Authors: Vladimir Egorov, Andrey Dalimaev
Source: website

What is a Diesel Vehicle?

Diesel vehicles use an engine that has a different combustion cycle than a gasoline engine.

In a gasoline engine, fuel is mixed with air, enters the cylinder and is ignited by the spark plug. In a diesel engine, air is forced into the cylinder and first compressed without fuel. This compression heats the air to such a high temperature that when fuel is then injected into the cylinder, it ignites.

By using higher compression levels and higher combustion temperatures, diesels operate more energy efficiently. As a result, diesel vehicles perform better than their gasoline counterparts. In addition, a liter of diesel fuel has about 10% more energy than a liter of gasoline. These two factors help modern diesels achieve about 50% better fuel efficiency than their gasoline counterparts. Diesel vehicles currently account for nearly half of all new car sales in Europe and a small but growing market share in the US. In Russia in 2009 the market share of new cars occupied by diesel was only 5.6% according to the agency "Autostat".

Diesel advantages

• Higher fuel efficiency (20-40% more than gasoline vehicles).
• Diesel engines last longer and get better high cost when resale.
• Diesel engines can use biodiesel as fuel.
• Diesel provides more torque; great for quick acceleration and towing.
• More power reserve per tank.

Disadvantages of diesel

• In Russia, diesel fuel is of very low quality.
• The range of diesel models is limited.
• Diesel fuel is not available at all petrol stations.
• Diesel vehicles are generally more expensive.
• Emissions exhaust gases nitrogen oxides and particulate matter are usually higher.
• Considering the advantages and disadvantages of a diesel engine, we can conclude that the latter are not significant and can be overcome.

Diesel Hybrid Dreams

Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen, Peugot and Citroën produce concept cars that combine diesel engine with a hybrid system. The Citroën C-Metisse diesel hybrid unveiled at the 2006 Paris Motor Show is pictured below. Combining two fuel efficient technologies in one vehicle can give phenomenal results.

Unfortunately, the extra cost of combining a diesel engine with a hybrid system comes at a high price. Most analysts predict that the hybrid diesel will be a specialty product.

In our country, it is largely due to the stereotypes of Russian motorists who, according to old memory, consider diesel engines to be noisy and difficult to maintain. In addition, there is an opinion that diesel-powered cars are not adapted to the cold climate of Mother Russia and may not start in frost, because diesel fuel is prone to freezing. Automakers, in turn, say that even a short test drive on a modern diesel car can easily destroy these old myths. “With the current level of engine technology, diesel engines have practically no shortcomings. Even in the cold season, there is no difficulty in operating a diesel engine, ”says Maxim Vinogradov, Commercial Director of Volvo Car Russia.

However, the problem for the owners of diesel cars remains the poor quality of diesel fuel at Russian filling stations. Indeed, impurities in diesel fuel can damage expensive fuel equipment. In addition, there is a risk of refueling with summer diesel fuel during the demi-season period or during a sharp cold snap. However, these fears mostly concern the regions, while today it is not difficult to find filling stations with high-quality diesel fuel in large cities.

According to Ilya Nikonorov, head of the MMC Rus marketing and public relations department, the situation with the quality of diesel fuel is changing for the better every year, as evidenced by a decrease in the number of warranty claims related to low-quality fuel.

Traditionally, the indisputable advantages of diesel engines over gasoline engines include more torque at low revs, lower fuel consumption, and the ability to travel a greater distance on one tank. However, even despite the fact that the cost of diesel fuel today is on average 7% lower than that of gasoline, the benefits of purchasing a car running on heavy fuel are not obvious for most Russian motorists. After all, diesel cars themselves are usually more expensive than gasoline modifications, and savings from a more modest fuel consumption can compensate for the difference in prices when buying, at best, by the end warranty period.

Overpayment or savings?

