[100 Questions]Is it a misconception that "diesel engines last longer than gasoline engines"? Why does vehicle durability often cause misunderstandings?

table of contents
●Why are there more diesel models of trucks?
●What is the difference between a gasoline engine and a diesel engine?
●Diesel engines have a longer life?
●If you want to extend the life, you still need regular maintenance.

Why are there more diesel models of trucks?

Cars on the market can be divided into gasoline engine cars and diesel engine cars according to the fuel used. Each engine has different characteristics and has its own characteristics in use.

Trucks and commercial vehicles mostly use diesel engines. What is the difference between a gasoline engine car and a diesel engine car?

What is the difference between a gasoline engine and a diesel engine?

There is not much difference in the basic operating modes of gasoline and diesel engines. The engine generates power through repeated four strokes of air intake, compression, combustion (expansion), and exhaust.

During the intake stroke of a gasoline engine, a mixture of gasoline and air will be delivered to the cylinder; during the combustion stroke, a spark plug will ignite the compressed mixture to burn it.

Diesel engines also operate in four strokes like gasoline engines, but the gas sent in the intake stroke is air, not mixed gas.

Therefore, during the compression stroke, the air must be compressed twice as much as the gasoline engine, so that it reaches a high temperature state, and then the fuel (diesel) is injected from the injector into the high temperature air. The above mode is used to automatically ignite and generate combustion gas, causing the piston to drop downward due to combustion pressure and connect with the exhaust stroke.

Due to the above differences, the structure of diesel engines is simpler than that of gasoline engines and the engine thermal efficiency is better. Therefore, diesel engines have high output power and excellent fuel consumption.

Diesel engines last longer?

One of the characteristics of diesel engines is that they are resistant to high temperatures and strong. Diesel engines tend to be larger and heavier than gasoline engines.

Some people may think that "diesel engines last longer than gasoline engines" because of the above characteristics.

Indeed, looking at individual engines, diesel engines are more durable than gasoline engines. But "high durability" does not mean "long engine life."

Engine life refers to "the time the engine continues to operate normally." From this point of view, gasoline engines and diesel engines will differ depending on how they are suitable for use.

Gasoline engines run very effortlessly at low rpm compared to diesel engines. Therefore, when driving on city streets and needing to stop and drive frequently, the life of a gasoline engine will be longer than that of a diesel engine.

On the contrary, diesel engines have high thermal efficiency and are suitable for high-horsepower driving. In addition, maintaining a high speed can reduce carbon deposits and prevent a drop in output power. Therefore, the life of the diesel engine can be extended under long-term high-speed driving conditions such as highways.

Large trucks and commercial vehicles equipped with diesel engines can travel more than 500,000 kilometers without engine failure because of the characteristics of diesel engines.

If you want to prolong life, you still need regular maintenance.

Of course, no matter what kind of engine it is, regular maintenance is required if you want to extend its life.

The structure of a gasoline engine is more complex than that of a diesel engine. Each part requires more complicated movements, which increases the risk of failure. Regular maintenance is very important.

In addition, diesel engines have their own problems. That is the "soot" produced by burning diesel. When driving on the street, the engine will run at a low speed and soot will easily accumulate inside the engine. If left unattended for a long time, parts will deteriorate and the engine output will decrease.

In particular, the oil replacement cycle of a diesel engine is shorter than that of a gasoline engine. To extend the life of a diesel engine, the frequency of maintenance will also increase.

You can choose the engine by observing whether you usually use your car mainly for short-distance driving in the city or long-distance driving at high speeds. As long as you know the characteristics of each engine, you can extend the life of your engine no matter which engine you choose.

Original source:Is it wrong to say that "diesel engines have a longer lifespan than gasoline engines"? Why it is often misunderstood as “car durability”
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