Philip Foglar
///Member
The only thing that I can't see mentioned above which is something to consider with a diesel is to avoid labouring the engine which causes loads of torsional stress. Diesels usually have tremendous torque at very low revs which is great, but in taller gears the torsional stresses can be quite immense!
Petrol or diesel - start up and after no more than a few seconds drive off gently keeping the revs in a midrange area, and this depends on the engine, but generally, not below 1500 rpm or above 3000 rpm, 2500 rpm in some cases. Only once warmed up start using larger throttle openings - also bear in mind that the temperature gauge shows water temperature and not oil temperature which takes a bit longer to reach optimum operating temperature. And yes, diesels being as efficient as they are tend to take a fair amount longer to reach proper operating temperature.
I would say for any turbo-charged engine it is very important to give the engine a cool-off period when nearing your destination, especially if driven harder and on warmer days. What I find works extremely well is to let the engine run under compression (off throttle in gear) as much as possible - reason being that it is then simply taking in cool air while no combustion is taking place, so this helps with the cooling off. And then let the engine idle for a bit before shutting down, helps further with the cooling, but more specifically allows the turbo to actually slow down to a more manageable speed - these things can spin up to crazy speeds up to and around 100 000 rpm so I've heard!
Do all of this, and I firmly believe that a turbo engine, petrol or diesel should last very long! :thumbs:
Petrol or diesel - start up and after no more than a few seconds drive off gently keeping the revs in a midrange area, and this depends on the engine, but generally, not below 1500 rpm or above 3000 rpm, 2500 rpm in some cases. Only once warmed up start using larger throttle openings - also bear in mind that the temperature gauge shows water temperature and not oil temperature which takes a bit longer to reach optimum operating temperature. And yes, diesels being as efficient as they are tend to take a fair amount longer to reach proper operating temperature.
I would say for any turbo-charged engine it is very important to give the engine a cool-off period when nearing your destination, especially if driven harder and on warmer days. What I find works extremely well is to let the engine run under compression (off throttle in gear) as much as possible - reason being that it is then simply taking in cool air while no combustion is taking place, so this helps with the cooling off. And then let the engine idle for a bit before shutting down, helps further with the cooling, but more specifically allows the turbo to actually slow down to a more manageable speed - these things can spin up to crazy speeds up to and around 100 000 rpm so I've heard!
Do all of this, and I firmly believe that a turbo engine, petrol or diesel should last very long! :thumbs:
