[James H]

Well...he reckons the hole is minscule and blocked up anyway. We might replace the intercooler anyway as we can get the part for £100. But he works with Tubo Diesels on a daily basis and I am going to take his word for it

That sounds OK then, I was thinking of a medium-sized stone related hole or some such (not trying to discredit your mechanic at all!)

[DevilsDuck]

Its like a slim gash about 2cm long.

In response to Topher...Nissa were charging £2100 for parts and £100 per hour for labour!

Even if we had all the work done that Nissan wanted to do through our new best friend mechanic, it would have cost £700

Nissan are Twunts

[James H]

Its like a slim gash about 2cm long.

In response to Topher...Nissa were charging £2100 for parts and £100 per hour for labour!

Even if we had all the work done that Nissan wanted to do through our new best friend mechanic, it would have cost £700

Nissan are Twunts

All dealers are. My local Stealership is only useful for parts requests!

[MK Chris]

My son is a fan of your avatar James H, he keeps shouting 'DUCK!' I thought he was referring to DevilsDuck for a minute, then realised that would be silly.

[Tunster]

My son is a fan of your avatar James H, he keeps shouting 'DUCK!' I thought he was referring to DevilsDuck for a minute, then realised that would be silly.

No one likes red ducks.

[James H]

Unfortunately I can't take full credit for said duck, it was originally referenced from this screenshot:


All I did was crop the duck out and make it a transparent PNG.

But I find it quite cool that it has that effect!

[DevilsDuck]

My son is a fan of your avatar James H, he keeps shouting 'DUCK!' I thought he was referring to DevilsDuck for a minute, then realised that would be silly.

No one likes red ducks.

Screw you guys...im going home!

[a-moron]

OMG!!!!

[James H]

It's also a bloody difficult phobia to spell without looking it up!

[dimtimjim]

One of my LPG injectors has failed, got if checked over yesterday but they didn't have part in stock. I've got to go back tomorrow to get it fitted, but in the meatime I'm running about on ruddy Petrol..! How expensive is that shit! I dunno how people manage it?! Already spent £60 on the stuff since yesterday and it'll prob be another £40/50 by the time I get back to LPG garage. Grrrr.

Although, on a plus, it was kinda nice to see, for the first time in over 4 years, my car showing more than 1/4 a tank of petrol - quite nostalgic!

LPG injector rail (Its No2 thats failed - fact fans):


Few additional pics while i'm at it.

Custom made induction system:


Forge Turbo Intake Pipe (the blue thing - which is a £120 piece of silicone tube) and Dump valve


And finally, showing my allegiance (to anyone who knows what they do)

[Yudster]

What kind of consumption do you get with LPG? We had LPG hybrid cars at my old job, but I never took a lot of notice of the numbers, and also of course it was always so difficult finding garages that sold the damn stuff most people just used to stick petrol in.

[dimtimjim]

Ok... Now my car is in no way intended for its fuel economy and more aimed at 'making progress', I tend to get about 35mpg on my motorway drawl, although that can easily drop into the high 20's if I toe it.

So, its not so good on mpg, but better once you work it out on mp£.

35mpg running on LPG gives me a cost equivalent to approx 60mpg if running on diesel. And, given my driving style is more right foot heavy, I'd never achieve 60mpg from a diesel - so I'm happy with it.

Means I can get a full tank o fuel for £35-38, where as I often see people filling up on Unleaded/Diesel and a tank full costing over £100 - which scares me!

As regards filling stations, there are more about than you realise. On my personal daily commute I pass 9 LPG filling stations each day - but I usually fill up slightly off route near my house (not a motorway services) as its usually about 3p/p/l cheaper. Now, "3p per litre, whats the point?" I hear you ask. Bear in mind I use approx 10,000 litres a fuel a year and a 3p per litre saving starts to make sense. (about £300 per year for those without a calculator) I also try to fill up at Shell stations all the time and collect the points which I 'trade in' for money off fuel. In reality, I get around a £15 free fuel voucher every 3 months, making it worth my while.

[chrysostom]

I've only had 5 problems with my car; brake line snapping (Horrific. The something rubbed against the something), 2 flat tyres and 2 exhaust issues. I'm awful with anything car related.

7 years together in February

My 1.4l Peugeot 206 gets 36mpg on unleaded. (I'm also right foot heavy)

Is that good/bad/average?

[dimtimjim]

Is that good/bad/average?

Average to good (taking into account your driving style). Remember, when the 206 was designed we weren't as focused on mpg as we all are now. The advances over the last 5 years have meant real improvements in what a car can potentially achieve, but there is still no substitute for simply 'taking you time'.

As TopGear proved, an M3 can best the mpg of a Prius, driven accordingly.

[Yudster]

So, its not so good on mpg, but better once you work it out on mp£.

35mpg running on LPG gives me a cost equivalent to approx 60mpg if running on diesel.

That's kind of what I meant really.

And when I said we had trouble finding garages that sell it, bear in mind this was 13 years ago. I can categorically state that within a 25 mile radius of our office, there were at that time three places you could buy the stuff. It did improve over the next few years but not by a hell of a lot.

[R94N]

Is that good/bad/average?

Average to good (taking into account your driving style). Remember, when the 206 was designed we weren't as focused on mpg as we all are now. The advances over the last 5 years have meant real improvements in what a car can potentially achieve, but there is still no substitute for simply 'taking you time'.

As TopGear proved, an M3 can best the mpg of a Prius, driven accordingly.

Also taking out any junk you might have on the back seats or in the boot might help a little. Or taking off roof bars/boxes if you're not using them etc. And using the right tyre pressure.

[MK Chris]

Vauxhall Vectra - 58 plate, 1.9l diesel, CDTI whatever that means (turbo?) 18,000 miles, £7,000. Opinions?

[dimtimjim]

^^ not bad at all sir. Vectra's are a little boring, but ok. Be sure to employ proper Turbo care* though, they don't have the best rep, otherwise good. A Mondeo would be better, but thats not bad for the price.

You in the market then?

CDTi = Common-rail Diesel Turbo Injection.

* ask in unsure.

[MK Chris]

^^ not bad at all sir. Vectra's are a little boring, but ok.

Yes - I said that to Yudster, whilst also mentioning that exciting isn't my top priority now!

A Mondeo would be better, but thats not bad for the price.

And more expensive.

* ask in unsure.

I'm unsure... so I'm asking!

[dimtimjim]

Ok, when starting the engine from cold, do not under any circumstances 'give it the boot' for the first 5 minutes or so (in my car, I wait for the water to hit 90 degress, as i don't have an oil temp guage, but by then the oil should be up above 40 degrees, which is enough. Obviously, the colder the day/temperature, the longer you need to heat the oil before booting it. Try to keep revs in the lower half of the rev range and only tickle the throttle. The point being you need the engine oil to have a little bit of temperature gain (and hence become slightly thinner) before forcing it through the Turbocharger.

Additionally, if you have been for relatively spirited drive (working the Turbo hard near the end of the journey) leave the engine to idle for approx 1-2 mins before shutting off the engine. (Or just don't drive like a maniac when nearing journey end). This is to allow the Turbocharger to cool slightly before you shut engine off, If not, the turbo will still be cherry-red hot and once you kill the engine, the oil sat in the turbo will be cooked by the excessive heat, which in turn over thickens it, which in turn will block the oil flow holes in the turbo.

Simple really.

[MK Chris]

Oh OK thanks - so in summary, don't overdo it at the start or end of a journey?

Edit: do I have to use the turbo? Is it something you can switch off? I'm not too fussed about it to be honest. Does it automatically kick in when you hit a certain speed / level of revs?

[dimtimjim]

Auto comes in when revs built up, no you can't turn it off, not that you'd want to, Diesel engines heavily rely on a Turbo due to the higher compression the fuel burns at. Without it, you really wouldn't go anywhere, you'd be quicker to do a 'Fred Flintstone' and stick your feet through the floor...

But yes, your summary is bob on, I just wanted to give you more info so you know why (given I know you're a clever chap).

[MK Chris]

Thanks again. Is there a standard point that the turbo kicks in for all cars? If not, is there a way of knowing when it does on my car or when it's on? Also, you mentioned 5-10 minutes weather dependent at the start of the journey, is it 5-10 minutes at the end as well?

[Chris]

Ignore the fact it has a turbo, if they hadn't told you then you probably wouldn't ever have known.

My car has two. I ignore them both.

[dimtimjim]

My car has two. I ignore them both.

Firstly, you flash get!! (BMW driver?) Secondly, thats not good advice, turbo care is essential for long life. Ask Yudster... (went pop and forced a new car, in case you don't know) Although, having met you Chris, you do strike me as the sorta chap who'd not overly stress about the price of a new turbo (or car)... I know Toph would.

Thanks again. Is there a standard point that the turbo kicks in for all cars? If not, is there a way of knowing when it does on my car or when it's on? Also, you mentioned 5-10 minutes weather dependent at the start of the journey, is it 5-10 minutes at the end as well?

Not a standard no, petrol engines usually about 2,000-2,500 and diesel engines 1,250-1,500. In your case, light throttle usage at start of journey more important as it wakes up very early.

And yeah, a 5-10 min relaxation of throttle before journey end is fine.