Goatman

Any diesel truck drivetrain in a car will require a fabricated frame to hold it (properly) and the weight would be absolutley horrendous for driving around in. Say good bye to your firewall and floor pans as well. Complete waste of time.


No wonder the king has photo's of one...

240D 3.0T

Those are the only pictures I have of it. I came across it on the internet so I have no clue if that project has progressed, who did it or where its located.

sidoog

1. Truckers had a Federal Law passed about 10- years ago that allows them to pass along Diesel Fuel costs.
2. Refinery's changed the diesel formula to meet low emission federal standards.
3. Next year about 10 new diesel powered cars will be unveiled. They are jacking up the price for that as well.

harkgar

I do not buy the ULSD argument put forward by the oil companies. The sulfur removed from the diesel is used for making industrial chemicals, like sulfuric acid. Mountains of yellow sulfur can be seen at Vancouver Harbour ready to be loaded onto ships.

In America truck diesel is taxed higher than gasoline so tax is a factor in the higher price. Your second argument is more valid - profiteering by the oil companies.

In Toronto the price differential is not so big. I found Sunoco Gold at CD$0.819 versus unleaded at CD$0.755 a liter, just about 8.5% more. Sometimes the difference is much bigger, like 17%. Diesel cars are a good choice here. Unfortunately only MB and VW imports them.

stickygreen

Awesome!!!

Actually, I believe the Cummins 6bt makes the Duramax motor look lightweight by comparison. Last time I checked, the 6bt weighs in at around 1100-1200 lbs fully assembled with accessories.

Perhaps, but I guess it all depends on how much you value your time.

harkgar

If the Cummins straight 6 weighs 1,000 lbs + the cylinder holes must be the size of dinner plates and the pistons look like army helmets. I wonder if there are similar truck engines made by MB.

I know the Sprinter used some form of straight 5 and a V-6 diesel but I think they are engines adapted from passenger car. The Dodge is strictly a truck-bus kind of diesel engine and was never used in a passenger car.

stickygreen

Cylinder head by itself weighs almost 200 lbs. The 6bt is really an industrial engine that was adapted by Dodge for pickups. More than half of the tractors on our farm use this engine, or it's 4-cylinder counterpart (4bt). I have been told the 6bt is used in most UPS delivery trucks.

harkgar

This is why they last forever. This is not your average "green" engine with the horsepower but they work out to be better for the trees on the long run. For example some 90% or so of Rolls Royces ever made are still running today. I am sure it is similar for the BT6.

spikegomez

That is why diesel is more expensive than other... but i love diesel engine because it takes more power....






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Goatman

Still $2.41 per gallon while gas is back up to $1.78 in spots. $1.66 for home heating oil...


Funny how that works, huh?

harkgar

It is similar in Toronto. I think it is a combination of taxes and market forces in action.

Diesel consumers in North America are mostly truckers and government related vehicles like fire trucks and school buses so there is no strong organized voice against high diesel prices. If they increase the price of regular unleaded there will be a big outcry.

There is a huge difference between different name brands and stations as well. PetroCan diesel can be 17 to 20 % higher than regular while Sunoco diesel is only 7 - 8% higher than regular.

Before the ULSD days LSD diesel was only the price of regular, sometimes even lower.

philfna

Diesel 2.35
Premium Unleaded 2.21

Here in Madison as of 1/17/09....loving the Bluetec now!

harkgar

That is a premium of 6.33% only. With 33% superior economy to the E350 you are still miles ahead, literally.

harkgar

You do not have urea injection either.

The next time you put your car on a hoist please take some photos of the exhaust - filtration systems showing the differences between the Bluetec and the CDi.

I had posted a couple of photos.

philfna

I will do that. I am having some dyno work done next month I'll post pics and results of the KD-Box.

dieseldoc

Diesel in Dallas area is 2.17 a gallon. Same station, premium unlead is 1.97.

kolnerspieler

I grew up in Europe and if I can remember correctly Diesel was cheaper than gasoline. I think one of the reasons why diesel costs more in the US is because the refineries are designed to use a process that can only refine about 10 percent of a barrel of oil into diesel. European refineries can refine more that 40 percent. In the US the 10 percent of diesel has to go a long way with the commercial industry and then also with the consumer. People always think that if everyone got diesels it would solve the energy crisis, but it would have a counter effect, since our refineries are not designed to meet the demand. That would drive the price of diesel up and nothing would solve the crises. We do have to think diesel in the future with the new clean technologies coming out and also start to convert our refineries, to refine more diesel. The Diesel cycle is about 30% more efficient than the Otto cycle, therefore we have to look to the diesel technologies in the future. The diesel engine is a more natural engine since it combusts on compression, and no spark. Nikola Tesla( who invented and laid the foundation for most of our modern day electrical advancements) said that we have to look to the nature and find more natural ways to accomplish things. I am starting to get off topic , sorry

bjornarhuse

Would you shut up.... Diesel today is USD 5,97 per gallon (NOK 10,99/liter)

Oil companies are making good money in Norway too, where oil production is fairly expensive (offshore harsh climate etc), but even with a 50% tax on all oil income they make a good profit.

Gas is 1,3% cheaper than diesel, but that changed only last year, when the government added more tax to the diesel. (In order to make it about the same cost of ownership with gas cars).

In Venezuela the gas price is about 1/100 of Norway. In Sierra Leone you find the most expensive gas at about 2,5 times the Norwegian price.

So... What are you complaining about? :-)

Goatman

Just got the home filled again. $1.97 per gallon.... That didn't take long....

harkgar

What good is it to have gasoline at 10 cents a gallon if you have to suffer under a Maoist dictator? Norwegians and Finns have backbones. They did not like to be slaves under the Germans and the USSR.

Untertürkheim

Norway in infamous for having what I consider to be criminally high taxes. Denmark was actually sued for the psuedo-tariff they have on cars.

Maybe it is a Scandinavian thing; but I still love the region.

harvid

Interestingly, diesel is now cheaper than regular unleaded by 5˘/litre here in Southwestern Ontario. At my local Sunoco, their gold diesel was 79.5˘ to 84.5˘ for regular. Hopefully this keeps up!

pinebaron

This equates to diesel $3.01/US gallon and 19c a gallon cheaper. My local lowest rate for diesel at LukOil is $2.39/US Gallon.

Uncle Paka

Crude oil is as cheap as it will ever be again in our lifetime.

It will macro cycle every two years in conjunction with the Federal elections of the governance which secures and regulates the O.P.E.C. markets which all make exchanges upon the U.S. dollar. Presidential election, price goes down. See David Blumes article over at the "alcoholcanbeagas" website.

Invest in crude oil now while it is in a down cycle...

The price of ASTM fuels depends on a lot more than crude.

The labor strikes in Scotland this last year were primarily what were responsible for the prolonged elevation in price this last Summer.

The majority of the earths crude oil reserves are now, with exception of Saudi Arabia and Alaska, above ground. Price spikes will be much more in tune with the capacity for refinement. Mexico and Venezuela are the top two oil exporters. Saudia Arabia, third. Saddam's sovereign reign was ended by our fifth column in Iraq not for groww atrocities, war crimes, or an weapon of mas destruction nonsense. Saddam was hung by his own countrymen to send a message to every non European OPEC nation and France, our sister in Liberty. Saddam had Mexico, Venezuela, Saudia Arabia, North Africa and FRANCE ready to drop the US dollar as exchange standard and make the switch to the Euro. Had this happened, not only would China and Indias unregulated industrial growth have squelched our any attempt to mitigate the industrial scales of toxic pollution, the proces of which would have driven the price of fossil fuels up to the tune of what Europe now pays, more like $10 a gallon.

Diesel fuel will forever remain more expensive than gasoline because the price structure is the last means by which gasoline remains under three dollars a gallon. Whereas commuters used to 'subsidize' industry, now it is the other way around. Maybe the "Vegas under Cosa Nostra" metaphor is better - the truckers paid less for diesel delivering goods to market cause everyone made so much money off the goods at market and the sale of gasoline. When the mob ran Vegas, the casinos made so much money, everything else in the hotel could run at a loss.

You will also notice that the price reflects less the relative BTU - tho ethanol blends should cost less cause they do have much less energy content than RUG, and more the cost of refinement and transportation to market. ULSD is also a super critically refined fuel, low sulphur diesel as well. Still mostly just 10W-40 and kerosene, but no one likes acid rain. I just wish ULSD actually was useful inlubricating the expensive components in my Bosch 61x IP...


Did you know that something like 80% of all biodiesel manufactured in the U.S. is exported to Europe cause it is worth so much more over there?

...crazy.

Untertürkheim

There is a 76 (Conoco-Phillips) station in Los Angeles that is selling diesel for $2.19 per gallon. Much cheaper than ANY premium, and cheaper than most places selling regular.