Team-BHP > The Indian Car Scene
Register New Topics New Posts Top Thanked Team-BHP FAQ


Reply
  Search this Thread
12,742 views
Old 15th September 2008, 19:47   #1
BHPian
 
GSMINC's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 393
Thanked: 196 Times
Migrating from Petrol to Diesel CRDI cars:How to drive better ?

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
GSMINC is offline  
Old 15th September 2008, 19:52   #2
Senior - BHPian
 
AbhiJ's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Kolkata
Posts: 1,476
Thanked: 1,207 Times

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

Last edited by AbhiJ : 15th September 2008 at 19:53.
AbhiJ is offline  
Old 15th September 2008, 20:06   #3
Senior - BHPian
 
greenhorn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: KL-01
Posts: 7,745
Thanked: 4,395 Times

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
greenhorn is offline  
Old 15th September 2008, 20:22   #4
BHPian
 
theEnd's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Bombay
Posts: 534
Thanked: 6 Times

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.
theEnd is offline  
Old 15th September 2008, 20:55   #5
Senior - BHPian
 
asr245's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Gurgaon
Posts: 1,162
Thanked: 389 Times

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?
asr245 is offline  
Old 15th September 2008, 21:08   #6
Senior - BHPian
 
greenhorn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: KL-01
Posts: 7,745
Thanked: 4,395 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by asr245 View Post
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
greenhorn is offline  
Old 15th September 2008, 21:19   #7
BHPian
 
kartikkumar's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Bangalore...not Bengaluru
Posts: 214
Thanked: 2 Times

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
kartikkumar is offline  
Old 15th September 2008, 22:30   #8
BHPian
 
manim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: TN69
Posts: 820
Thanked: 916 Times
Diesel Vs Petrol

Enjoy the noise & Vibrations!
manim is offline  
Old 15th September 2008, 23:13   #9
BHPian
 
sameer_dg's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Mumbai
Posts: 129
Thanked: 0 Times

is there any chance of simply using bio diesel with out any mod to the crdi when ever it is available.
sameer_dg is offline  
Old 15th September 2008, 23:39   #10
BHPian
 
sajands's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 941
Thanked: 347 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by asr245 View Post
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.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sameer_dg View Post
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???

Last edited by Rehaan : 16th September 2008 at 06:38. Reason: Please use the MULTIQUOTE or EDIT button instead of making consecutive posts within 20 minutes of each other.
sajands is offline  
Old 15th September 2008, 23:49   #11
Senior - BHPian
 
raj_5004's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Dubai/Mumbai
Posts: 5,238
Thanked: 3,138 Times

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.
raj_5004 is offline  
Old 16th September 2008, 11:40   #12
BHPian
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Delhi
Posts: 175
Thanked: 16 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by manim View Post
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.
kewlferrari is offline  
Old 16th September 2008, 12:24   #13
BHPian
 
itszain's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Oxford
Posts: 32
Thanked: Once
CRDI's the best !!

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 !!!
itszain is offline  
Old 16th September 2008, 13:23   #14
GTO
Team-BHP Support
 
GTO's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Bombay
Posts: 70,533
Thanked: 300,534 Times

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.
GTO is offline  
Old 16th September 2008, 13:31   #15
Senior - BHPian
 
phamilyman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Gurgaon
Posts: 5,968
Thanked: 4,642 Times

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
phamilyman is offline  
Reply

Most Viewed


Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks