1200 Km + On A Full Tank....

[skippybangkok]

Was in the market for a new car, and given the prospects that fuel prices will increase, was looking at what the alternatives were - NGV / Hybrid / Diesel......... after convincing by brother-in-law....... finally went for a diesel sedan ( 520d ).

Was pleasantly surprised....... filled up in Chiang Rai, over the mountains to Chiang Mai ( hills / curves / lots of small slow towns ) , in and around Chaing Mai for 1 day, and then the longggggggggggg road home to Bangkok......... and still have enough fuel to make it to Chantaburi..........

Truely amazing if ur used to a petrol engine with about 500 - 600 km max on a full tank.

The 520d was a charm on the hills from Sukhothai to Chiang Rai........ in cruise control, pulls you up steep inclines at any (reasonable) speeds without flinching, and often without gear change.......

Loving my tractor ! ( diesel ).

[guzzi850m2]

Yes probably a very good car, but 3.7 mill bath!!! Just checked BMW TL price list and said to myself, OK it is not here I will find my next car, he-he.

I think I stick to my modest Honda City for the time being and are not too concerned about fuel prices as we are driving app. 10k km pr year.

Enjoy you BMW, its a nice looking car.

[skippybangkok]

City is good, the wife has a Honda Civic which is far better than the Camry on fuel........ Am just absolutely amazed through at how efficient diesel is.

The Camry ( lighter but similar size car ) would chew a tank in about 450 km in the city, and about 550 -600 tops on flat long distance. Diesel, and getting 850-900km in the city, and flat road long distance about 1300km ( tank is 5 liters bigger though ) - engine is only 1.99 liter or something - pretty amazing the power and fuel economy you get.

makes me wonder why cars are still petrol ("gas") these days.........

[guzzi850m2]

Yes diesel engines are very good nowadays, and you can easily "tweak" them +25% by just adding this chip from Germany.

http://www.racechip.de/racechip-chiptuning...20d-2910-r.html

[skippybangkok]

Yes diesel engines are very good nowadays, and you can easily "tweak" them +25% by just adding this chip from Germany.

http://www.racechip.de/racechip-chiptuning...20d-2910-r.html

shareholder ? Not sure, but have seen one OP promoting this chip alot

[aussiebebe]

City is good, the wife has a Honda Civic which is far better than the Camry on fuel........ Am just absolutely amazed through at how efficient diesel is.

The Camry ( lighter but similar size car ) would chew a tank in about 450 km in the city, and about 550 -600 tops on flat long distance. Diesel, and getting 850-900km in the city, and flat road long distance about 1300km ( tank is 5 liters bigger though ) - engine is only 1.99 liter or something - pretty amazing the power and fuel economy you get.

makes me wonder why cars are still petrol ("gas") these days.........

Glad to hear someone's having fun! Lucky dude. New BMW 5-series, eh? I'm impressed.

Diesel gives better efficiency, but is more polluting than petrol, something which G7 governments have struggled to accommodate as they strive for reductions in carbon emissions.

Must say though, I'm surprised that you'd buy a BMW and care about fuel prices.

To give some perspective (unless the peak-oil theorists and USAF are correct and there's a major oil shortage in 5 years which makes prices spike catastrophically) if petrol averages 50baht per litre over the next decade and my Honda City (yes, 700k tin-pot!) averages 14km/litre, and I drive average 30km/day, I'll use 390,000bahts worth of fuel (7,800litres). So car + fuel for a decade = 1,090,000baht and a 5-series costs.............? Well, whatever, I'm still green with envy

[skippybangkok]

City is good, the wife has a Honda Civic which is far better than the Camry on fuel........ Am just absolutely amazed through at how efficient diesel is.

The Camry ( lighter but similar size car ) would chew a tank in about 450 km in the city, and about 550 -600 tops on flat long distance. Diesel, and getting 850-900km in the city, and flat road long distance about 1300km ( tank is 5 liters bigger though ) - engine is only 1.99 liter or something - pretty amazing the power and fuel economy you get.

makes me wonder why cars are still petrol ("gas") these days.........

Glad to hear someone's having fun! Lucky dude. New BMW 5-series, eh? I'm impressed.

Diesel gives better efficiency, but is more polluting than petrol, something which G7 governments have struggled to accommodate as they strive for reductions in carbon emissions.

Must say though, I'm surprised that you'd buy a BMW and care about fuel prices.

