Know anything about these trucks???

[RICHinNC]

SAS....yes there are...and the prices on them are very pretty too as is the maintenance records. Im sorry....I quit buying Fords and Chevies a long time ago,

 

[WaterWayne]

Commonrail diesel is the word... Forget the gas guzzlers!

As biodiesel (soybean-based) becomes more common, Kompressor may have the best idea. Biodiesel works easily in a standard diesel engine, I'm told, without the post-factory conversion needed for gasoline => natural gas.

Food for thought.

Edited to include free advice (worth more than what you pay for it): For any truck on which you're going to put a bedliner, get either the factory fit, or maybe the spray-in kind. After-market bedliners never fit properly, especially over time.

 

[RICHinNC]

already have my rhino liner laid on

 

[RonDawg]

Commonrail diesel is the word... Forget the gas guzzlers!

Only problem is that Nissan, like most car manufacturers, don't sell a light-duty diesel vehicle in North America.

Other than a few VW's, and a Mercedes model or two, and I think the Jeep Liberty, in order to get a diesel in this country you'd have to buy a medium or heavy duty truck.

You also have to understand that thanks to the diesels offered to us during the 1970's and 1980's, in particular the Oldsmobile 5.7 litre unit used in various GM cars and trucks, most American consumers have negative perceptions of diesel engines, probably forever.

While I drove a diesel Ford Mondeo across much of Europe a couple of years ago and was quite impressed with it, I still don't think diesels are ready for the mainstream American driver. With more and more manufacturers introducing hybrid vehicles, I don't think it will ever become as popular here as it is overseas.

 

[airsix]

Diesels work great for certain applications and poorly for others. It all depends on application. For highway and long-haul, diesel is awesome. I wouldn't mind one at all for a highway commute or highway travel. But for light cars and stop/go city traffic you'll go nuts. Diesels have an EXTREMELY narrow torque curve, which is fine if you are cruising at constant speed and have the right gearbox ratios. Otherwise they are less well suited. I'd choose according to your intended use.

-Ben M.

 

[KOMPRESSOR]

Only problem is that Nissan, like most car manufacturers, don't sell a light-duty diesel vehicle in North America.

Other than a few VW's, and a Mercedes model or two, and I think the Jeep Liberty, in order to get a diesel in this country you'd have to buy a medium or heavy duty truck.

You also have to understand that thanks to the diesels offered to us during the 1970's and 1980's, in particular the Oldsmobile 5.7 litre unit used in various GM cars and trucks, most American consumers have negative perceptions of diesel engines, probably forever.

While I drove a diesel Ford Mondeo across much of Europe a couple of years ago and was quite impressed with it, I still don't think diesels are ready for the mainstream American driver. With more and more manufacturers introducing hybrid vehicles, I don't think it will ever become as popular here as it is overseas.

Well, that sucks... Over here you get the Nissan Navara with a 2,5 liter commonrail injected diesel offering 174 HP (And that's DIN, not SAE! ) at 4000 rpm and 403 newton meter of torque at 2000 rpm.

I know about the 5,7 litre conversion V8 that blew the top every fourtnight. However, you guys have delivered some nice diesel engines since then. Both Ford and GM heavy trucks and vans used to be sold 90% with V8 diesels here, and due to low taxes on heavy "commercial" trucks for many years we have a lot of them here. Perhaps they are even more common here in Norway than in the US. -That's with the V8 diesels I'm thinking about. I drive a 1990 Suburban 4x4 6,2 litre V8 diesel myself, and it has seen some 200.000 miles any day now.

 

[KOMPRESSOR]

Diesels work great for certain applications and poorly for others. It all depends on application. For highway and long-haul, diesel is awesome. I wouldn't mind one at all for a highway commute or highway travel. But for light cars and stop/go city traffic you'll go nuts. Diesels have an EXTREMELY narrow torque curve, which is fine if you are cruising at constant speed and have the right gearbox ratios. Otherwise they are less well suited. I'd choose according to your intended use.

-Ben M.

