Types of Fuels For Your Vehicle

Understand your vehicle’s fuel.

Fossil fuels are the most common type of fuel used by consumers on the road today. Recent advancements in renewable fuel sources have contributed to more and more vehicles that run on alternative fuels on the road, but fossil fuels are still the most widely used fuel source. Both gasoline and diesel have their benefits as a reliable fuel source and they can be compared based on the consumer’s benefits with using each.

Gasoline is a very common fuel used in most consumer vehicles on the road. The main benefit of using gasoline is that it is cheaper per gallon than that of diesel. Gasoline is less dense than diesel allowing it to immediately vaporize when it is shot into a cylinder. Once in the Cylinders the vehicles spark plugs ignite the gas vapor, powering your vehicle.

Diesel is also a very common fuel source, primarily in commercial trucks and large equipment. Most pick-up trucks have a diesel engine option and companies such as Volkswagen and Audi have diesel vehicle options. Diesel, like gasoline, is a fossil fuel, but it is much heavier, more dense, and less flammable. Because diesel is less flammable the process of igniting the fuel is much different than that of gasoline. Unlike gasoline, diesel is ignited via high pressure and high heat in the cylinders. The benefits of having a diesel vehicle is that they tend to last much longer than gasoline engines, the engine produces less harmful gasses for the ozone, and diesel engines produce more power per gallon of fuel, giving the engine better fuel economy.