Texan wrote: ↑Mon Oct 26, 2020 5:04 pmDiesels have incredible low range torque. You only need 12 or more gears for the large semi tractors. Petrol engines tend to have more horsepower and do better on the top end for racing performance, but they don't compare to diesel torque and pulling power.Bobby wrote: ↑Mon Oct 26, 2020 3:13 pmTexan wrote: ↑Sun Oct 25, 2020 11:06 pmA diesel will outtow a petrol engine all day long. Diesel fuel economy is better and you can reprogram the engine management computer to make a diesel pull like a freight train. Diesel engines last longer.
However, diesel costs more than petrol, the diesel engine costs more, oil changes cost more, and most diesels are turbo charged and more complex and expensive to work on.
You need more gears with a diesel due to a narrow power band.
That's why semi trucks can have 12 or more gears.
Here is a video of a guy in Australia who is reprogramming ECU chips on Ford 2020 F250 diesel trucks. You can easily pull a 6-7 ton trailer with this truck and hardly know it's back there. That 10 speed transmission is a beast. It has 5 different modes for different driving conditions. Economy, Towing, Performance, Rain/Snow, and Normal.
My neighbor has a 2004 F250 with a chipped 7.3l diesel and he pulls a 35 foot(11m?) 5th wheel camping trailer through the Colorado Mountains with ease.
You can't really compare petrol to diesel as there
are too many other factors.
If the diesel is a turbo model it is different again.