According to Vladimir Miroshnikov, Development Director of the Rolf Company, modern diesel engines are quite high-tech, and their production, as a rule, turns out to be more expensive than atmospheric gasoline engines of a similar working volume. “From a technical point of view, when designing cars with a diesel engine, additional parts and materials are used, which in turn has an impact on the difference in price compared to gasoline versions. For example, equipping a car with a special fuel pump and additional components to it, which allow distributing diesel fuel in more precise proportions, providing significant fuel savings, ”explains Ilya Nikonorov.

By the way, in Europe, where diesel cars are especially popular, automakers initially include in the price part of the benefits from tax breaks. The fact is that in European countries the size of the car tax is tied to the level of harmful emissions, which is traditionally lower for diesel versions. In Russia, the maintenance of such cars is often more expensive, including due to a shorter service intervalas well as more expensive diesel engine repairs.

According to Dmitry Baranov, leading expert of Finam Management, our country does not have a developed system of incentives that would push consumers to purchase and operate diesel cars, because the question of the price of a car is decisive for the buyer.

In addition, in Europe, the cost of owning a diesel car is lower than a petrol one due to the more expensive fuel. And in Russia, the purchase of a diesel engine is not economically justified on all models. “In Europe, the average mileage is significantly higher than ours, car tourism is very developed, and for Europeans the benefits of using diesel engines are more obvious. In Russia, with its relatively low average annual mileage, the economic effect from the use of diesel engines is lost, ”says Vladimir Miroshnikov.

For heavy off-road vehicles - heavy fuel

Share of sales of diesel cars in Russia in 2006–2015 Data of the agency "Autostat".

Share of sales of diesel cars in Russia in 2006–2015 Data of the agency "Autostat".

Nevertheless, the share of diesel vehicles in russian market in last years grew gradually - from 2% in 2006 to 7.6% in 2014. And last year, according to the agency "Autostat", it began to decline, amounting to 7.2%. The fact is that the overwhelming majority of models running on heavy fuel are imported to our country, and in the conditions of a weak ruble, their cost has become even less attractive compared to gasoline versions. At the same time, low demand for such cars in Russia makes automakers refuse to sell them.

However, this does not apply to premium brands and the off-road segment, where diesel modifications are traditionally most in demand. The leader in terms of the share of diesel versions in the sales volume is Volvo - 82.1% at the end of 2015. Such a high rate is provided, first of all, by the crossovers of the brand - XC60 and. According to Maxim Vinogradov, buyers of such cars want to get from the car not only increased cross-country ability and a high level of comfort, but also great traction (for example, when accelerating or off-road).

In second place in terms of share diesel modifications in the volume of sales Land rover with an indicator of 74.5%. For Range cars Rover evoque, Discovery and Discovery Sport more diesel engines are offered than gasoline engines, and they are also more affordable. As noted in the press service of Jaguar Land Rover, in addition to the greater power and efficiency of diesel engines, savings on transport tax are no less important for buyers. So, for example, for the car Range Rover sport the available starting diesel engine is a 3.0-liter 249-horsepower engine, while the most affordable petrol version is the version with a 3.0-liter 340-horsepower engine.

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04.12.2017, 22:49 93597 1 Assembly of Motorists

One of the most discussed topics among motorists is necessity. This question is relevant for power plants with turbine and "aspirated" equally. Almost all drivers are divided into two camps - those who warm up the car, and those who consider it a waste of fuel and time.

To the question whether it is necessary to warm up the diesel engine in winter manufacturers today give an unambiguous answer - "heating the internal combustion engine is not required." It is worth understanding what this statement is based on. Why earlier the same manufacturers advised to warm up the motors, but now they have dramatically changed their point of view.

Many manufacturers car engines claim that their products are so perfect that they work flawlessly even without heating. They begin to explain that earlier both engines were primitive and mineral oil, that scientific and technological progress does not stand still. Well, they don't say about the water that it was wetter.

