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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Fuel economy of light-duty diesel vehicles

Conference ·
OSTI ID:7339252

Fuel economy and emission characteristics of two light-duty diesel-powered vehicles, representing 3,500-lb and 5,500-lb passenger cars, were determined and compared to those of similar 1975 model year gasoline-powered vehicles. The diesel-powered and gasoline-powered vehicles were designed to have comparable acceleration performance. The 3,500-lb vehicle with a 247 cubic-inch-displacement (CID) diesel engine and the 5,500-lb vehicle with a 636-CID diesel engine gave respectively, 43 percent and 33 percent better combined city/highway fuel economy than similar vehicles with a 250-CID and 440-CID 1975 model year gasoline engines. In the 3,500-lb vehicle, emissions both from the diesel and gasoline engine were below the 1976 Federal emission standard. Emissions from the 5,500-lb vehicle both with the diesel and with the gasoline engine exceeded the 1976 standard. Additional work was done with a 3,500-lb vehicle (198-CID diesel) and a 247-CID diesel engine mounted on a dynamometer stand using turbocharging, combined supercharging/turbocharging and varied engine-to-vehicle speed ratio as experimental variables. The results in terms of fuel economy, emissions, and vehicle performance are discussed.

OSTI ID:
7339252
Report Number(s):
CONF-760868-1
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English