Objectively speaking, what is/was the best diesel engine ever built?

[airhead]

I thought this topic might raise a debate or 2. I'm not just speaking about cars. Im talking about any diesel engine, anywhere doing anything. And just to keep things interesting, lets exclude VW engines altogether.

Personally, for sheer engineering and the wow factor, it would be the SU Sulzer or Wartsila ship engines. Just their sheer size and power is what does it for me. Outside of that, there's the old reliable Lister and Perkins diesels which seem to just keep hammering away day after day in the most hostile conditions, and then yes, in cars, well I'd have to say the new Peugeor diesels are pretty amazing, considering their efficiency and reliability. I mean the French have always made a good diesel engine. The 1.5 dCI Nissan Renault engine is a lovely versatile little thing and seems to bolt into a whole host of cars and do the job for many miles, from the Renault Clio to the Nissan Qashqai.

[catlin_cava]

3 cylender Perkins diesel in our farm tractor and its 50 years old and has had i motor job because it Was running on 1 lol. could be -50 out and It will start with no glow plugs. i love that old massie lol

[zukgod1]

Dodge Cummins 12 valve with the P Pump.

[rabbitman]

Dodge Cummins 12 valve with the P Pump.

X2

[catlin_cava]

detroit 515, had 700,000km was leaking everything lol, yet would still bring the truck up to 140 kph hauling 80000lb, the motor was over hauled twice, all the injectors where replade a couple times, blew 5 turbos and much more in 4 years with my brother at the wheel.

[blackdogvan]

Some might say the 2 stroke Detroit Diesel played a pivotal part in winning WW2. Pretty ahead of its time & the basic design was in production until very recently. Currently the Detroit Diesel Series 60 owns the highway tractor market for good reason.

My call is the 90hp TDi.

[the caveman]

ALH TDI . When VW brought out the TDI at first ,it won lots of engineering awards

[diesel smoke]

In a car, the ALH TDI when the VNT 15 is ditched; in a truck, the 12v Cummins; a stationary engine, the Lister CS, going to get a clone one for our off-grid power system.

[Wingaman]

Dodge Cummins 12 valve with the P Pump.

X2

X1827374

A 5.9B/BT/BTA with this beautiful P7100 pump is amazing, It's called millions miles engine, use on Case construction equipment, dodge truck (94-97.5), Case agricultural tractor and combine, many excavator, ...

Also 3.9B/3.9BT/3.9BTA in many Case construction too, generator, ...

Another good engine is a Deutz air cooled, like a Lister, not expensive on parts, smaller than a water cooled.

Perkins is in the mild, reliable, but don't expect 20 000 hours with a Perkins. Cheap to rebuilt but not lasting.

[airhead]

All the city buses in Ireland use 6 cylinder cummins engines in fact and they have astronomical mileage on some of them.

[blackdogvan]

One interesting thing to compare in this topic is power/displacement.

For its longevity the 90/145 1z/AHU/ALH has a very high ratio, over 47hp per liter & 76ftlb/liter.

Cummins from those days, (160-170/400 i believe?) 27hp/liter 68ftlb / liter.

FYI you can buy a 5.9 cummins in stock form at 370hp for marine use! Its amazing what you can do with a endless supply of cold water for your intercooler.

[jtanguay]

One interesting thing to compare in this topic is power/displacement.

For its longevity the 90/145 1z/AHU/ALH has a very high ratio, over 47hp per liter & 76ftlb/liter.

Cummins from those days, (160-170/400 i believe?) 27hp/liter 68ftlb / liter.

FYI you can buy a 5.9 cummins in stock form at 370hp for marine use! Its amazing what you can do with a endless supply of cold water for your intercooler.

very true!  a high flow pump with two air/water intercoolers, fuel cooler... hmmm!!!

[theman53]

No votes for the 6.0L ford powerstroke?    That thing was the biggest piece of junk ever.

 The toughest little diesel I ever drove was my original 1.6L 1981 vw rabbit N/A. I have had several after, but none as tough as that one. I couldn't figure out why it was overheating all the time and boiling over. I replaced coolant, radiator, thermostat and all seemed to help. Then when you least expected it  it would boil over. Lasted about six months before I finally figured out the water pump was bad. So my vote goes to the vw, but this is non vw, so I would say my dad's duramax is smooth, quiet, and powerful out of the box diesels I have ever been in. I never owned one but the 7.3 powerstroke and the cummins 6B were some amazing runners as well.

[jtanguay]

i heard that some of the new duramax use the a/c to 'chill' the fuel?  hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Wingaman]

5.9 could hold 70psi of boost only with o-ring head with 60lbs valve spring and a nice compound turbo setup, injectors and pump adjustment(governor spring kit and fuel plate) for about 600-800hp. The hp/liters ratio is over ! lol

Ho, I forgot, can turn 5000 rpm with fluidamper too without harmonic destruction hhehehe