Turbo diesel?

[Raife]

Please excuse what could be a basic question but still new to trucks and diesels... Why are all the engines turbo diesel engines? Why are there not just diesel engines...

 

[WY-Dave]

Per Google
Fuel efficiency: Diesel is 33% more fuel-efficient than gasoline, and turbochargers further increase diesel fuel efficiency. Improved performance: While ramping up horsepower, they lower emissions and improve altitude compensation. Turbocharging an engine increases the power output of a given engine weight.

 

[18CrewDually]

Vo

Please excuse what could be a basic question but still new to trucks and diesels... Why are all the engines turbo diesel engines? Why are there not just diesel engines...

Turbos add Volumetric efficiency. Cramming more air permits more fuel which in turn provides more power.

 

[Raife]

Thank you

 

[Kenobi]

Vo
Turbos add Volumetric efficiency. Cramming more air permits more fuel which in turn provides more power.

^ This.
Try driving a non-turbo diesel - you'll hate it.

 

[ppine]

Next came the inter-cooler. Now these technologies are showing up on gas engines. We still have a long way to go to maximize diesel power and efficiency. They can run on many types of fuel. The technology will be around for a long time.

 

[nlambert182]

^ This.
Try driving a non-turbo diesel - you'll hate it.

Yes! I used to drive an old early 90's 7.3 IDI Powerstroke... it was awful. Extremely reliable and would eventually get where it needed to go every time but I think a Yugo would outperform it.

The simplest answer as to why diesels typically use a turbo is for power output. Since a non-turbo diesel makes a lot less power than a gas counterpart, adding a turbo increases the compression ratio (which it can handle with beefier internals) and creates power comparable to a gas counterpart. One great byproduct of this is gobs of torque. Another is emissions... though turbos were being put on diesel engines long before anyone knew what emissions were.