able to travel about 25 miles on electric power alone. This is important in Europe, where cities are starting to establish zones where combustion engines are not permitted.

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/07/08/2015-volvo-xc90-twin-charged-phev-official/

http://www.edmunds.com/car-news/201...lude-plug-in-hybrid-2014-paris-auto-show.html

 

[haven]

Audi is raising the bar for diesel performance. The most recent example is their 3.0L V6 diesel that employs an electric supercharger plus twin turbos to produce 385 hp and 553 ft-lb of torque. The web page linked below says the BMW 3.0L diesel straight six with three turbos produces similar power, but lacks the responsiveness of the new Audi diesel.

Audi also claims the new supercharged/turbocharged engine uses less fuel than the turbo 3.0L diesel found in today's Audi vehicles. Nice! Audi says the first production application of the super/turbo diesel will be in the Q7 SUV.

The electric supercharger uses a 48 volt power supply. Audi plans to move more electrical systems from today's 12V to 48V.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2017-audi-rs5-tdi-diesel-prototype-drive-review

 

[haven]

Journalists drove a current European Mercedes E300 diesel hybrid sedan from Tangier, Morocco to Goodwood, England, a distance of 1,223 miles, on a single tank of fuel. The E300 was equipped with an optional fuel tank holding 80 Liters (21 US gallons). Driving across Europe in a mixture of highway and city traffic, the vehicle averaged 61 miles per US gallon of fuel.

http://www.carscoops.com/2014/07/mercedes-e-300-bluetec-hybrid-driven.html
http://www.autoweek.com/article/car-news/mercedes-diesel-hybrid-travels-africa-uk-one-tank

The engine in the E300 was the new 2.1L four cylinder turbodiesel, which produces 200 hp and 360 ft lb of torque. The electric motor adds an additional 184 ft lb of torque. The transmission was a 7 speed automatic.

The E300 diesel hybrid is not yet sold in USA. The E-series sedan with the 2.1L diesel engine is called the E250. EPA estimates this vehicle to return 42 mpg highway, 38 mpg if 4Matic AWD.

 

[haven]

How about using water to reduce diesel emissions? A company called HNO Green Fuels claims its prototype system reduced diesel emissions 40% or more. The LeefH2 system uses electrolysis to spilt H2O into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen is injected into the engine's combustion chambers, where it ignites. The hydrogen promotes more complete burning of the diesel fuel, resulting in lower emissions and a small boost to fuel economy.

Wouldn't it be cool if the LeefH2 system could replace urea injection and the diesel particulate filter? Dream mode on.

http://green.autoblog.com/2014/08/01/leefh2-wants-to-clean-up-pretty-much-every-diesel-engine/

 

[haven]

Fed Ex and a Silicon Valley company called WrightSpeed are testing an electric delivery truck. Fed Ex has purchased 25 of the vehicles.

A diesel turbine engine acts as a generator to keep the volts flowing. The turbine doesn't drive the wheels directly, it only provides electricity. The turbine runs at a constant rpm, allowing engineers to select the most economical and least polluting engine speed.

The weight of the electric motors, battery and diesel turbine are partly canceled through the removal of the conventional engine, transmission, and drive shaft. The rear differential is replaced by a pair of geared drive units, which combine the electric motor with a multi-gear transmission.

Sounds like a great drivetrain for a large camper! Here's a detailed looks at how the electric-diesel hybrid system works in a medium truck.
http://wrightspeed.com/products/the-route/

 

[C5dad]

Well, trains use this technology. So do some haul trucks at mines. Why not smaller vehicles?

 

[haven]

Truck Trend tested a pair of 2015 Silverado HD 2500 pickups. One had the Duramax turbodiesel, the other the 6.0L gas V8. Overall fuel economy in their test period was 10 mpg for the gas motor, 15 mpg for the diesel. The diesel is an $8000 option, so it will take about 100,000 miles of driving for the diesel's advantage at the pump to repay the upfront cost. The diesel has 780 ft lb of torque, more than double what the gas engine produces. So if heavy towing is a regular chore, the diesel is still worth the price.

http://www.trucktrend.com/roadtests...rado_2500hd_duramax_and_vortec_gas_vs_diesel/

 

[Billygoround]

Truck Trend tested a pair of 2015 Silverado HD 2500 pickups. One had the Duramax turbodiesel, the other the 6.0L gas V8. Overall fuel economy in their test period was 10 mpg for the gas motor, 15 mpg for the diesel. The diesel is an $8000 option, so it will take about 100,000 miles of driving for the diesel's advantage at the pump to repay the upfront cost. The diesel has 780 ft lb of torque, more than double what the gas engine produces. So if heavy towing is a regular chore, the diesel is still worth the price.

http://www.trucktrend.com/roadtests...rado_2500hd_duramax_and_vortec_gas_vs_diesel/

Don't forget it will be worth more at trade in time, so you don't need to get all of that $8000 back

 

[JHa6av8r]

A

Truck Trend tested a pair of 2015 Silverado HD 2500 pickups. One had the Duramax turbodiesel, the other the 6.0L gas V8. Overall fuel economy in their test period was 10 mpg for the gas motor, 15 mpg for the diesel. The diesel is an $8000 option, so it will take about 100,000 miles of driving for the diesel's advantage at the pump to repay the upfront cost. The diesel has 780 ft lb of torque, more than double what the gas engine produces. So if heavy towing is a regular chore, the diesel is still worth the price.

http://www.trucktrend.com/roadtests...rado_2500hd_duramax_and_vortec_gas_vs_diesel/

i have a 2013 Chevy 3500 HD with the Duramax turbo diesel and Allison transmission and have a 2,000 lbs camper loaded in it full time and just like it. Awesome vehicle both on and off road.

 

[RoyJ]

Well, trains use this technology. So do some haul trucks at mines. Why not smaller vehicles?

I dream of the day when series diesel electric comes to light duty trucks and over the road semis.

AC-AC traction system have achieved over 91% efficiency, high than any geared transmission. Coupled with the prime mover operating at a constant rpm, overall fuel efficiency will massively improve.

Not only that, just think, if you put traction motors on the trailer, and hook it up to the tractor with high voltage cables, you can have 18 wheel AWD! Solves most winter transportation challenges.