Non petrol head car chat

East Level 2 said:
Especially if you spend a lot of time pissing about between 1st and 2nd in stop-go traffic. Even if you get something with flappy-paddles you'll only mess with them for a day or so until the novelty wears off.
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Can only disagree. I use my paddles loads for manual downshifting, letting the gears slow you down rather than standing on the brakes.
 
AlexWilliamsGloves said:
A friend is an RAC man and previous senior mechanic with Audi (with his own sideline mechanic business) and he consistently says unless you are doing at least 20k miles a year DO NOT buy a diesel.....as a repair mechanic, diesels keep him in business.
The next few years will see big changes with diesel cars....and if buying new, and especially if on PCH, diesels have poor value retention....as wil manual cars.....so automatic petrol cars (and hybrid...moreso nonplugin/self charging hybrids) eill have great resale value and will bring the cost of your PCH down.
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The newer diesel engines are a bit more fine tuned so have more that can go wrong with them than they used to, but generally the only thing you need to do is keep up with the oil (as they burn more), the water and check the air filter. The biggest issue with diesels is EGR valves or DPF's getting clogged up with carbon deposits. I used to have Saab and it would go into limp mode all the time, not because the engine was goosed but because all diesel cars fitted with these valves and filters in an attempt to pass regulations in reducing emissions and such. So the EGR just recirculates some of the emissions and tries to burn it away (i think) but it just means that over time, even if you're driving it really hard, it will get deposits of carbon in it. Mine was so much that the valve wouldn't open and shut as it was supposed to, so the ECU just stopped me from driving. I took it out and cleaned it with carb cleaner and a tooth brush and it was back to normal, but nowadays you can get companies that will do engine carbon cleans that will clear it all up and keep your car running nicely.
Sell on for diesels at the moment are quite decent, but they're def gonna go down as the govt policies start getting closer and closer. I thought about getting a Tesla but they're so expensive, and when i calculated how much i would save on fuel and tax compared to how much the fucker would cost me to buy, the saving was very minimal in the short team. But as the tech improves and the other manufacturers start making cheaper alternatives, i think we should start seeing decent prices.
 
quiet_riot said:
Can only disagree. I use my paddles loads for manual downshifting, letting the gears slow you down rather than standing on the brakes.
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Do you do that in a manual as well? It makes sense on long downhill runs but not on a relatively flat commute from Prestwich to Wythenshawe. A couple of IAM threads suggest "brakes to slow, gears to go".
 
shevtheblue said:
The newer diesel engines are a bit more fine tuned so have more that can go wrong with them than they used to, but generally the only thing you need to do is keep up with the oil (as they burn more), the water and check the air filter. The biggest issue with diesels is EGR valves or DPF's getting clogged up with carbon deposits. I used to have Saab and it would go into limp mode all the time, not because the engine was goosed but because all diesel cars fitted with these valves and filters in an attempt to pass regulations in reducing emissions and such. So the EGR just recirculates some of the emissions and tries to burn it away (i think) but it just means that over time, even if you're driving it really hard, it will get deposits of carbon in it. Mine was so much that the valve wouldn't open and shut as it was supposed to, so the ECU just stopped me from driving. I took it out and cleaned it with carb cleaner and a tooth brush and it was back to normal, but nowadays you can get companies that will do engine carbon cleans that will clear it all up and keep your car running nicely.
Sell on for diesels at the moment are quite decent, but they're def gonna go down as the govt policies start getting closer and closer. I thought about getting a Tesla but they're so expensive, and when i calculated how much i would save on fuel and tax compared to how much the fucker would cost me to buy, the saving was very minimal in the short team. But as the tech improves and the other manufacturers start making cheaper alternatives, i think we should start seeing decent prices.
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I had DPF issues after 2 years with a brand new Tiguan...the dealership was gonna charge me £2,300...until i pushed and pushed to find out what the issue was....got it fixed (cleaned) myself for £60. Same thing came up again at 3 and a half years.

i get what youre saying about that simple maintenance....but for the amount of money spent on a brand new car i dont expect to have to do anything at all.
 
AlexWilliamsGloves said:
I had DPF issues after 2 years with a brand new Tiguan...the dealership was gonna charge me £2,300...until i pushed and pushed to find out what the issue was....got it fixed (cleaned) myself for £60. Same thing came up again at 3 and a half years.

i get what youre saying about that simple maintenance....but for the amount of money spent on a brand new car i dont expect to have to do anything at all.
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Yep, but i think that's the point your mate is making about diesels. On long drives, the majority of that shit gets burnt out, but during the shorter rides it doesn't have anywhere to go. My Skoda is obviously the same setup as the Tiguan, but they have something called a DPF regen in them. I'm not sure if it was on your Tiguan but mine, i can hear something running in the engine once i turn off after a shorter drive and its where the DPF regen is burning deposits away. I have had the DPF light come on a couple times, but a quick run down a dual carriage way sorts it. I'll probably be doing a carbon clean every couple of years or so, if i keep it that long, just treat it as another service.
 
East Level 2 said:
Do you do that in a manual as well? It makes sense on long downhill runs but not on a relatively flat commute from Prestwich to Wythenshawe. A couple of IAM threads suggest "brakes to slow, gears to go".
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In a manual, down a hill or coming up to a stop (with plenty of time of course, I don't slam down through the gears when the lights have just gone red), I would have floored the clutch and feathered the brake.

Nowadays in the same situation, (or downhill as you mentioned) I will paddle shift down 1 or 2 cogs, let the revs drop, then down again...and continue until we slow right down or until I think I'm too close and too fast to the car in front.
 
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