Diesel Vs Petrol

[Guest james]

I understand that Diesel engines product more torque. But I still can't understand why the 1.6 110BHP HDi feels faster than the petrol 1.6 110BHP even though the petrol gives a slightly faster 0 to 60 time and a higher max speed.

 

Can someone explain?

[Z3M Roadster]

You said it.....torque. Diesel will pull better than the equivalent petrol when the turbo is up to speed.

[Guest james]

You said it.....torque. Diesel will pull better than the equivalent petrol when the turbo is up to speed.

 

But if a diesel pulls better then surely it's going faster, so surely the 0 to 60 on a diesel should be faster than a petrol. Which is isn't.

 

Diesel 1.6 0 to 62 = 11.2s

Petrol 1.6 0 to 62 = 10.6s

 

:)

[C4VTS]

But if a diesel pulls better then surely it's going faster, so surely the 0 to 60 on a diesel should be faster than a petrol. Which is isn't.

 

Diesel 1.6 0 to 62 = 11.2s

Petrol 1.6 0 to 62 = 10.6s

 

:)

 

 

The diesel gets it's power at low revs and that's why it feels quicker.

 

0-60 times are quite meaningless really.

 

The diesel accelerates faster than petrol equivalent in the mid range speeds,

so 50-70mph will be quicker than the petrol equivalent.

[Guest james]

Thanks for the info :)

[Rich_Eason]

There is a difference....

 

Torque will get you up a hill, power will get you off a line quick.

 

Think 1.6 diesel v's 1.6 petrol car going up a long steep hill on a motorway.

 

The diesel will happily go up the hill without worries where as the petrol you may have to change down...

 

F1 Car - Loads of power hardly any tourque so going up the same hill will be hell and run out of puff.

4x4 Ok will be slower going up the hill but will make steady progress and not be bothered by the hill.

 

Remember transmission and tuning will be suited to get the best tractablility out of both engines.

[ham's c4vts]

Diesels have improved alot due to being turboed now which really boosts torque, but run out of puff at top end compared to petrol.

if youve ever watched World super bikes on bbc or euro sports, torque really helps when Ducati 999 vee twins race against 4 cylinder 1000c suzuki's, yamahas and hondas on tight tracks with low speed corners. you actuall see them "leap" away for the 4 cylinder bikes out of the corners because the twins produce more torque. ok not they arnt diesels, but demonstraights torque in action.

and in the reall world 0 to 60 time isnt a real true reflection on performance, like C4Vts has said,30 to 50, 50 to 70 in gear acceleration is what to look for.

[Rich_Eason]

Diesels have improved alot due to being turboed now which really boosts torque, but run out of puff at top end compared to petrol.

 

Absolutly ...

 

also since the introduction of common rail technology of the 90's the turbo's of more recent years has alowed diesels to become much more of an attractive purchase in the domestic market.

 

I think gone are the days or seriously having to crank the engine and the smoke screens these cars once produced.

 

I guess it all depends as well as what you intend to use the car for. If you and the family load the car up and go away for weekends alot perhaps a dielsel is more suited than a petrol.

 

Never really thought....

 

What are diesels like for around town economy?

[CoolCarbon]

What are diesels like for around town economy?

 

Better than a Petrol of similar size/output...

[Pondus66]

Also diesel is about 80 kilos more than petrol. This will hurt 0-60.

[welshys90]

also the times for 0-60mph will be averaged, because for 1 you dont do it the same all the time and taking the first one could be stupid as there can be many things go wrong with it

[CoolCarbon]

Diesel 1.6 0 to 62 = 11.2s

Petrol 1.6 0 to 62 = 10.6s

 

So........ just over half a second difference...... :)

 

In the real world, it means absolutely nought... :o

 

The way it accelerates in the gears without having to screw the nuts off it, is where it counts...

 

I have a BX 16valve, the much older relative to the VTS 180...it's fun, but only once it gets the revs up, 0-60 7.9sec...top speed via GPS 134MPH..........not bad for 'Old Technology.. :lol:

 

The diesel gives you 'Grunt' from a much lower engine speed so no need to keep the motor on the boil for a similar amount of progress....

 

OK, I'm getting older, hence the EGS gearbox this time...I'll get me coat.... :lol:

[BigJohnD]

Diesel for me every time.

 

So to get to 70mph takes a second longer if you rag it; I prefer the economy for several hours at 70 mph.

[iannez]

the reason the diesel takes a bit longer is it will not do 62 in second gear so requires an exta gear change. try a rolling start in 3rd at about 30mph and the diesel will not be a bit quicker, it will destroy the petrol.

[wozza]

Thats just different powerbands though at 3rd in the diesel at 30 your in the torque band the petrol needs to be in 2nd for the same torque band and will pull away form the diesel then. 1.6 petrol also needs a 3rd gear change to get to 62 it tops out at 58 -59 in 2nd. 32 in 1st.

