The Diesel discussion thread

One thing you do get driving a diesel is low down grunt, it does run out of puff (well mine do) at about 3,500 - 4,000 rpm. The transmissions however have been upgraded in my Pug and Zafira obviously to handle the extra shove, a thing I think manufacturers should always do over and above their petrol versions. Hence there is a price premium on new cars that are diesels too.

The engines seem to last a long time too. My Pug is on 110,000 Miles at the moment - original Clutch and original Heavy Duty battery, and it still goes smoothly. I am getting over 45 mpg (Ukanian Gallons) too and it only needs a service every 9,000 miles.

Needs good quality oil though.
 
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I think you've responded to a post made by a bot.

Almost certainly. I actually wanted to see what the bot would do.

One thing you do get driving a diesel is low down grunt, it does run out of puff (well mine do) at about 3,500 - 4,000 rpm. The transmissions however have been upgraded in my Pug and Zafira obviously to handle the extra shove, a thing I think manufacturers should always do over and above their petrol versions. Hence there is a price premium on new cars that are diesels too.

The engines seem to last a long time too. My Pug is on 110,000 Miles at the moment - original Clutch and original Heavy Duty battery, and it still goes smoothly. I am getting over 45 mpg (Ukanian Gallons) too and it only needs a service every 9,000 miles.

Needs good quality oil though.

Most manufacturers have a different version of their transmissions for diesels, if only with different gearing due to the different powerband characteristics.

Given the same level of metallurgy and general engine technology, a diesel engine will last longer between overhauls than a spark-ignition engine for many reasons - starting with the lubricity of the fuel, the effects of cold start and the fact that by definition a spark ignition engine always has tiny bits of ablated metal in the cylinder.
 
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It's the only way you can find out how far their AI has gotten. :p
 
One sad thing - you can get a more intelligent post out of one than you can out of some members on some other forums where the quality of posting is a fight to see who can be least intelligent, swear and be as abusive as possible.
 
The most fun is if you can get two of them 'talking' to each other on a thread. It's entertaining to watch.
 
Well, from experience, I can say, the only thing I do not like about Diesels is the sound (and the fact that they need external heaters to get the cabin warmed up). If you pair a modern (European) Diesel with a proper gearbox, for example a DSG, you will be in full grunt mode all the time and still save a lot of money on fuel. I mean hey, my dad runs a "tiny" 130hp TDi in his A6, 5 speed manual. On the Autobahn, it uses ~5l/100km when driving normally, on my 240km run averaging 197km/h I used 9.2l/100km. Can't really argue with that.....then again, from the driving point, I just love engines like BMW's i6 petrols, the sound they make is just heavenly :)
 
I'm a diesel fan, especially US diesels. The sound of a Cummins 4bt or 6bt is just brilliant when the turbo is singing, and I'd have one fitted to the SIII tomorrow if I could. Even a Land Rover diesel would be nice to get the extra torque an MPG but I do like my old petrol engine, for all of its faults.

I was reading a test of the new facelifted Freelander 2 with the SD4 engine (because what else are you going to call an engine that isn't quite as good as the TD4?) and at 60mph on the motorway that thing was getting 47 UK MPG.
 
You mean the petrol engine VAG pulled off the market because it kept exploding at 60.000km? :)
 
...then again, from the driving point, I just love engines like BMW's i6 petrols, the sound they make is just heavenly :)
So, the second seat in my car at the 'ring should be filled, too. :p

BTT: in Germany Diesels are good for people who commute 50+ km per day and/or drive long distances regularly, then the advantage in mileage comes into effect over the much higher yearly taxes for a Diesel (keep in mind: I'm speaking for Germany and our tax system). If you don't commute and/or drive mainly intra-urban a Diesel can't play it's trump card against a hybrid (in town where there is much start-stop-traffic) or a petrol engine.
 
BTT: in Germany Diesels are good for people who commute 50+ km per day and/or drive long distances regularly, then the advantage in mileage comes into effect over the much higher yearly taxes for a Diesel (keep in mind: I'm speaking for Germany and our tax system). If you don't commute and/or drive mainly intra-urban a Diesel can't play it's trump card against a hybrid (in town where there is much start-stop-traffic) or a petrol engine.

Taxes aren't as important as everyone seems to think. Taking my 1.4TSI as an example, I pay 84? per year. The equivalent 2.0TDI (more powerful, but only 0.1s quicker to 100 so it's pretty closely matched) would cost 208? per year - 124? per year more.
That may sound like a lot, but here's the bigger oomph: The TDI is 3000? more expensive to buy. That's 24 years' worth of tax difference.
You'd save about 500? per year in fuel at 15Mm/a, after taxes that's about 375? - eight years to pay off the price premium. The taxes only caused two of those eight years.
 
Well, from experience, I can say, the only thing I do not like about Diesels is the sound (and the fact that they need external heaters to get the cabin warmed up). If you pair a modern (European) Diesel with a proper gearbox, for example a DSG, you will be in full grunt mode all the time and still save a lot of money on fuel. I mean hey, my dad runs a "tiny" 130hp TDi in his A6, 5 speed manual. On the Autobahn, it uses ~5l/100km when driving normally, on my 240km run averaging 197km/h I used 9.2l/100km. Can't really argue with that.....then again, from the driving point, I just love engines like BMW's i6 petrols, the sound they make is just heavenly :)

They're too quiet bone stock.

narf: how does the consumption fare in comparison with the 2.0 TDI?
 
I'm a diesel fan, especially US diesels. The sound of a Cummins 4bt or 6bt is just brilliant when the turbo is singing, and I'd have one fitted to the SIII tomorrow if I could. Even a Land Rover diesel would be nice to get the extra torque an MPG but I do like my old petrol engine, for all of its faults.


I'll just leave this here.
Cummin's 6bt powered Jeep Cherokee Cheif w/manual trans. It would be such a fun crawler/camping rig.
(basically my dream 4x4 right there)
 
narf: how does the consumption fare in comparison with the 2.0 TDI?

Official figures say 6.3l/100km for my 1.4TSI, 4.9l/100km for the 2.0TDI. Depending on your driving you'll either match that or use 50% more.
As you can see from my sig I'm using 7.07l/100km on average, 12% more. With the same adjustment the 2.0TDI would be at 5.5l/100km.

To work out money you could use 1.43?/l for petrol and 1.3?/l for diesel according to my local station today.
 

I'll just leave this here.
Cummin's 6bt powered Jeep Cherokee Cheif w/manual trans. It would be such a fun crawler/camping rig.
(basically my dream 4x4 right there)

Sweet, shame the 6bt physically wouldn't fit in the engine bay. It would however fit in a 110, as demonstrated here:

 
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