In this post of mine i will discuss about when it is economical to go for a diesel engine.
Generally when we go to any automomtive dealers we find the price more than normal petrol engine when it accounts for any diesel engine.
Reasons for high costs of Diesel Engine:-
1) Fuel Effeciency-
Diesel engines are more fuel effecient than petrol engine i.e. they burn less fuel as compared to petrol engine for same power output
2)Material Costs:-
Diesel engines produces high pressure (40bars) inside the cylinder when comapred with petrol engine (10-15bars) for combustion due to absence of spark plug.Hence the materials used for making various engine parts are more stronger than that of petrol engine.
3)Engine life:-
Since the components of diesel engine are more tougher than that of petrol engine therefore life of diesel engine is more than that of petrol engine
4)Better Torque at lower RPM:-
Diesel engine produces more torque than petrol engines at lower rpms.
5)Technical Components:-
Since diesel engine produces more noise than petrol engine & starting of heavy diesel engine in winter season causes some problems so in order to overcome these problems more sophisticated technology is used for better engine performamce.
These are some of the reasons for high costs of deisel engines as discussed above.
Now i will explain when to go for deisel engine:-
Lets take an assuption that any Diesel car cost Rs 80,000 more than Petrol version of same car (price may vary depending upon cars) and in INDIA cost of petrol is Rs30(approx) more than Diesel.
Take Petrol rates as Rs70 per litre and Diesel rates as Rs 40 per litre.
Now plan out your monthly travelling distance…let it be approximately 1500km.
Now take an average assumption that your Diesel cars gives a mileage of 18kmpl as compared to the Petrol version of same car which is 10kmpl.
Now for travelling 18km with petrol car you have to spend an amount of Rs (70/10)*18 = Rs 126
Therefore for travelling 1500kms you have to spend an amount of Rs(126/18)*1500=Rs10,500
Again for travelling the same distance of 1500kms by an diesel engine you have to spend an amount of Rs(40/18)*1500=Rs3333.33 approx =Rs3330
Therefore your total savings per month by travelling with an diesel engine comes to be Rs(10,500-3330)=Rs7170.
Your total saving in 1year =Rs(7170*12)= Rs86,040
Hence the extra sum of Rs 80,000 which you spend in buying an diesel engine gets recovered in 1 year itself if your monthly travelling distance is 1500kms approximately.
If your monthly distance covered is less than 1500kms then it will take you 2-3 years or even more to recover your extra amount spent in buying an diesel variant of car…..then in that case it will be better to go for petrol version of the car.
So it is important to plan your total montlhy travelling distance covered before buying any diesel engine.
Anticipating your valuable replies…
Signing Off
MD.AFZAL ANSARI
3rd Sem MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
BANGALORE