Short motorway journeys + cold engine = ?!??!

[DJXFM]

I am picking up an 08 plate FR TDi next week and would like to hear what people think about motorway driving whilst the engine is cold. My commute to work is a very short hop to the motorway, a 5 minute blast down it, and a very short hop the other side to the car park. My current Golf barely has time to warm up (especially in winter) and I want to look after the Leon a little better!

So do you have any advice for motorway driving with a cold engine? Should I take it a bit easier and lay off the engine? Will this increase the chances of DPF problems? Or is modern engineering so good now that it makes no difference?

Cheers.

 

[rudgey]

Your exhaust will prolly need chaning more often (condensation) and the other thing is not to thrash it when cold or you'll bugger your rings i believe! Apart from that there's this acid which forms in the cyclinders when the engine's cold (normally gets burnt off when the motor gets up to temp) that can corrode stuff (so i hear)! Wouldn't worry too much tho m8! But if you only do short miles why are you going for the TDI?

 

[DJXFM]

Cheers rudgey,

Going for the 2.0 TDI FR as I want a car to enjoy driving I guess! Have had a standard Golf for years and still can't get the mpg out of it compared to the FR and the FR is way more fun! The motorway is not an everyday commute - I still do a lot of town and motorway driving visiting mates etc - but I'm glad to hear it's not the end of the world with it all. I'll take it easy and see what happens!! I bet it warms up a hell of a lot quicker than my old Golf too. Have had exhaust issues with the Golf so it all makes sense now!

 

[robdf2]

Your fuel consumption will be pants as well , also be careful of your dpf if you doing a lot of short journeys.

 

[mikependleton]

I had a DPF fault a few weeks back, after 18K of short journeys the DPF was 56% full but a system fault wouldn't let it regenerate. If you drive for longer than 20 mins on the motorway every couple of weeks you should be fine, as your DPF should regenerate at 35%.

Enjoy the car, they are brilliant. Since mine went in for the sensor/system fault i'm sure they've reprogrammed the ECU as i'm sure it's even quicker now!

On a 20 minute journey, with a good blast on country roads i still get 46 mpg per journey.

Beat that petrol cars!

 

[DJXFM]

Thanks guys, can't wait to get driving!

I was *told* that the DPF sensors were of a newer type on newer models of the FR, is this true? I know it's not much of an issue but I thought I would take a gamble on a newer model for fewer problems all over really. I don't know if this spells the end of DPF problems or whether they are less frequent now!?

 

[/dev/null]

So do you have any advice for motorway driving with a cold engine? Should I take it a bit easier and lay off the engine? Will this increase the chances of DPF problems? Or is modern engineering so good now that it makes no difference?

Cheers.

You should always "lay off" the engine when it is cold on any car, especially one with a turbo.

 

[stuartsjg]

In the evenings, coming out the office i have about 400 yards at 40, then perhaps 600 yards at 60 but tends to be 40 then dual carriageway at 60-80 depending on traffic and weather.

After that and 1-2 miles on the dual carriageway im up to temperature.

I've always been led to believe that you avoid high revs when cold, eg over 3k, this will prevent excessive wear at this time.

As for DPF, car now 16k miles old and no DPF lights, only once seen it idle at 1k revs indicating regeneration and that was in the winter/snow time as i don't think i had been over 1500rpm in a month or so due to the ice and snow so things were probably a bit sooty and needed a sweep.

Cold engine doesn't always mean cold exhaust gas temperatures, but the cool block will soak allot of heat away which is otherwise good for combustion (limiting smoke) and keeping the DPF clear.

Personally, i would worry more about engine wear with a cold engine over soot production. Ive seen the DPF glowing dull red after a "spirited" run down the A7 in the sottish borders when visiting family one night when i stopped to top up with screenwash i spotted its warm glow! That's what 30 miles of 4k rpm does i suppose!


Stuart

 

[AndyVTR]

I'd have gone for the petrol.

Remember oil takes longer to warm up than water.

 

[rudgey]

I'd have gone for the petrol.

Remember oil takes longer to warm up than water.

Aye, i always leave it ten to fifteen minutes of actually driving (not sitting there idling) before giving it the boot! Water comes upto temp in about 5 or so max! (On my tfsi sport).

Anyhoo, enjoy the car! Me mate has a fr tdi and in third.... WOAH! sheet off the proverable shovel matey! You'll enjoy it!

Oh and no prob DJXFM! You're not actually a dj on XFM are ya?

 

[DJXFM]

I was a DJ on a "XFM" but not THE "XFM". (I was never very good!).

Cheers for the advice all. My commute takes 10 minutes at 80 and 9 minutes at 60 so I guess I'll take it easy on the way into work and save the playtime for extra-curriculur! I've never had a diesel, never had to worry about a turbo, and certainly never seen a DPF but I know how to handle all 3 now!

When I test drove it a couple of weeks back I remember my head nearly being torn off when I floored it in second round a roundabout! Very impressed for such a well-priced machine. My licence seems very fragile now...

 

[zacknolden]

In the evenings, coming out the office i have about 400 yards at 40, then perhaps 600 yards at 60 but tends to be 40 then dual carriageway at 60-80 depending on traffic and weather.

After that and 1-2 miles on the dual carriageway im up to temperature.

I've always been led to believe that you avoid high revs when cold, eg over 3k, this will prevent excessive wear at this time.

As for DPF, car now 16k miles old and no DPF lights, only once seen it idle at 1k revs indicating regeneration and that was in the winter/snow time as i don't think i had been over 1500rpm in a month or so due to the ice and snow so things were probably a bit sooty and needed a sweep.

Cold engine doesn't always mean cold exhaust gas temperatures, but the cool block will soak allot of heat away which is otherwise good for combustion (limiting smoke) and keeping the DPF clear.

Personally, i would worry more about engine wear with a cold engine over soot production. Ive seen the DPF glowing dull red after a "spirited" run down the A7 in the sottish borders when visiting family one night when i stopped to top up with screenwash i spotted its warm glow! That's what 30 miles of 4k rpm does i suppose!


Stuart

Like I said earlier