If you’ve owned a diesel powered vehicle in the past or if you own one now, you no doubt appreciate the qualities this engine provides you with.  More torque, better fuel economy, and easier maintenance are but a few of the attributes of owning diesel powered vehicles. 

However, there are some motorists that still complain about the engine’s weak power, especially when accelerating from a full stop.  What you may not be aware of is the fact that a diesel engine can be tweaked to give more power without harming the fuel economy. 

Diesel engines use air compression to create combustion versus the fuel/air mixture that is required by gas engines.  This attribute means that diesel engines don’t require spark plugs and therefore don’t need to be tuned up.

Diesel fuel has a much high fuel density than gas, which results in fuel economy increases of 20 - 30% over gasoline powered vehicles.

Diesel engines are also cheaper to maintain as they have less parts than that of a gasoline powered engine.  The life span of a diesel engine is also much longer.

If you’re looking for torque, for pulling a boat or other equipment, then the diesel engine has the supreme advantage.  Diesel engines are surely slower, specially when starting from a dead stop, although when you climb hills or go over bridges, the diesel engine is surely up to the task.

With trucks, diesel is normally the leader over gas engines in terms of performance and miles per gallon.  Diesel trucks will get more miles than gas trucks, and the price for diesel is a bit cheaper than gas these days. And with gas prices on the rise, diesel will continue to dominate for a long time to come.

The major distinction between diesel and gas lies in
the type of ignition.  While gas engines operate on
spark ignition, diesel engines employ compression
ignition for igniting the fuel.  With compression, the
air is drawn into the engine and subjected to high
compression that heats it up.  The result is a very
high temperature in the engine, much high than that
of gas engines. 

In diesel engines, air and fuel are both infused into
the engine at different stages, as opposed to gas
where a mixture of air and gas are introduced.  The
fuel is injected into the diesel using an injector
where in a gas engine, a carburetor is used for this
very purpose. 

With gas engines, fuel and air are sent into the
engine at the same time, then compressed.  The air
and fuel mixture will limit fuel compression, and
thereby hence the overall efficiency.  Diesel engines
only compress air, and the resulting ratio can be
much higher. 

Advantages
Diesel engines are much more efficient and
preferable as compared to gas engines due to the
following reasons:
    1.  Diesel engines have overcome the several
disadvantages of earlier models that featured higher
noise and maintenance costs.  Now, they are quiet
and require less regular maintenance when compared
with gas engines of a similar size.
    2.  Diesel engines are more rugged and reliable.
    3.  There is no sparking at all as the fuel
ignites.  The absence of spark plubs or spark
wires also helps to lower maintenance cost.
    4.  The fuel cost produced is 30 - 50 percent
lower than gas engine fuel prices.
    5.  Gas burns hotter than diesel, and
therefore they have a shorter life span when they
are compared with diesel engines.