48 replies to this topic

[zebra]

Sorry been offline as had a few days away.

Thanks for the OIl burner, the person telling her is hopefully confused with the diesel! We know the mpgs in the book are not realistic, and certainly not with my 1.4 fiesta which is 7 months old now. I also reckon the tests in labs dont take temperature into consideration, the cold in the last few weeks has really reduced my mpg

thanks fasty, she test drove it at the weekend (unfortunatly iwas away so couldnt play) and she said it was very nippy, im not sure which of the 1 litre engines it was though. The stop start was odd - I'll reserve judgment until i have driven her car.

I hadnt thought of the aircon and heater issues though I'll mention that to her.

She bought it anyway not sure of the discout until i speak to her, but i know she ordered it in candy blue and it should be here byt he end of the month

[k13r4n]

ok guys I saw a 62 plate fw facelift fiesta today on the road rolling on a 62 plate and wow it has presence that grill is awesome stands out a mile will try get a photo of the one the dealer beside work has but it's red and I dislike any red ford.

[Magenta]

Well, naturally, the starter system would have to be designed to cope with repeated use without overheating or wearing out prematurely.. I suspect that they would not use a conventional starter motor, it wouldn't be suitable.
Considering the important battery drain issue however, keep in mind that the start-stop system is almost always combined with a regenerative breaking system. This not only assists breaking, but more importantly puts some power back into the battery. So, some of the power drained from the battery on each re-start is gained back when you brake to a halt.

Regenerative braking ? Surely this can only be used with electric or hybrid cars where the motive power used is an electric motor? The motor becomes a generator on the overun. The only source of voltage for the battery on a conventional i.c. powered car is rectified ac from the alternator which is simply a generator. Unless, of course, they have started using the 'dynastart' principle where the starter and generator are one unit but I very much doubt it and in any case it doesn't provide regenerative braking. If this is the case then manufacturers have been very quiet about it.

[fasty]

Regenerative braking ? Surely this can only be used with electric or hybrid cars where the motive power used is an electric motor? The motor becomes a generator on the overun. The only source of voltage for the battery on a conventional i.c. powered car is rectified ac from the alternator which is simply a generator. Unless, of course, they have started using the 'dynastart' principle where the starter and generator are one unit but I very much doubt it and in any case it doesn't provide regenerative braking. If this is the case then manufacturers have been very quiet about it.

I was under the impression that they recovered some energy from braking to help recharge the battery, nothing terribly sophisticated really. I presume this helps to reduce alternator load during normal driving, and partially compensates for the extra battery power required to re-start the engine after a start-stop cycle.

[Nay ZS]

BMW made a big thing about the regenerative braking when they first launched their adverts bigging up the Efficient Dynamics models so it's definately found on normal cars.

[Magenta]

Everything continues to work when start-stop is engaged, though if you're stopped a while the hot air blowing through isn't as strong, similar in the summer with the air con so I assume it comes off the battery. It's only designed to be used when stopped for a short while, such as at a level crossing or red traffic lights. If you are stopped for longer, and the lights/wipers/de-mist etc are all on then the car does re-start itself.

As said, if there isn't sufficient charge in the battery or the outside temperature is too low, it doesn't cut the engine. I don't think mine engaged last week at all with the temperatues around freezing.

I was really unsure about start-stop at first, and always pressed the off button as I was always worried the car wouldn't restart leaving me embarrassed at the front of a traffic jam! But I let it do it's thing now, whether it helps my economy or not is another matter!!

I would have thought that longer stops is when you need the engine to stop for economy reasons. Stopping the engine for traffic lights etc seems over complication to me. Sorry to be cynical but, wear and tear on the car is better for the car industry in the long run !

[Magenta]

Nearly all of my trips are short to work and back 2 miles , Stop Start has not worked for me for ages lol , not that i'm bothered by this , most traffic lights only keep you a few minutes at most. Winter months really take it out of short trips , and i have even had battery low warning .

With all the sudden battery failures I've had recently I kept saying why don't they fit a battery condition indicator - BCI (i.e a voltmeter) as we used to have years ago or at least a warning light. Sounds as though they do the latter now with the introduction of the start-stop system ! I have one of the old BCI meters which I am thinking of rigging up to plug into the 12v power socket for the winter. At least I would be able to keep an eye on the battery condition.

[Magenta]

BMW made a big thing about the regenerative braking when they first launched their adverts bigging up the Efficient Dynamics models so it's definately found on normal cars.

I would be interested to know how this works. I can only find reference to regenerative braking on electric or hybrid cars. There is a hydraulic system being developed for big trucks which works off the brake fluid pressure but this is still in the development stage as far as a I know and still unreliable.

[Dave-2912]

I would be interested to know how this works. I can only find reference to regenerative braking on electric or hybrid cars. There is a hydraulic system being developed for big trucks which works off the brake fluid pressure but this is still in the development stage as far as a I know and still unreliable.

This is a short statement and example of how the BWM system works:

http://www.bmw.com/c...generation.html

http://www.bmw.com/c...generation.html

[fasty]

This is a short statement and example of how the BWM system works:

http://www.bmw.com/c...generation.html

http://www.bmw.com/c...generation.html

Thanks for that.
With modern power management electronics, it would be easy to force the alternator to dump power into the battery during braking (assuming that the battery isn't already "full", that is.

[Jackx]

http://www.autotrade...g?logcode=ucbnp

Mine looks so dated now, got it for another 20 months as well. Is there any chance ford will offer me a new one say 12 months down the line? I'm on a pcp contract.

[jmbrown91]

Ford will do anything as long as you are willing to pay for it..

[b1g_dav3]

Meh, not such a big fan of the grill still.

[Mark M.K]

Nope, that grille is fugly. Sorry Ford, you have ruined a nice looking car

[b1g_dav3]

Yeah, worse than it looked on the original pictures. Definitely thinking twice, because my Fiesta is a bit small now with my cat that has to be transported in a cage >.<