OK guys sounds like an easy question but to a petrol head like me its not. The only diesel I have ever had was an old 1.7 isuzu engined Astra years ago and it was a stop gap car so had it for two weeks. My question is that many of you B308 and Boundary seem to have great experience in this and i do not so how do you drive a diesel to get the best performance / economy balance out of it. I would be interested to know both for manual and auto examples as many of you will know im "too posh to change" so auto would be the one for me.
I like the look of the 2.7 in the XJ and if the Lexus IS250 i won disappoints i will need something to replace my Alfa. I never rule anyting out without balanced view so let hear it for why diesels are so good.
Can i respectfully ask that we keep the thread factual and not get into a diesel v petrol row please.
I reckon we'll be lucky if we don't get at least one sarcastic reply!
But seriously, I drive them like I do any car, as smoothly as possible - read the road so i don't have to brake suddenly, smooth gear changes, avoid hard acceleration if possible - let the engine torque do the work - easier with a diesel than a petrol because it has mnore torque at lower revs - though the big (over 3L petrol v6/v8s) can be driven the same way - they have similar characteristics (appart from the noise!).
My commute involves several traffic lights spaced about 1/4 or 1/2 mile appart - its much better for fuel consumption if I don't race away from one set and end up braking hard at the next set - usually its quicker, too!
All the above makes for a much more relaxing drive.
If I want to drive quickly (when out on the nice windy roads in Worcs I try to drive smoothly then, too, reading the road ahead, flattening bends if possible, anticipating when I can overtake so I'm not having to dive out from behind somoeone at the last minute.
I only really started driving this way since I owned diesels, though I've found petrol cars driven the same way are alos ecconomical - it doesn'y mean I don't drive slowly, just that by anticipating you can make fast progress yet be more relaxed - funnilly enough it was a Police Driving course I went on in Glasgow 25 years ago that sowed the seed, though I understand that IAM teach very similar.
Sorry, but as regards the cars themselves my experience is with the sub-2.0 litre engines - you'll have to ask Boundary and others re the bigger stuff.
Hi Craig, i will just give you my honest opinion, based on actual experience with diesel cars, either my own or other peoples' which i have driven. No axe to grind whatsoever, because i am a supporter of petrol and diesel cars.
One of my earliest diesels was a 2.5 Granada. A more horrible and useless engine you would be hard pushed to find. Yes, it got me about, but beyond that i couldn't stand it. The power and torque was finished by about 3,200 rpm and the peak output was pathetic, especially for a car weighing almost 2 tons. It was far more economical than a 2.9 Granada i also owned , but that is where the advantages stopped.
Todays diesels put out something like 99% less emissions, have about 60% more power and about the same in torque. They are also much quieter and refined. Evolution has done it's job very well with oil burners and they have come much further in the last 20 years than petrol cars have, that's for sure.
Something like a 330d, 535d or A6 V8 td has a splendid engine. As far as how to drive goes, the automatics largely worry about that for you. Manual diesels will see you changing gear earlier than a petrol car, but you soon get used to making the most of mountainous torque from just above idle. It's easy after a while.
Take the 535d. A car i drove to Exeter and back. 272 bhp, 413 lbs-ft, (easily and cheaply modified to 334/506), 40 mpg on a run, superb acceleration in any gear, over 500 miles to a tankful, 100 mph cruising available at a mere 2250 rpm, optional 19" wheels of a width similar to a Porsche 911 turbo of a couple of years ago. Hardly a boring car. Hardly slow. With the simple upgrade mentioned, the car will get to 100 mph in 13.4 seconds, 60 in 5.5 and yet have huge grunt from just above idle for real-world road performance. Boring? You must be kidding.
<pantherd90>
Posted
On average, go not much higher than 4000rpm, Maximum torque comes at 2000 or so and will give you a nice surge up to near 4000, Maximum BHP comes at 4000 and stops shortly afterwards. Keep changing gear and don't rev the nuts off it.
In terms of economy, like any car you'll only get the best out of diesels if you drive them on longer stretches at 50mph+. In town driving will see a decrease in economy, especially when it includes a lot of stopping and starting/short journeys.
