Migrating from Petrol to Diesel CRDI cars:How to drive better ?

[GSMINC]

Hi,
As fuel prices go up, most of us are trying to go in for diesel cars to cut fuel costs.
After driving petrol cars all my life & recently upgrading to Maruti Swift VDI, I want your suggestions/advice as to how to drive these modern CRDI engines to get the most out of them.
What measures do we have to adopt to get the most out these cars.
I do know that these cars have more torque, more efficient etc.
But, do we need to change our driving styles to get more bang for our buck ?
Pls advise..,

MODS: Pls move this thread to relevant section if required

[AbhiJ]

Before the gurus chime in, I ll give you my 2 cents.

Rule #1 : Get your serviced every 5000 kms, religiously.
Rule #2 : Revving to the redline is NOT required for quick acceleration. Quick gearchanges at around 70% of max revs gives spirited performance.
Rule #3 : Watch out for torque steer in 1st and even 2nd gear.
Rule #4 : When you are cruising at 60 in top gear and want to accelerate, dont downshift, just floor it

[greenhorn]

since most of the modern diesels are turbo charged, you WILL need to downshift to wake up the turbo. usually overtaking for me involves downshift-floor it-wait for the turbo to kick in-wheeeeeee ( overtake) - upshift and cruise onward

[theEnd]

I've been driving a Ford Fiesta 1.4 turbo-diesel for the last two weeks, and I've been pleasantly surprised by the way it behaves. I expected it to be painfully slow (60somehting bhp in a moderate sized saloon), but the torque makes it feel faster than its actually going.

The car feels best in the 2000-3000 rpm range. It sounds horribly strained at 4000rpm, not like my Swift petrol which only starts feeling nice at about 3500rpm.

And certainly, there's less need to downshift.

Conclusion: Diesel engines are well suited for minimum effort driving. However, if you want an involving, spirited drive then you need a petrol engined car.

[asr245]

Drove a diesel Indigo about 2 yrs ago and was driving it like a petrol (revving it high somewhere between 3K - 4K rpm). Revving it that "high" it behaved very sluggish. Ofcourse now i know why but then I hated the driving experience.

BTW... in that particular model I had to wait for the ignition coil or something indicator to glow before the car would start. Is that a problem with CRDIs too?

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by asr245

I had to wait for the ignition coil or something indicator to glow before the car would start. Is that a problem with CRDIs too?

I believe all diesels have that

[kartikkumar]

Tip #1: There are no rules! Enjoy the torque and the reduced cost per litre of fuel!

In addition to that...whatever the others have said and suggested

[manim]

Enjoy the noise & Vibrations!

[sameer_dg]

is there any chance of simply using bio diesel with out any mod to the crdi when ever it is available.

[sajands]

Originally Posted by asr245

BTW... in that particular model I had to wait for the ignition coil or something indicator to glow before the car would start. Is that a problem with CRDIs too?

I dont think its a problem, remember the days with the good old amby's, you had a leaver which you pull and then start the car. All Hyundai's [CRDi's] have the same feature where you need to wait till the indicator light goes. not sure about other diesel cars if they have a similar feature.

Originally Posted by sameer_dg

is there any chance of simply using bio diesel with out any mod to the crdi when ever it is available.

Not sure if the diesel cars sold in India are compatible with bio diesle and is bio-diesel available in india???

[raj_5004]

there are no hard and fast rules according to me. every individual has his own style of driving. i think the diesel offers you the advantage of the enormous torque over the petrol. so that translates into fewer gearshifts in city. in absolutely jammed roads or crawling speeds, there is no need to use the accelerator. leave the clutch and the car will move forward smartly without any jerk. dont redline it, its of no use. a diesel engine wont offer any acceleration above 70% of its tacho meter.

[kewlferrari]

Originally Posted by manim

Enjoy the noise & Vibrations!

We are talkin gof the latest CRDI engines.Recommend a test drive in one of them. There's no noise inside the car and no vibrations at all. This is a steroe-type view of Diesels. You've got to drive the latest tech to change your view.

[itszain]

CRDI diesel engines are neat and offers excellent amount of torque as everyone mentioned. Try the Scorpio 2.2 mHawk and you will know what we are talking about. I bet you will love it !!!

[GTO]

This thread has pretty much covered it all. Remember to idle your turbo for 40 - 60 seconds just after starting her, as well as prior to shutting off.

[phamilyman]

What can go wrong if turbo isn't idled.

I am asking because how can one find out the same and how much to mark down