Poll of the Day > Is a 2 litre diesel gonna give good performance on a sports car?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Comparing a 2L diesel and a 2L petrol engine on a little german car like a 2 series or an A3, what's gonna give me better peformance?

Not efficiency, cause for my daily commute a petrol engine will be more economical.

But what's gonna be better for ragging the car around and putting it through its paces?

And if there is a difference, how significant is it?
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Chances are the gas engine will be higher revving (giving the illusion of 'fast' as well). The diesel will have more torque down low, but will have a lower rpm redline.

Id say that the 'funner' vehicle would be the gas engine... but I know nothing about those european diesels at all.
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when you say gas, you mean petrol right? (just making sure)
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Diesels produce low rpm torque because they can't breathe properly, petrol engines have higher rpm torque and subsequently higher peak hp.

I'd get a 2 series with a turbocharged 2l and save up to put in a bigger spool.
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Diesel and sports cars is an oxymoron

It's not a bad choice if you just want a point a to point b car, but don't be expecting anything really enjoyable

MaverickXeo posted...

Chances are the gas engine will be higher revving (giving the illusion of 'fast' as well). The diesel will have more torque down low, but will have a lower rpm redline.

Id say that the 'funner' vehicle would be the gas engine... but I know nothing about those european diesels at all.

Diesels are just industrial power units. They don't sound good, don't perform in an enjoyable way, but they are economical and work well for hauling long distances.

How will the petrol be more economical for your daily commute?
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Yeah 2 liters are like $1 or less so it will be very efficient they just don't stay carbonated
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flashleet posted...

How will the petrol be more economical for your daily commute?

3 miles to work, 3 miles back
if i opted for a diesel the engine wouldn't reach peak efficiency in that short amount of time, also with the starting and stopping i do driving in London that would just make it even worse

petrol generally burns quicker so your engine gets to its peak efficiency quicker, even with starting/stopping all the time
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FatalAccident posted...

flashleet posted...

How will the petrol be more economical for your daily commute?

3 miles to work, 3 miles back
if i opted for a diesel the engine wouldn't reach peak efficiency in that short amount of time, also with the starting and stopping i do driving in London that would just make it even worse

petrol generally burns quicker so your engine gets to its peak efficiency quicker, even with starting/stopping all the time

I'm not an engineer, but wouldn't modern diesel engines have a negligible warm-up period needed to reach their peak efficiency? I do know that the stated "Urban use" litres used per 100km is always better in diesel versions than the petrol versions...

Also, ride a bike to work! (In summer anyway!)
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flashleet posted...

Also, ride a bike to work! (In summer anyway!)

hell no the only thing i hate more than public transport is walking/riding to work.

Also, i'm not a mechanical engineer either but I presume the answer to your question about modern diesel engines being more economical in urban settings is no.

Don't really have any data or argument to back it up but I don't believe higher urban mpg on a diesel transaltes to better efficiency than a petrol engine in a day to day start/stop routine. Happy to stand corrected if anybody knows their shit about this stuff though.
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1. no. low RPM engine at that small of a displacement is gonna be boring af
1a. this doesn't mean diesel can't make for good sports cars (BMW does a good job of it, and Audi has won race series based on them), but you aren't getting one that small
2. bike to work, it's more fun
3. meh, you're never going to get good city economy in any combustion engine (without stop-start ignition systems on board). yeah, a diesel will likely be somewhat better, but not by an appreciable amount. you're going to see that boost in highway traffic
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FatalAccident posted...

Don't really have any data or argument to back it up but I don't believe higher urban mpg on a diesel transaltes to better efficiency than a petrol engine in a day to day start/stop routine. Happy to stand corrected if anybody knows their shit about this stuff though.

Urban MPG is based on stop/start traffic and diesels due to low rpm torque have a torque band lined up better with typical driving rpm (which means most economical acceleration).

However, diesel engines are rough and there's a push for regulation against diesel in London which already has aggressive pollution policies so it's best not to touch it.

Zeeky_Bomb posted...

Audi has won race series based on them

Endurance series', and that's due to less pit stops, the Audi R10 is actually pretty slow.
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There are some (VERY FEW) drag racing cars that are diesels that annihilate gas engines.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7KpE_ag0Us

If it wasnt tune to smoke so much, it would probably be faster...
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MaverickXeo posted...

There are some (VERY FEW) drag racing cars that are diesels that annihilate gas engines.

That's because steel blocks are ideal for tanking extremely high forces, however the car needs 3 turbos and an inordinate amount of spool up to get the airflow necessary to compete with moderately modified 2JZs.

Petrol cars can run on ethanol to get good octane and run a single turbo to boost enough to take advantage of it, they also get to keep spark plugs so don't require complete reengineering to push a few more HP out of it.
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okay okay good lookin out boyz
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