Trucks are indispensable vehicles for goods transportation in modern life. If you’re exploring trucks, especially the question “what fuel do trucks use?” and why many heavy-duty trucks utilize diesel, this article from Xe Tải Mỹ Đình experts will provide the most detailed and useful information.
What Fuel Do Trucks Use? Gasoline or Diesel?
Many people, especially new drivers or those considering purchasing a truck, often wonder whether trucks run on gasoline or diesel. The answer is trucks can run on both types of fuel. The choice depends on the truck model and the engine equipped by the manufacturer.
To differentiate between gasoline and diesel trucks, we need to understand the characteristics of each engine type:
- Light-duty trucks and pickup trucks: Typically use gasoline engines.
- Heavy-duty trucks for cargo transportation: Mostly use diesel engines.
Gasoline and diesel engines have fundamental differences. Diesel engines are not as quick and instantly powerful as gasoline engines and are often considered more polluting due to soot generated during diesel combustion. However, diesel engines have significant advantages, especially when considering the economics and operational efficiency of trucks, particularly heavy-duty ones. As diesel fuel is usually cheaper than gasoline and diesel engines offer better load-bearing capacity and fuel economy, it remains the top choice for cargo trucks.
Diesel Engines: Pros and Cons Compared to Gasoline Engines
Advantages of Diesel Engines
Diesel engines not only have the advantage of fuel price but also possess numerous other benefits, making them the optimal choice for trucks, especially diesel trucks for cargo transport.
- High Engine Efficiency: Diesel engines are renowned for their superior efficiency compared to gasoline engines. This means trucks using diesel engines can operate more powerfully, carry heavier loads better, and are more durable over the long term.
- Fuel Economy: Although fuel prices can fluctuate, diesel is generally cheaper than gasoline. This helps truck owners significantly save on fuel costs, especially for trucks operating long distances and with high frequency.
- Durability and Safety: Diesel engines do not use spark plugs and complex carburetors like gasoline engines. Instead, diesel engines combust fuel by compressing air at extremely high pressure, generating temperatures high enough for diesel fuel to self-ignite. This construction makes diesel engines less prone to minor breakdowns, more stable, and safer in harsh conditions.
Diesel truck, the ideal choice for heavy-duty transport
Disadvantages of Diesel Engines
Besides the outstanding advantages, diesel engines also have some disadvantages to consider:
- Lower Engine Speed: Diesel engines typically have lower RPMs than gasoline engines. This can result in diesel trucks feeling less responsive and smooth than gasoline trucks, especially when accelerating quickly or moving on complex terrain.
- More Polluting Emissions: Diesel engines tend to emit more NOx and particulate matter compared to gasoline engines, impacting the environment and human health. However, modern emission control technologies such as DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) and SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) systems have significantly reduced this issue in newer diesel truck models.
- Higher Engine Cost: Diesel engines often have a more complex structure and require special materials to withstand high compression pressures, thus their production cost is typically higher than gasoline engines. This can increase the initial cost of diesel trucks.
- Heavier Engine: Due to their robust engine structure and heavy-duty components, diesel engines are generally heavier than gasoline engines of the same power output.
However, with superior advantages in performance, fuel economy, and durability, diesel engines remain the top choice for trucks, especially heavy-duty and specialized trucks.
Why Heavy-Duty Trucks Favor Diesel Engines?
Although both gasoline and diesel are common fuels, most heavy-duty trucks remain loyal to diesel engines. The main reason lies in the superior characteristics of diesel engines, especially in terms of power and torque.
Superior Power and Torque of Diesel Engines
Heavy-duty truck manufacturers prioritize using diesel engines because they produce significantly higher torque compared to gasoline engines. Torque is the rotational force produced by the engine, determining the truck’s load-pulling and terrain-conquering capabilities.
Heavy-duty trucks need to transport large volumes of goods, often traveling long distances and on complex terrains. Diesel engines with high torque help trucks easily overcome steep slopes, carry heavy loads, and still ensure stable and safe operation over long periods. Diesel engines and diesel fuel combine to create an optimal power-to-weight ratio, effectively meeting the heavy cargo transportation needs.
Higher Thermal Efficiency Thanks to Compression Ignition
Gasoline engines use spark plugs to ignite the air-fuel mixture. In contrast, diesel engines operate based on the principle of compressing air to a very high temperature, then injecting fuel into the combustion chamber for self-ignition.
This compression ignition mechanism allows diesel engines to achieve much higher thermal efficiency than gasoline engines. High thermal efficiency means diesel engines convert energy from fuel into effective work more efficiently, helping trucks save fuel and reduce operating costs.
High Compression Ratio – A Decisive Factor for Efficiency
Another important factor contributing to the advantage of diesel engines is the high compression ratio. The compression ratio is the ratio between the combustion chamber volume when the piston is at bottom dead center and top dead center. Gasoline engines have a limited compression ratio (usually from 8:1 to 12:1) because if the compression ratio is too high, the gasoline-air mixture can self-ignite before the spark plug ignites, causing detonation, which is harmful to the engine.
Conversely, diesel engines are highly compression-resistant, with compression ratios typically ranging from 14:1 to 25:1, or even higher. The high compression ratio helps diesel engines compress air to extremely high temperatures, creating ideal conditions for the self-ignition of diesel fuel, thereby enhancing efficiency and fuel economy.
These reasons explain why heavy-duty trucks often prioritize using diesel engines over gasoline engines. Diesel engines offer a perfect combination of power, durability, and economic efficiency, maximally meeting the cargo transportation needs of businesses and individuals.
The article above has provided comprehensive information to answer the question “what fuel do trucks use” and clarify the advantages of diesel trucks. If you are still hesitant and want more detailed advice on truck models, contact Xe Tải Mỹ Đình immediately for the best support!
