Auto Wipers

Describe the problems you had.

Commercial deals like this have little bearing on the product. Unless of course BMW and Audi are going to risk warranty claims by specifying an unsuitable product.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)
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No, you are wrong...

Engine oil enters the combustion process from worn rings, worn valve stem oil seals, the PCV system, thrashing the engine from cold, and from damaged / worn turbo seals especially in engines run on the incorrect oil spec. This oil burns differently to diesel oil and leaves carbon deposits behind.

Yes, indeed.

Lots of manufacturers (including Alfa on the 1.9d) used the Garrett GT1749V turbo without the problems BMW had with them on the 320d, before the modification in the early mid

2000s.

Yes, exactly.

Leaving the car with the engine running and unattended on the public road is against the law in the UK, and recently, leaving the engine idling unnecessarily has appeared in the Highway Code to be illegal if the car is not under some sort of repair or testing purpose whilst stationary on a public road (rule 123).

It has been the advice in some car handbooks I have had. But I would not advocate leaving the engine running for longer than 3 minutes anyway. That is enough time for the turbo spindle to shed speed and heat loading.

I bet it did

More people live in the Home Counties than in the whole of Scotland. I would find it hard to believe the traffic could be worse where you are.

For some time now, temperature gauges have not indicated the actual engine temperature, but what the ECU thinks you need to know, so to speak.

I never use A/C. I have breathing difficulties that are made worse by cooled dry air, and it wastes fuel.

It is certainly not

You will if you continue to use supermarket fuel extensively.

Shell is cheaper here (southern England) than some supermarkets too. But in my own tests (petrol), I did not get a good MPG using Shell petrol. I get about 4% better with two others.

????? There are still plenty of carb cars down here.

Recover energy from the alternator ?? The alternator does not store energy. The alternator does not create energy. It converts kinetic energy from the engine (from burning fossil fuels) into electricity, and supposedly, on the over run. There would never be enough energy converted from the vehicle's kinetic energy to charge the battery using the time spent braking only. One is not braking for long enough.

Only when the battery is nearly fully charged will it only charge only on the over run, not just when braking. It is monitored by the IBS and instructed via the Can-Bus how much charge to deliver. Most of the time, in traffic with your A/C on, ICE on, lights on, wipers on if it is raining, brake lights on (if your are in breach of the Highway Code while stationary), the battery wil be recieving charge from the alternator.

Efficient Dynamics:

Brake Energy Regeneration: ( this is driving a motor in reverse bias as a generator) not what BMWs do.

Active Aerodynamics: some BMWs have a device that looks like a Venetian Blind behind the grill to speed the engine warm up time, and to reduce the co-efficient of drag at higher speeds. The vents vary their opening according to how much heat the engine needs to lose.

Lightweight Engineering: obviously to reduce weight, improving driving dynamics and reduce fuel consumption.

Electric Power Steering: to reduce parasitic drag on the engine when not required. Servotronic varies the amount of assistance given.

Gear Change / Optimum Shift Indicator: you know what that is for, manual 'boxes only.

Auto Stop Start: manuals (and, initially, 4 cylinder cars only). Does not work if you do not shift into neutral and apply the handbrake when stopped. Also, a switch on the dash turns it off if you do not want it to stop / start.

Reduced Rolling Resistance: really !!! If it was BMWs desire to reduce rolling resistance, they would not offer such large wheel tyre combos. A wider tyre has a larger rolling resistance.

Low Friction Fluids: is there a high friction fluid found in a cars drivetrain ...?

The different models have different variations fitted to the cars. Our (August)

2009 335d only has one of these functions. That is the "Brake Energy Regeneration", nothing else.

When I used work for VAG (early nineties), I found that they were just the same as other makes.

Checked Mercedes out before changing every BMW (on the fifth one now). Not impressed, at all. Have had two Audis, build quality is not as good as the sheep motoring press gush out. I've seen better quality plastics on a Lego brick, and a Citroen, and a Fiat.

I do not get that feeling. When improvements that could be made are suggested, one is brushed aside.

I meant that I was not surprised. I've never had a problem with a Fiat engine, but I did with their gearboxes and electrics, and rust. In general, someone whom buys a cheaper car does not give it their best care, more exotic machinery needs better care.

You are the one whom said "junk like that". I think it more that the owner / driver is the deciding factor on how long the car engine lasts.

I do not think modern BMWs would be at their best if no oil changes + filter were performed for 80,000 miles, nor many others that were given the punishment that most BMWs get from their drivers. I also do not think a modern Fiat could last 80,000 miles without an oil + filter change either.

