"Peter Dohm" wrote

Your location is not obvious from your email. In most of the world,
diesels are available in a wide variety. In the US, where fuel
consumption is only estimated from total mass flow and emission content at
the exhasut, the choices are currently quite limited, and I am really not
very happy with any of the choices. The 2 liter VW (Passat) is an all
iron engine, and about all I know is that it is about 100 pounds heavier
than its gasoline stablemate--which is partially aluminum. There are also
V6 diesels offered in the Mercedes E320 and the Jeep Liberty, but I know
even less about them. There are probably others that I haven't seen, and
Isuzu has said that they will be back in the diesel market when the
regulations have stabilized.

Personally, I really do like the diesel idea--so I plan to take a very
close look if/when any of the lighter small diesels (such as the 2 liter
Mercedes) become available here.

One thing that everyone should keep in mind, is that automotive diesels run
on diesel fuel, and everyone wanting diesel engines for their airplanes is
going to want to use jet fuel.

Jet fuel does not have the good lubricating properties that diesel fuel has,
and may tend to wear out the automotive fuel pumps in short order.

I read somewhere that Thielert spent half of what they spent on
modifications to the engine, in designing a fuel pump that would be durable
enough.

Something to keep in mind.
--
Jim in NC
--
Jim in NC