Maintenance & Repair: Zafira Diesel Fuel Consumption

On Mon, 6 Oct 2003 05:48:46 +0000 (UTC), Lou <co.uk>
wrote:
 

It means "Don't go over any bumps because it will fall out"

--Nick.
--
http://www.blackstar.co.uk/scp/id/what - Want videos?
Fax: +44 (0) 7974 984182 - icq: 9235201 - Hayn on dal

"Lou" <co.uk> wrote in message
news:com... 


First off, diesel engines are not properly run in until you've at least
50,000 miles on them. Once run in, they're quieter, smoother, perform
better and use less fuel. My Mondeo TD was using less fuel (and no oil) at
100K then when new, heh.

Second, don't, do not, never, etc. treat this new engine with kit gloves, or
forever will it be using oil!

Third, you may also need to get used to the way it drives - there's an
article on my website (well, one or two) regarding fuel consumption. If
you're new to turbodiesels, there's a definite knack to getting the most
from it in both terms of fuel consumption and performance, and if you've
come from something petrol, multivalve, with totally different power
delivery characteristics, there's quite a difference! )

--
The DervMan
www.dervman.com

> Second, don't, do not, never, etc. treat this new engine with kit gloves,
or 

Seconded, was told by a trustworthy Vx Mechanic to "wring the arse off it,
you wont do any damage, just keep a very close check on oil consumption"

Got an astra with exactly the same engine in, we picked it up with less than
5k on the clock, it used oil heavily to begin with but soon settled down,
has about 15-16k on the clock now and uses no oil..

> First off, diesel engines are not properly run in until you've at least 

Please define "run in".
And lets have the evidence.
Do you really believe they get quieter ? Why ?
Smoother ? Less vibration ? How does that work ?

I assume you are only talking about ring/piston/bore wear - do you make the
same claim for petrol
engines ? If not, why not ? Do they use different materials for bores,
rings and pistons on diesels ?

I've heard these claims before but I'm not sure they are ever based on any
engineering facts.

Hugh Jampton

"sro" <co.uk> wrote in message
news:blrb5c$7nf$ffei.co.uk... 

Like a pair of shoes, I'd suppose. Not new, but rather better than they
were when first taken out of the box.
 

Given that I made the above statement, yes!
 

Have you listened to brand new diesel engines, then? Then have you listened
to one when it's a few thousand miles old? Then twenty thousand miles old?
And every few thousand inbetween?

We had a lot of diesels on the fleet I used to work with, and what would
typically happen is that I'd only ever get to drive them every few weeks, or
in some cases, a few months. The car with the most obvious difference is
the MB E220 CDI automatic we had. New, it was somewhat rough, and a big
disappointment. After 8,000 miles, it was a bit better, and after 30,000
miles, it was far, far better.

Fuel consumption? Monthly averages of 41 mpg new, 43 mpg at 8,000 miles, 44
mpg at 30,000 miles (the driver did ~30K a year, collected the vehicle in
spring, so we can discount the 8K fuel consumption on account of it being a
different time of year if you want to be fussy).

At 108K, when we traded in the Mondeo TD I ran, the engine was quieter and
smoother than it had ever been. Perhaps it enjoyed my ownership, I don't
know! It was also using quite a bit less fuel, too.
 

Search me. I can only go by how they feel when driven. I don't have any
scientific evidence.
 
the 

I don't know. To be honest, I don't particularily need to know, either.
 

Unfortunately, I don't have the resources to go out and buy two brand new
car, keep one in the box, then after a couple of years, test them back to
back.

But I can assure you that over a period of time, I've been able to extract
better fuel consumption from _all_ of my vehicles under like-for-like
conditions. You can see the effects of this on my website with the various
charts - but of course my driving changed during some aspects (most notably
my time with the Cinquecento, since for the second half of ownership she was
primarily city-bound). You can also see the seasons coming and going, too.

I'd speculate that a little bit of engine wear is a good thing, but too much
and of course this is a bad thing, heh.

--
The DervMan
www.dervman.com

"Lou" <co.uk> wrote in message
news:com... 
I had the same problem with my Vectra, with basically the same engine (2l
intercooled TD Ecotec). Up to about 20,000 heavy oil use and 42 mpg. 20-40k
less oil and 45 mpg. Now 50k+ and uses virtually no oil and 50+ mpg. My last
brim-to-brim was 54 mpg with gentle motorway (60-65 mph) and town (not big
city) use. You may not get as much because of larger front area of Zafira
and more drag.

Alec

I recommend people to not measure fuel consumption until the car has done
1,000 miles and to not expect full economy on a diesel for 5,000 - 10,000
miles.

Driving it harder early on will loosen it up quicker too!

A word of warning on oil consumption too. It could drink oil early on so
check it regularly. This could also take 5,000 - 10,000 (or more) to settle
in.

Your car will probably not reach its peak for 20,000 miles or more!

--

Alan


New & used Vauxhall cars & vans, servicing, repairs & parts
www.steeles.co.uk

Vauxhall CD players & handbooks
http://www.stores.ebay.co.uk/vauxhallradiosales

"sro" <co.uk> wrote in message
news:blrb5c$7nf$ffei.co.uk... 
the 

I can tell you it's tru for a diesel engine.. i recently had the engine in
my iveco turbodaily van re-conditioned, it's a 2.8 litre, 4 pot direct
injection TD engine, when i got it back from the re-conditioners it was
shaking about like mad on idle, the gear box vibrated when driving, she used
a litre of oil every few hundered miles and i got about 20 mpg on a run to
southampton from the midlands,

got just over 1500 miles on her now, and she's a lot smoother at idle (the
cab of my van is mounted on rubber mounts, so it used to chake that) , the
vibrating's gone while driving, she is deffinately a bit quieter (most new
engines you can hear the injectors operating.. a metalic pinging noise, that
goes after a little bit of carbon builds up)
i'm using no oil at all now.. which is a first for any van engine i've ever
owned, and i'm getting around 24mpg.. it'll take a while to get fully run
in, but i did what the engineers told me when i first ran her.. drive her
like you intend to drive her for ever.. i.e stay off the red line but never
ever ever drive softly with a new diesel engine, or the bores will glaze and
you'll be for ever putting oil in,

i know that's true as it happened to my last van's engine, i run that in
like you used to.. not going over 2000 rpm, and keeping below 50mph.. used
oil all it's life.

A diesel engine is built a lot stronger than a petrol, so they prolly do use
different materials for the rings and bores, a petrol engine has a
compression ratio of about 8:1, diesels are around 20:1, with pressures of a
few hundered psi on the compression stroke,

But i think one of the main things.. diesel fuel is a lubricant.. i.e. an
oil, petrol is a solvent, one of the reasons diesels last so long is they
are always lubricated at both ends i rekon,

And it's deffinately true diesels like to be worked hard, don't lug them in
the wrong gear, but just work them, you can't over rev a diesel unless you
down shift inadvertnantly, and full revs are usually about 5000 rpm max, it
all seems to help make em last longer, but they do need treating differnetly
to a petrol engine.