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, Thu, 6 Feb 2003 22:47:53
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The torque peaks very early at low RPMs. And the torque curve is quite broad in some respects. Its a totally different beast. I would not discount the engine because of the lack of a 6 spd gearbox. And if there was a 6 spd box in Europe, I would not be surprised it ended up been all auto boxes in the US and Canada. The market is different.
The cost of gasoline does not matter in some respects, as the price of diesel fuel tends to be close to or ofter greater than regular gas. But folks will seek the better mpgs of diesel if the cost of gas gets too high. But if folks feel the pinch of fuel costs, will they get a VW TDI for 20-22K or a +40K Saab to save money?
A good review of a Saab 3.0L diesel from a diesel fanatic does not mean much. The power would have been very strong. But there is still noise and vibration and smells that will repel most of the local market potential. It would improve the cafe' rating of the fleet, allowing for some more agressive gasoline permium priced, high profit variants.
The european high speed diesels need good fuel. The only decent fuel available now in the US is Amoco Premier. And its hard to find at best. All of the other fuel has high sulfer, stinks, low cetane and full of particulate dirt. These engines will be here as the fuel improves. VW has stated that they will have 2.0L diesel in the Passat next fall, with substantial power improvements over the past TDI's. Current TDI's for this market are detuned to cope with the crappy fuels. These engine designs have exhaust gas recirculation. This puts soot into the intake and creates high soot loads in the engine oil. You have to use the right oils or things will go very bad. And many will have fits when they find that the intake manifold is plugged up with ashvault like deposits. There are some issues that are not yet settled. The heavy over the road diesels are now going exhaust gas recirculation. I am betting that there are going to be some real problems there, even with the C4-I rated synthetic diesel engine oils which are a reformulation to try to combat the challenges presented by diesel EGR.
Diesel fans are often driven by the technology. 20:1 compression ratios plus turbo boost on top of that, no noticeable turbo lag, over 20,000 PSI of fuel injection pressure. These engines can be hot rodded too. The folks who modify diesel engines are a whole order of magnitude better than the gas engine communitiy in terms of technical knowledge and skills. Very interesting stuff to read.
posted by 208.24.179...
, Thu, 6 Feb 2003 22:47:53
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