Usage to reduce risk of 320d DPF issues
Discussion
I'm on the hunt for an F31 3 series touring around 2018-2019 under 60k miles.
It seems the 320d is the engine that's recommended but I have concerns about how it fits in with my usage. My wife will primarily drive it and she'll be taking the kids to school (3 miles in stop/start traffic) and to work 2-3 days a week (20 miles / 30 mins primarily on A roads). Mileage under 7k per year in total. Would a 320d be suitable or am I asking for trouble?
Coincidentally I have seen a 320i that fits the bill but it wouldn't be my first choice coming from a diesel and electric car. However, would a 320i be more suitable for my usage than a 320d?
It seems the 320d is the engine that's recommended but I have concerns about how it fits in with my usage. My wife will primarily drive it and she'll be taking the kids to school (3 miles in stop/start traffic) and to work 2-3 days a week (20 miles / 30 mins primarily on A roads). Mileage under 7k per year in total. Would a 320d be suitable or am I asking for trouble?
Coincidentally I have seen a 320i that fits the bill but it wouldn't be my first choice coming from a diesel and electric car. However, would a 320i be more suitable for my usage than a 320d?
Edited by MadaCup on Sunday 30th June 12:57
egor110 said:
Your doing a 3 mile school run , how is the petrol engine going to be a issue ?
I can see the confusion so have reworded my post.Essentially, with my usage is a 320d suitable or should I be looking at a 320i which would be second choice. I'd prefer the 320d if everything was equal.
MadaCup said:
egor110 said:
Your doing a 3 mile school run , how is the petrol engine going to be a issue ?
I can see the confusion so have reworded my post.Essentially, with my usage is a 320d suitable or should I be looking at a 320i which would be second choice. I'd prefer the 320d if everything was equal.
You mentioned coming from electric/diesel so presumably your referring to the torque.
Again it's just a 3 min drive take the petrol and enjoy not worrying about dpf and injectors
WIthout meaning to hijack the thread... Would the 320d be suitable for me?
NB. I'm actually after a 440i but the right car is proving elusive, so I'm thinking of a 3 Series as a stop gap.
- Commute into the office once a week, occasionally more - 30-45 minutes each way - about two thirds dual carriageway.
- Visit my mum's once a week - 10 minutes each way.
- Do a bit of local town shopping once a week - 5 minutes each way.
- Random days out to the coast, countryside, etc. - usually at least 60 minutes each way.
NB. I'm actually after a 440i but the right car is proving elusive, so I'm thinking of a 3 Series as a stop gap.
Edited by MitchT on Sunday 30th June 14:21
Brother in law had an F30 320d from 14,000 miles to 72,000 miles. Driven by his wife mostly doing school and shop runs. Zero DPF issues.
My F30 330d, bought on 38K miles, now on 70K miles, 400 miles a week - mixture of dual carriageway, country roads and heavy stop start traffic. Zero DPF issues. My scan tool tells me the projected lifespan of the DPF is a further 150K+ miles with my current usage.
This whole "Diesel isn't worth it for that mileage/usage" thing is about 20 years out of date. Some people just prefer power delivery of derv and they use less fuel than petrol in all circumstances, even heavy traffic.
Petrol is not immune from short trip issues either. Direction Injection petrols get even worse intake valve fouling issues, which unlike derv is baked on rock hard and needs walnut blasting to shift it. Diesel intake and valve deposits are considerably easier to remove. A saturday afternoon job with 50/50 caustic soda and soap powder.
My F30 330d, bought on 38K miles, now on 70K miles, 400 miles a week - mixture of dual carriageway, country roads and heavy stop start traffic. Zero DPF issues. My scan tool tells me the projected lifespan of the DPF is a further 150K+ miles with my current usage.
This whole "Diesel isn't worth it for that mileage/usage" thing is about 20 years out of date. Some people just prefer power delivery of derv and they use less fuel than petrol in all circumstances, even heavy traffic.
Petrol is not immune from short trip issues either. Direction Injection petrols get even worse intake valve fouling issues, which unlike derv is baked on rock hard and needs walnut blasting to shift it. Diesel intake and valve deposits are considerably easier to remove. A saturday afternoon job with 50/50 caustic soda and soap powder.
rottenegg said:
Brother in law had an F30 320d from 14,000 miles to 72,000 miles. Driven by his wife mostly doing school and shop runs. Zero DPF issues.
