irony (was:RE: [thechat] Car Buffs ..)

Bob Davis bobd at members.evolt.org
Wed Jun 6 13:01:09 CDT 2001


On Wednesday, June 6, 2001, at 01:33 PM, Judah McAuley wrote:

> I do like the VW diesels.  I got a chance to drive one the of the older 
> Rabbits.  That thing was zippy.  But it sure wasn't quiet.  Are the 
> newer diesels more quiet?

Yeah - they're a lot quieter than the old ones. Not as "smoky" either. 
They're using some kind of catalyst to burn the soot more cleanly. 
They're using direct injection (fuel goes directly into the cylinder 
instead of into the intake manifold or port) so the amount of fuel that 
gets sprayed in is exactly what can be burned. Turbos help too - they 
make the exhaust a lot quieter, and give that nice "wheeeeeeeee" sound.

So, quieter, less stinky, and quick...diesel's getting nice.

Land Rover sells diesel Discoveries (and, presumably, other models) in 
other markets - but we can't get them. Tons of torque, low revs, better 
fuel economy, low maintenance. Too bad we can't get them.
A lesson from boating - diesel weighs less than gasoline, which is one 
of the reasons diesels are used so extensively in marine applications.  
Less weight in fuel means less hull in water, which means better 
economy. The same could be said for automotive applications (though 
we're talking about  20 gallons of fuel versus 200-500 in a bigish 
boat - sometimes more.)

bob

--
bob davis
bobd at members.evolt.org




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