Remember, don't be afraid to use the gear stick/change up.
If your diesel is smoking and it's cold, make sure the Glow Plugs are in decent nick, if the fuel is too cold it'll be hard to start and run lumpily for a few minutes.
Have a look on some manufacturers sites for power graphs, I believe some still do them.
sorry man. the owners manual for the car in question will tell you exactly how to drive the car to get best economy, and where the power/torque is at what rpm etc. etc.
....... There's got to be a hundred reasons why i should listen to diesel owners, but right now, i can't think of any.
Originally posted by beach: sorry man. the owners manual for the car in question will tell you exactly how to drive the car to get best economy, and where the power/torque is at what rpm etc. etc.
Regretably mine doesn't - which make of car has this info?
sunsufer some people are so full of themselves, that they cannot see the open horizon.
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sorry man. the owners manual for the car in question will tell you exactly how to drive the car to get best economy, and where the power/torque is at what rpm etc. etc.
Depends on what car, some superminis manuals seem to spend most of the time explaining where the fuel cap is and why you shouldn't drive a car whilst asleep.
Depends on what car, some superminis manuals seem to spend most of the time explaining where the fuel cap is and why you shouldn't drive a car whilst asleep.
Bloody Patronising s*ds.
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Come on Craig, you'll be bitterly disapointed and ashamed by buying a Diesel car. Evey one is laughing at them and poking fun. They are for peasents and low order types, who cannot afford to run proper cars.
You can cannot go from a nice petrol Alfa to a Diesel. It is just not cricket. You would hate every moment - don't get caught up in this fashion!
Thanks for you concern Nox. I am of course talking hypothetically about the diesel.
The most dreaded time to me was when they put a diesel in the alfa's and then in the jags. Two companies i thought had petrol running through their viens but i guess customer demands that you move with the times.
quote: Depends on what car, some superminis manuals seem to spend most of the time explaining where the fuel cap is and why you shouldn't drive a car whilst asleep.
Bloody Patronising s*ds.
You say that but I hired an Audi A4 recently and nowhere was it written how to find the fuel flap release button. I looked everywhere; centre console, door inserts, down by the seats, glove box, on the B-pillar, in the boot, behind the steering wheel, you name it....Quarter of an hour later I decided to give up and, pacing round the car in frustration lightly hit the fuel flap and ..... pop, it opened. Turns out on an Audi, you push the flap in to pop it out. Could have done with an idiots guide to fuel caps that afternoon.
_________________________ "Forward", he cried, from the rear, and the front rank died. And the General sat, and the lines on the map moved from side to side.
Come on Craig, you'll be bitterly disapointed and ashamed by buying a Diesel car. Evey one is laughing at them and poking fun. They are for peasents and low order types, who cannot afford to run proper cars.
You can cannot go from a nice petrol Alfa to a Diesel. It is just not cricket. You would hate every moment - don't get caught up in this fashion!
I'm bursting with laughter, this coming from you. Diesels are selling like mad, every car company is releasing a diesel on nearly every model.
"Peasents, who cannot afford to run proper cars"
And what your some rich kid who happens to own a 'proper' car worth less then a garden lawnmower.
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Originally posted by craigjmitchell: Thanks for you concern Nox. I am of course talking hypothetically about the diesel.
The most dreaded time to me was when they put a diesel in the alfa's and then in the jags. Two companies i thought had petrol running through their viens but i guess customer demands that you move with the times.
Good stuff Craig. They only do it to keep the cheapskates happy, so their money can finance the proper versions of the cars that we can enjoy. More fool them!
They are for peasents and low order types, who cannot afford to run proper cars.
That's rich coming from someone who can only just afford an AX. I wouldn't call other people who are probably earning infinitely more than you, "peasents". Especially when you can't spell peasant.
<Boundary!>
Posted
There are diesels selling well with list prices of £30K, £40K, £50K and £60K. Maroon, b308 and others who see the good in petrol and diesel, let those with blinkers think what they like. Tom confirmed what i already knew from experience, some diesels are brilliant now, better than the equivalent petrol car, as Tom rightly said. I did get a chuckle out of Noxy. His car is truly low order! LMAO.