To give some perspective (unless the peak-oil theorists and USAF are correct and there's a major oil shortage in 5 years which makes prices spike catastrophically) if petrol averages 50baht per litre over the next decade and my Honda City (yes, 700k tin-pot!) averages 14km/litre, and I drive average 30km/day, I'll use 390,000bahts worth of fuel (7,800litres). So car + fuel for a decade = 1,090,000baht and a 5-series costs.............? Well, whatever, I'm still green with envy

LOL - your 100% right, the maths dont add up if you look at it from a holistic perspective ........ if saving was the main issue, would not have gone for the car. Was looking at the Camry Hybrid, but dont feel comfortable yet with it.... If there was a Camry Diesel - most likely would have gone for it ( last Camry lasted 6 years without a problem........ they look ugly as shit but are good cars )........ ( and pls dont tell me now that they sell them ! ).

I guess to sum it up, i am just pleasantly surprised on its fuel efficiency and amazed i can make it from Chiang Rai via Chiang Mai to Bangkok have still have fuel to spare.......

p.s. just a question........ if a diesel engine consumes 2x less fuel than a petrol, does it still polute as much on a per KW basis ( dont know the answer )

[katabeachbum]

p.s. just a question........ if a diesel engine consumes 2x less fuel than a petrol, does it still polute as much on a per KW basis ( dont know the answer )

while your BMW 520d pollutes approx 150g co2/km the Camry is approx 180g co2/km. so petrol pollutes more than modern state of the art diesels, in addition to use approx double the amount of fuel

In Europe, where most countries car taxes are based on pollution, more than 60% of all new cars come with dieselengine

[Donnyboy]

5 series, nice

is it turbocharged?

looks like a heavy car otherwise

[Spoonman]

is it turbocharged?

looks like a heavy car otherwise

Does the turbo make it lighter ??

Skippy, nice car with awesome fuel economy, wish mine got even half of that per tank !!!

[Donnyboy]

p.s. just a question........ if a diesel engine consumes 2x less fuel than a petrol, does it still polute as much on a per KW basis ( dont know the answer )

while your BMW 520d pollutes approx 150g co2/km the Camry is approx 180g co2/km. so petrol pollutes more than modern state of the art diesels, in addition to use approx double the amount of fuel

In Europe, where most countries car taxes are based on pollution, more than 60% of all new cars come with dieselengine

audi have showcased a R8 V12 diesel engine

:D

[Donnyboy]

is it turbocharged?

looks like a heavy car otherwise

Does the turbo make it lighter ??

Skippy, nice car with awesome fuel economy, wish mine got even half of that per tank !!!

no, i meant to say if the car didnt have a turbo, it would be underpowered, by the look of the car

im envious regardless

[culicine]

Add in a chip and it'll fly too!

[skippybangkok]

No Turbo, but i am not even sure i would need one........ it has alot of Torque.

Quite easy to spin the wheels at the lights or a small distance therefrom if you push the pedal too much, and it does accelerate / move very fast (but then again, being used to a Camry, even sitting on a turtle is fast ) . In the land of bumpy roads and lots of cars / motorcycles - there is not alot of places you can go safely fast - as such, rarely do it. The mountain driving was nice though, the diesel really pulls u up the hills. Again, my reference point - camry - it would be screaming to get up the hills and not loose speed

Only thing to get used to is the cruise control on long straight up and down hills........ if you set it at 100, it will pull u up steep hills at 100 no problem, but on the lee side, going down, the engine will brake you, and even on very steep hills, the engine will brake you and keep you at 100 on the way down ( petrol engines cant break like this - its a new experience ).

Pretty sure that the body is Aluminium (??) which saves on weight, and size wise its almost the same as the Camry.

[katabeachbum]

No Turbo, but i am not even sure i would need one........ it has alot of Torque.

Quite easy to spin the wheels at the lights or a small distance therefrom if you push the pedal too much, and it does accelerate / move very fast (but then again, being used to a Camry, even sitting on a turtle is fast ) . In the land of bumpy roads and lots of cars / motorcycles - there is not alot of places you can go safely fast - as such, rarely do it. The mountain driving was nice though, the diesel really pulls u up the hills. Again, my reference point - camry - it would be screaming to get up the hills and not loose speed

Only thing to get used to is the cruise control on long straight up and down hills........ if you set it at 100, it will pull u up steep hills at 100 no problem, but on the lee side, going down, the engine will brake you, and even on very steep hills, the engine will brake you and keep you at 100 on the way down ( petrol engines cant break like this - its a new experience ).

Pretty sure that the body is Aluminium (??) which saves on weight, and size wise its almost the same as the Camry.

turbo(not sure if you have the engine with one or two turbos,177 or 184hp), intercooler, last gen Bosch Commonrail, 4 valves, this is the worlds most powerful 2000cc diesel off the line, power on par with bmw 6 pot 525i gasoline, but consumes less half the fuel.

