Avensis T180 Recommended Diesel?

[AndyT180]

I've been the proud owner of one of these for just over a month and a friend was advising me against using supermarket fuel as he knows someone who had lots of problems with their Mondeo after filling up at Sainsbury.

I've been using Sainsbury City Diesel with the occasional ASDA low suplhur diesel thrown in and so far no problems but should I really try to avoid these fuels?

I drive around 100 miles a day so obviously the cheaper fuel is more appealing to the wallet!

In the owners handbook it says a low sulphur diesel but I'm not sure what one is or where to find this type of fuel!

[revband]

You can get a bad fill of fuel once in a while regardless of make. you will also get people telling you not to use brand X ETC, in truth all fuel has to meet a minimum specification, supermarkets generally have the highest turnover so the fuel is usually fresh where some rural stations have fuel in the storage tanks for very long periods of time, fresher fuel is best, you may find some types which do not suit your car as well but this is quite rare now.

[dervdave]

Sorry Andy but the 2.2d engine can be a bit of a duffer, you`ll have to watch for any symptoms like a hawk. (have a look in the Rav4 section)

Hopefully you might be lucky and my advice would be to use Shell V-Power.

[Cyker]

TBH, I don't think it makes that much difference; I was using V-Power diesel exclusively as a test but when they changed to the 'Nitro Mega Positronic Inverse Tachyon Plus' one the even worse loss of low-end torque vs the old V-Power diesel caused me to cut short my experiment.

The results weren't that encouraging anyway; Despite the use of the cleaner-burning V-Power diesel, my EGR valve/throttle body channel still clogged up :(

On that basis, I've gone back to using My local Sainsbury's, and only switching to the V-Power every few months to help keep the injectors clean, or if I know there is a long car journey in my car's future!

The downsides of the fuel are the expense and, in the case of my Yaris, a painful loss of low-end torque. The fuel also has less energy per unit volume than normal diesel due to all the cleaning agents added so you tend to get worse mpg on average.

The good things are that it does burn cleaner (Much less sooty when you floor it!) and more completely which claws back some of the lost mpg at higher revs, esp. at motorway speeds, and, at least on my car, it runs a lot smoother and allows the engine to rev higher before the power and torque drop off. It supposedly gives the engine fuel system a good clean; Certainly seems to help stop the injectors crudding up as badly.

The cost hike isn't enough to justify the benefits to me, esp. as it's like, 12-14p more expensive than the sainsburys, so I just use it as an occasional treat for my car :D

[AndyT180]

Hmm a few intetesting comments!

Think i will stick to supermarkets fuel as she runs like a dream and is getting 44+ mpg.

Got enough power to embarrass some Bmw, Audi and Merc drivers which is damn funny and worth getting the car just to see their faces when they floor it at motorway speeds so much grunt.

What a car she is!!

[Mistermena]

I've always ran my car on V-Power because of the additive package that Shell use. I don't mind paying the extra as I know its helping to maintain the fuel pump and help keep the EGR valve cleaner than normal Dino derv. Try using some BG244 or Archoil 6200 if using super market juice. At least then you know that with the low sulphur diesel you'll be getting vital lube for the pump and injectors...

[Parts-King]

Got enough power to embarrass some Bmw, Audi and Merc drivers which is damn funny and worth getting the car just to see their faces when they floor it at motorway speeds so much grunt.

What a car she is!!

You can give it a bit more too if you like ;)

http://www.lindoptoyota.co.uk/diesel-performance-chip-kits.html

Kingo

[AndyT180]

It's tempting Parts-King it really is!

What sort of 0-62 time and improvement through the gears am I likely to see?

She is probably on a par with my old BMW 320 (170bhp) and that was a petrol V6 - maybe slightly slower off the mark and a bit less top end but mid-range would probably have the Avensis the winner.

I actually bought her because for the 40+ mpg and famous Toyota reliability but see a lot of people think the D4d engine is not that good?

At dervdave I did a bucket load of research before spending my cash and even Honda diesels have problems just not as many as Ford, VAG and BMW.

BMW diesels sound the scariest by injesting part of the engine and totalling the car!

It's a shame that diesels aren't bulletproof like they used to be but then again having driven a non turbo Fiat Uno back in the early 90's maybe it isn't!!

[Parts-King]

It's tempting Parts-King it really is!

What sort of 0-62 time and improvement through the gears am I likely to see?

Thats very subjective and not something you can say with accuracy for any used car, but it improves the torque by 70 NM and puts it to a shade under 200 BHP so it actually goes like a stabbed rat!

Kingo

[revband]

Andy if you look on the link you shoud find the improvment figures you need.

I have one on my 150bhp 2.2 and it now leaves the T180 behind, probably due to the 150 being slightly lower geared.

[AndyT180]

Thanks revband and Parts-King may spend the money when I get bored with her in standard form but having a service and MOT coming up that's where my spare cash is going first.

I don't really think it needs chipping to be honest as she drives like a dream and on my 50 odd mile each way trip to work it's all motorway driving and usually difficult to get to 70mph.

If the kit would shave more than a second or so off the 0-62 I'd get one just to leave those pesky Skoda VrS drivers behind!!

So no real problem with suopermarket fuel but do I need an additive and if so which one?

[Cyker]

I wanted to get the chip kit for my ickle Yaris but when I checked my insurer said I'd have to cough up another £100 for my insurance for the pleasure

As for the D4D, I think it is a very underrated engine - It doesn't look that great on paper, but it's got a much flatter torque curve than a lot of other diesels, which tend to be very peaky (e.g. nothingnothingnothingPOWAAAARchangegear) whereas the D4D give quite a strong steady pull throughout the rev range with a nice 'second wind' feel when the turbo kicks in :)

[revband]

It's strange how insurers seem to have such different views on these tuning units, when I contacted mine they asked for the full spec of the unit which was supplied by John at Lindop almost by return,and my insurance company made no additional charge.

[Awebb180]

I actually bought her because for the 40+ mpg and famous Toyota reliability but see a lot of people think the D4d engine is not that good?

just keep an eye on oil consumption and coolant levels. service every 10k with low ash oil is about the best advice you can get

Alex

[Druid Boy]

I've been running mine on supermarket diesel since I bought it and, 120k miles later, all is well. She goes like a train when I hit the go pedal.

Yes, there are faster cars but, whatever you do or buy, there always will be.

[blackcts]

I always try to use branded fuel in my 2.2 180 - they are such a fussy engine so I'm being overly cautious - generally maxol or statoil - I've used tesco and sainsburys a few times, but as there is little or no difference in price I'll stick to named stuff.

With that said there are so many scare stories around the Internet about fuel, I honestly thing it's generally unsubstantiated - our Corolla T-Sport 190 only ever got tescos and sainsburys fuel 9 times out of 10 with no problems. I'm betting the asda stuff is 100%! Some say the additives from branded fuel help keep the EGR clean etc but I honestly wouldn't worry to much. Just make sure you use low ash oil, that's vitally important IMO