I drove a diesel vehicle last week!

"zeontestpilot" (zeontestpilot)
10/07/2014 at 12:28 • Filed to: None

I borrow the church's diesel truck to finish moving into the new house, man that thing is...different to ride.

I've driven some trucks before, but nothing this high up nor on any main roads. I prefer vehicles closer to the ground, but I liked how this rode. You could see everything, and I felt like the king of the world! And that diesel....I can see why some people say they are slow. Just getting the rpms up seemed forever. Plus, it only went to 4000 rpms! My car goes to 8000, so I can only assume the diesel has more torque that way, right?

One thing I did notice, was the truck 'swayed' a bit during turns, which I wasn't crazy for.

If you have never driven a diesel, do it at least once. It's a pretty cool and unique, and I now have have a yearning for a diesel truck...

DISCUSSION (19)

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > zeontestpilot
10/07/2014 at 12:29

Olny diesels I've driven have been Bimmers and VWs. They just feel like normal cars, only with more torque.

thismightbemylastburner > zeontestpilot
10/07/2014 at 12:37

Definitely more torque. Think about that massive piston. Torque is the accelerating force that those pistons produce on a single power stroke. Now how many times can that event occur in one minute? That is horsepower. Your tiny little 8,000 rpm pistons have far less instant power per cycle, but there are twice as many events of combustion in the same amount of time. Low instant torque, many repetitions.

Jcarr > zeontestpilot
10/07/2014 at 12:39

Plus, it only went to 4000 rpms!

A diesel engine has to withstand a lot more force than a traditional gasoline engine so the internals are much beefier. As a result, they're heavier and can't spin as fast. Diesels make all of their power very low in the revs anyway.

I used to drive a '98 Ram 2500 Cummins when I worked for landscaping company in college. Even with a bed and 20 ft trailer full of equipment I could let the clutch out in 2nd gear it would just go. That version of the Cummins ISB was making in the neighborhood of 450 lb/ft. Imagine what a 2014 with 850 lb/ft is like.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > zeontestpilot
10/07/2014 at 12:41

I've driven a few diesel VWs, and some big-honkin-diesel pickemup trucks. It was like driving a school bus.

quarterlifecrisis > zeontestpilot
10/07/2014 at 13:13

Diesel trucks are great. All there is to it, but, they don't need to rev. Even in a gas truck, you don't want to be turning 6k trying to get a load moving.

zeontestpilot > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
10/07/2014 at 13:21

Really? Hmm...I guess I should try to drive yet another diesel, to gain a better understanding.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > zeontestpilot
10/07/2014 at 13:23

I have never driven a pickup of any type, personally. I've ridden in plenty, but I can't recall ever driving one. I'd imagine the setup of a diesel pickup engine is different from that in a car. I need to drive a big diesel truck sometime soon here.

zeontestpilot > Jcarr
10/07/2014 at 13:23

Dang...knowledge is power!

zeontestpilot > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
10/07/2014 at 13:25

I've driven my sis-in-law's jeep liberty, and it bounced around in the same fashion. It's just weird to me.

zeontestpilot > quarterlifecrisis
10/07/2014 at 13:26

Ha, that's very true. I forgot about that.

zeontestpilot > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
10/07/2014 at 13:31

I've driven a VW rabbit pickup before (diesel), but nothing stood out of the ordinary. Then again, it was fwd. it just felt like I was driving a car. Any other pickup I drove, was under 10 mph, and that's not enough for a full analysis.

When I got the diesel of the main road, you bet i tried to unleash as many horses as I could! I wanted to know exactly how it drove. :)

michael bleggi > quarterlifecrisis
10/07/2014 at 13:44

why not? sorry for the stupid question lol.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > zeontestpilot
10/07/2014 at 13:48

They can rev higher

Also, IIRC the redline is only like 3k stock.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > zeontestpilot
10/07/2014 at 13:55

All in the name of science, of course.

quarterlifecrisis > michael bleggi
10/07/2014 at 14:26

Think about when you're starting to move. That's where you need bottom end/low end torque to get a load moving. If you need to slip the clutch, or run a high stall speed converter, it just isn't practical. Industrial engines, and I'm counting the 6BT Cummins in OPs picture as an industrial engine, are designed to work all day. Churning along at a low RPM works out better than having something screaming like a banshee trying to maintain sufficient power, and generally, that's a lot of iron and steel rotating around and moving back and forth.

Most heavy duty engines, think semis, redline well before 2k.

thebigbossyboss > zeontestpilot
10/07/2014 at 16:48

Or more accurately diesel is power!

zeontestpilot > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
10/07/2014 at 17:03

That's how I justified it at least.

michael bleggi > quarterlifecrisis
10/07/2014 at 17:39

Oh, i understand all that! I just thought you were trying to say somthing along the lines of 'it isn't good to put a large load under a gas engine turning high rpms' for some sort of engineering reason. I have a mk6 tdi and i'm well aware of how nice it is having low end grunt ahhahahahha

quarterlifecrisis > michael bleggi
10/08/2014 at 08:00

No, certainly not a case of it not being good. Just horribly inefficient.