Turbo Diesel vs. gasoline

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BugoutBear

Membership Revoked
With the gas rationing in FL and the high cost and uncertainty of the price of gas, I've been looking at the Passat GL turbo diesel. It gets around 600 miles on a tank.

Any thoughts about advantages/disadvantages of a diesel for a backup BoV?

BugoutBear
 
dieseltrooper

dieseltrooper

Inactive
Get a spare fuel filter and if needed,a filter wrench. When tshtf, you may be able to refill from trucks and refrigerated trailers. There's the bio-diesel angle as well.
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Are you looking at new or used? Passat or other VW models? There's the Touareg with a 5 liter 10cyl TDi 310hp. Under 60K....
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B

BugoutBear

Membership Revoked
dieseltrooper said:
Are you looking at new or used? Passat or other VW models?
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We're looking a an '04, and they’re not easy to find. I like the Passat 'cause it's larger than a Jetta, and it has a wicked huge trunk. And it has this really cool valet feature, which prevents someone from opening the trunk or glove compartment. . .

I already have a push-button 4x4 Mazda MPV as my BoV, but it really eats the gas and I'd have to bring at least 10 gallons of gas with me to get to my BO place in Maine. If there was a situation and gas was difficult to acquire, I'd much rather go 600 miles on a tank of diesel then 300. . .especially if there's a lot of traffic.

And, I'm also assuming there wouldn't be as much of a demand for diesel as there would be for gas, so it might be easier to obtain without having to sit on a long gas line.

BugoutBear
 
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bdodd07

Guest
Do not forget most every car in the city runs on gas a lot of people have gas in there shed for there lawn mower. If the power is off, you will not be able to get gas or diesel. But you could trade some gas for food ECT. Some thing to think about. Also diesel has spare parts that could be harder to get. My BOV is and Ford f-150 gas, lots on the rode, lots of spare parts. Range 900 Km full of gear.
 
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Anjou

Inactive
Good, cheap research project: Over the next month, wherever you normally go for gas, check to see if they have a diesel pump too. If pretty much yes the whole month, ratchet up the idea of the diesel. If no, maybe hem and haw.

But diesels have better torque abilities and long term idling, don't they?

Not sure how current or future smog regs will treat diesels - maybe someone else can tell whether there are any such 'political' cautions to think about.
 
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BugoutBear

Membership Revoked
Anjou said:
Good, cheap research project: Over the next month, wherever you normally go for gas, check to see if they have a diesel pump too. If pretty much yes the whole month, ratchet up the idea of the diesel. If no, maybe hem and haw.

But diesels have better torque abilities and long term idling, don't they?
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All the gas stations in my area also have diesel pumps. . .

The turbo diesel has good torque off the line, but I've discovered it has no acceleration (i.e., to pass someone on the highway).

BugoutBear
 
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k-man

Contributing Member
I have a 2001 Dodge 3/4 ton truck with the cummins turbo diesel, first diesel I have ever owned and it is great. I average 24 mpg and have all the power and torque you would ever need. Also Pa. is exempt from emmissions if you are diesel (saves a $60.00 ems. inspection a year). I would recomend going diesel 100%.
 
dieseltrooper

dieseltrooper

Inactive
Is your Dodge 2wd or 4x4? That's great mpg for a 3/4 ton. I've heard of 20 from the Cummins model in the past. Is that an avg or city/hwy?
 
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EdPPCLI

Inactive
BB
I think for fuel efficiency, performance and price you can't go wrong with a VW TDI (I am saving my pennies for a Jetta wagon). Up here, in Calgary AB, diesel is about 10c cheaper a liter than reg. gas, so if you drive a lot (long commute?) you could pretty much pay for the diesel model premium in a year. You should also factor in the longevity of diesel engines (how many old diesel Mercedes do you still see around). All in all they are great regular day to day car.
As for a Bugout Vehicle they are fairly robust, and diesel is safer to store and transport than gas. Finally you could look at refueling with homemade Biodiesel or used cooking oil (www.greasel.com). There is a downside the TDI engine is computer controlled and has all the faults associated with a gas engines computer.
Check out this site (http://www.tdiclub.com/) it is full of good information concerning the TDI engine.
Ed
 
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Czechsix

Contributing Member
I'd go with the Diesel as a primary, not an alternate. But that's because I've got one now, and have experience with them, I guess. As pointed out here, Diesel is easier to store, cheaper, somewhat more fire resistant (but it'll still go up in a big ball, believe u me), and generally gets better mileage.

I've had Mercedes Diesels, both car and Unimog, Nissan Diesel p/u truck, and right now an old M35A2 2.5 6x6 that I'm restoring. I'll be retrofitting a Cummins 4BTA into my '75 Dodge M890 once I save enough to get one.

If you've got a source for the fuel (petro, bio, or veggie), it's a great thing to have.

Czechsix
 
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BugoutBear

Membership Revoked
Just got back from an absolutely brilliant b'day weekend in Maine, where I discovered diesel is more expensive then regular unleaded. . .

Very odd.

BugoutBear
 
Brutus

Brutus

Membership Revoked
Here in Mississippi also highway diesel is higher than reg. unleaded. But the difference in mileage should still make enough difference to make up for it.
 
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BugoutBear

Membership Revoked
Got my '05 Passat GLS TDI yesterday! 1st time I've ever owned a new car.

Very nice! The acceleration issue is a non-issue. Apparently the one we test drove wasn't "serviced" yet -- whatever that means.

Ah, 600 miles on a tank. . .sweet! It's only 200 miles to my Bugout location.

BugoutBear
 
Kamelot

Kamelot

Membership Revoked
My dad has a 2002 Jetta TDI with 43,000 miles on it, he loves that thing, and if i had the cash I would get a used one, you made a good choice in getting one :) They are great motors/cars.
 
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Bigbng

Inactive
A buddy of mine just came back from a trip to Vegas. He went out there with a turbo diesel truck loaded down. But once he got to Denver, apparently because the air was so sparce, he could hardly make it up the mountains. Don't know if this is relevant, and it was an older model, so maybe there have been modifications since then specifically for this problem. Maybe some of our members form out that way can chime in with some info. :)
 
biere

biere

Veteran Member
As you go up in altitude the air is less dense.

A turbo packs air into an engine, in many cases the turbo engines will seem to lose very little power as they operate at higher altitudes.

However, there are things that can cause a turbo to not operate so well at high altitudes. Basically it all comes down to the turbo size and engine size relationship and what not.

In the 80s lots of pickups had diesels with no turbo, and those things really seem to lose power since many folks feel they don't have enough to start with.

One thing with a diesel to remember is that as the turbo packs the air in the air heats up. Most diesels these days have a heat exchanger to cool the air back down some.

Most folks on some truck diesel boards have an exhaust gas temperature gauge they watch closely if they have made any changes to their engine, like a chip, since you can get the turbo too hot and cause trouble.

I consider a diesel a great idea since it is so common to find diesel along any major truck routes. I just feel they take a little more knowledge by the owner since they often need their fuel filters changed more often and you have to pay attention to winter diesel and the summer mix, and just some other simple things.
 
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BugoutBear

Membership Revoked
Well, I don't have to worry about high altitudes, since I'm not going to be in any here on the east coast. . .and I don't plan on driving up Mt. Washington.

But the dealership I bought the car from advised me not to use "Truck Stop Diesel," as it tends to gel in cold weather. . .

BugoutBear
 
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