First diesel car

[czcina]

Hi all. Less than a month ago I got a new ( used ) car , Ford Focus 2013, 1.6 diesel.

It's my first diesel ever ( coming from Audi A4 1.8T Quattro petrol ) and was wondering if there is anything I should know while using diesel?

I know it sounds weird, but even the guy who sold me the car had to explain it to me to wait for glow plugs to go off before I start my engine :) didn't knew that's a thing.

Is there difference when changing gears or should I do anything else different? Different than petrol engines.

I keep an eye for Liters/100km on my computer and ( motorways mainly ) I get 6.0 average... not sure if its good or bad.

I did notice today in the morning that after I started my engine, when accelerating fuel consumption on computer was going up as high at 20-30 l/100km.

That was on 1st, 2nd gears. Is it to do with cold engine?

I also have a problem with Audio system ( stuck on Ford Audio - Welcome ) , but that another topic as I've read that it's very common with ALL fords... fighting with dealer to fix it under warranty...

 

Any advice would be great, tips and tricks, links etc. :)

Safe driving!

[SeanW]

6l/100km is about 47mpg - not bad...

The increase in consumption could be due to a DPF regeneration, or just as a result of a heavy right foot.  I tend to ignore the instant fuel consumption - either use the average one or do it the old fashioned way (miles between fill ups and the amount of fuel you put in and a calculator lol).

Driving shouldn't be all that different to a petrol - you may notice a difference in performance over all.  They also don't rev as high as petrol engines.  I know my 70mph rev-reading is the same as my partners 40mph (6-speed diesel vs 5-speed petrol).  I can only guess what speed 3500rpm in my diesel gives (I'd guess somewhere around the 110mph mark?). 

No idea what the turbo is like on the 1.6, but I know the 2.0 has a bit - but you soon get used to it (to be fair, the thousand tonnes of crap in the boot probably don't help ).

Just because it's a diesel doesn't mean you can't have fun!  I recently took a trip up to Scotland and satnav took me across some awesome back roads!  For a diesel, the Mondeo was brilliant - a nice little burble from the exhaust, fantastic handling considering the lump up front and the fact it's an estate and keep the revs up and the turbo spinning and you can quickly regain speed out of bends).

I love my dirty diesel!!  Bonus: it pulls like a train!  Had an 1100kg caravan on the back in the Lake District - at no point was I holding anyone up!! (Save for the fact I was limited to 50mph on NSL roads lol)

Best link to use: www.fordownersclub.co.uk 

This 'ere forum has saved me a lot of time, effort & money.  But it's also cost me time, effort & money once I discovered the joys of tinkering lol

[Tdci-Peter]

51 minutes ago, czcina said:

Is there difference when changing gears or should I do anything else different? Different than petrol engines.

I keep an eye for Liters/100km on my computer and ( motorways mainly ) I get 6.0 average... not sure if its good or bad.

6.0 l/100km is 47.0 mpg. Which is not too bad for a diesel in cold weather. All diesels seem to suffer from lower mpg in winter, and there is no clear single answer why. But the best test is the brim to brim tank method, the fuel station gauges are much, much more reliable than the estimates and sensors in the car.

Accelerating with a cold engine will give very high momentary consumption. If you can see clouds of black smoke behind, then something is wrong. Otherwise just use the average consumption.

A good diesel should pull away (in 1st), and trundle along in 1st, 2nd or 3rd, without touching the accelerator. I like the way my car can keep a constant speed along undulating off-road tracks, or in slow, heavy traffic.

But avoid lugging the engine below about 1500rpm. Only really open up the accelerator once above this engine speed. Low rpm and high torque will cause extra wear on the DMF and other bits. But do use the available torque between about 1800rpm and 2500rpm. Like Sean says, it should pull like a train there. I rarely rev mine above 3000rpm, there is not much to be gained.

By finding where the engine works best, driving it can be just as enjoyable as with a petrol engine.

These figures suit my 1.8, but the 1.6 will be very similar, maybe just a tad higher in rpm.

[czcina]

Cool, appreciate the info !

