Guide: How To Drive and Maintain a Diesel Car?

[TSIVipul]

Just one last question. This may sound stupid but I can't stop my excitement to know things with diesel. Once I put first gear in diesel to start the car, at what RPM should I shift to second. Correct me if I am wrong the turbo gets active in 1500 to 3000 RPM and the first gear in diesel is short. But still wanted to know.

See buddy the turbo gets active between 1500 to 2000 rpm in most of the cars.Now,how to use turbo and when to shift is the question,so here is my answer:-

Although Mukesh has already stated the right gearing so let me explain it different way:-

In city driving:
In the slow moving traffic of city,let the torque do its job and drive with very light foot.This way turbo will not come to life but your drive will be great.While for sudden bursts of acceleration,just shift down,and revv up.Rest all will be done by the turbo itself.

Highways drive:
If you drive sedately then you can easily do without turbo too and if you like to drive at moderate speeds then follow this rule:-
Start,push till 2500-2800 rpm in any gear and shift up and follow the same.This way your turbo will remain active and will give you enough power whenever required without waiting for even a second.

High speed highway or hilly drives:
The turbo is used at its best while climbing uphills with full load or at high speed highway drives when you need some more power.
On the highways you can easily do long shift and can use just one gear from 60 kph to 160 kph in the Ritz but on the hilly inclines everything changes drastically.There you need to keep your car in powerband throughout the way in the incline else your car will bog down despite being a diesel too.
There is a simple rule in this case:-
Engage first gear and pull till 3500-4000 rpm in it and then shift up and follow the same till 5th gear.This way your car will remain above 3000 rpm in any gear and hence you will get good power on highways and on the hilly inclines too.And if by any chance rpm goes below 2500 then shift down.This practice works best on hills and I have climbed my Corolla(by carrying the momentum) to the places where even SUV owners put their heads on the wheel.

I hope now you have got it..

Similarly if you want to check the top speed of any car then also follow this technique:-
From the second gear itself start pushing the engine till the redline and keep on shifting up.And let the car take its time to do it int he 3rd and 4th gear.And after touching redline or the top rev limit car can reach in 4th gear then engage the fifth.
Else if you push in the fifth itself then you can never reach the true top speed of your car,instead you will end up touching at least 10 kph lesser than what you would have touched by pushing from the lower gears.

 

[mukeshus]

Vipul are you sure, that you redline the vehicle.
Diesel engines hardly redline than its mentioned than the petrol counterparts.
All the family members may pounce on you if you use turbo.

Lest this thread is on maintaining buddy....

No performance tips....

 

[TSIVipul]

^^Buddy from redlining I meant upper rev limit or say when engine touches the red mark which is found on 4 or 4.5k on the diesel engines.
Actually the engine starts loosing its power when nearing towards redline but for the top speed you need the higher revvs and hence to attain highest possible rpm in top gear,its better if we keep pushing it till the top gear.
That's the reason many cars attain their top speed in second top(4th for 5 geared and 5th for 6 geared)gear.Because engine is unable to attain that highest rev limit in the top gear.

 

[LaTour]

....But I read in one article that idling is not a good thing to do and is not the best way to warm up the engine.

I don't know whether turbo charged engines requires idling before moving.

You might call it a super stupid query. But its very important.. ......The load bearing parts (piston pin, crank pin, crankshaft and respective bearings, etc)need to be lubricated. When the engine is started, the lubrication just starts.

Diesel car or petrol car, or steam engine, lubrication is needed for all of them. So, its recommended for all

I have seen a lot of bus/truck drivers that when they return back from any journey then before switching the engine off,they rev it quite high 3-4 times and then they turn it off.Any special reason behind it?
...

Wow! Cool questions & clarifications!

Okay. My humble two cents on the idling part:

1. Idling before staring off/cold start -............ We have an exhaust ,the car has an exhaust !!.....

2. Idling before switching off the engine: this is reqquired only for turbocharged engines. ......so that the turbo gets enough time to come to a halt before one stops and has to switch off the engine. To put this simply, drive your turbocharged car very slowly for about a minute before coming to a halt.

Hope this explanation puts and end to all idling doubts.

In city driving:
In the slow moving traffic of city,let the torque do its job and drive with very light foot.This way turbo will not come to life but your drive will be great.

Highways drive:
If you drive sedately then you can easily do without turbo too and if you like to drive at moderate speeds then follow this rule:-
Start,push till 2500-2800 rpm in any gear and shift up and follow the same.This way your turbo will remain active and will give you enough power whenever required without waiting for even a second.

High speed highway or hilly drives:
The turbo is used at its best while climbing uphills with full load or at high speed highway drives when you need some more power.
.......

I hope now you have got it..

Similarly if you want to check the top speed of any car then also follow this technique:-
.......

Again, Cool points!

As I'm transitioning from Petrol to Diesel now, this is gem of a thread for novices like me. Thanks a bunch to all those who've contributed and also for those who've raised their wonderful queries.

Cheers!

 

[prakashjga]

I had wondered the difference between diesel and petrol engines, thanx for a post keep rocking man

 

[tango]

Thanks buddy for valuable info. I am going to be a first time diesel car driver.

 

[vaibhav]

Hi
one difference i am seeing in diesel is that when in bumper traffic and in 1st gear even if i just depress clutch car moves ahead without using accelerator.
Is it advisable or i should use only accelerator ?

You are right. In many modern diesel cars, you cant start the car unless you completely depress the clutch. My Manza has this feature.

Hey depress means we have to completely press clutch like when we use gears
or
Dont press clutch at all

 

[autosafari]

Hey depress means we have to completely press clutch like when we use gears
or
Dont press clutch at all

Its meant that you need to press clutch fully similar to what you do for changing gears.

Its an extra safety feature to avoid car jerking and jumbing forward in case it is in gears while starting.

Hi
one difference i am seeing in diesel is that when in bumper traffic and in 1st gear even if i just depress clutch car moves ahead without using accelerator.
Is it advisable or i should use only accelerator ?

Generally for diesel cars, there is no need of using accelerator in bumber to bumber traffic. Just work on clutch and brake. Even better if you are in 2nd gear. Just shift to 2nd gear and forget about the accelerator even if it is a slight climb.

 

[afrose3]

@ depress clutch means we have to press clutch when starting the car?

yes it means to depress the clutch when you have engaged in gear while starting the engine , but i dont think it is necessary when car is in neutral

 

[adi231189]

Its meant that you need to press clutch fully similar to what you do for changing gears.

Its an extra safety feature to avoid car jerking and jumbing forward in case it is in gears while starting.



Generally for diesel cars, there is no need of using accelerator in bumber to bumber traffic. Just work on clutch and brake. Even better if you are in 2nd gear. Just shift to 2nd gear and forget about the accelerator even if it is a slight climb.

Wow simply great thread, so much to learn since i am thinking of buying a punto MJD.

So does that mean on 2nd gear a car can pull easily from a red light?

I heard punto has a sluggish 2nd gear, so does this mean that it can climb on 2nd gear as well?

 

[vaibhav]

Well first gear must be changed as soon as possible in diesel and 2nd gear should be engaged

 

[raj_5004]

1) It is always better to start the car with the clutch depressed, even if the car is in neutral. Its a good practice.

2) Diesel cars dont need any throttle inputs at low speeds. The high torque is more than enough to let the car crawl. BUT, do not attempt starting the car in 2nd gear (unless you are going down on a slope), even if its possible. Its not good for the clutch. Start with 1st only, you can move to second as soon as possible. Whenever the car stops completely, always shift to 1st.

 

[TSIVipul]

Wow simply great thread, so much to learn since i am thinking of buying a punto MJD.

So does that mean on 2nd gear a car can pull easily from a red light?

I heard punto has a sluggish 2nd gear, so does this mean that it can climb on 2nd gear as well?

Buddy weather it is diesel or petrol its always good to upshift at a particular rev range.In other words it is never advisable to make your car pull in second gear.Also you may make your diesel car move in second gear without pressing gas,but do it by releasing the clutch suddenly and the car will bog down.
Instead its better to always move in first gear only from starting.My practice is simple:-
1st gear-3000 rpm.
2nd gear-3000 rpm.
3rd gear-3000 rpm.
4th gear-4500 rpm.
5th gear.
When I am in a mood of high speed cruising.In this pattern the revs never fell below the 2500 rpm mark and hence the car feels powerful throughout the process.
If you just want to drive with a light foot then also i'd recommend to upshift at 3000 till 3rd gear,then let the revs fall in 4th and fifth gear till your required speed is attained.

Second gear of Punto is not sluggish,in fact no car is sluggish.All cars are powerful,the sluggishness lies in the driver.I drive a Toyota Corolla D-4D,maybe this is the most terrible under-engined car selling in India.But still I keep on working on the gearbox slight a bit(my one hand always rest on gear lever)and hence I can bet that Corolla is not sluggish,you just need to keep it between 2000-4000 rpm.
Same is with Punto.The second gear is slightly taller but not sluggish.Just upshift from first gear at 3000 rpm and your second gear will start from around 2400 rpm.Bust since your turbo will be active and hence your car will keep on pulling like a pro.(I have driven the 75 bhp Punto MJD till Jwala Ji,and I must say that is driver is good then this car is best in communicating with the driver).
TURBO CAN BEAT ANY SLUGGISHNESS,YOU JUST NEED TO LEARN THE ART OF KEEPING IT ALIVE THROUGHOUT THE DRIVE.

 

[Sam Dinkar]

+1 to raj_5004. Its not good to drag the car in any gear if the next/previous ratio could be used.

 

[Figoian]

Same is with Punto.The second gear is slightly taller but not sluggish.Just upshift from first gear at 3000 rpm and your second gear will start from around 2400 rpm.Bust since your turbo will be active and hence your car will keep on pulling like a pro.(I have driven the 75 bhp Punto MJD till Jwala Ji,and I must say that is driver is good then this car is best in communicating with the driver).

Agreed. But won't this result in FE? Just a thought...