Smart cars in this cold snap?

I've always been curious how well the Smart cars would do in a nasty cold snap.

Is the heater up to snuff? Does the defroster work well? How does it do in the deep snow, or road ruts?

Reply to
Calab
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I don't know and probably never will. I think I'll stay inside today.

I bet the battery froze in my Stude again :(

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

co-worker has one. It started, but wasn't happy about it. I'll ask him on Monday what the heat was like. I do another co-worker has a Jetta TDI and no garage. It didn't start at all at -30.

Ray

Reply to
ray

Yes, well diesel (the Jetta TDI) goes like jelly at low temperatures, although I'd expect that any diesel sold in cold countries would have the relevant additives to keep it liquid - so-called "winter diesel".

The problem I've found with the heaters in diesels, even in just moderately cold weather, is that the engine is so damn efficient and gives out so little heat (compared with a petrol engine) that it take ages for the heater to come warm ;-)

Reply to
Mortimer

Here in northern Finland there are three kinds of diesel sold at different seasons: summer, winter and arctic. However, I don't think additives would be used at winter. At least in the driving school we were told that winter and arctic just have less paraffin that helps lubricate the engine making it last longer, but starts to freeze and clog filters at cold.

That's why diesel cars around here are nowadays usually equipped with supplementary heaters that run on the diesel fuel and keep the engine and cabin warm. Often the heater has also a timer and/or remote control, so that it can be used to preheat the car by the time you're going to need it, making block heater unnecessary.

P.V.

Reply to
P.V.

I dont know what they do in northern Finland, but I do know that diesel additives exist and are used in other places to extend the pour point of the fuel.

Our company has made and sold them, into places near you ;>)

There is a limit to what chemical pour point depressants can do, usually. If it gets cold enough, fuels containing higher mol weight paraffins may certainly gel. In those cases, modifying the fuel itself (by removing the offending paraffins) or heating is about the only solution.

Reply to
HLS

"HLS" kirjoitti viestissä news:TVGcl.9028$ snipped-for-privacy@flpi150.ffdc.sbc.com...

So, are these additives something you can yourself add in the tank, or is it something the oil company has added in the fuel? I have actually never owned a diesel vehicle but based on other people's talks, self-appliable additives could be used on old simple engines, and some people take the risk and use it on modern engines too, but if then something breaks the manufacturer of the car can use the use of additive as an excuse to avoid responsibilities.

Now that I started to google up the subject, I found a forum where someone asked how to revive his rarely used (last time filled up at summer with summer grade diesel) tractor that stopped soon after starting in cold weather. First suggestion he got was adding 10-20 % petrol in the tank and then cleaning the clogged filter, someone else suggested using 2-stroke oil and some afterwise recommended filling up rarely used machines always with winter grade diesel. A few posts later someone warned that using such tricks on any common rail engine might get costy.

Well, on shelves at petrol stations there are many kinds of liquids and fluids in bottles, about half of which I know what they're used for. Maybe one of the rest would be a product from your company? :)

That's actually why I prefer having a petrol-powered car: it serves me by taking me from A to B when I want, instead of me having to serve it by installing extra heating devices and wondering what to add in the tank to make it start the next day...

P.V.

Reply to
P.V.

"Calab" wrote in news:Zgjcl.15643$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe01.iad:

I've noticed most of them come off the road in deep winter.

Guess their affluent and status-conscious owners have reverted to their second vehicles, usually a regular sedan or SUV of some type; smugness goes on hold for practical reasons.

Reply to
Tegger

There are two of them in this area. One comes out when the sun is out and the roads are clear. Haven't seen the other one since snow started falling.

Reply to
Steve W.

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