Mulley's New 19TXD

[Tim Leech]

Modern diesels can be capable of amazing mpg, downside is that they are more likely to break down due to the complexity of them.

Quite agree Matt, we have more issues with DPF filters, EGR valves and coolers and injection wiring than on modern petrols, although I wouldnt buy a 1.4 TSI 160/170PS.

The older early TDI engines although a bit unrefined seem to rattle on forever.

[Des Smith]

So all those ideas about a carb 1400 petrol being almost as economical as a n/a diesel, nah

You won't hear me ploughing that particular furrow. About the best I get from my 14 is 40-42 mpg although I don't do slow on a voluntary basis - I'm far too impatient. Diesel engine economy is a bit of a mystery - my Terrano has a 2.7 turbo lump and it returns 30mpg whether I do big motorway miles, B-roads, mountain passes, off-road pistes and amazingly in both 2WD and 4WD. Obviously that's averaged out over a 60-litre tank, but it's still remarkably consistent.

[Stinkwheel]

Des,

Im amazed you get 40-42 from the little 14.

I managed to do a whole tank of fuel in 275 miles the other day in ours. Thats approx 29 mpg.

Mind you that was reasonably fast motorway work with a bit of town driving thrown in.

[Tinkley]

Drove my old 14 from Cobham to Dumfries on a tank (44ltr) that's 415 miles...... without even stopping it was so comfortable....zzzzzzzzzzzz

[mat_fenwick]

415 miles without stopping? What about taking a leak?

[Stinkwheel]

Drove my old 14 from Cobham to Dumfries on a tank (44ltr) that's 415 miles...... without even stopping it was so comfortable....zzzzzzzzzzzz

You have a lighter foot than me sir

[Des Smith]

I'm amazed you get 40-42 from the little 14.

I generally expect 35 mpg on fast roads and motorway (cruising at 75-80) but driving on slower roads at 50-60 seems to produce the best results. Sounds like you own a pair of lead boots if you're getting 29 mpg. We did the run down to the Pyrenees with the St Tropez in 2011 and would reckon on 300 miles between fill-ups. I've just checked my route stats and we did 2262 miles using 56.8 gallons which works out at a whisker under 40 mpg.

415 miles without stopping? What about taking a leak?

Not an option I would even consider.

[MULLEY]

Thats very good mpg for a petrol, especially an old engine. Keeping the revs down & trying not to use the middle pedal help a lot with fuel economy. If you reduce your motorway speeds to 60mph, the fuel economy ramps up considerably if you normally do 70mph. Turbo engined cars do seem to have a magic spot when it comes to fuel economy. I was trundling along in the cooper d at the same speed that i do in the bx (63mph) & the onboard computer was showing 84 mpg, revs were about 1750rpm, & whenever i go down a hill, irrespective of speed & my foot is off the throttle, it max's out at 99mpg as the readout only goes to 2 figures, haha. I have found the mpg info a bit distracting, so i just now show how many miles i've done & how many miles are left in the tank which i find better which stops me looking at it rather than the road.

[Tinkley]

I found the trick with the 2 choke Solex carbs is to try and keep them just on the edge of not opening the 2nd choke. If you can keep the car moving well with gradient and corners etc minimising the time the 2nd choke is open you can get really good economy with both the old 150C (bet its the same for the TU), and the B2C 1.6. Best ever with the 1.4 was 50.5mpg but I had to keep her to a max of 65mph and mainly between 60 and 65. The 1.6 is better achieving 50mpg at an indicated constant 70mph on a long run. Of course it's really hard acceleration that uses the most fuel. I'd rather keep up corner speed even squealing the tyres gently at times to get better economy. Tyre factor unknown but Michelins most of the time, some people have found several mpg difference through them I believe.

