Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2008 21:17:53 +1300
Reply-To: Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Subject: Re: New VW Rotten Unvieled // TDI?
In-Reply-To: <462001.82228.qm@web83210.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1; format=flowed
>I hate to ask, but for the last 5 years I've been puzzled by the
>fascination with the TDI or NA/Diesel for that matter. Some folks
>would buy a vehicle because it had a V6 TDI? Why? Is it it a
>philosophy or facts? When it hits -15 below zero I've seen a few of
>those Dodge MB sprinters sitting in the driveways with their hoods
>up not starting. Diesel is 35 cents more a gallon than gas. What am
>I missing? Maybe if I have to ask I'll never understand...
>
>when that time comes the diesel engine will run on anything that has a fat
>content ...
Not quite. Whale blubber anyone? Now, THAT's biodiesel!
>indeed i even have a friend who claims to have run a stationary diesel on
>milk ..
Tell him to pull the other one. Milk's 99.99% water.
>Diesels ... hmmm almost an aphrodisiac ...
Er... perhaps for some.
Diesels have attractions for economy, whether the fuel is cheaper
than gas (as it is here in NZ) or just for kilometerage.
It is only of benefit if either of the above is subsatantial. Diesel
maintenance costs may be higher than gas engines (older diesels had
about 5000km filter/oilchange interval). The exhaust is messy and the
oil is horrid stuff once used... stains everything it touches
pitch-black.
At least, with Renault's new particulate-filter/flashburn technology,
sooty exhaust will become a thing of the past with new diesels, once
other manufacturers take it up or design their own setups.
Performance is well down on gas engines. The trens to turbodiesels
gives much better performance (as I can attest after changing my
Corolla from NA 1.8D to 2.0TD). BUT this also comes at a cost...
turbo seals do fail, heads do crack and the supercharging causes
messy blowby even on healthy diesel engines. And turbodiesels DO use
more fuel than NA versions of the same engine (the injectors are
larger-capacity to prevent excessive leanness).
As to small 6-cylinder diesels, they are a waste of time. A four of
the same capacity will develop much more torque, which is why the
Japanese (with a temporary aberration by Nissan in the 70s to early
90s with tits awful LD28s & RD28s) use fours up to almost 4 liters.
The fours are also much easier (and therefore cheaper) to work on...
and if major repairs are needed, will cost less for parts (fewer
bearings, pistons, ringsets etc). Granted that diesel fours don't
sound as good as sixes, but what the heck.
I recently saw a webpage where someone had installed a Toyota Estima
supercharger on a 2C-T in a Corona. Being a Roots-type, I doubt that
it would help with the head-cracking problem, as these chargers
develop a lot of heat.
Here in NZ the the local organized crime ring (government) is going
the opposite way to the rest of the world. The gummint is trying to
get diesels off the road because of "health issues". So yearly
registration of diesels is higher than that of gas cars; there is a
roaduser tax (supposedly for repair of roads damaged by big trucks,
but in politics anything that can be gotten away with will be) by
kilometer on diesel cars (so a lot of diesel cars spend much time
with the speedo disconnected... not mine, though) and import of used
diesels, even trucks, from Japan has been stopped. The fact that
diesel fuel is less than gas still makes small diesels cheaper to run
than gas cars, but the break-even point is being approached. Which is
why I'm considering getting a written-off late-90s FWD or 4WD Corolla
wagon and fitting a 3V Toyota V6 to it.
Now, if they can build car diesels to run on alcohols...
--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin
New Zealand
Fossil preparator
Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut
‚ Opinions stated are mine, not those of Otago University
"There is water at the bottom of the ocean" - Talking Heads
