i need to digest all this info you gave me...(and educate myself on some things i don't understand yet)...it may take me a couple days...sorry

 

I think he forgot about how well GM's EV1 did for performance and practicality. Geez, pure battery operated vehicles are the wave of the future! I just love the sound of electric motors shooting me from 0-60 in a whole 20 seconds! Makes ya just want to go out and buy one right now. :squint:

 

how someone talks is in no way an indication of their intelligence, let alone a way to judge them. you, sir, are in all probablility, a racist bigot. dont worry, your not alone, there are lots of them in cleveland, and all over the world. :fawk: as far as me not knowing anything about diesels, well im no expert, but im 19 and i drove a diesel for two straight years, swapped engines in diesels, and my mom now owns a vw tdi. i could go down the list and explain to you exactly how a diesel engine differs from a gas one, and i could tell you all of the advantages and disadvantages of them. so ya i think im a little more informed about diesels than the average honda enthusiast. excuse me for trying to share some information. i just think that diesels are often times overlooked by americans. you are the misinformed one here. :madfawk:

 

We all agree that you have a point here. Diesels are useful for several reasons - they are cheap to maintain, great fuel efficiency, they tend to last longer than conventional gasoline engines (lower compression and more detergents in the fuel), and can produce immense torque from small displacement.

But, for whoever originally said it can compete with the Integra GS-R needs to be shot. They are by no means made for performance. They cannot stand to be revved due to their relatively long bore. As a performance engine, diesels will never make the cut.

Diesels have a purpose here in the US. They are for those select customers who can sacrafice performance for the name of practicality (it is common among VW owners because the base 2.0 liter I-4 engine is similar in performance and the diesel isn't a lot more as an option).

They're good in trucks for under water offroading (if a snorkel is provided). They can produce large amounts of torque and can withstand long durations of abuse (if made properly).

In Europe, they're favored due to their gas mileage, simply because of petroleum prices over there. Diesel is much easier to find at their pumps as opposed to ours.

As for future technology in the US, it's likely not going to be used to make cutting edge advancements. They have become significantly cleaner over the years, but a low emissions small displacement three or four cylinder engine with an integrated motor assist churning out anywhere from 15HP-30HP seems like the way of the future. Even the newest gasoline engines are very close to zero emissions.

Electric cars will not happen. It would require immense power to recharge them (imagine millions of cars recharging in California daily...a state already plagued by brownouts). Their range is limited and their acceleration is terrible. Plus recharge times are lengthy, and their batteries are ridiculously expensive to replace.

I think I've summed it up. Enough said. :fawk:

 

Wrong. Diesels cannot rev as high as gasoline engines because diesel combusts more slowly than gasoline. More of a 'pop' than a 'bang!', if you will.

As far as performance, it depends on your definitions of and applications of performance.
Is diesel technology a better choice than gasoline for say, the Formula One series? No, not likely. Is it a good choice for certain SCCA Rallyes? It can be.

Is it a good choice for driving in average city conditions or normal freeway cruising? You bet.

Is it a better choice performance-wise for driving extended distances per week or on long trips? Most certainly it will outperform any hybrid or gasoline engine in this case. A diesel engine is constructed more robustly than gasoline engines to deal with higher compression.

No one, unless your last name happens to be Schumacher, Andretti or Petty, gets up every morning and needs a car that can go as fast as it can possibly go all the time. It's not practical.

A diesel vehicle with real-world capabilities (passengers & luggage, towing, etc.) can run as fast as a gasoline engine for a longer range for more years. That's performance too.

 

i think the point we all agree to is that b/c diesels never caught on as they have in europe and the fact that fuel cells are getting ever so closer to being mainstream that we should not shift our infrastructure in such a short term over to diesel hybrids or biodiesel fossil fuels...gasoline is the most widespread and is cleaner than diesel as much as the diesel lovers object...an otto cycle engine hybrid powertrain seems to be the least costly short term solution allowing the auto mfgrs and other industries time and more money to make a quantum leap in fuel cell technology...the days of fossil fuels are hopefully numbered

 

BMW and MB make diesel six and eight cylinder motors that MIGHT come close to an Integra GSR in performance. But you are looking at $50,000 vehicles. For everyday driving, the TDI works fine. My arguement with what you said is how it can come close to an Integra...... impossible. You could make 400 ft.lbs. of torque, but it's useless if it drops by 2000 rpm. It's only good for pulling tree trunks out of the ground. I see semi-trucks all day, and they have a couple THOUSAND lbs. of torque, but I don't shake in my boots at a red light!!! And I think the battery-only vehicles proved their demise with the EV1. IMA is far more practical, and yes, it will be in performance cars in the next ten years. I'm not saying it will be in every car on the road, but a good handfull of them. We have seen the capablilities and tasted success from Toyota and Honda. It's up to the big three to try to run with it, or still make the 16 MPG Lincoln Navigator and Caddy Escalade. One more thing...... I didn't bring race in to this thing, you did. Just speak English

 

the reason i said that a TDI can be brought to gsr territory, is because i know of TDIs that run 15s in the quarter. ya they have about $1000 worth of mods but its possible, thats all im saying. with a chip, larger injectors, an intake and exhaust, im pretty sure theyre up there. they could certainly be competive in the 1/8th because of theyre strong low end.

btw acurafanatic, not to nitpick but diesels dont run a low compression. for example, my 85 diesel golf runs 20:1. dont know about the new ones.

 

i can guy a gsr and put a $1000 in mods and be in the high 13s...it's called a junkyard turbo...so now you have a 1.8 turbo vtec and a 1.9 turbo with $1k in mods...the tdi will get you 15 sec 1/4 and the turbo'd gsr will get you 13s...sorry diesels are not great performance engines

 

honda developed vtec by racing in f1 (dominating f1 for the late 80s [won 15/16 races with the late aryton senna])...it was the first company to bring such technology to production cars...now most mfgrs have or are working on a similar system...i wouldn't knock honda since this company was based on racing to improve its production vehicles...honda also developed cvcc technology out of racing b/c its engineers who were fumbling with it while working in the formula1 rotation found it reduced emissions significantly