Where is the dog actually buried? First: it is not profitable for manufacturers that the engine runs longer than the warranty period. Than faster car becomes unusable, the faster the owner will buy new car... Parts sales and repairs are additional sources of income for corporations. Why miss this profit? Therefore, it is profitable for manufacturers to tell fables that "super reliable" modern diesels do not require heating.

The second reason why experts from large companies do not recommend warming up engines is environmental concerns. During the time the diesel is warming up, a large amount of exhaust gases are emitted into the atmosphere. In cities, it is not uncommon for the owner to warm up the car for 30 minutes to drive 10 minutes to work. In Europe, issues of environmental safety are ahead of economic feasibility. We have the opposite. We are not saying this is good or bad, we are just giving facts.

Interestingly, the same experts confirm that the main wear of engine parts (about 75%) occurs during a cold start. That is, they know that it is not useful for the motor to work while it is cold, but they do not advise to heat it either. Wonderful and incomprehensible.

The theory of warming up a diesel engine in winter

Engines are made of metal. Pistons are usually made of light aluminum alloys, cylinders are made of steel or cast iron. When heated and cooled, these parts expand or contract, respectively. All engine components are precision-crafted to maintain a minimum piston-to-cylinder clearance. This is the key to efficient use of fuel energy.

When the engine is cold, the clearances between the pistons and cylinders do not match the design parameters. Until the temperature rises to the operating level, the motor does not operate in the mode intended by the manufacturer. If full load is applied, wear on parts will increase, resulting in shorter working life or an accident.

In addition to the thermal expansion factor, there is another problem. Oil viscosity. This parameter greatly affects the operation of the engine. If the grease thickens in the cold, it cannot fully lubricate the parts, which leads to an increase in the friction force in all pairs. Wear increases dramatically if the engine is running under load.

Obviously, driving with a cold diesel engine is not a good idea. Another question arises:. Is it possible to do this on idle? What is the optimal duration? Let's figure it out together.

How long does a diesel engine need to warm up in winter

There is no consensus among "diesel breeders" on this score. In this camp, they argue about how much to warm up a diesel engine in winter as well as among the owners of cars with gasoline engines.

Warm up to victory

Some car owners are sure that diesel engine necessary warm up at idle speed until the coolant temperature rises to 70 ° C. Another option is until the rpm drops to idle. The feasibility of this approach seems questionable. Let's figure it out.

because of design features a diesel engine heats up less at idle than a gasoline engine, and the whole car warms up worse. To achieve a noticeable rise in temperature in winter have to do diesel engine warming up within 30 - 40 minutes. During this time, a noticeable amount of fuel is consumed. For example: a three-liter diesel engine will “burn” about 200 ml of fuel in 20 minutes of warming up at idle speed.

A noticeable increase in the temperature of the power plant occurs in the first two minutes after launch. Further progress is quite insignificant. Should you waste fuel and time for a small improvement in performance? Doubtful.

Warm up, but without fanaticism

Other drivers to the question “ how to warm up a diesel engine in winter”, Answer briefly and clearly:“ wisely ”. In their opinion, it is enough to let the engine run for a couple of minutes to warm up the oil in the crankcase, and then start moving. The main thing is not to give the engine full load until its temperature rises to the optimum level. This indicator can be monitored by the coolant sensor.

Supporters of this method warming up the diesel engine in winter believe that in motion the engine warms up faster. Also, when the car is moving, the transmission heats up more actively and chassis... Everything looks reasonable.

Objectively: how to properly warm up a diesel engine in winter

From a technical point of view, warming up the diesel engine in winter vital. Considering technical features and the mechanics of the car's systems, you can figure out how to warm up diesel engines.

The engine should be started at low temperatures with full fuel supply. The clutch is depressed. The started engine warms up for two to three minutes. The crankshaft speed rises gradually to average. When the device shows that the coolant has heated up to 40 ° C, it means that the motor is ready for loads.

