I thought diesel's were supposed to be hard to stall?

[sosidge]

Just got this Skoda Octavia TDI as a courtesy car... held up most of Bristol on the drive back from the garage due to regular stalling! Sorry about that! Very embarassing, did it 3 or 4 times, even after I thought I had got the revs right.

Seems like the engine power drops off a cliff below 1000rpm or so. You need to keep those revs high and feather the throttle as you lift the clutch. Not condusive to smooth getaways.

Never thought my feeble 1.6 petrol would be more flexible around town than a 1.9 turbodiesel. My gf's old '96 non-turbo Ibiza diesel is pretty much unstallable.

Edited by sosidge on Wednesday 17th June 09:59

[Zoki]

Diesel are annoying around town, but you get used to it. They are easier to stall, and whatever you do keep the revs above 1100. Also if your driving slowly and are in 3/4 gear as you life the clutch expect the car the accelerate itself even though you aren't touching the right pedal.

[CampDavid]

I've always found it a lot easier to avoid stalling in a derv than a petrol

[Deva Link]

sosidge said:

Seems like the engine power drops off a cliff below 1000rpm or so.

It's not that the power drops off - some completely cut-out if the revs go below a certain level. Ford diesels are bad for this.

Most are hard to stall though, hence driving schools use them quite a lot.

[FoolOnTheHill]

They don't stall as easily as petrols, but once they stall, unlike a petrol there's no chance to recover it.

[HellDiver]

Modern diesels don't have the same low end torque as the old lumps of years ago. Before 1500rpm and the turbo they're pretty gutless. Dual mass flywheels don't help either.

[StevenB]

Transit diesels are very easy to stall they don't like pulling away with min. revs

[wullie_t25]

HellDiver said:

Modern diesels don't have the same low end torque as the old lumps of years ago. Before 1500rpm and the turbo they're pretty gutless. Dual mass flywheels don't help either.

Dual Mass flywheels are cack!! Ive got a 1.9 TDI polo and just replaced it with a solid flywheel conversion !!! 100 times better!

[choading]

You need to keep the revs between 2000rpm and 2500rpm (the diesel narrow power band) to pull off.

[Munter]

It seems to be more of a problem with new diesel engines. The Direct Injection TDDI engine I had in a Transit Connect was ok as is the 2.0DTi in my Vectra. But having tried a number of Fords with a TDCI (Common rail) engine in them I was stalling all the time. There was a thread recenetly where it seems that the ECU now cuts off the engine if revs drop below a set number to avoid sending shocks through the dual mass flywheel.... Great.

[Graham]

my td5 discovery is crap for that. no power at all when off boost ( below 2k rpm) and combine it with a fly by wire ( actually i think its fly by carrier pigeon) and pulling away before you get used to it can be a pita, especially with a trailer on the back.. Oh yes and when it does hit 2k you have to roll back off the throttle or the bloody thing surges forward...

[gj88]

choading said:

You need to keep the revs between 2000rpm and 2500rpm (the diesel narrow power band) to pull off.

2500rpm? Half way up the rev counter? I've never had to do this to pull off in a derv.

[FoolOnTheHill]

Lol, my turbo now kicks in at 1300rpm. If I had the revs at 2500 and dropped the clutch all that would happen would be lots of wheelspin and 1mm less on my tyres...

[choading]

gj88 said:

choading said:

You need to keep the revs between 2000rpm and 2500rpm (the diesel narrow power band) to pull off.

2500rpm? Half way up the rev counter? I've never had to do this to pull off in a derv.

That's called comedy driving, revving a diesel half way round the clock then having to change gear 500rpm after.

[SoapyShowerBoy]

If im taking it easy I will rarely go over 2000 rpm in a modern diesel, you just need to get use to it.

[ZesPak]

SoapyShowerBoy said:

If im taking it easy I will rarely go over 2000 rpm in a modern diesel, you just need to get use to it.

Same here,

And for the "narrow powerband 2000-2500", that's just rubbish, what diesel have you driven?

Modern diesels have there power from 1800-3800 easely.

[TonyHetherington]

Must admit I found the same in my bros vRS diesel estate. I have an s4 avant and can pick up the engine from low revs very easily. Assumed bros car would be same cos diesel but no,anything below 1100(ish)rpm and it stalled. I certainly didn't need to rev it to 2500rpm tho! When used to it it was fine and easily driveable,it just surprised me a first that's all.

[collateral]

Funny, as soon as I read the thread title I thought 'VAG'

Seems to me they've lightened the drive-train bits to make them revier but it also makes them stallier

[Bluebarge]

Agreed. Took my test in the 80s in a peugeot 205 diesel which was v.hard to stall and you could trickle on the power nice and easily. The wife's VW TD140 has a very sharp clutch take-up and is easy to stall. I suspect modern turbo-diesels are not as good for towing as the old rattlers since it's hard to pull away without a fair dose of revs. I blame the gubbermunt.

[Elskeggso]

I had a mk5 Gold TDi as a courtesy car for a day, nearly had a nasty smash when it stalled and took me by surprise, the trouble was I was comparing the engine to my van, ('04 Citroen Relay) which you can literally just leave it in 3rd/4th when pottering around town. It's not really much trouble stop-starting at lights when in 3rd either.

Edited by Elskeggso on Wednesday 17th June 11:31