My F30 330d, bought on 38K miles, now on 70K miles, 400 miles a week - mixture of dual carriageway, country roads and heavy stop start traffic. Zero DPF issues. My scan tool tells me the projected lifespan of the DPF is a further 150K+ miles with my current usage.
This whole "Diesel isn't worth it for that mileage/usage" thing is about 20 years out of date. Some people just prefer power delivery of derv and they use less fuel than petrol in all circumstances, even heavy traffic.
Petrol is not immune from short trip issues either. Direction Injection petrols get even worse intake valve fouling issues, which unlike derv is baked on rock hard and needs walnut blasting to shift it. Diesel intake and valve deposits are considerably easier to remove. A saturday afternoon job with 50/50 caustic soda and soap powder
What do I use for the bath then after that? My F30 330d, bought on 38K miles, now on 70K miles, 400 miles a week - mixture of dual carriageway, country roads and heavy stop start traffic. Zero DPF issues. My scan tool tells me the projected lifespan of the DPF is a further 150K+ miles with my current usage.
This whole "Diesel isn't worth it for that mileage/usage" thing is about 20 years out of date. Some people just prefer power delivery of derv and they use less fuel than petrol in all circumstances, even heavy traffic.
Petrol is not immune from short trip issues either. Direction Injection petrols get even worse intake valve fouling issues, which unlike derv is baked on rock hard and needs walnut blasting to shift it. Diesel intake and valve deposits are considerably easier to remove. A saturday afternoon job with 50/50 caustic soda and soap powder
rottenegg said:
This whole "Diesel isn't worth it for that mileage/usage" thing is about 20 years out of date. Some people just prefer power delivery of derv and they use less fuel than petrol in all circumstances, even heavy traffic.
They don't though, do they?Particularly until "up to temperature" which is the first few miles of the journey.
This is why if you have the trip computer on "range" the range normally drops significantly for the first few miles & then catches back up to where it should be soon after.
So if your journey is only ever a few miles they aren't efficient at all.
E-bmw said:
So if your journey is only ever a few miles they aren't efficient at all.
From my experience that’s not necessarily the case. This morning I pretty much drove (320D ED) my commute to the park and ride at York. Route is out of our village then through two more with a bit of national speed limit in between. From a cold engine and a light right foot, following traffic, I got this..I won’t usually achieve this during the week when there’s queuing traffic at the lights but I can get at least 50mpg
Edited by _Hoppers on Saturday 6th July 10:42
Edited by _Hoppers on Saturday 6th July 11:17
d_a_n1979 said:
rottenegg said:
Brother in law had an F30 320d from 14,000 miles to 72,000 miles. Driven by his wife mostly doing school and shop runs. Zero DPF issues.
My F30 330d, bought on 38K miles, now on 70K miles, 400 miles a week - mixture of dual carriageway, country roads and heavy stop start traffic. Zero DPF issues. My scan tool tells me the projected lifespan of the DPF is a further 150K+ miles with my current usage.
This whole "Diesel isn't worth it for that mileage/usage" thing is about 20 years out of date. Some people just prefer power delivery of derv and they use less fuel than petrol in all circumstances, even heavy traffic.
Petrol is not immune from short trip issues either. Direction Injection petrols get even worse intake valve fouling issues, which unlike derv is baked on rock hard and needs walnut blasting to shift it. Diesel intake and valve deposits are considerably easier to remove. A saturday afternoon job with 50/50 caustic soda and soap powder
What do I use for the bath then after that? My F30 330d, bought on 38K miles, now on 70K miles, 400 miles a week - mixture of dual carriageway, country roads and heavy stop start traffic. Zero DPF issues. My scan tool tells me the projected lifespan of the DPF is a further 150K+ miles with my current usage.
This whole "Diesel isn't worth it for that mileage/usage" thing is about 20 years out of date. Some people just prefer power delivery of derv and they use less fuel than petrol in all circumstances, even heavy traffic.
Petrol is not immune from short trip issues either. Direction Injection petrols get even worse intake valve fouling issues, which unlike derv is baked on rock hard and needs walnut blasting to shift it. Diesel intake and valve deposits are considerably easier to remove. A saturday afternoon job with 50/50 caustic soda and soap powder
E-bmw said:
rottenegg said:
This whole "Diesel isn't worth it for that mileage/usage" thing is about 20 years out of date. Some people just prefer power delivery of derv and they use less fuel than petrol in all circumstances, even heavy traffic.
They don't though, do they?Particularly until "up to temperature" which is the first few miles of the journey.
This is why if you have the trip computer on "range" the range normally drops significantly for the first few miles & then catches back up to where it should be soon after.
So if your journey is only ever a few miles they aren't efficient at all.
I've owned a mixture of petrol n'asp, petrol turbo and diesel turbo for 30 years and diesels are always more efficient in any given circumstance.
So what if the miles to empty reduces when stuck in traffic. Same applies to petrol engines. Maths at the pump is the evidence.
I consistently get 600 miles per tank from my 330d. My MK5 Golf GTI returned 380 mile per tank. Exactly the same daily commute. The 330d is more powerful, 200Kg heavier and they both have 12 gallon tanks, so yeah, petrol DI is more efficient.....not.
Edited by rottenegg on Saturday 6th July 16:04
rottenegg said:
E-bmw said:
rottenegg said:
This whole "Diesel isn't worth it for that mileage/usage" thing is about 20 years out of date. Some people just prefer power delivery of derv and they use less fuel than petrol in all circumstances, even heavy traffic.
They don't though, do they?Particularly until "up to temperature" which is the first few miles of the journey.
This is why if you have the trip computer on "range" the range normally drops significantly for the first few miles & then catches back up to where it should be soon after.
So if your journey is only ever a few miles they aren't efficient at all.
I've owned a mixture of petrol n'asp, petrol turbo and diesel turbo for 30 years and diesels are always more efficient in any given circumstance.
So what if the miles to empty reduces when stuck in traffic. Same applies to petrol engines. Maths at the pump is the evidence.
I consistently get 600 miles per tank from my 330d. My MK5 Golf GTI returned 380 mile per tank. Exactly the same daily commute. The 330d is more powerful, 200Kg heavier and they both have 12 gallon tanks, so yeah, petrol DI is more efficient.....not.
Edited by rottenegg on Saturday 6th July 16:04
The earlier poster said that they "use less fuel in all circumstances" which I commented on as not being correct, because that is not correct, none of what you say is actually at all relevant to what I said.
Both are true.
E-bmw said:
rottenegg said:
This whole "Diesel isn't worth it for that mileage/usage" thing is about 20 years out of date. Some people just prefer power delivery of derv and they use less fuel than petrol in all circumstances, even heavy traffic.
They don't though, do they?Particularly until "up to temperature" which is the first few miles of the journey.
Once you factor in sorting the EGR valve and DPF every time they give you hassle you're well out of pocket vs a petrol.
Pizzaeatingking said:
I found this, going back a few years now but I used the wife's 320d for my commute for the week expecting to save on fuel over my 340i. The car was only just getting warm by the time I arrived for work and used the same amount of fuel as I would use in my 40i. At the end of the week by the time I'd paid for the extra cost of diesel over petrol I was out of pocket, it was at that point I realised diesels aren't really the cheaper to run option everyone seems to think they are.
Once you factor in sorting the EGR valve and DPF every time they give you hassle you're well out of pocket vs a petrol.
How long/short was your commute? I made a note of my mpg stats commuting to work this morning (which included driving to York centre) and managed 54mpg over 13miles. What mpg were you getting form the 340i?Once you factor in sorting the EGR valve and DPF every time they give you hassle you're well out of pocket vs a petrol.
Hmmm, the B58 is a pretty efficient petrol engine but I really cannot see it using the same or less fuel than and F30 320d over the same distance and ambient temps.
But anyway, we can dispute it all day long but I go by evidence in the real world.
I never saw anything like this range from any petrol car I've owned. Same 80 mile commute, same 20 minutes a day stuck in bumper-bumper traffic, same everything. Diesel is always way more efficient. As I said previously, 30hp less powerful 2.0 petrol DI in a 200Kg lighter car saw 27mpg long term average over the 8 years I owned it. 2 years of F30 330d ownership has averaged 53mpg. And that's from the N57. The N47 is even more efficient!
But anyway, we can dispute it all day long but I go by evidence in the real world.
I never saw anything like this range from any petrol car I've owned. Same 80 mile commute, same 20 minutes a day stuck in bumper-bumper traffic, same everything. Diesel is always way more efficient. As I said previously, 30hp less powerful 2.0 petrol DI in a 200Kg lighter car saw 27mpg long term average over the 8 years I owned it. 2 years of F30 330d ownership has averaged 53mpg. And that's from the N57. The N47 is even more efficient!
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