If a person (company) is just driving around and not using the second half of the throttle- gas is the smarter choice. It’s when they work the rig hard enough that their foot is frequently closer to the floor for the needed power that a diesel pays for itself.
Their were plenty of the old 350tbi engines (and carbed predecessors) that hit the 300,000 mile mark. LS engines are a given to hit 300,000 to the point it’s wierd and usually neglected bad if it doesn’t. So longevity really isn’t a comparison factor anymore.
It isn’t just the initial cost of a few grand companies take into account. It’s a few thousand times 25, 50 or more rigs- then dollar cost average that amount that they need to justify. Then if they do their own maintenance, adding diesels into an all gasoline fleet drives up the cost. More expensive oil and more expensive fuel filters are only a part.
Then there is always what happened to my Mercedes soon after being sold- average people are dumb and will go to the gas station for a normal fill up. Gas in yonder Diesel tank = loss of $$. Down time and productive time of an employee sitting for a few hours for the tow truck.
We all know, if you are going to work it hard, a diesel will pay for itself in no time. If you are willing to learn the details of any specific diesel it can save lots of $.
But like at the municipality that I work for, they look for any excuse possible to out all the 6.5 school busses and work trucks they can because the mechanics dont learn the quirks- even though I been telling the guys turning the wrenches and the lower management people since the early 2000’s- they only buy factory parts, and have replaced at least 1 Injection pump on every engine- needing only pmds. The mechanics don’t know them so they look bad diagnostic wise to their boss and just push it off as a p.o.s. And to get them outnif the the fleet and prove they “know what they are talking about” they theow excess parts when not needed to drive up cost. Same thing done to the ford platform because of their oil pressurized injectors and lack of good enough fuel & oil filters. Great engines with a bad wrap for lack of good filtering.
These “lessons” are in tons of write ups that fleet managers and owners of smaller businesses read and take to heart. Very rarely does a company a stick with diesel as their go to anymore.
Even the fuel commpany I used to work at has an almost all gasoline fleet again, like they did before I worked there. If the carbon tax gets carries nation wide like it has been written and rewritten each time- diesels in lighter vehicles will go away.
Heptane (c7) is the most common carbon count of gasoline with octane (c8) added to stop knocking.
While kerosene is C12 to C15, with Diesel going to at least c20- usually 21, sometimes even higher. I have “seen” plenty of c25 make it in. The more of the higher number they can get away with in the diesel the more profitable that distillation run is. So what is the “c” count? Carbon molecules count in the fuel. So right off the bat, 1 gallon of diesel puts out 3 times as much carbon as gasoline. And with the use of ethonal/ methonal- the ratio doesn’t improve for us diesel guys.
You guys know I am not exactly a tree hugging dude, unless hugging with my brush gaurd then floor board of my Hummer. But really- if a pickup gets 15 mpg and a gasoline car gets 30 going down the hiway. it is literally polluting 6 times as much. Just simple chemistry and physics.
When burned with the oxygen it makes that much more co2, and any tiny bits of sulfur we love so much all turns into acid rain. Those old enough to remember the panic and damage that was obvious in the 70’s and early 80’s remembers that. Why did it go away in America and Canada? Low sulfur diesel and finally ULSD.
Man made global warming/ climate change? Not imo. But simple polution and it’s host of medical and crop problems? Yup. No denying that.
Only thing I don’t get is why the tree huggin prius drivers aren’t burning natural gas in their planet savers. The small investment pays for itself in gas conversion and the carbon count difference to gasoline is huge! Half the carbon count and related issues. Heck straight propane is c3 At least run propane.
Is saving the world really why the big 3 aren’t making many diesels? No, but the EPA regulates how much they can make, even if the buyers want it. Clean diesel is their issue. And like clean coal- that is an enormous uphill battle to get something 3 times as dirty to burn even half as clean.
Long term- natural gas or electric is what will be on the road when we are all in the dirt.
