Disadvantages of Gasoline Engines

Since the late 1800's, gasoline engines have dominated the U.S. automobile market. However, fuel emissions, engine size and rising fuel costs are among the many disadvantages of this type of car engine.

What Are Gasoline Engines?

Gasoline engines are a category of internal combustion engine. The term "four-stroke" refers to the working cycle during two crankshaft rotations--intake, compression, combustion and exhaust. The working cycle begins when the piston moves from the top of the cylinder, thereby reducing pressure. An air-fuel mixture goes into the cylinder through the intake hose. The intake valves close, and the compression stroke compresses the air-fuel mixture. Using a spark plug, a gasoline engine ignites the air-fuel mixture, pushing the piston through its power (combustion) stroke. In the exhaust stroke, the piston pushes the by-products of combustion from the cylinder through the exhaust valves.

Fuel Emissions From Gasoline Engines

Gasoline engines are less fuel efficient versus diesel engines because they have lower compression ratios. In addition, gasoline produces less energy than diesel by volume. Also, gasoline engines produce more carbon dioxide emissions versus diesel engines.

Gasoline engines and other fossil fuel-burning engines also produce more greenhouse gas, such as nitrogen oxide, than engines using alternative fuel sources.

Disadvantage of Gasoline Engine Size

Gasoline engines may not last as long as diesel engines because gasoline engines are lighter in weight. The capacity of diesel engines is greater than that of gasoline engines because the diesel engine's revolutions per minute (rpm) are lower. The lower rpm requires diesel engines to endure higher combustion pressures needed for ignition.

Gasoline Prices

The cost of gasoline fluctuates dramatically depending on the time of year, economic ups-and-downs of supplying countries, refinery maintenance schedules and logistics. This can adversely impact the consumers who drive gasoline-powered vehicles.

Gasoline as a Resource

Gasoline engines rely on gasoline produced from crude oil. Crude oils produced in the United States are primarily heavier grades, requiring expensive processing to convert to gasoline. The U.S. relies on imports for the easier-to-process light crude oils, thereby forcing U.S. dependency on foreign sources of oil.

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