I'm not very good with cars, but willing to learn :)

So far I'm loving my dirty diesel, as you called it ;) ( except darn radio ) very quiet inside on motorways! It's actually crazy how quiet it is on +100km/h+ so no complaints there :D

[zain611]

I have the same 1.6 diesel engine in my 2006 fiesta and like it. My first and previous car I had had a 1 litre petrol engine and you had to rev it a considerable amount (a lot more when you have extra weight) to move it off. With the 1.6 it doesn't even struggle to move off and power doesn't even feel like it's impaired when you have extra weight. Also it's a lot harder to stall diesel engine. For the 8 months of driving my car I've only stalled it once. 

[tazzman600]

I take it you have the mk3 focus? If so the engine is Not like the one in a 2006 fiesta. It's a well improved engine. If your journeys are short then make sure you give it a good run at speed once a week. That'll help the DPF. Otherwise enjoy it and get it serviced regularly 

[zain611]

On 28/03/2018 at 7:04 PM, tazzman600 said:

I take it you have the mk3 focus? If so the engine is Not like the one in a 2006 fiesta. It's a well improved engine. If your journeys are short then make sure you give it a good run at speed once a week. That'll help the DPF. Otherwise enjoy it and get it serviced regularly 

Isn't it the same engine made by Peugeot Citroën PSA? Yes they may have refined it on the newer focus and added a DPF on it. Thankfully the 1.6 on the mk6 fiesta doesn't have a DPF so don't have to worry about it clogging up . Must get a lot more mpg out of it though compared to the older version. Was looking at the latest Peugeot 308 with the same engine and that's claimed 94mpg. Same engine on my 2006 fiesta is claimed 72mpg. 

[TomsFocus]

It's only the main engine block that is the same, the cylinder head is totally different as it's only 8 valve on the 115ps version, different injectors, different turbo, different gearbox, different mapping etc...

However, I've gotta say I'm disappointed with mine compared to the 16v in the mk2.  The powerband is better than the old 16v, torque where I want it (though that's partly due to the gearbox) but it's not very refined, quite difficult to drive smoothly around town tbh.  The mpg is also currently no better than the old 16v so far.  On the plus side, the cDPF is working far better than the additive DPF did, and the engine has a nice note to it under a bit of load from 1500rpm+, not sure if that's more to do with being 8v or because of the resonator after the turbo but it sounds alright for a standard diesel lol.

[zain611]

4 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

It's only the main engine block that is the same, the cylinder head is totally different as it's only 8 valve on the 115ps version, different injectors, different turbo, different gearbox, different mapping etc...

However, I've gotta say I'm disappointed with mine compared to the 16v in the mk2.  The powerband is better than the old 16v, torque where I want it (though that's partly due to the gearbox) but it's not very refined, quite difficult to drive smoothly around town tbh.  The mpg is also currently no better than the old 16v so far.  On the plus side, the cDPF is working far better than the additive DPF did, and the engine has a nice note to it under a bit of load from 1500rpm+, not sure if that's more to do with being 8v or because of the resonator after the turbo but it sounds alright for a standard diesel lol.

How does the number of valves effect the engine? Does it help in low or high revs? Do remember also you remapped your previous focus so that might of helped in power. I am thinking of getting the remap done in a few months time. 

[TomsFocus]

Fewer valves make it easier to control the emissions, as well as making the engine lighter (more emissions reduction) and more reliable/cheaper to make by removing  one camshaft  and the chain/chain tensioner that drives it.  It wasn't done for the drivers benefit and most people wouldn't even notice a difference.

16v engines tend to be smoother and happier to rev higher up, where 8v engines tend to be torquier low down.  But really there are lots of variables so it's not quite that simple.

The power, or rather the torque, is fine on the mk3, thrashing around is no problem at all, it doesn't feel any slower than the mk2 despite 25bhp less.  It's when I get in town and have to negotiate junctions, roundabouts, car parks and general traffic that it just won't drive well.  I know this is partly down to the Euro 5 emissions mapping but it's not really good enough for what would have been a £20k car just 6 years ago.