Boingk's Diesel Fiesta - Snowball

[boingk]

Hey all, I recently sold my little Mazda 2. Great little car, didn't have it for long as I ended up biting the bullet and going for something made on the same shared platform:

A 2010 Ford Fiesta... in 1.6TDCi 'Econetic' guise. Yes, an oil-burning Fiesta



The differences from a standard Fiesta of the era focus on the drivetrain and aero mods as follows:

1) 10mm lowered ride height
2) Extensive underbody streamlining
3) 175/65R14 low rolling resistance tyres
4) Aerodynamic wheel covers & radiator opening
5) Lightened / minimal sound deadening
6) Spare wheel replaced with puncture kit
7) 1.6L turbo-diesel 4cyl with 5spd manual
8) Shift light recommending ~1900rpm shifts
9) Optimized gear ratios & final drive with economy in mind

The combination of the modifications above gives a city rating of 53mpg(US) with 73 highway and 65 combined. These are Australian-based figures in our equivalent testing and they vary depending on country / standard of test, but at the time of release (2010) they were the most efficient vehicles available in Australia. This included the Prius and Hybrid Camry which were relaitvely new on the scene so it was a clear move by Ford to try and get a slice of the eco-action.

This 2010 example is a German-made unit, imported at the time by Ford Australia from Europe where the small car / diesel engine combo was far more popular. It has 160,000km on the clock (100k miles) and feels quite well cared for, with all services performed and no major issues documented. The only cosmetic issues are a few stone chips in the paint, expected for age, the headlights being a bit yellowed and a small area of discolouration in the centre console area near the digital display. No big issues there.

Aaaaanyway...

The plan is to replace all fluids with recommended synthetic options, treat engine and gearbox with Nulon PTFE treatment - I've used this before in a variety of things and it drops gearbox temps nicely and seems to give about a 5% boost in economy. I'll likely replace the crappy puncture kit with an actual spare wheel as I do a fair bit of highway driving and don't like the idea of relying on a kit alone.

The first tank fill I got was 25.9L for 552km, or a solid 50mpg / 4.7L/100km. Not bad, especially considering it was full with gear and passengers and had tyres underinflated by 10psi! Tyres are now 3psi over recommended at 38psi, no more mistakes like that haha.

I'm treating it to a fuel system cleaner for the next tank so we'll see how things go after it settles into my routine.

Thats all for now, we'll see how we go. Cheers!

[Ecky]

Have you used this magic fluid in a manual transmission before? My understanding is that friction modifiers that actually work, also cause synchros to stop working, because they rely on friction, making it very difficult to find anything to put in a manual gearbox.

Similarly, I haven't known manual gearboxes to get warm, but I have not owned a manual diesel.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by Ecky

My understanding is that friction modifiers that actually work, also cause synchros to stop working, because they rely on friction, making it very difficult to find anything to put in a manual gearbox.

You could always just double clutch every shift.

Similarly, I haven't known manual gearboxes to get warm, but I have not owned a manual diesel.

Manual diesels don't get warm unless you're like 100,000lbs on a hot summer day going up a mountain pass.

My 1985 1.5L VW Golf diesel would just cool the engine down as it idled. That was with a working thermostat, even a high temp thermostat. Most modern diesels with turbochargers do a bit better as the turbo catches more of the heat and puts it into the coolant. But still, these vehicles can have exhaust temps in the just a couple hundred degrees range while idling, not enough to really heat the engine.

[boingk]

Originally Posted by Ecky

Have you used this magic fluid in a manual transmission before?
(Snip)
Similarly, I haven't known manual gearboxes to get warm

Yep, I've used it in dry and wet clutch applications with noticeable improvements in shift, smoothness of engagement and casing temps.

Fuel economy is usually improved around 5% in my usage, mostly repeatable sustained highway environments.

It's called Nulon G70 Manual Gearbox & Differential Additive. I won't post a link as I know that can cause dramas but the Nulon site explains its action well - the smaller .4 micron size particles help bond to the gear faces under pressure and even out surfaces which may be already worn or otherwise not surfaced optimally. The larger particle sizes stay in suspension and help the fluid interface with the oil and gears.

