Been experimenting

[lc 120]

I Buy the Morrison's 'Carlube' at £2.00 per 500ml bottle....

 

[Shayne]

Ah read it wrong i was thinking 2t saves 1/2 litre a tank of fuel . 90 and 95 have same engine and tank and i usually run it till its empty then fill it till the pump stops so half a litre of 2-stroke per 90 litres it is .

 

[Lorin]

Another bit of anecdotal is that anything other than vmax or ultimate diesel (i.e. more additives) causes my 'tuned' VAG diesel to go into limp mode when it hits full boost, almost without fail. The additives do appear to be doing something....

 

[Towpack]

Another bit of anecdotal is that anything other than vmax or ultimate diesel (i.e. more additives) causes my 'tuned' VAG diesel to go into limp mode when it hits full boost, almost without fail. The additives do appear to be doing something....

The are numerous additives mixed in with derv for lubricity, ant-waxing and also to give the higher cetane rating of 'super' diesel fuels. It's probably this higher cetane rating that your engine relies on for 'normal' operation.

 

[frank rabbets]

I today filled up with petrol and talked to the two tanker delivery drivers who were at the station. When they arrive at the refinery their contract number is entered into a computer. The tanker is connected up and the fuel is mixed as it enters the tanker in accordance with the contract. Supermarket petrol meets the minimum requirement but does not have the additives that branded names do. In general they thought that you get extra engine life and more mpg with a branded fuel. We were talking about modern cars though.

 

[chadr]

In general they thought that you get extra engine life and more mpg with a branded fuel. We were talking about modern cars though.

I think that is the crux of it - modern cars and their usage. These days car have become just like any other consumable, TVs, DVD players etc. People will buy new ones, use them for a few years and simply replace when something relatively expensive goes wrong. Nobody seems to be interested in trying to fix anything. 100k miles is seen by many as a threshold, if they go beyond that, it seems that their whole existence maybe at risk!

So if a car comes to the end of its life in 7-8yrs and/or 150k miles it is not seen as a big issue by the consumer. Almost a given and no one complains, I think that the manufacturers have adapted that model too - or they may have made us adapt?

Now for many LC owners 100k is just run in and the beginning, not the end. Many of us are running cars that are nearly 20yrs old, if not more. So we tend to worry about thing like "Will running my car on non-premium fuel for the next 10 years cause any harm?", whereas for the average Joe, it isn't even a consideration.

 

[moggy1968]

electronics are the new rust. The costs of trying to trace an electronic fault can be massive, and unpredictable. A simple electronic failure (like the ABS light coming on) can render a perfectly good car an economic write off, and electronic circuitry is becoming less, rather than more reliable as QC drops. I was chatting to an RAC man about 3 years back, he said ECU failure used to be well down their list of possible causes of breakdowns, now it is near the top. The circuit boards and electronics are just not the same quality as they used to be, and there's a lot more of them!!

Also, like many industries, quality has dropped dramatically because people keep demanding lower and lower prices, or so manufacturers think. People don't think about things like the residual value of a good quality, reliable vehicle being important or worth paying a bit extra for, everything is dumbed down to the lowest price.

 

[frank rabbets]

My diesel golf died with 20,000 miles on the clock at 3 years old. Main dealer said the fuel pump was worn out but their computer could not tell them that! I'll never buy a modern diesel again.

 

[Shayne]

electronics are the new rust. The costs of trying to trace an electronic fault can be massive, and unpredictable. A simple electronic failure (like the ABS light coming on) can render a perfectly good car an economic write off, and electronic circuitry is becoming less, rather than more reliable as QC drops. I was chatting to an RAC man about 3 years back, he said ECU failure used to be well down their list of possible causes of breakdowns, now it is near the top. The circuit boards and electronics are just not the same quality as they used to be, and there's a lot more of them!!

Also, like many industries, quality has dropped dramatically because people keep demanding lower and lower prices, or so manufacturers think. People don't think about things like the residual value of a good quality, reliable vehicle being important or worth paying a bit extra for, everything is dumbed down to the lowest price.

Peugeot are actually programmed to break down if you don't get your servicing done by a Peugeot main dealer or at least that's what my sister was told about her 206 . Ford traditionally always offered the masses the highest spec of car at the most reasonable price and they did this by designing into their cars many minor faults that would present themselves after purchase so the loss of new sales profit could be recouped further down the line . I think other manufacturers have followed suit nowadays . Years ago Vauxhall had a reputation to run forever without maintenance then all of a sudden they would fall to bits , i doubt that's true any more . My brother married a farm girl so gets all his mechanics done on the farm for free . When he said he wanted a cruiser they said buy an old one and there's nothing they can't fix but buy a new one and they won't even look at it if he has problems . He got himself a 120 ?

 

[clivehorridge]

I bought a few 1/2 litre plastic bottles, cheap on eBay, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-5-x-5...Equipment_Lab_Supplies_ET&hash=item338ac75c74 and a 25 litre container, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OUTBOARD-...at_Engines_EngineParts_SM&hash=item5198f0271e not so cheap, and decanted.

I don't want to labour this to much because it's really off topic, but I can't pretend to have noticed a better mpg, but the engine sounds and runs so much smoother and is way much more flexible between gear changes. That's all, but once I started adding it, I can't stop now!

I buy it by the liter and it's not easy to get here, only one in ten stations stock it. Needless to say, I now get my fuel there!

 

[Gary820]

I wouldn't say the electronics are more unreliable nowadays, do agree that the cost can be expensive to repair and some can be a nightmare to trace, keeps me in a job lol. Have spent many hours sorting electrical issues out and tracing various faults, I like the challenge of it.

I'd happily have a new diesel and tbh have a new car on order that should be here in a couple of weeks, won't be running on supermarket fuel though!!

 

[Lorin]

My diesel golf died with 20,000 miles on the clock at 3 years old. Main dealer said the fuel pump was worn out but their computer could not tell them that! I'll never buy a modern diesel again.

For what it's worth I would be hesitant to write off ever giving the new stuff a go based on a bad experience. Again the caveat is that this is just my experience and is not generalisable to all modern equivalents but it does give an opposing experience.

My car is best described as a diesel 'hot hatch'. It is a Seat Ibiza Cupra TDI that has a VAG PD engine. It left the factory in 2004 in stock form with approx 160bhp and 250ft/lb. The previous owner had it remapped before it had done 10,000 miles. This took it to approx 190bhp and 300ft/lb. He then did a total of 64,000 miles and 5 track days before I bought it. I upgraded some basic parts to help it breathe better and had it remapped again to approx 200bhp and 320ft/lb. I have since done a further 50,000 miles and around 6 track days. It is still on the original turbo, fuel pump and injectors.

The only issue I have had since I remapped it, is as described in an earlier post. It goes into limp mode on full boost unless I use a 'performance' diesel. Other than that, total reliability.

 

[moggy1968]

For what it's worth I would be hesitant to write off ever giving the new stuff a go based on a bad experience. Again the caveat is that this is just my experience and is not generalisable to all modern equivalents but it does give an opposing experience.

.

it doesn't put me off buying a new car, I have a 2012 hilux from new and my IQ3 from 4000miles, but it would definately put me off, say, buying a 10 year heavilly electronic car.