With modern engines, there is far more stress placed upon the oil than used to be the case. Extended oil drains coupled with tighter emission standards, improved fuel economy, and reduced sump quantities mean that the oil is asked a lot more of than used to be the case. Good oil condition is vital to the correct functioning of the engine. When the engine is new, the mating surfaces are the worse they could be causing elevated oil contamination.

No

regards

David Skelton

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Reply to
David Skelton

DAS

To reply directly replace 'nospam' with 'schmetterling'

Reply to
DAS

Regrettably the SMMT (Soc of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) does not break its publicly available stats down by model.

Sales by marque are here:

formatting link
I do not think the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) gives anything free.

DAS

To reply directly replace 'nospam' with 'schmetterling'

[...]
Reply to
DAS

I think people could have different experiences of the same product, so some might agree, some will disagree.

Agreed, but it is my preference not to use it.

Best regards

David Skelton

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Reply to
David Skelton

might agree,

That poor quality reply to a very reasonable question damages your credibility. Why is Castrol not good? There must be a reason..

Reply to
Zathras

might agree,

In the case of Castrol in the US, they sell an enormous range of products varying from bad to excellent.

If you look at the "Castrol Syntec" line, for instance, you will see that all of the different viscosities are actually totally different formulations. The 5W-40 meets the current BMW specs and is a "true synthetic" oil by European standards... the 5W-50 has a different base oil and could not be sold as a synthetic in Europe although it's considered a synthetic oil by the FTC here in America.

Unfortunately something similar happens even with the low-cost GTX line of oils.... different service specifications at the different viscosities, and then they sell some other variants like "GTX High Mileage Oil" which in fact are almost completely unrelated and have a very different additive package to them.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

might agree,

I can understand different formulations for different purposes. I suppose the general question is, if the correct Castrol product is selected for an application, will you ever get a deliberately bad product?

Reply to
Zathras

I disagree. If a modern diesel has *so* much engine oil in it's exhaust so as to utterly overwhelm the effect of unburnt/burnt diesel oil in the exhaust then the engine is a wreck and worthless IMO. Who cares at that point if it munches the swirl flaps. I've never owned a diesel that burned *any* measurable amounts of engine oil. Burning diesel oil produces carbon deposits..often called soot. It can regularly be seen in your part of the world, apparently.

If a non A/C engine is sufficiently cooled by the airflow through the radiator, why would the fan ever start?

I think you're logic is reversed now. I'd expect more fan running in heavy slow moving traffic down south than in faster moving sparse traffic up north.

Mentioning the fuel wasted by A/C while owning a 335d *is* a tad bizarre.

How so? That debate centres on the additive differences. Many have opinions on this but very few seem to actually know.

I don't believe so. It didn't happen in the past so, unless something like the Nikasil problem is lurking in my engine, I don't expect any problems now. It's certainly not something I worry about in a diesel.

Do you live in a car museum?

I'm sure I saw that in BMW literature somewhere..that's all I meant.

2009 335d

So how do BMW do it?

That sounds about right..over 10 years ago.

I'm not surprised! That's not a unique BMW failing.

more exotic

You'll need to explain that one..are more exotic cars poorer built, unable to cope with the rigours of moving from a to b without tlc?

I have the advantage of knowledge as opposed to guesswork. An independent assessment of that Fiat was provided by a car thief who stole it (it was never locked). It was driven 200 yards then the thief abandoned it and walked in preference and he even left a note of his opinions of the car!! The car *was* junk. I also think that Fiats from last century tended to turn to junk as they headed much above 50,000 miles anyway.

Your experience of Fiats is not really that relevant any more as the newer ones are quite different animals to the old rusters of last century. They may, or may not be, the best but they are markedly better than the Fiats of the last century.

Reply to
Zathras

It's often a problem where a maker uses the same name for many years. The spec changes dramatically, and the older spec is often sold at the same time as the latest. Mobil 1 is the same in the UK. Of course if you understand the codes you can tell which is which. But perhaps it should have a release date for that particular version on it.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

I don't know, in part because the Castrol folks make it very difficult to select the correct product for the application... so it's hard to be sure that you really have done that.

The Castrol industrial oil folks are a lot clearer about their products than the automotive folks.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

that is not what I said. I was reponding to the statement you made "in a diesel, oil in the exhaust will be entirely made up of unburnt diesel not engine oil." Do you think that when a car starts up and blue smoke comes from the tailpipe, that that blue smoke is unburnt fuel ???

No, the soot (or particulate matter) is unburnt fuel. Hopefully, none should get past the DPF.

Unburnt fuel from petrol cars too can be seen coming out from the tail pipe.