 

Either way with some twisties in the middle and the higher reving engine of the petrol the petrol will come out on top due to lower weight above the front wheels resulting in less understeer and having a better powerband you can stay in longer through bends.

 

And on the motorway i have had the 1.6 up to 48mpg. Its not exactly bad from a petrol. Admittedly on average i see under 30 but i drive it fairly hard and i do very few motorway miles my average speed is usually around 15mph.

[Z3M Roadster]

I drive mine hard and it returns a minimum of 49mpg

[Guest CE05LDB]

My C3 1.6i 16v Exclusive Sensodrive is great on Petrol. I had 56mpg not long ago.

[stratos]

I am always amused at the diesel v petrol debate as both sides always tend to think power and torgue are different things and not related. The reason why most petrol cars are faster than diesels is they can rev. The simple link is Horsepower = Torque X (Revs/5252) , torque in ft lb. Power is what does the work, and most diesels can not rev so operate in a narrow band, need lots of gears. Once you are over 5252 Revs you will get more power out of a petrol, hence why F1 go to 18,000, Honda VTEC go to 9000 (poor torgue) but have you tried to keep up with a CTR. For performance you change up at peak power, not peak torque, thats why we have rev counters. Its all about application of torque, how quick you can do it.

 

Diesels are improving at faster rate than petrol engines and one day, probably soon, be sporting engine of choice. At present it is for better economy and people saying they are fast in 'real world' driving. I assume that is not bothered to change down driving. :lol:

 

and petrol sounds better, you sniff petrol not diesel.

 

Ducks for cover! :blink:

[iannez]

mid range torque is where the power is on any turbo engine including petrol turbos. you have to rev ctr like you say because thats where max power is and this does not apply to a turbo engine. my cupra revs up to 7,000 revs no prob but will pull harder in lets say 4th gear at 4500 revs than it will in 3rd at 6000 revs. it all comes down to the driver but i would rather have the best of both worlds with the diesel. good mpg, very quick car for what it is, good handling and not having to change down and ring its neck every time i wanted to build up speed. cant see the point in buying the petrol when there is so little in it when the diesel does around 60mpg. my opinion anyway.

[BigJohnD]

I would rather have the best of both worlds with the diesel. good mpg, very quick car for what it is, good handling and not having to change down and ring its neck every time i wanted to build up speed. cant see the point in buying the petrol when there is so little in it when the diesel does around 60mpg. my opinion anyway.

Agreed. After years of screaming around in Italian twin-cam multivalves where not much happened under 4K revs and it seemed obligatory to change gear only when the rev limiter cut in, it's a delight to purr along at 75mph with some thing like 2.5K revs on the dial. And with just as much if not more torque on hand, but getting far better fuel consumption.

 

Or am I just getting old? http://www.tipmaster.com/images/wink.gif

[hertsnminds]

Or am I just getting old?

I think it's an age thing, I used to love my Civic VTi screaming like a motor bike and the 3rd party exhaust on my barchetta rumbling when driving through tunnels.

 

Now I prefer the comfort of the C4 and economy and grunt of the diesel.

 

Maybe if Honda made a VTEC diesel that would rev to 10k and returned 70mpg around town???

 

Ian

Black 55 VTR+

[BigJohnD]

Maybe if Honda made a VTEC diesel that would rev to 10k and returned 70mpg around town???

I expect they're working on that somewhere in deepest Japan…

[wozza]

I only do around 10k a year so diesel is false economy for me in that respect but i like the sound of a petrol engine approaching that 6000rpm+ mark.

 

See i want something with more torque hence im just getting something with a huge petrol engine best of both worlds :unsure:

 

Plus fuel economy does not bother me that much with only doing 10k or so miles a year.

[stratos]

I don't think its an age thing, it's how old you feel thing. (I am un young!) Do you want a sporty drive or an easy drive. A lazy diesel with bags of torque so you don't have to bother with changing gear , don't have to stop and fill up so often, is the sensible choice, even depreciates less, which is nice. I like the sound of my VTS at 7000, I enjoy flicking through the gears on the twisties on the way home. I enjoy driving, that's why I thrash a Porka around on trackdays. Its not a rational thing. :unsure:

 

I agree with iannez on turbo, had same engine in Octavia vRS, bigger turbo, custom map from Jabbasport at 278bhp and about the same in torgue. but the stopwatch and dyno showed it was fast 5500-7350rpm, but FELT fast at 3500 - 4500. Again peak torque against peak power. Nice engine, often voted in top 10 lists (Audi 1.8T)

 

We all are different, wouldn't it be boring if all cars were the same, what would we argue about in the pub!

[bill03]

Fuel economy may not be a concern due to low mileage but road tax might be. Isn't road tax increasing soon based even more on emissions? Check current rates HERE.

 

Eg/. 2.0ltr, 180bhp petrol £190.00

1.6ltr, 110bhp diesel EGS £50.00