The main thing for gearboxes of any size in a front wheel drive application is that they are heavily restricted by the space available to them and this often are not as large as they otherwise need to be, or have interesting packaging in their design and development to help them fit.

Combined with being constrained in size they also literally run in the engine bay adjacent to the engine and so suffer heat cycles far more detrimental than traditional RWD applications.

Couple this with the fact that modern front wheel drive manuals often come "sealed for life" with no recommended fluid interval or lower drain plug and you have a recipe for disaster.

I'm planning on draining the gearbox fluid (pump required) and topping with full synthetic 75W-85 plus a dose of Nulon G70.

[freebeard]

I won't post a link as I know that can cause dramas...

What? Does it contain Boron?

[Logic]

Originally Posted by freebeard

What? Does it contain Boron?

LOL!

[Logic]

Originally Posted by boingk

Yep, I've used it in dry and wet clutch applications with noticeable improvements in shift, smoothness of engagement and casing temps.

Fuel economy is usually improved around 5% in my usage, mostly repeatable sustained highway environments.

It's called Nulon G70 Manual Gearbox & Differential Additive. I won't post a link as I know that can cause dramas but the Nulon site explains its action well - the smaller .4 micron size particles help bond to the gear faces under pressure and even out surfaces which may be already worn or otherwise not surfaced optimally. The larger particle sizes stay in suspension and help the fluid interface with the oil and gears.

The main thing for gearboxes of any size in a front wheel drive application is that they are heavily restricted by the space available to them and this often are not as large as they otherwise need to be, or have interesting packaging in their design and development to help them fit.

Combined with being constrained in size they also literally run in the engine bay adjacent to the engine and so suffer heat cycles far more detrimental than traditional RWD applications.

Couple this with the fact that modern front wheel drive manuals often come "sealed for life" with no recommended fluid interval or lower drain plug and you have a recipe for disaster.

I'm planning on draining the gearbox fluid (pump required) and topping with full synthetic 75W-85 plus a dose of Nulon G70.

You might find my links to peer reviewed published research on Boric Acid as an oil additive interesting boingk.

NB that in my experience this stuff IS likely to give you too much slip on your syncros if overdone, making gear changes more of a challenge.

The er... 'not allowed to test it!' 'debate' starts around here:
https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...e-26602-3.html

If you want to be overcharged for the same thing; MotorSilk is the brand name.

[boingk]

Okay, didn't mean to open a can of worms here with the whole additive thing. I do appreciate the reading on the Boric Acid though! Interesting stuff.

As for the Nulon G70, its teflon (PTFE) of various sizes between .4 and roughly 40 microns. Works great in the recommended doses. Nulon is a great Aussie company that does exceptional oils and additives that actually do what they say - it helps they don't promise miracles but hey, I'll take smoother running and slightly better economy where I can get it.

Not much of an update on Snowball yet, just eating my way slowly through the tank of diesel. The dash reports its getting 4.4L/100km (53mpg) around town which is roughly its factory rating - I'm impressed as its really only short trips and not trying to drive in any special manner other than keeping it steady without harsh acceleration. I'd anticipate getting substantially better than the last tank on the freeway.

Cheers - boingk

[freebeard]

Okay, didn't mean to open a can of worms here with the whole additive thing.

Au contraire. I appreciated the opportunity to use the . and so did Logic.

[Logic]

Originally Posted by boingk

Okay, didn't mean to open a can of worms here with the whole additive thing. I do appreciate the reading on the Boric Acid though! Interesting stuff...

I'm afraid I might have closed down your 'can of worms' here (this thread) boingk, as any mention of Boric Acid seems to result in everyone running for the hills, very quietly, to avoid a confrontation with aerhead!?


No more mention of Boric Acid here folks! I promise! You can come out now!
Or are we all still holding out breaths on boingk's mention of PTFE!?