To make starting the diesel engine easier, you need to turn on the glow plugs several times. These adaptations are built into the design of modern diesel power units. They help heat the air entering the combustion chamber. In a diesel engine, ignition occurs as a result of heating a fuel-air mixture that is highly compressed in the cylinder. Heated air will make starting easier.

What do we get when performing such an algorithm for warming up a diesel engine? In the first two minutes after starting the engine, the oil in the crankcase heats up enough to fully lubricate the cylinder-piston group. Smooth start of movement helps to warm up the transmission lubricant, "develop" the suspension. The diesel warms up faster on the move. Fuel consumption is reduced. After 5 minutes of movement, you can turn on the cabin heater, which will accelerate the heating of the engine.

From the point of view of engine operation, "hodovka" and other car systems, this method is the most logical. Practical observations show the effectiveness of this method. The Gentle Start Mode helps protect the diesel engine from damage in freezing weather.

How to warm up a diesel engine with a turbine in winter

Recommendations for turbocharged diesels are no different from those for atmospheric counterparts. In the same way, start the engine, warm it up for a few minutes, and start driving with low revs in first gear. Warm-up time on the move - about 5 minutes, during this time, use no higher than third gear. Control the diesel engine warming up by the coolant temperature.

A good result is obtained by using special pre-heaters... Also, it will not be superfluous to make life easier for your engine by using special additives - antigels. They prevent diesel fuel from thickening in the cold. Many car owners have difficulties starting diesel engines precisely because of the thickened fuel. It is especially difficult in winter if the car is filled with summer diesel fuel.

We have tried to give a complete answer to the questions why and how to warm up a diesel engine in winter... We hope you can draw the right conclusions to protect the "heart" of your car from breakdowns on frosty days.

Borshchik is red, but without beets. Well, or something like that. You can describe the technology of a diesel engine that fully uses gasoline as fuel. This is Mazda baby, developed the innovative Skyactive-X engine.

Engineers at the Japanese car manufacturer Mazda have developed new engine internal combustion Skyactive-X, which will be installed on new cars from 2019. The Japanese used the diesel cycle, but the fuel is gasoline.

This is a fundamentally new power plant that combines a diesel cycle and gasoline as an engine.

As you know, diesel is a piston internal combustion engine with compression ignition. It uses diesel fuel and is very economical. The difference between a diesel engine and a gasoline engine is that in the first case, the fuel ignites spontaneously when supplied to the cylinder with pre-compressed air. A diesel engine has a much higher compression ratio in cylinders than a gasoline engine. In general, diesel is simpler in design than gasoline counterparts, and its cycle is more economical.

The new SkyActiv-X ignites the air / fuel mixture without sparking - by compression, just like a diesel engine. By combining a compression system with a supercharger, Mazda was able to increase torque. The concept used allowed the Japanese to simultaneously increase engine power and reduce pollution.

The ideal diesel cycle is characterized by four stages: adiabatic compression of the working fluid, isobaric heat supply to the working fluid, adiabatic expansion of the working fluid, and isochoric cooling of the working fluid.

Note that now all automotive companies are actively working to improve the efficiency of their offspring, which is not least due to the rapid spread of electric cars. Mazda itself says Skyactive-X will be 20-30% more economical than others gasoline engines companies. Such giants of the global automotive industry as Daimler and General Motors are already interested in the new development of the Japanese. Mazda will probably share the details of the new product later. It is known that the company's management plans to start installing Skyactive-X on cars starting in 2019.

The new engine is part of the Japanese automaker's strategic plan to electrify and minimize emissions. The plan is calculated until 2030. Mazda wants to join forces with Toyota and create new electric vehicles. Meanwhile, Japanese experts are clearly in no hurry to abandon the "gasoline" direction, which they have repeatedly made clear.

How are things at the moment? What happens if gasoline is poured into a diesel engine and how does a gasoline engine behave when using diesel fuel?

"Dummies" or "blondes" do not always get into such situations, often even experienced drivers can get trapped. You know, I myself was a witness of this situation - I have an acquaintance who bought a second car for his family (he also has one worker) - that is, only three cars. Long dreamed of powerful SUV - in his opinion, in order to save money, he nevertheless took diesel (for a long time he chose diesel or gasoline). AND old car, he left a sedan for his wife. In general, as usual, I drove to the gas station after a really difficult working day (it's easier to say the brain was taken out) and got to the gas station with gasoline, purely by inertia - then I just poured gasoline into the diesel engine! Realization came only after a couple of kilometers, when the car began to twitch and behave somehow strangely.

For starters, it should be noted that gasoline and diesel are essentially different, two types of fuel. Engines operate on different principles, although both there and there are pistons and a crankshaft with connecting rods.

Ignition principles of liquids

Petrol... The most common type of engine, and therefore remember it first.
Remember that it is a four-stroke (injection, compression, ignition, exhaust gas outlet). But the principle of ignition here is based on spark plugs, and they ignite the fuel mixture (gasoline + air), which is supplied through the intake manifold. Without the candles, the fuel would not ignite, although in fairness "detonations" sometimes occur, but very rarely. It is also worth noting that the compression in the cylinders is approximately from 9.5 to 11 atmospheres, this is important! Of course, now there are SKYAKTIV engines from MAZDA, where the compression reaches 13.5, but still this is an exception to the rule, rather than a general trend.

Diesel (in Russia it is also called "diesel fuel").
There are also four strokes (injection, compression, ignition, exhaust). But the fuel is ignited differently, there are no spark plugs at all, and the injection is completely different here. Firstly, I would like to say that the ignition of diesel fuel occurs due to compression (compression on diesel engines reaches 20 atmospheres). Secondly, the fuel does not mix with air and is not supplied as a fuel mixture - there is separate air and diesel fuel separately. How everything happens - the piston compresses the air in the cylinder, which is why it heats up very much, then almost at the peak point, fuel is injected, under very high pressure (through the nozzles), after which it ignites.

As you can see, the differences are significant, outwardly similar units, very different inside, and the fuel supply system is different here.

What happens if you pour gasoline into the "diesel"?

It's not very good to say the least. However, it all depends on how much gasoline you added, it happens that you have a tank of 100 liters, and you "splashed" only 5 liters, then the diesel engine most likely simply will not notice it - it will "chew" like a nice little one. I talked with seasoned truckers, so before the appearance of "antigels for diesel" they added a little gasoline to the tank so that the diesel was not so thick in the cold, they say - it really helps. However, the addition should be within 3%, well, maximum 4 - 5, no more!
However, if a lot was flooded, more than half or almost full tankthen it can have a detrimental effect on the diesel engine, or rather on its systems. What happens at the beginning? Yes, everything just your car will stop and will not start. The thing is that, as I wrote from above, gasoline needs a spark, but the compression is like “on the drum”. Respectively normal work will fail and the engine will stall.
In the tank and the car system, there are fine and coarse filters, they are designed for diesel fuel, and if gasoline gets into them, and it is more "active" and liquid, then it will simply "kill" them. Definitely a replacement.

A terrible word for all owners of diesel engines - injection pump ( fuel pump high pressure) + associated injectors that inject this fuel into the cylinders.

So they are "sharpened" for a diesel engine! "How does it manifest?" - you ask. Yes, everything is simple, modern diesel fuel, so to speak, is oily fuel, the composition contains a small amount of lubricating compounds, it is they who lubricate the injection pump and nozzles, prolonging their life. But in gasoline there is no such thing, on the contrary, it is an excellent solvent, that is, it washes away all lubricants. Also, gasoline is much thinner, it has a completely different consistency. So these important elements may fail - and this is oh, how not cheap, if you change all 4 nozzles + the pump itself, then this is about 20-30% of the cost of your car. I remember cleaning one injector with disassembly on a Volkswagen TUAREG came out at 14,000 rubles, and this is not a replacement - just cleaning!

