The Camaro Club (UK)

Sorry as this is a bit off Camaro topic and i'll remove if deemed so. Just wanted some advice and thoughts about the future / near future on fuel types. I may be moving onto a normal daily driver soon, so i'm wondering if diesel has much of a future. I've heard things like London banning diesel cars from 2020 or something like that. Wondering if it's a wise investment or not. Looking at a used car, and some of the specs on diesels are brilliant. For example i've seen a 2litre turbo diesel with combined mpg of about 60 and with a 0-60 time of about 8.7, can't argue with that really. Not sure if Diesels will be around for much longer for passenger cars, as they are getting critisised more for the emissions (whilst low co2kg per km, it's the nano particles that don't get filtered out of the exhaust that cause the issues).

The 3rd gen has been really reliable, only having 3 issues over the last 2 years (alternator & battery giving up, 2x no starts due to flooding (didn't know it was flooding at the time, still runs rich so an ongoing issue that needs investigation) but as a daily, it does get me a bit anxious. Things like the fuel pump being close to 30 years old and potentially failing any minute is just 1 of the many things that plays on my mind. There are lots of little things that need changing that could take more than a weekend which is an issue as i don't have another means of getting to work. For example the axle seal on the passenger side is leaking (making the handbrake not grip so well) and whilst a competent person could probably do it in a day, i'm not so competent. And as you always find, there's always something else you find i.e. the bearing could be on it's last legs so then you order one and wait a week for delivery, which is ok if the car can be off the road for a week, but then i'm stuck at home for a week which isn't ideal and work won't be too happy. So thinking of using it as a second car and then taking the time to do the repairs gradually.

So that's where things are at!

Cheers!

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The only advantage with diesel now is the distance you can cover on a tank.
We have two diesel cars, BMW 320TDi misses´s car, and the Opel TD Estate which is our
everyday car.
Personally I can´t stand the noisy smelly things and after all the "diesel is better" hype they´re now seen as a health risk.

I keep parts in stock for my Camaro, distrutor cap/wires, filters, spark plugs, brake pads and shoes,
all the things you might need....now.
I even have outside rear axle bearings/seals and timing cover seals and a gasket set, spare head gaskets, intake and exhaust.

I´m probably a little screwy and anal about long postage times....

Depends on your useage, diesels are a very poor choice if you spend your time sitting in traffic all day, the devil designed something called a dpf filter that renders oil burners useless if you do short journeys, petrol is generally cheaper and petrol engines today are economical and las a lot longer than they did 20 years ago, I'm selling my shogun and getting a petrol car for those reasons

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1997 30th Anniversary SS SLP
1993 GMC Typhoon

Thanks for the helpful responses. Ye good point about driving... i normally do 25 miles a day mon - fri. It's national speed limit and then motorway (for about 8 miles) then about 5-10 minutes in traffic and a few 30mph roads at the end. Leaving work is the reverse but with an extra 5 - 10 minutes of traffic on the way out. Most of the drive is spent cruising at 60+ which is why the 3rd gen is pretty good on fuel during the week. Don't really do much on the weekends as i spend the time in the garage. If i did anything more it would be car meets so it would be without a normal car. May be moving towards the end of the year so travel will likely increase by about 15-25 minutes each way for work.

It sounds like petrol is getting the votes then? Sometimes i go for a run on the weekends and when i'm along the main road and a diesel drives by, you really do smell the fumes and they aren't pleasant at all. They do get amazing mpg though with some of the newer engine, but i guess it's only worth it if you're driving long distances each day.
I wondered why yours was up for sale, that explains it! Were you not getting that good mpg's / performance from it then?
That's a good point, i was looking at diesels with about 30-40k and thought, that's nothing for a diesel, but not far off half life for a petrol. Good to hear they're a bit more solid these days, an extra few 10k's out of them will be nice.
You're a one stop shop ready to go then I always order extra consumables when placing an order - things like extra filters etc. as it helps on having to wait a couple of weeks to be able to do a job. With a bit of time you certainly can build up a nice inventory. Almost like a race team where they have enough to build a second car, all in parts!

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I've always stuck to petrols. With mine and the wifes cars. You end up paying more for the diesel variant and theres more to go wrong with them, turbo, dpf, egr etc. Yes you may save more at the pump but overall I don't think its worth it.

As a side note we are just looking at changing our IS250, might be upgrading to a GS450H. Tried one last year and it blew me away. Very quick, quiet, comfy. Can't tell when the engine takes over from electric. It will get slightly better MPG than the IS too. Hybrids will become the norm at some point I think and take over diesels.

Thinking of getting a diesel.........
Go and wash your mouth out with soap!

And life is too damn short for hybrids!

And as for long life, my wife's '03 2.4 ltr. petrol Honda Accord has done over 160k with minimal maintenance and is still going strong, with no mechanical issues, so far.

I'm sorry, but I'm a petrol-head.

My shogun sits in traffic for around 4 miles each way when the Mrs uses it for work, somewhere around 15 mpg with a dpf that clogs up once a month:-(

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1997 30th Anniversary SS SLP
1993 GMC Typhoon

Well I run the devils's fuel (diesel) in 2 vehicles,

1. Transit, because you basically can't get a petrol one now, and it's big, heavy, engine has loads torque, and does long distance mainly so suits that.. It's also mapped so has a bit more go that average vans
2. The BMW is also diesel, 530d but again I mainly use for long runs of 200 miles or more, it does come into it's own for a mpg and performance combo no petrol engine would come near.... the overtaking torque is hugely impressive (also mapped , well over 400b/ft torque) plus I do run about town in it, shortest regular journey is 6 or 7 miles.

As mentioned, for short distance or traffic heavy commutes, then stick with petrol. If doing over 10 or 12k of mostly highly mileage per annum then a diesel 'could' be better.

Given the choice I'd always stick with petrol, but for pure torque in a heavy vehicle looking for economy, diesel has it's place.

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“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”

We have a variety on the Topcat "fleet"

my daily driver is an all singing Audi Allroad Biturbo A6- quite a machine some 40 mpg @ 69 mph on long distances; can growl like a v8 in dynamic mode- cross a field or a city

but it needs a weekend clear out every weekend as my commute is only 8 miles each way

We have a Nissan Pathfinder again diesel - managed to break down the other day and go into limp mode on A303

My next new car will certainly be a hybrid - probably the latest AllRoad- but that is in 10 years time

Petrol is for fun- that is where the V8s come in
As Jay Leno said- when electric cars come in they will save the petrol cars for enthusiasts just as the petrol car has helped save horses for enthusiasts

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Kind Regards
TopCat
Secretary
Classic Camaro Club
Member of The Association of American Car Clubs UK
Email :tboles@strathnoon.co.uk Websites: http://www.classiccamaroclubuk.com and:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdhLJtR_ZY4

Had two VW (Golf & Passat) and now Audi A3 all with 1.9/2.0 TDi engines. Nothing ever went wrong with any of them and all did around 90/100 thousand in 3yrs of their lease but I do a lot of motorway travelling around various sites. Audi does 52mpg at worst if you drive it hard, easy 62mpg with a steady right foot. Pulls like a train if you want and got good grunt for overtaking.

Had a Chrysler 300 Touring with 3.0 V6 diesel (all Mercedes mechanicals under the skin) - worse car for reliability EVER.........

Petrol for around town/urban low mileage stuff but diesels for distance & great mpg.........

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