Oppo, what are the pros and cons of rallying a diesel car?

"Wheelerguy" (wheelerguy)
05/10/2016 at 10:37 • Filed to: Rallying, Diesel

Pictured: not a diesel rally car

I’d like to know, because I would like to try it out and I need some to encourage me and someone to talk me out of it.

DISCUSSION (18)

Nibby > Wheelerguy
05/10/2016 at 10:39

cons - slow

pros - chugga

chugga

Wheelerguy > Nibby
05/10/2016 at 10:41

choo choo

motherfucker

Flavien Vidal > Wheelerguy
05/10/2016 at 10:42

Pros: cheap to run

Cons: Pollutes, does not rev, just not fun (and no, torque without HP is NOT fun)

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Wheelerguy
05/10/2016 at 10:42

You can get more power from a production gas engine? Other than that I don’t know why not.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Wheelerguy
05/10/2016 at 10:43

If it’s a long distance rally you’d potentially have a much longer range between fill ups.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Wheelerguy
05/10/2016 at 10:46

Pros - Fricken awesome noises and all the torques

Cons - might literally drown in pussy

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Wheelerguy
05/10/2016 at 10:47

Supposedly hardier, so that’s good for things like Dakar, but otherwise I’d just stick with gas unless you’re doing diesel for teh lulz with a 240 or something.

CalzoneGolem > Wheelerguy
05/10/2016 at 10:48

Well, you could pretend you’re driving a tractor so that’s something.

Illegitimus Prime > Wheelerguy
05/10/2016 at 10:50

Good luck troubleshooting anything in the fuel system when it breaks.

EDIT: I just realized that sounded rude. Not my intention, just attempting to discourage you.

MultiplaOrgasms > Flavien Vidal
05/10/2016 at 10:54

Actual rally cars, with their 2,5 Bar of boost and diesel blocks (because only glorious diesel engineering can handle the boost) don’t go beyond 300hp anyway. Also lol pollution.

MultiplaOrgasms > Wheelerguy
05/10/2016 at 10:55

Long distance Rallye: Why not

Sprint Rallye: Ahh nope.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Wheelerguy
05/10/2016 at 10:56

Hmmm, well my mate’s remapped 406 Coupe HDi is properly quick so I don’t think performance would be an issue.

Pros: - Great urge out of corners from low revs
- Great fuel economy
- Usually renowned for being very hardy engines
- Most rally engines aren’t high revvers, preferring lot os boosty torque which is right up a diesel’s street

Cons: - Not as much power as a petrol equivalent
- Sanctioning body rules might classify them under the petrol displacement system meaning you'd end up in a much higher class than you'd be powered for. Would be worth checking out before you start building the car.

Justin Hughes > Wheelerguy
05/10/2016 at 10:58

Justin Carven has run diesel VWs for years. Even better, they used his Greasecar.com kit that enables them to run on waste vegetable oil. So there’s an advantage. So is the constant torque for accelerating out of corners.

Added fuel range shouldn’t be a factor for most stage rallies. Service stops are frequent enough for gas cars to keep the tank topped off, so they’ll be more than frequent enough for diesel.

Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief > Wheelerguy
05/10/2016 at 12:32

Diesel can sometimes be hard to find which might involve you having to bring your own fuel, which is hardly the end of the world, especially since diesel is quite a lot safer. So much so that it might be the biggest advantage.

Flavien Vidal > MultiplaOrgasms
05/10/2016 at 21:10

Pollution might not be a big problem for a daily driver (especially if it’s hidden), but for a manufacturer who sponsors a WRC car, has engine limitations in term of size and so on, it would be dumb. Racing tries to be as environnementaly clean as possible nowadays, throwing a diesel in that would just be stupid.

Not to mention the shitty noise that it makes. People already complain about WRC being less and less fun, if you came up with a freaking diesel engine, that would simply ruin the whole thing even more. Also 2017 WRC cars will be around 380hp. Out of a 1.6L engine. Good luck getting that kind of power with diesel that doesn’t spout black smoke all over the place. In comparaison, Audi R18 have a 4L turbodiesel that develops a bit over 500hp...

MultiplaOrgasms > Flavien Vidal
05/10/2016 at 21:53

The R18 Diesel is nowhere near its maximum hp potential. You know, balancing performance with efficiency and reliability and such. Cummins 6BTs are ridiculously easy to get to 1000+hp, and that is a 30 year old OHV design commonly found in agricultural machinery and 1990s Dodge Trucks.

And rallying is boring because they sound like shit as is courtesy of 4 cylinder engines as well as the fact that nobody enjoys sitting on a hill in the woods for hours on end to have a shitty Family car drive by at speeds below the highway speed limit every five minutes or so. Rallycross is brilliant because its essentially the opposite. Cars are faster, there are multiple of them on a short and easily overviewable track and there is always something going on for everyones viewing pleasure. Group B was exciting because the cars made loud noises, were nigh on undriveable and no one gave a shit about safety so one could literally stand on the stage and wait for the ensuing human barbecue.

Tl;dr Go watch Rallycross, its better for everyone.

Santiago of Escuderia Boricua > Wheelerguy
05/10/2016 at 22:09

You may be better off... Open class cars have to run a 34mm restrictor. A diesel can get that low end power.

Also, you can put less fuel in for weight savings

Flavien Vidal > MultiplaOrgasms
05/10/2016 at 22:10

Oh sure, it can make A LOT more horsepower. That would be if, like Cummins, it had to follow pollution restrictions that trucks have in north america: pretty much none.

This is what 1000hp 6BT engine looks like....

Good luck pushing that and telling people that it’s ok to use a diesel with 80's technology lol.

Also getting even more HP from a 6L gasoline engine from the same era is about the same thing... Only you can supercharge it or turbo it with anti-lag...

And as far as Rallying goes, I’m not even talking about those poor people who are freezing their ass in the cold waiting for a car to pass every 10 minutes... Just simple TV coverage is just not that great.