diesel motor question

[renovation]

im hearing the auto companys saying that diesel motors are green. i remember hearing years ago that diesels engines are really put off worse pollution in the air .just different pollutions in the air then a gas motor . i maybe wrong or they have really cleaned up what a diesel omits into the air. i know the auto companys are using diesel. to get around EPA mileage guide lines for the whole line they sell.

[cheapie]

diesel emissions are massively lower than they used to be. especially in commercials applications. just look at trucks when they take off. remember how they used to have that huge puff of smoke when shifting through the gears? not anymore.

[DarkFury]

Also, isn't bio-diesel even cleaner nowadays? :shrug:

[InfiniteNothing]

Much cleaner but still the biggest contributer to air pollution around here. I have alot of hope for it though and think they will get better if pressured.


Recent reports by CARB and the South Coast Air Quality Management District have concluded that diesel exhaust is the most significant source of air toxics in California and accounts for more than 70 percent of the cancer risk statewide from toxic air contaminants. While the particulate component of diesel was specifically listed as a toxic air contaminant by CARB, both the particulate and hydrocarbon components of diesel have been associated with diesel toxic risks.
http://www.californialung.org/spotlight/diesel_health.html

[johnnymk]

Bio-diesel should be the way that alternative fuels should be going in this country. It is clean and is probably competitive now with regular diesel fuels. It doesn't have to be run 100% but can be blended.

It is made from soy, which can be grown here in the US in large quantities or imported from South America.

Plus diesel engines are a lot more efficient than gasoline engines.

I wonder if any company has built a diesel hybrid yet.

[InfiniteNothing]

I return bearing data from: http://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/Index.do



Normal 2005 Golf. Scores a not stellar 6:
NOx 0.07
CO 4.2
NMOG 0.09
PM 0.01
Smog-forming Pollution (pounds per year) : 5.29
Greenhouse Gases Emitted (tons per year) : 8.23

TDI 2005 Golf. Scores a terrible 1:
NOx 0.6
CO 4.2
NMOG 0.156
PM 0.08
Smog-forming Pollution (pounds per year) : 25
Greenhouse Gases Emitted (tons per year) : 6.07


I don't think it would be hyperbolic to say increased diesel fleet production will kill people. It will also increase lung disease, Asthma, etc.

[johnnymk]

I return bearing data from: http://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/Index.do
I don't think it would be hyperbolic to say increased diesel fleet production will kill people. It will also increase lung disease, Asthma, etc.

I assume the TDI Golf is for a normal diesel engine. If you go to other sites, Biodiesel at 20% mix and 100% has much favorable characteristics.

BTW, there is no such thing as a free lunch when it comes to emissions from energy sources. You have to decide which emissions you can live with and which ones you can't.

In any case the ever popular ethanol whether at 10% or 85% has no distinct advantages in regard to emissions and fuel savings.

[InfiniteNothing]

To be fair "other sites" tend not to be the most reliable sources. Still, I'm curious what pollution numbers are possible in the future and numbers for ethanol.

[Jeffbx]

Plus, keep in mind that VW stopped production of the TDI engine in 2005 to re-tool it to meet new federal pollution standards. If I remember correctly, they're just now starting to sell it again as a 2008 model. I'd be very interested to see how that compares with the 2005.

[cheapie]

I wonder if any company has built a diesel hybrid yet.


:wavey2: i am personally responsible for marketing the world's leading commercial HEV drivetrain to the oem that has placed more HEV vehicles on the road than any other.

passenger cars? nope. class 5-7? yep! and they work great. only problem is the freakin' batteries are still so expensive it can be hard to get a good enough ROI to justify the investment. it's getting better though.

[dsuds]

One of the big reasons diesel cars put out more emissions is due to the crappy diesel fuel here in the US. Only recently cleaner standards like low sulfur diesel went into effect. Lowering the sulfur reduces the formation of sulfuric acid from diesel exhaust.

In Europe, where there is better diesel, a large percentage of family cars are diesels, and for good reason. Diesels get better mileage, and they are very reliable. My parents owned a 240D Mercedes (same car is used in Germany as taxi cabs) and put well over 250k miles on it... and the whole time it got 35 mpg. This is mixed driving, not all highway. The only thing you gave up was the 0-60 time was a little slow. Not diesel rabbit slow, but about the same as a V8 land barge like a Chevy Caprice. Not to bad for a 2.4L inline 4 in a 3100 lb car.

[DarkFury]

The only thing you gave up was the 0-60 time was a little slow. Not diesel rabbit slow, but about the same as a V8 land barge like a Chevy Caprice. Not to bad for a 2.4L inline 4 in a 3100 lb car.
Heh... put a "Banks Six Shooter" on a diesel engine and get ready to "rock and roll". :D