Technology for everyone : Planning to buy a car? Confused between petrol/diesel car? Check this article before buying one.

To go for petrol or a diesel power is among the first considerations you have to make before purchasing a new car. Is it worth it to get a car that runs on diesel? What are the cons of getting such a vehicle? Weighing both sides will help you decide whether you should go for a diesel car or not.

Petrol (Gasoline) Engine

The petrol engine (aka gas engine in the U.S.) is one of the two main types of engines. Essentially, it utilizes the process of combustion to operate. Combustion is basically the mixing of gasoline vapors with air, at a very high temperature and pressure, to drive pistons—which power the rest of the engine. The car's battery is attached via an "induction coil" to the engine and serves to provide a very small "spark" to ignite the air/gas mixture.

Diesel Engines

Diesel engines are very much like gas engines. Combustion takes place to drive power to pistons, just as it does in a gasoline engine. This, by the way, is referred to as the conversion of chemical energy to mechanical energy. Diesels and gas engines also tend to share very similar architectural elements as well, like crankshafts and cylinders.

The fundamental difference in diesel and gas engines is the method of sparking the mixture. In a diesel, the air is the only initial thing that is compressed via pistons and after that happens, fuel is introduced to the compressed air (which is very hot now due to compression). In a gas engine, air and gas are simultaneously combined.

Petrol(Gas) engine: pros and cons

Pros

· Gas engines are typically more powerful, by way of horsepower, than diesels.

· Petrol engines (Gas) also generally benefit from being easier to tune and tune-up.

· Furthermore, petrol engines have a better ratio of price to power and burns fuel more eco-friendly than diesel does.

· Petrol is usually cheaper than diesel fuel(Exception of India) in most of the world, this comes with a tradeoff though which you'll see in the next paragraph.

Cons

· The downside for the petrol engine is that, typically, its lifespan is almost always shorter than that of the diesel.

· This basically relates to the fact that diesel engines will usually have a higher residual (resale) value.

· Equally, if not more important is the fact that gas engines get less miles-per-gallon (sometimes significantly) than their diesel counterparts.

Diesel Engines: pros and cons

Pros

· Diesel engines offer better resale values

· Diesel engines have much better fuel economy

· Diesel engines are generally more reliable than petrol engines

· Diesels often have much more torque (twisting power of pistons) than petrol

· Much more suitable for things like heavy-towing, industrial applications, and driving long distances more frequently (as it relates much more to trucks than diesel cars)

Cons

· Diesel-powered autos are generally more expensive: giving petrol engines the advantage

· Diesel does not burn as clean as petrol, and it is "filthier" in a loose meaning of the word

· Diesels almost always have less horsepower (for accelerating, merging, etc) than similar gas engines

· Most car models are gas-powered, at least until diesel becomes more environmentally friendly.

· Diesel can be harder to find in different regions—according to availability.

· Diesel engines, especially older ones, are noisier than petrol engines.

Conclusion

The fundamental differences in the two types of engines, the pros of each and the cons of each. Keep in mind that engine technology is as ever rapidly growing and changing. Things are constantly being improved in the realm of diesel technology. There is increased pressure to build passenger vehicles, trucks, buses, as well as farm and construction equipment that not only produce low emissions but also low-sulfur diesel fuels. This is something a diesel-powered engine can provide. The facts presented above could become quite skewed as such things as hybrid, electric, hybrid-diesel and so forth start to gain mainstream momentum.