In general, that's all - the engine itself will not suffer, the fuel system and filters may be "covered".

Actions after being noticed

I want to reassure you a little - if you noticed immediately, for example, at a gas station, or after a couple of minutes of work. Then in 80% of cases nothing terrible will happen, gasoline simply may not be pumped into the system. However, you need to perform a few simple steps:

• We jam cars and don't start it again! This must be learned!


• We call a tow truck or a friend with a rope to be towed to the service station.


• At the service station, they remove the tank and wash it - it is necessary, it is necessary - to completely remove the gasoline.


• The entire fuel supply system is flushed, usually done with compressed air, again we remove the residues from the system.


• Replacement of fuel filters, fine and coarse cleaning.

If you are lucky, the fuel injection pump and injectors will remain intact. Then just bring normal diesel fuel, refuel and continue on the road. Of course, the work of cleaning the system will not be cheap, an acquaintance gave about 7,000 rubles, but it must be done, because if these steps are not followed, then expensive repairs fuel system diesel engine - guaranteed!

DIESEL IN GASOLINE

Reverse situations also happen. But when diesel fuel gets into a gasoline car, the situation changes dramatically. The density of gasoline is less than that of a diesel, therefore, during refueling, all diesel fuel sinks to the bottom of the gas tank and strives to immediately get into the fuel line. That is, almost immediately, drivers begin to feel the same knocks in the engine, loss of dynamics, and neighbors downstream also see clouds of black smoke erupting from the exhaust pipe.

The initial actions in case of an erroneous refueling are the same as described above: you must immediately drain the tank and fill the required fuel. However, getting diesel fuel into a gasoline engine for the most part does not threaten dire consequences. If the tank was empty and diesel fuel is the predominant substance in it, then the engine will stall almost instantly and will not have time to deteriorate. The compression ratio of the internal combustion engine and the spark from the spark plug are simply not enough to ignite the diesel.

If the car was filled with half or more before entering the gas station, then the movement may work out. During the kilometers allotted to the car, filters and engine injectors will begin to clog on such a fuel mixture, and during long-term operation, the engine may be damaged, which will not be able to correctly synchronize the operation of the cylinders. A diesel engine contains a lot of paraffin, which clogs all lines and filter membranes, which happens at a double speed at low temperatures. However, for this you need to have complete indifference to the symptoms that the car exhibits.

If it was possible to stop refueling a gasoline car at the very beginning, say, about five liters of diesel fuel were needed for a 50-liter tank, then most likely the car will not feel this. It is only important to remember that the tank must be filled to capacity with gasoline, preferably with octane number higher than recommended.

So a gas station error isn't catastrophic. If you realize it in time and act according to the correct algorithm, the situation can be corrected quite simply and without sacrifice. Or at least minimize the damage if you don't ignore the car signals.

Share your experiences and impressions if you find yourself in an awkward situation due to confused fuel.

Sources:

Let us first tell you what is the undoubted advantage of a diesel engine - efficiency. The working process in a diesel engine differs from that of gasoline counterparts primarily in the way of regulating power parameters. Since there is no need to maintain a stoichiometric mixture (constant fuel-to-air ratio), quality control can be used simply by changing the amount of fuel supplied to the combustion chamber. There is no need for throttle, there are no additional suction losses, and in combination with a high expansion coefficient, we obtain a very high efficiency at any speed.

After the massive introduction of turbocharging in the eighties, diesel engines received another powerful impetus for development. Since the beginning of the century, being in the shadow of gasoline engines due to a lower degree of boost in rpm and a higher mass, they have won back with interest, first on heavy trucks, and then on passenger cars.

Photo: engine Volkswagen Golf GTD (Typ 19) "1984-85

The turbocharging was ideally combined with the operating cycle of the diesel engine: air can be compressed as much as you like, there are no more knock restrictions, and a large expansion coefficient is also a relatively low temperature of the exhaust gases, especially in intermediate modes, and therefore a gentle turbocharger operation.

In other words, a diesel engine can handle traffic jams and partial loads much better. There is no overheating, from which, and the turbine operates in more favorable conditions.

At the same time, there are simply no disadvantages, except for the price. Efficiency is even improved by running at lower speeds, the fuel is still safe, not prone to easy inflammation. And CO emissions are low, because the engine always runs with excess air.

Design features. Minuses

The cons of a diesel engine have always been closely related to its pluses. Good regulation requires complex fuel equipment, and the more power and speed, the more expensive the equipment.

Increasing requirements for cleanliness of combustion further increase its price. High compression ratio and expansion ratio with very high working temperature in the chamber create a large thermal load on the piston and large mechanical loads on the piston group and the cylinder block. An increase in the degree of boost due to turbocharging leads to a further increase in the load on the piston group and the cylinder head, injectors and other engine elements.

On the picture: Porsche cayenne S Diesel "2013

As a result, the requirements for all engine components are increasing, as is their price. And the turbines themselves are not cheap. And its fuel, theoretically cheaper than gasoline, in practice turned out to be not so cheap in the end. High-end diesel fuel competes with gasoline in manufacturing costs, and the difference in price is more often due to taxes. In our climate, among the disadvantages of diesel fuel is added its tendency to waxing at low temperatures, which requires the use of special grades of it and heating fuel lines and filters in winter.

After tightening the "environmental nuts", a couple more points were added to the cons of diesel engines. Highly efficient combustion of fuel produces an increased amount of NOx, which can be reduced either by reducing combustion efficiency or by clever chemical tricks.

Both methods have their drawbacks. EGR drastically reduces engine life, and urea neutralization requires a lot of additional technical fluid, which also has a low freezing point. In addition, when liquid fuels are burned, solid particles are formed immediately after atomization. And this soot contains many carcinogenic substances that need to be filtered somehow. But it turned out to be an expensive and extremely capricious component.

Why was the diesel said no?

Why diesel Mercedes did not run on our roads during the Soviet era is understandable. It was Vysotsky who could afford to drive a car of this class, and those who had access to diesel fuel could not even dream of this. In the perestroika years, when the sailors, state employees from the GDR and other "visiting" ones brought the first foreign cars to the country, the Soviet man found out the unpleasant truth. The diesel car turned out to be very capricious and not particularly comfortable.

And even if then any car was already better than the absence of one, but a diesel car, even if it was not a Volga with Perkins, but a completely "civilian" Opel or Mercedes, smelled of diesel fuel, did not warm up well, did not always start well, vibrated strongly and made noise ... Despite the fact that gasoline copies of foreign cars did not differ in similar behavior. The fuel equipment, of course, broke down, and it was impossible to replace it with a carburetor from the Niva or Volga, and rare workshops at the research institute could pull the piece production of spare parts for the injection pump.

In the photo: Mercedes-Benz 300 SD Turbo Diesel (W116) "1977–80

The euphoria passed quite quickly, so diesel-fueled cars remained with those who "on duty" had access to diesel fuel: the drivers of trucks and tractors. The rest admired from afar, but whenever possible acquired what the "experienced people" advised. Usually it was the "carburetor and chain" option: a minimum of consumables, a minimum of wearing parts, everything is repaired on the knee for the time being. Any fuel injection, and especially diesel injection equipment, was obviously not repairable without a full service infrastructure.

What happened next

The progress of diesel engines in the 90s did not go unnoticed, but it was clearly not enough to radically change the situation. Rare diesel engines with a "passenger character" in BMW have become overgrown with legends, but the owners of legendary and not so engines began to notice that diesel fuel in Russia does not favor fine equipment at all light diesel engines.

In the photo: BMW (E34) "1991–95

A couple of unsuccessful gas stations - and now, under the replacement of the nozzle and injection pump, and the aluminum of the cylinder head, especially the prechamber with their thin casting, simply melts with our high-sulfur diesel fuel. And by and large, cars with diesel engines hardly more comfortable. Of course, there were no longer any "humps" on the hood due to the special long-stroke of the motors, but vibration, noise, bad smell of an unheated engine and smoke in transient modes did not disappear.

