How is gasoline different from diesel, and why does it damage the car if you put the wrong kind in the tank?

Question

How is gasoline different from diesel, and why does it damage the car if you put the wrong kind in the tank?

In: 4472

Answer 1

2 main differences:

1. Diesel engines use compression to cause combustion, where as a gasoline engine will use a spark to cause combustion

2. Diesel and gasoline release different amounts of energy at different temperature when they combust

Therefore, if you think of an engine like a computer expecting certain inputs and responses, during an unexpected event (eg early/late combustion), all the other processes going on around the engine might not be able to respond correctly to the energy being released