Diesel vs petrol

Drifter

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Ok, I had a Mazda Drifter 2.5TD 4x4. Although an excellent bakkie, it put me off diesel for life. I cant stand it if the engine runs out of puff at 5000 rpm.
 

A3@MBB

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I'll be trading the car in after 36 months.
R200*36=R7200.
If you look at it that way, I have just started saving R600pm! :D:D

I can bet that you will get less for your diesel on trade at that time than your nephew will get if he did the same.
 

Rocket-Boy

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I have done the sums in a thread somewhere, a diesel vehicle can easily cost R20 000 or more to buy the same specification model than the petrol. And then it depends how far you drive per year on how soon you start saving due to the better fuel efficiency. It can easily be 5 or more years before you start saving money (and that's just when factoring the initial higher purchase price) if do the usual 15 000 to 20 000km a year...

So in conclusion, go petrol if your wallet matters.

The break even point with maintenance is around 120 000 k's before you will start saving money with a diesel...
 

ice_cubes

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ok, so basically I should be getting diesel because I love the car not because of the cost-saving benefits
 

Pitbull

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ok, so basically I should be getting diesel because I love the car not because of the cost-saving benefits

There are benefits to driving a Diesel that doesn't have to do with fuel saving

Power being one of them :eek:
 

PsYTraNc3

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I can bet that you will get less for your diesel on trade at that time than your nephew will get if he did the same.

Why are you so set on proving me wrong?
2013 1.4 fluid currently selling for R140-160k
2013 crdi R155-170k

Since cars lose most of their resale value in the first year. I can expect the petrol one to drop by about another R10k and the diesel by about R15k at most.

The diesel will still then be worth more or the same as the petrol.

The R600pm made on saving a tank of fuel -R200pm with the difference in purchase cost will still leave me with a R14400 combined saving after 3 years and if they sell for the same price then :) probably more since I do believe the diesel will still be worth more.
 

Pitbull

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If you want power, buy the petrol, if you want torque, buy the diesel.

Huh?

You trying to tell me you can pull better in a 2L petrol as opposed to a 2L diesel?

You mad bru :p

Maybe the term Power is not the correct one. Pure GRUNT in a diesel is superior to all.
 

Drifter

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Huh?

You trying to tell me you can pull better in a 2L petrol as opposed to a 2L diesel?

You mad bru :p

Maybe the term Power is not the correct one. Pure GRUNT in a diesel is superior to all.

Power = KW/BHP torque = NM Diesel NM > Petrol NM and vice versa.
 

A3@MBB

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Why are you so set on proving me wrong?
2013 1.4 fluid currently selling for R140-160k
2013 crdi R155-170k

I'm not set on anything bru, this was my first comment in this thread...

Luckily I was on the other side of the coin regarding a diesel trade. In the beginning of the year I bought a 2nd hand diesel for R55k under book...
 

PsYTraNc3

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I'm not set on anything bru, this was my first comment in this thread...

Luckily I was on the other side of the coin regarding a diesel trade. In the beginning of the year I bought a 2nd hand diesel for R55k under book...

Sorry :p would have helped if I checked the username. thought it was a reply to my previous post.
 

SauRoNZA

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The reason for idling before switching off is to let the turbo cool off. During operation, especially when driving on the highway, the turbo spins up and reaches incredible rpm's. This generates a lot of heat and the turbo will become red-hot.

While the engine is running, oil/cooling fluids are pumped through the turbo. This means that the temperature is kept under control.
The moment you switch off the engine, no more oil is pumped through the turbo. This means the heat is not carried away. The heat is now dumped into the air and into any surface in contact with the turbo, usually bushes/bearings. These surfaces aren't meant to handle that much heat. An Audi mechanic friend of mine told me that most turbo failures he saw was due to the bushes "burning through". Alternatively the turbo will just disintegrate.

It is possible to install a "turbo protector" on some diesel engines. This device keeps the oil pumping through the turbo even after the ignition has been switched off. Some, not all, modern diesel cars come with a similar system pre-installed.

Usually when driving around town at 60km/h, chances are the turbo won't get that hot and will have cooled down by the time you want to switch off.

For myself, I always wait 30-60s before switching off. That is time well spent when compared to the cost of replacing a turbo.

I tend to just make sure I take it very easy the last kilometre or two on my way home after hitting the last robot to ensure that things cool down sensibly.

Easier to convince my wife to do that rather than trying to get her not to kill the thing immediately upon stopping.

Same goes for the sensible practice of letting a car idle for a minute or so before pulling off in the morning.
 

SauRoNZA

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Layman's terms?

Diesel = Power
Petrol = Top speed.

Can't get more simple than that.

Actually you are both sort of wrong and sort of right.

Power actually doesn't exist. It's a calculation based on torque...not a measurement.

So without Torque you can't really have power :).


But more correct would be stating that Power = Top Speed. Torque = Sleeping a Caravan with a car full of people and luggage going up a hill and hardly noticing.
 

ice_cubes

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Same goes for the sensible practice of letting a car idle for a minute or so before pulling off in the morning.

I never do that over time...but when the car is new, oh well its new so you do things by the book
 

Drifter

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I never let my car idle before I leave in the mornings. Start up and take it easy till ideal operating temps are reached.
 

SauRoNZA

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I never do that over time...but when the car is new, oh well its new so you do things by the book

You don't need to wait for it to get to temperature or anything like that, especially not with Unleaded cars, but especially now that you have a Turbo it's a good idea to just give it at least 30 seconds to a minute to circulate before driving off.

At the very least if you cold start and drive off don't nail it for the first few kilometers.
 
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