Twenty years of success

The situation began to change only towards the end of the nineties. Here, the legislators were not at all Germans, but Italian and French companies. FIAT's subsidiary Magneti Marelli developed and launched the first commercial common rail control system for light duty diesel engines. And in 1997, the Italians used the 1.9 JTD system. Bosch bought a promising development, and already in 1998 presented the first car with its own Common Rail system, it was with the OM611 engine.

In the photo: Mercedes-Benz C-Klasse (W202) "1993-2000

If earlier the injection volume was set purely mechanically for all cylinders at the same time, and the injection moment was selected using a vacuum-centrifugal regulator (or electronic regulation on later versions of the injection pump), then in a system with Common Rail, injection worked approximately as on a conventional gasoline engine. Only the pressure in the rail already on the first system was 1,350 bar, and the fuel could be injected in several portions, providing preheating of the combustion chamber and more complete combustion of fuel in any modes, and reducing mechanical stress on the piston group at the same time.

The system removed almost all restrictions on the growth of diesel engine power, and at the same time avoided the problem of transient modes. Diesel has finally learned how to quickly gain momentum without clouds of smoke and power drawdown. And a mad race to increase the degree of forcing began, which ended with the introduction of new legislative acts, toughening of exhaust standards and ... dieselgate.

The popularity of diesel engines in Europe is steadily declining: according to a report from JATO Dynamics Ltd, in 2017 their sales fell by 8%, and the share of diesel engines in the structure of new car sales was 43.7%. That is, as Mark Twain said, “the rumors about my death are somewhat exaggerated,” however, the trend has emerged completely unambiguous. Already, the “legislators of the genre” represented by FCA (who invented the Common Rail Magneti Marelli remain the “daughter” of the concern) plan to curtail the production of heavy fuel vehicles by 2022.

That whistled past

In Russia, we heard rather echoes of distant battles for economy, ultra-clean exhaust, minimal taxes and average fuel consumption for the model line. Our diesel engines, even having overcome their generic problems, have not become widespread. Large crossovers were increasingly bought with diesel engines, and SUVs and commercial transport since the nineties they have been tightly hooked on them. The increase in the number of premium SUVs contributed to the dieselization of the vehicle fleet in the European part of Russia. In fact, often there was not even an alternative to diesel, it turned out to be the only acceptable option in terms of power, consumption and taxes for certain model cars.

In the photo: Porsche Cayenne Diesel "2010-14

Imported cars came across with diesel engines simply because in Europe they suddenly turned out to be the majority, and someone deliberately bought cars with a heavy fuel engine. But the bulk of the cars were produced in our country, and if diesel versions were sold, they were much more expensive imported versions.

Dieselization of the entire country did not take place, this time not because of design flaws (as in the 80s and 90s), but at the behest of automakers. For them, Russia has remained a market in which they are in demand gasoline engines of the last generation, and diesels are too much trouble. In winter, they can freeze, damage the fuel equipment, but why would they need disgruntled customers? Moreover, diesel engines sold well in Europe, and the lack of production capacity always has to be taken into account.

In the photo: Mercedes-Benz G-Klasse "2016

Heavy fuel engines remain either the lot of enthusiasts who go to additional costs and risks for the sake of a dream or significant fuel savings, or those who buy diesel car only because, fortunately, in terms of the complexity of the fuel equipment, they are quite comparable.

Taking into account European trends, and the still short century of current premium cars, the short-lived diesel renaissance of the business class is likely to end in just two or three years. Unless he is supported by the sudden flow of cars sold for next to nothing in Europe across the border. Well, dreams of minimal operating costs are more likely now related to electric vehicles: they still have a dozen or two years left to be a blue bird.

A few minutes of diesel entertainment content