troveman,
this statement :
"since clearly the on-road diesel trucks run at much lower RPM and perform just fine without running wide open, or even 85% wide open."
so what you are saying is a fully loaded 18 wheeler starting off from a stop lights, will place it in 1st gear.......and then just use a low rpm to get it started to move?
I think not - and this is where we are comparing apples and hell, bananas .......
the discussion should be .........when a
diesel is asked to do work, that is- place a load ON THE ENGINE, where should the throttle be set to?
AND when an 18 wheeler, dump truck, pick your vehicle .....when you WANT TO TO WORK, and here's the real point, work WELL and efficiently......YOU should place the rpm in the range that meets the need - and most of the time, the need is up near WOT or close to it.
Can someone spin a MMM or a rotary cutter at 1800 rpms and cut grass? SURE they can - but the engine is under a hellva lot of strain keeping those blades spinning, and geared or HST the "system" is working hard, and running it on the low end, only places more strain on the engine that if you get this point.
If fuel consumption is a point worth talking about - the advantage of a diesel over gas is non issue, diesel wins all the time, but if one is trying to say and I am throwing words out there " I dont want to waste fuel by revving up the engine" then we are looking at the situation in an entirely different light. Most of us really do not care if we burn 1 gallon and hour or 1.4322 gallons per hour - we want the job done in a "reasonable time"
again I say - run your engines the way you feel is the correct way, all of have a different point of view, some views come from paranoia and some come from science .....
what say we talk about religion or politics ?
Or you favorite football team?