Once you hit 3,300 rpm on the 1.6 the second choke is opening, you can feel it with your foot.
BTW I think I have different top ratios in the 1.6 gearboxes (of two) and one is almost 200rpm lower at 70 if the rev counter is to be believed. Maybe a higher 5th? certainly that's the one that got 50 mpg going from Hindhead to Liverpool and back. Also got 460 miles out of her towing to Italy on a tankful (52ltr). Of course the speed limits are quite low in Italy with trailer. Not sure I went over 60mph the whole trip as I did'nt want to risk a ticket

Mat, I did not stop even for a leak until Dumfries. Now a couple of years later same car decided IT would go for a leak, outside of Manchester on the same (to Dumfries) trip. Fortunately was only cooling hose clip had worked slightly loose after I had changed the water pump.

[Thread Bear]

[quote="Des Smith]

415 miles without stopping? What about taking a leak?

Not an option I would even consider.[/quote]

I leave the leaking to Gary X at the moment.

I am not proud and if there is a suitable truck/van going at the right speed I will happily slipstream it. Used to do it in the Mini 1000 coming back to the folks from Brands Hatch to Faringdon. Knocks quite a bit off the fuel bill but you need to have the brakes working - not a great issue on a BX with good rubber - and pay attention. None of this going to sleep in the middle lane milarchy.
With Messerschmitts it was slipstreaming for speed and I was well known for it on run outs/euro trips. Being always large I tended not to have fastest car so periodically I would make use of the available cover and drift passed the guys attached to something doing 62 to 67 mph odd. If they were quick they could catch my tail and we did manage to get about 4 up before traffic broke the chain. All pretty dangerous as Schmitts have pretty crap brakes and worse tyres, the originals not being available long since. Oh to be young and indestructible. Likewise to catch a ferry we would stick the fastest car at the front and a quick one at the back to keep the less confident in contact and convoy like a set of bikes to keep good time up. The slowest car could generally then hit the best pace, normally 57/58 MPH. It was this activity that made me realize the potential savings to be had.

An advantage of driving older cars is less accusatory looks if you are not driving as fast as all the lunatics. Put on the 'could not give a stuff' stance and arrive 15 minutes later on a run fresher and with enough dosh to have a few shandys having not burned it. I am also amazed how many of my mates cannot drive passed 5 services without stopping for fluids. I just plod along, control my bodily urges, and often times get there first driving slower! As guys know christening the bog is a pleasure unto itself.

[MULLEY]

Ironically driving at a lower speed, but maintaining a high average speed means you hardly lose anytime over someone who is continously speeding up & slowing down. I usually get this on my daily commute to work, someone will blast past me on the dual carriageway & i'll catch them up at the 2nd roundabout 8 miles further down the road as i don't take much speed off the 1st roundabout, so generally catch them up I use less fuel in the process, quite amusing really.

[MULLEY]

Shaune came over today & replaced the split Driver side outer CV Joint boot & also managed to get my blower fan to work again. A replacement module & an extra earth cable means i now can de-mist the inside of the windscreen & hopefully stop me from freezing when the snow & ice arrives. At the same time i changed over from my summer tyres to my winter one's, so bring on the snow .

Paul came over as well to chat about cars, hi-fi & life in general, it was good to catch up. I also had a drive of the Hurricane & thought the clutch was absolutely fine, perhaps thats a sign that mine is crap, but i certainly thought you're one was fine, i'd get another opinion, but hopefully thats saved you a few quid.

The bad news is that the front subframe on the TXD isn't looking good, there is a rusty hole & some fatigue looking cracks. Shaune assured me that it can be fixed with a welder. He kindly inspected the back of the car which has been giving me some concerns with the rot that i spotted this year & yes its bad, again it can be fixed. So looks like early next year before the mot is due, i'm hopefully going to arrange to drop the car off & leave it with Shaune to get welded up so that i can secure its future. It would be easy to just give in & scrap the old gal, but she does drive great & is brilliant on fuel so deff want to make the effort

[MULLEY]

The pipe that goes from the middle silencer towards the engine has rotted away, so it was spectacularly loud Now replaced with a shiny new pipe & a lot quieter Cost me £40 including the fitting, so not too bad.

[Thread Bear]

Indeed a job I have to do having got good quality parts - see that thread on the cheapo bits I had. Bit parky under a car but it should all slot together well now.

[MULLEY]

Still seems a bit noisey compared to what it was like before, do exhausts have to bed in?