Sorry Ben, you are wrong. At least with modern COMMONRAIL diesels you'll find that the torque curve extends well beyond your description. I would say that since the torque starts to work at a much earlier stage than with similiar volume gas engines, the modern diesels are well suited for your stop-and-go traffic. The best engine I can think of, from my experiences, for everday use would definitely be the Mercedes 2,2 litre diesel. It comes in a 150 hp (DIN) version for ordinary cars like the Mercedes C and E-class, widely used as taxis in Europe. -And it comes in a 130 HP version with a torque curve more suited for heavier vehicles. It's even well suited for the 3,5 and 4,5 ton cargo carrier/minibus known here as Mercedes Sprinter, which I think you will know as the Freightliner Sprinter Van. ( http://americansprinter.com/ )

The japanese car producers are no longer behind in diesel technology, and for instance Toyota comes with a unique 2,2 litre commonrail diesel with even more power than the Mercedes. In a 4x4 or a heavy van the new diesels knocks the socks off of any equal sized gas engine.

Sincerely,

Reidar
-With some extensive diesel experience I might add!

 

[herman]

........ I drive a 1990 Suburban 4x4 6,2 litre V8 diesel myself, and it has seen some 200.000 miles any day now.

Now you have hurting my feeling.
I still miss my 84 burban diesel. It had 250K on it when the body gave out (well my wife refused to ride in it any longer....come to think of it, maybe I should have kept it.....). It was running great and gave me 21+mpg at 75mph with a bunch of gear and divers in it. Every Suburban I see for sale I check to see if it's diesel.
We rented some 4dr Nisson 4cyl diesels in Curacao last year. I wish we could get them here. They were plenty quick for city driving and while I did not check fuel usage it had to be 30mpg or better.

 

[RonDawg]

However, you guys have delivered some nice diesel engines since then. Both Ford and GM heavy trucks and vans used to be sold 90% with V8 diesels here, and due to low taxes on heavy "commercial" trucks for many years we have a lot of them here. Perhaps they are even more common here in Norway than in the US. -That's with the V8 diesels I'm thinking about. I drive a 1990 Suburban 4x4 6,2 litre V8 diesel myself, and it has seen some 200.000 miles any day now.

Diesels are popular here only with the larger trucks such as your Suburban (which I presume is a medium duty 2500 model, and not the light duty 1500), largely for better fuel consumption but also for their tremendous torque. For light duty trucks, gasoline is the overwhelming if not only engine choice for Americans. That's not surprising as most Americans who drive trucks do so as fashion statements and not out of necessity.

At least with modern COMMONRAIL diesels you'll find that the torque curve extends well beyond your description. I would say that since the torque starts to work at a much earlier stage than with similiar volume gas engines, the modern diesels are well suited for your stop-and-go traffic. The best engine I can think of, from my experiences, for everday use would definitely be the Mercedes 2,2 litre diesel. It comes in a 150 hp (DIN) version for ordinary cars like the Mercedes C and E-class, widely used as taxis in Europe.

Actually I have to agree with airsix. While the diesel Mondeo I drove across Europe impressed me with its acceleration ability for a diesel, one thing that I noticed (and the reason I still feel diesels aren't ready for mainstream America) it that is required CONSTANT shifting to keep it within the torque band. That's not going to work well in a country where the population is used to powerful, slow revving engines with wide torque bands. Compare that with my personal car, a Nissan Altima sedan with the same 3.5 litre V-6 from the 350Z, and a 5 speed manual gearbox; the torque band on that engine is such that I can (and inadvertently have) pulled away from a stop in third gear, and yet I can also cruise at American freeway speeds in the same gear. Try that with any diesel engine.

That Mondeo also had an annoying need to be revved rather high when pulling away from a stop; I found that out the hard way as I pulled out of the Hertz office in downtown Zurich, and kept stalling the car to the chagrin (and more) of the normally reserved Swiss people.

150 HP is also not all that powerful when coupled to a car as heavy as a Mercedes. Because of all the safety engineering that goes into it, even a C-class weighs in excess of 3400 lbs, quite heavy for a car of its size.

 

[RICHinNC]

The only problem with diesel....is....diesel costs more than gas.