1. Diesel cars are slightly more expensive than petrol trims, making them unaffordable for the majority of buyers. 2. The lifespan of diesel cars is lesser than petrol cars.
The Committee for Sydney has announced its plan to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2027 in a bid to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
The pump price of diesel is far more expensive than gasoline; even more than the premium fuel option. The savings of a diesel engine come with the fuel economy over the life of the engine. A diesel engine costs more to build and is more expensive to purchase.
Direct Damage Caused by Water
Rust and corrosion in the tank create hard particulate that is passed along in the fuel, causing engine wear. Component life is also shortened by water etching, erosion, cavitation and spalling, such as: Rust: In contact with iron and steel surfaces water produces iron oxide (rust).
Diesel will remain in service in the right applications. But it will be a much cleaner fuel being used in ways that make those trucks as efficient as possible in terms of emissions, fuel economy and freight efficiency.” Which means the diesel is not going to die – at least not in our lifetimes.
At 1,688,000,000,000 barrels of crude oil, the Earth has 442,095,238,095 gallons of diesel fuel left. Assuming a mileage of 5.5 MPG, diesel fuel trucks have enough fuel left inside the planet to travel 2,431,523,809,524 miles. The estimate is enough to travel from the Earth to the sun and back again over 13,000 times.
A gasoline-powered vehicle can typically operate for around 200,000 miles before it needs a serious overhaul, or be replaced with a new vehicle. But an amazing fact is that diesel engines can run for 1,000,000-1,500,000 miles before needing any major diesel repairs.
The presence of water in diesel fuel systems causes a variety of problems. Water rusts steel and iron components, forming loose particles of iron oxide. These rust particles can quickly clog fuel filters.
Environment - Emissions from diesel engines contribute to the production of ground-level ozone which damages crops, trees and other vegetation. Also produced is acid rain, which affects soil, lakes and streams and enters the human food chain via water, produce, meat and fish.
Diesel fuel is a type of distillate fuel that is essentially produced from crude oil, which gives diesel engines slower cylinder wear than gasoline engines. This gives diesel fuel lubrication properties that extend the overall lifespan of the engine.
Why are they less reliable? Petrol relies on spark plugs to cause the explosion in the cylinder that turns the cranks to eventually power the wheels. Diesel can't do this because it is less flammable. As a result, diesel cars use what's known as compression ignition.
Running rich only occurs if there is an issue with your engine's combustion process. The cause of this is your engine receiving too much fuel. Conversely, “running lean” refers to your car receiving too much air and not enough fuel.
Diesel vehicles produce more NOx (oxides of nitrogen), and particulate matter (PM10 and PM2. 5) – which can be absorbed directly into the bloodstream when inhaled – as well as SOx (oxides of sulphur), carbon monoxide, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and numerous other harmful emissions.
Diesel cars will be banned in the future with the Committee for Sydney announcing plans to ban diesel cars in 2027. Meanwhile, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has announced that the end of petrol and diesel vehicle sales will be 2035.
Pros of buying a diesel car
Due to diesel engines' increased fuel economy, you can get up to double the kilometres out of a tank, meaning less trips to the service station. Diesel fuel is less prone to price fluctuations than petrol. Some diesels are even more economical than hybrids and are cheaper to buy.
The ban on petrol and diesel cars in the ACT by 2035 is expected to leave a massive financial gap in government budgets, because the policy will slash tax revenue from fuel excise collected from petrol and diesel vehicles.
Cons of diesel cars
Diesel fuel usually costs more. Servicing can be more expensive, although you don't need to do it as often. Diesel cars produce a lot more NO2. Diesel engines can be slightly noisier.
Diesel fuel contains no lead and emissions of the regulated pollutants (carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides) are lower than those from petrol cars without a catalyst.
The air and fuel mixture limits fuel compression, and hence the overall efficiency. A diesel engine compresses only air, and the ratio can be much higher. A diesel engine compresses at the ratio of 14:1 up to 25:1, whereas in a gasoline engine the compression ratio is between 8:1 and 12:1.
Allow Time to Warm Up the Engine
In order to start a diesel engine and keep it running in cold weather, you must make sure you allow plenty of time for your engine to warm up. If you do not let your engine warm up before driving, you will make it work harder than necessary, which will lead to problems later on.
1. Caterpillar Inc. Caterpillar Inc. is a global manufacturer of mining and construction equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives.
"You can get up to maybe 250,000 km or 300,000 km before a gas engine starts to make noise, or burn oil because it's wearing out, but a diesel can quite easily do 500,000 km and still be in excellent shape," says one certified mechanic I spoke with.
Most cars around the 200,000-kilometre mark and above with a reliable service history should be an excellent purchase if the price is right.
Some car industry observers think this is ambitious, but either way, in a few years years, there won't be many diesel cars on sale. They will survive beyond that, but by 2050 they could well be a rarity. We have a wide range of quality used diesel cars available, so why not take a look?