The possibility of a restricted cooling system, or stuck in heavy traffic in higher ambient temperatures, which I'm sure you must get one or two hot days a year up there.

We get an average MPG of 39.4, which is better than our 330d, and nearly as good as our

320d s, and much, much better than the Ford Focus. That is not computer mpg, but calculated from miles driven divided by gallons used.

The research I have done points to different makes of fuel performing differently. I will not *give* away info that I have been paid to ascertain.

You should do. The direct injection Piezo injectors in your BMW engine are more susceptible to fouling from poor quality fuel than the injectors of 10 years ago. I have written before that during manufacture, the Piezo injectors are flow tested by the manufacturer to enable them to have a "correction factor" that needs to be programmed into the ECU of the receiving car, for that particular cylinder, to accurately inject the precise quantities required per injection, up to 5 per cylinder per 4 stroke cycle. Thus, the cleanliness of your diesel injectors is more critical than those in most petrol cars.

No, the cost of living is higher, meaning people have less disposable income. There are also more OAPs whom cannot afford newer cars.

Do what ? If you are asking about the battery charging, I've already written about it.

Again, I was agreeing with you.

Would you take a Lambo to a XXX (substitute for your least fav. manufacturer) dealer for servicing / repair. More exotic machinery needs specialist care.

I have owned Fiats, albeit a while ago. What am I guessing ??

Depending on the care from the owner / user.

Yes, probably, but I did not say Fiats were junk.

Regards

David Skelton

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Reply to
David Skelton

I lost all credibility 25 years ago when I learnt to speak.

regards

David Skelton

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Reply to
David Skelton

It is in effect 'entirely' as the portion of engine oil artifacts is negligible in this case (swirl flap failure). I'm an engineer not a pedant.

Unburnt (in varying degrees) diesel can produce all sorts of colours of smoke. I've seen white, blue, brown, black...and variations in between.

I might be very slow on the uptake here but I'm starting to piece together comments which suggest, to me, that your expertise/experience is more in petrol engines than diesel ones? Some of your comments while very true of petrol engines are not quite so true of diesels, IMHO.

get past the

Yawn. 'Burning' diesel in a car produces soot because it doesn't all actually *burn* - yes, I do know that. If I were to have to (as it would seem) explain precisely how a 4 stroke deals with it's fuel in every sentence or use shorter more commonly used simplifying words like 'burned' then this conversation would be a lot more tedious than it already is.

Nevertheless, the soot in diesel exhaust *will* be available to build up on the swirl flaps to a vastly greater degree than any engine oil artifacts..no?

Why didn't you get much better mpg from the 320d - it's got much better figures than the 335d. Was it faulty, poorly driven or badly maintained?

differently. I will

LOL..a 5th Gear episode (repeated in the last two weeks on Quest) showed that..there's no need to be precious.

Forgive me if I don't.

When/if the injectors fail (as they are likely to do in most installations given time) I'll just replace them. Big deal. Worrying about stuff like that carries too high a mental cost.

That's not unexpected..the nozzles are getting smaller and delivering smaller amounts of fuel.

most petrol

I expect it'll become similar for petrol engines as they move more to smaller capacity, direct injection and boosted air.

LOL.

Doh. "Brake Energy Regeneration" - as suggested in the last statement you made prior to my question.

Reply to
Zathras

It is not negligible in a worn engine as some of those were. Those engines had covered tens of thousands of miles, they were not new engines. Over time, the oil vapours had collected on the high turbulence areas whose parts were cooler during the over run. I am pedantic, I've already said so, but you did not believe me. I doubt you are an engineer from an automotive background.

Blue smoke is engine oil burning, brown / grey / black smoke is unburnt fuel (petrol or diesel). White is usually steam, sometimes auto transmission fluid, sometimes coolant from a blown head gasket, or cracked cylinder head.

Worthless

That is *not* what you wrote before.

YOU do not need to explain to me. It is you whose knowledge is superficial.

You made it tedious. You think you know more than you do.

Yes and no. It depends on how the car is driven, and the trips involved. There is no set answer as there is no set driving pattern.

You see ? Again, no actual knowledge of facts.

None of the above. The Govt. figures are not achievable as they are determined in a lab, and this car is driven differently than those before. It only does longer trips. The others did not.

I have not seen the show. What did they say ?

I doubt that you even care if one of the next owners of your car have to find the cost of repairing something caused by your ignorance and superiority complex.

So fuel quality and additive technology is more important than before.

Why ?? A town not far from where I live has an OAP population of 33%. What is funny about that ?

I have already explained. I wrote that before, too. Obviously, reading comprehension is not your strong suit.

David Skelton

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Reply to
David Skelton

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