Petrol Vs Diesel

[Cyker]

Ya, glowplugs aren't really needed over here in CR diesels; I know many Ford Duratorqs don't even have them anymore! They're still in 'just in case' in most other cars tho'.

I'm not sure what drivability means here; The 1.4 and 2.0 D4Ds are very free revving and accelerate like crazy; I certainly don't feel mine is lacking in pull and it's a zillion times better going through the Crooked Mile than my crappy old 1.3L petrol Fiesta!

I was shifting up and down so much for the hills and straights, whereas the Yaris'll happily stay in 4th/5th and still pull up those hills :D

Regarding turbos, turbo chargers are actually a lot LESS Reliable on petrol engines because of the much higher exhaust temps.

Diesels exhaust temps are a lot lower than petrols, which is why they've had variable geometry turbos for ages, petrols have been stuck with fixed ones (Except in some high-end sports cars where they use expensive high-temp materials for it)

But, the main reason for turbo failure is that they aren't looked after: You HAVE to let the turbo cool down before you switch the engine off if you've been hammering it on the motorway. Higher end cars have turbo-timers to keep the oil and coolant pumps running until the turbo reaches a safe temperature, but us mortals need to run the car at a low RPM or leave the engine idling for a few minutes before switching off the engine so the turbo can cool sufficiently.

This isn't a diesel thing - It applies to ALL turbos!

And for some reason, especially BMW's - I've known so many BWM owners (Petrol and diesel) who have needed turbos replaced because they don't let them cool down enough after a motorway stint, and as has been said - Them things ain't cheap to replace!

If looked after, a turbo should easily last as long as a timing chain...

[ChrisRuffell]

I got my 2.0 Lancer Diesel and it sure is no tree hugging eco diesel... Yeah it sounds a bit like a tug boat but the surge of power feels sweeeeeeeet

[CorollaD4D]

On the subject of BMW, that X35d (where X is the series of the car) is one of the sweetest diesel engines made! I think it's 286BHP and heaven know how much torque that thing chucks out!

[acetip]

My 91 passat had a water cooled turbo (Garret) that had a seperate elecric water pump that cut in if the engine was too hot when shut down to protect the turbo.you could not call this a higher end car.VW may still fit have these water cooled turbos for all i know.to stop pump seizing through lack of use,this pump was run each time the starter motor was operated.they may be times through having an accident,running out of fuel or some engine failure when an engine shuts down on high speed running where the turbo is at a very high temp, a setup like a water cooled pump could save a ruined turbo.