A diesel camaro.....seriously

[6806goats]

Oh cool, glad to see some positive diesel interest here. I tried awhile back to bring about the virtues of diesel but maybe I had it in the wrong thread...or wrong time.

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5192

I hear ya SSNightmare. I'm not pumped up to your levels yet but with EFILive I hope to someday. Other obligations first. Thing I like about EFILive is we can use it on most GM products. Not sure if I'll buy the new Camaro as I should restore my old one for about the same price...if I do it myself that is and then still doubtful I'll come under the wire on costs. The 4.5 would be an excellent combo but I'm still hung up on putting an LBZ under the hood. I guess we'll see which makes more sense when I get to that point. For gas an LS2, LS7 or LSX twin turbo sure would wake up the chickens but then I'd blow the budget. If no diesel is available for the Camaro then maybe the Commadore/G8 with that Italian V-6 2.9L will get the nod. For a diesel V-6 that one is a strong engine. Good mileage too I'm sure.

Not bashing Superman who mentioned a friend of his is putting a Cummins in a 70's Vette, but not sure if the bay would be tall enough or if he'll have to lay it down at an angle. (4BT might be a better option)The weight of a Cummins is huge and would probably squash a Vette to the ground. I hear there are hotrodders putting the Cummins in 30's-40's cars so there are builds out there. I'll be the first to say the Cummins is an awesome motor though and can understand why he likes it...just not sure if a Vette would be a good candidate. Be fun to see how it comes out though if he does it. Brings a whole new meaning to the term "smokem".

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by headpunter

then how is that a yes and no....if its still heavier then an all Aluminum engine i am correct.....

yes, but for a diesel they are light. Besides, you're mention of weight had little to do with responding to my statement. I commented on size, because if it is the same size as an LS engine, it can fit in the bay of any vehicle that has an LS engine.

[Oracle]

So im going to play a little devil's advocate here, though i think the deisel is a staple of the future specifically for future trucks.

there is a reason diesels have all that emissions equipment, thats because diesel is a dirty fuel. not only is it a dirty fuel, it is comprised of very long chains of carbon, much longer than gasoline chains. thats what gives a diesel such great fuel economy, but if you look at it from a CO2 standpoint then it doesnt look so hot anymore. in some european countries (like germany) they frown upon diesels somewhat because of these facts, its considered enviromentally catostrophic (excuse the spelling errors please).

Diesels provide phenominal torque, but on a very short powercurve. probably the best example of this is the diesel jaguar on top gear. i know some people recall the episode around the 'ring. if your going to have a performance diesel you might as well stick the 12 speed from a semi in there as well, your going to need that many gears to keep it on the torque curve.

they provide excellent fuel economy but at the price of a higher dollar and, in the true "green" fashion produce more CO2. like stated above.

Biodiesel is actually somewhat difficult to make as it requires palm oil to produce. in a small demand yes this isnt a problem, go to a plant nursery and im sure you can harvest enough. But if your going to try and produce a billion gallons of the stuff your going to have to grow more palm trees to collect palm oil from, last i checked you cant produce a mature palm tree in a season. Ethanol is flexible, you only grow it as per demand.

there is a definite future for diesel racing, as shown in the pugeot vs Audi at lemans. the problem is diesels are somewhat underperforming vehicles. the reason the Audi R10 was such a success is that because it was a diesel it got to bend the rules quite a bit. thus the car had close to double the displacement among other things. diesels should be catagorized or limited to make them comparable to gasoline engines again then reevaluate this subject.

as everybody else has pointed out though these are powerful engines that are heavy. one final factor to add is that the price of diesel. our price of diesel is a reflection of international demand. aka if we want more diesel, and europe wants more diesel at the same time, were both going to have to pay a price that supply and demand determines. we enjoy a rather low cost on our diesel because it is limited to "special" applications. if america began to see diesel as the answer then be prepared to pay the 8 dollar a gallon (speculative) pricetag untill the market catches up... on top of the noted equipment cost to provide a diesel motor.

that all being said i am an advocate of Ethanol, and if it can be applied to the HCCI engines that GM is developing (assuming those arent dead) then i would love to wait for a true showcase of technology featuring VVT DOD DI twin-OHV HCCI turbo Flexfuel (or alcohol run) small-8. that would be my $3-7k bump well spent vs diesel I think.

[xl1200r]

Deisels have a short powerband mostly when they are undersquare for truck applications. Build one with more car-like internal dimesions and you'll get your rev range back to an extent.

Also, semis need 12 gears (or more) for a lot of reasons, and it has more to do with how much weight they're pulling than the powerband of the engine. Most of thier gears are used under 35 mph to serve as torque multipliers to get really heavy loads rolloing. They need to optimize the engine's performance per MPG in order to keep the truck cost effective.

Deisels are a good idea, and I thought the same thing about Camaro's when I first read about this motor a couple months ago.

Also, did you guys notice that this engine has no intake manifold? The incoming air is just piped right into the valve covers. And the exhaust exits in the valley to keep the width down. Neat stuff.

[Yaz]

I run a tuned Duramax and couldn't be happier with the performance. It will spank many current Camaros. It is possible but will it be too heavy up front IMO. Torque will compensate for power but the handling with the added weight up front would suffer with it's current placement. I think the car would have to be redesigned with the engine further back or the trans would be mounted out back like the corvette a to get a closer to 50/50 balance.

[PREDATOR]

Like this 1970 Chevelle with a Duramax Diesel: