Big Al 16 Posted October 7, 2014 Author Share Posted October 7, 2014 Mercedes (since around the Cretaceous period), BMW, Audi, Porsche and Maserati all produce diesel engine sports cars. In the case of Maserati, the engine was co-developed with Ferrari. Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 I have driven diesels for the past 20 years while in Japan. Love em... I also do a lot of the engine work myself. Mr Wiggles is right about diesel fuel having more stored energy than petrol but that's only one factor. Torque comes from stroke and the longer the better.......hows that for a loaded statement.. The greater offset on the center line of the crankshaft means the longer the connecting rods which can exert more force on the bottom stroke. And that translates to lower RPM's as Snowdude mentioned. Another factor is compression. Diesels are designed to run with way higher compression ratios than petrol engines. And the third factor that is tied in with compression is turbo boost. It's all quite complicated but you can play around with turbo boost to increase power. Even a stock engine can have massive performance gains just by playing with the amount of turbo boost. The big issue is....boost=heat so that is why we have things like intercoolers or methanol injection and big exhaust systems.. Don't believe anyone who says diesels are cheaper or last longer than petrol engines or any of that BS... Sure, you can get 500K kms from a diesel engine but there are a lot of EXPENSIVE maintenance costs to get it there...never mind the much higher initial purchase price. Diesel ISN'T cheap.. Link to post Share on other sites
Big Al 16 Posted October 8, 2014 Author Share Posted October 8, 2014 What do you pay for a litre of diesel in Japan? It's around $1-50 in Qld. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 around 140 yen to 150 yen per litre. Link to post Share on other sites
hellyer 216 Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Talking of diesels - My new wagon:- Link to post Share on other sites
snowdude 44 Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Nice motor I see you got a snorkel on it, you planning on doing some river crossing with it? Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 In my student days I was fond of a diesel Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Talking of diesels - My new wagon:- OK....I have to yell this... BASTARD..... EXTREMELY BADASS TWIN TURBO 200 RIG!!!!!!! Welcome to the club Snowjunky. Now you'll end up spending more time at the ih8mud forums and the LCOOL forums than around here. That bull bar looks factory..very interesting. That truck is the pinnacle of cushy light wheeling right there.. You'll be able the cruise those Aussie washboards in comfort at speed. Man,, I'd love to try out the crawl system. Too bad we can't get out for some overlanding together. Oh..and BTW....Chicks dig snorkels.. Link to post Share on other sites
hellyer 216 Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 ha ha - snorkel envy. there Chris. Yes it is good to get back into a cruiser - I had an 80 series for around 10 years a while back. It was one of the first turbo diesels in Australia and i had a few problems with the injectors at the time but still loved it Looking forward to spending a fair bit of time in 'Big Pearl' (named by my grandkids - its Perlescent white & BIG!). though not as gangster as your bad boy rig. No doubt she will be getting in the mud and dirt especially when we head off next April to do the big lap (or 2) around Oz. The bull bar was part of the kit included in the "Altitude' badge which also includes some of the Sahara kit - sat nav with rearview camera, leather electric seats, cool box & a few other bells and whistles. I have added a rear lift kit, UHF radio & aerial, and a brake controller for when I hook the van up.. Lovin the view from up there. Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 I'm snorked, too Snowjunky.. Ah yes....the two stage 1HDT injectors are a little finicky and I've had mine rebuilt at a pretty hefty cost. Actually, only one was bad but I had all 6 done anyway. Still smokes a lot but that's part of the diesel Cruiser heritage. Ya know, I was going to say that from the first pic it looks like you have a tiny bit of stinkbug but didn't want to mention it as it could be from the camera angle or something. Why lift only the rear?? .. and what lift did you have done? Regardless, Big Pearl is an awesome rig...Cheers Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Mercedes (since around the Cretaceous period), BMW, Audi, Porsche and Maserati all produce diesel engine sports cars. In the case of Maserati, the engine was co-developed with Ferrari. For sure, there are loads of great diesel motors. Its just conspiracy theory to say they beat gasoline engines on every metric and being held back by regulation or somesuch. The poor performance of gasoline engines at low revs can be avoided by a hybrid setup where minimal loads are handled by running at a higher, minimum-for-efficiency level of 1000-1500 revs, dumping any excess power into a battery, and then turning the engine off and using the power in the battery. That's basically how the Toyota system works. The engine is only on during warming up, acceleration, and going uphill. You can get the clean diesel X Trail now for about 1.2 million yen second hand. It should do about 14-15 off diesel, so under 10 yen a km, making it one of the cheapest 4wd cars to run. That will beat a lot of 4wd kei cars, and an X Trail is much bigger than them. Great car SnowJunky. Looks wicked! Link to post Share on other sites
Big Al 16 Posted October 8, 2014 Author Share Posted October 8, 2014 Great rig Snowjunky - definitely ticks all the boxes: Room for survey equipment & pegs & stakes..........check Room for extra field party..........check Suitable for bush surveys..........check Suitable for invasion of Poland..........check 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Yes...all so impressive.... The elephant in the room though is the equally impressive price tag.. Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 I must say I find those great big hulking vehicles pretty horrendous myself! What is the appeal.... just lots of space? Link to post Share on other sites
snowdude 44 Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Well us big 4WD drivers like them for the tons of room they have inside them, they look mean and the main fact they will go almost anywhere. Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 They look ugly, but it's good to hear that they'll go on all of the many narrow roads here in Japan. Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 I must say I find those great big hulking vehicles pretty horrendous myself! What is the appeal.... just lots of space? Most of them are in fact big hulking horrendous vehicles.. I feel the same way about Ford, Chevy, Dodge and North American Toyotas. The LandCruiser is different though because they really aren't THAT big. No bigger than a Toyota van or El Grande or Alphard.. And "What's the appeal?" is a valid question GG... It's the same thing I ask when I pull up beside someone scrunched into a high end Ferrari or hunched over "hugging a barrel" on a Ducati. I drive a little wee K car during the week and save the LandCruiser for Fridays and the weekend. It's EXACTLY like treating yourself to a first class ticket home every once in a while...and that 200 Series of Snowjunkys is a very, very nice driving experience that is ALSO very capable of light-medium duty off-roading. As for my "appeal" .. Practically speaking...and not in any particular order... -I can sleep in it very comfortably. -I can pack a ton of gear for camping or music equipment for live shows or all the gear I take to business events all over the country... -Loaded or unloaded the truck handles the same with the same amount of power... -It will go anywhere...deep snow, sand, mud, ....the apocalypse -At 20 years old it costs the same as a used Subabu but will easily last another 20 years.....unlike the Subaru. -Relatively easy to work on with a good used parts network and plenty of documentation for the DIY'ers. -LandCruiser heritage...I like driving a legend. -durability and more importantly reliability. -and MOST importantly......The 90 year old oba-chans in my neighborhood love touching the tires that are almost as tall as they are. Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 They look ugly, but it's good to hear that they'll go on all of the many narrow roads here in Japan. So, what's a "satisfactory" car for you GG? I say.. satisfactory ..because vehicle appreciation doesn't seem to be your thing. Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Oh I can certainly appreciate cars, but my type is something much smaller and sportier than those huge boxes. I can also appreciate that other people like different kind of cars too Doesn't change my particular dislike for them of course. But thanks for explaining the appeal! Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 I don't know...I kinda look at insulting someones new vehicle akin to telling a guy to his face that you don't approve of his girlfriends extra large ass when in fact it's what he finds to be her finest asset. Well, I'm looking forward to seeing Big Al's new truck. Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Apologies! I didn't think it was "insulting". Everyone has different taste don't they. I just think the big things don't look good. Are we only allowed to comment if it's 'great wheels dude' kind of thing? But anyway, I take it back if it was "insulting"! (But come on! Don't you need some balls to drive one of those things?!) Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 I must say I find those great big hulking vehicles pretty horrendous myself! What is the appeal.... just lots of space? If it's space, that's probably the wrong reason to buy a proper SUV, because the ground clearance means they are not that big inside. A people carrier of the same length/height will be much roomier. Everything is a trade-off in car design. SUVs original purpose was "go anywhere", but that's all been diluted with various degrees of styling and ride comfort which reduce the ability to "go anywhere". Obviously there are places where you don't need an SUV, and a lot of the bad rep they've got is the "Chelsea tractor" thing, people driving the big, flashy ones in town as a pose. As a genuine problem, as a pedestrian or cyclist, I don't think you'd want to be hit by an SUV. You'd be better off being hit at knee/thigh height by a regular car. I think we'll get an SUV next, a Harrier Hybrid. Its one of the smaller and more stylish ones, so no real offroad performance, but still 4wd for the snow, 12-13km/l, leather seats, and 0-60 in under 7 seconds. I just need to find a million yen somewhere. Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 @GG.......****it......not in the mood Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 You're sounding like a big pink blouse! Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts