Having driven over 400 miles today in a Focus TDCI it has only increased my hatred of diseasel - don't know what all this talk of low down grunt is it had none. In fact it didn't have any power when off the boost - then of course you run out of revs. Ok so diesel saves you a bit of money over time but is it worth the misery?
diesel conversion
- Thread starter Richie Connor
- Start date
Not sure what size Focus you had...possibly the 1.6 or 1.8 TDCi - they are underpowered. My Mondy is the 2 ltr TDDi and has tonnes of low down grunt (280Nm Torque) and it pulls all the way through well into the redline. There is a particular hill near Exeter that is pretty steep and I can fly up it and pass all other petrol cars with no issues, would say it's quicker than my Coug up that hill.
Our little Feisty is perfectly driveable. It's no sports car, but I've never been left stranded and wanting for torque.
Yes the fiesta's a lighter car, they're pretty good. Have driven the Focus diesels, they are great on boost but from standstill, that moment when you push the accelerator, there's a ponderous moment where it seems like the car is deciding if it can be arsed to move, when it makes its mind up you have just pulled out (snail-like) on a car who's driver usually has some choice words accompanied by hand signals.
That's great. You get to look like a dithering prat when the lights go green, then it comes on boost as you round the junction and you look like you're making up for the ego dent when the inside wheel starts spinning as you come round the corner.
I don't think I'd do this myself. I don't enjoy driving diesels. They do have a certain application for people driving endless miles on motorways all day long, but they're hateful things for general driving. YOu only get half the useable rpm range to play with, and the torque curves are rarely pretty. Not nice to be a passenger in a hard-driven diesel - particularly one with a manual gearbox. I don't know how taxation works in Ireland but in the UK you get taxed on the vehicle type approval figures. Changing a 2.5 litre V6 petrol to a 1.4TDCi won't earn you any Vehicle Excise Duty relief on this side of the water.
I don't think I'd do this myself. I don't enjoy driving diesels. They do have a certain application for people driving endless miles on motorways all day long, but they're hateful things for general driving. YOu only get half the useable rpm range to play with, and the torque curves are rarely pretty. Not nice to be a passenger in a hard-driven diesel - particularly one with a manual gearbox. I don't know how taxation works in Ireland but in the UK you get taxed on the vehicle type approval figures. Changing a 2.5 litre V6 petrol to a 1.4TDCi won't earn you any Vehicle Excise Duty relief on this side of the water.
Jamie, my 2.5 V6 Cougar costs me £205 for 12 months tax and my 1.4 TDCi Fiesta costs me £30 for the same.
Yes, but your Cougar would still cost you £205 for 12 months if you put the Fiesta engine in it - which was the point I was making. I don't know if Ireland taxes you the same as the UK does. The UK says the Cougar emits 236g/km of CO2 and that's what you get taxed on, regardless of whether you fit a 6.0 litre V12 from a DB7 or a 1.0 litre I3 from a Corsa.
vehicles registered prior to March 2001 have tax based on whether the engine is above or below a 1.6 rather than on co2 emissions...how putting an engine that is after march 2001 into an older car works Im not sure
Well you're supposed to tell the DVLA about major changes such as a change in engine capacity or fuel type, but I've yet to hear of a renegotiation of taxation on that basis for pre-2001 cars. I'd be happy to be re-educated on that one though. Anything post 2001 and you'd have to go through the vehicle type approval programme again to find out what the new emissions actually were. I'm not aware that anyone's ever tried to do it. Possibly a stone best left unturned? Could bite a lot of folk on the backside if chasing more power rather than less 
