Cars and trucks have very different engines in terms of their specifications and how powerful their engines actually are, for the simple reason that they are both designed to be used in very different ways. Cars are meant for everyday use by the general public whereas, trucks are generally used for carrying heavy cargo over long distances. With that in mind, a car engine is generally going to be weaker than that of a truck as they don’t require an engine that is used for pulling a large wagon as well as the vehicle. Trucks are significantly larger than cars so it makes sense that the engine size would differ greatly, cars are not designed for large scale transit so there would be no need to put an engine that matches that of a truck in a car.

Maintenance

With the engines of cars and trucks being so different, how they are maintained is also very different, trucks undergo much more maintenance than a regular car as the increased amount of horsepower within a truck engine requires regular safety checks to ensure everything is as it should be. It is safe to say that trucks are in almost constant use up and down the country making deliveries because a truck is normally used under a shipping company of some kind it is likely the engine is checked over more regularly to make sure the drivers are safe whilst on the road. A truck driver’s safety is paramount to any decent shipping company so it is likely maintenance and safety checks are done much more regularly than what is conducted on a standard car.

When it comes to car drivers are required to have their cars checked over on a yearly basis if the car is over three years old, if a driver didn’t do this their car would not be roadworthy until the car had passed the necessary checks. In comparison to a truck, a standard car will go through fewer maintenance checks for the simple reason that a car is not generally used to carry heavy loads over significant distances. A truck is likely to have checked after every journey it makes so the shipping companies can ensure their trucks, drivers and cargo are all safe.

Another maintenance difference between the engines of cars and trucks would have to be the types of products that are used, specifically oil. There is much discussion around the kinds of oil that should be used in both kinds of the engine with amsoil vs royal purple engine oil being a common battle in terms of which oil is the best for vehicle lubrication. A significant difference between these two synthetic oils is the distance traveled before an oil change is required, Amsoil recommends an oil change after 25000 miles and royal purple at 18000. So many would argue that Amsoil is the superior product as you could travel for a longer distance before needing to change the oil.

Specifications

Another difference between car and truck engines would have to be the specifications and horsepower of the different types of engines, as previously mentioned trucks are designed for long-distance heavy haulage so the engine is much more powerful than that of a standard car. With larger, more powerful engines, trucks require a much stronger cooling system in order to avoid overheating whilst on the road. You may have noticed the large vent that is commonly found at the front of a truck, which helps air to flow through the engine and keep the entire vehicle as cool as possible. These features are not something found on standard cars because the cooling system required for day to day use is nowhere near as powerful than what is found on a truck.

As trucks are generally made to be much more robust and heavy-duty than a normal car it is to be expected that the specifications of each engine are going to be very different. The horsepower of a truck’s engine is much more than a standard car as it is designed to be used differently than the normal everyday usage of a personal vehicle. When conducting a delivery a truck has to deal with a variety of factors that a normal person making a journey in their car would not. Trucks can be subject to adverse driving and weather conditions so it is vital they are designed to be robust enough to combat them. This robustness is something that must also be implemented within the engine in order to avoid the nightmare scenario of a breakdown, breaking down whilst on delivery can cause a delay that is damaging to a delivery companies reputation as well as putting the driver’s safety at risk, so it is vital a truck’s engine is designed to withstand a range of different factors.

Overall, there are many significant differences between trucks and cars engine, this is mainly down to the fact that they are each designed for completely different purposes. Cars are designed for the transport of people and small amounts of cargo whereas trucks are made for the delivery of large amounts of heavy cargo with a single driver. With this in mind, it is no surprise that there is a difference between the two engines, with trucks requiring much more power to carry more weight.