[skippybangkok]

Yes diesel engines are very good nowadays, and you can easily "tweak" them +25% by just adding this chip from Germany.

http://www.racechip.de/racechip-chiptuning...20d-2910-r.html

shareholder ? Not sure, but have seen one OP promoting this chip alot

Me, l think. Wish l was a share holder, just trying to be helpful.

Wish l could afford a BMW, but then if l could l would buy a Merc.

Cheers mate......... sorry for the comment. Actually, liked / preferred the new Merc , but was priced quite high,long waiting que, and got a velly velly special deal on the 520d which was hard to say no to.

I am a little confused about these chips....... being an engineer ( ok, ex- ), find it hard to believe that a little non-name company with a crappy web site can out think BMW engineers, and without access to the detailed design calcs for engine and transmission, even if u could boost KW by 25%, if the engine and transmission was not made for it - its gonna screw it up.

I am also miffed as to why the BMW engineers purposely did not go for the extra 25% fuel economy - surely that would have been a great selling point to have same / more power and / or 25% less fuel consumption...........

...just an old saying comes to to mind " if it sounds too good to be true, it often is".

[aussiebebe]

Actually, liked / preferred the new Merc , but was priced quite high,long waiting que, and got a velly velly special deal on the 520d which was hard to say no to.

Sorry if this is a bit cheeky, but as I've no hope of buying a luxury car, I've always wondered what the deals are. Can you outline the deal just 'cos I'm curious?

Also, out of interest, what do you reckon the make-up of buyers is like - do most pay cash, or most get financing? I've always been curious, but haven't really made any wealthy friends to ask. Any thoughts?

[Gary A]

Yes diesel engines are very good nowadays, and you can easily "tweak" them +25% by just adding this chip from Germany.

http://www.racechip.de/racechip-chiptuning...20d-2910-r.html

shareholder ? Not sure, but have seen one OP promoting this chip alot

Me, l think. Wish l was a share holder, just trying to be helpful.

Wish l could afford a BMW, but then if l could l would buy a Merc.

Cheers mate......... sorry for the comment. Actually, liked / preferred the new Merc , but was priced quite high,long waiting que, and got a velly velly special deal on the 520d which was hard to say no to.

I am a little confused about these chips....... being an engineer ( ok, ex- ), find it hard to believe that a little non-name company with a crappy web site can out think BMW engineers, and without access to the detailed design calcs for engine and transmission, even if u could boost KW by 25%, if the engine and transmission was not made for it - its gonna screw it up.

I am also miffed as to why the BMW engineers purposely did not go for the extra 25% fuel economy - surely that would have been a great selling point to have same / more power and / or 25% less fuel consumption...........

...just an old saying comes to to mind " if it sounds too good to be true, it often is".

The people peddling these miracle chips that claim better efficiency and more power are selling you a bullshit product. If their claims were true, the manufacturers would pay millions for those secrets. There is a thing called thermal dynamics the make those claims absolutely impossible.

[skippybangkok]

If their claims were true, the manufacturers would pay millions for those secrets. There is a thing called thermal dynamics the make those claims absolutely impossible.

Those were exactly my thoughts. (above)

As to "loan or cash"......... applies to any car / motorbike of any value - you can pay cash , or finance a portion as Farang if u want. Guess it depends on your personal situation / Preference and how u want to manage cash and cash flows.

[katabeachbum]

If their claims were true, the manufacturers would pay millions for those secrets. There is a thing called thermal dynamics the make those claims absolutely impossible.

Those were exactly my thoughts. (above)

As to "loan or cash"......... applies to any car / motorbike of any value - you can pay cash , or finance a portion as Farang if u want. Guess it depends on your personal situation / Preference and how u want to manage cash and cash flows.

there are several good chips for bmw 2,0d, 220hp/420Nm is easy. but for this advanced engine I would not use racechips.de

[Loz]

Have to step in and defend the chips. Used to have one in my Audi TT and it was awesome.

I think the reason Audi don't sell them like that is because it would make it harder to release facelift models with improved stats if they just dumped the very best available on the market right away.

IS there anyone who doesn't think that car manufactures couldn't make an affordable car which would give great MPG and last for 30 years with minimal maintenance? Of course they could but, they are in the business of selling you more than one car. People are fickle and will "upgrade" thus more "units" can be sold. Abt are recognised by Audi, AMG by Mercedes (Brabus have some kind of relationship with them too) As for BMW, I'd be looking to alpina, hartge M-Sport devision but as mentioned. The 2.0d BMW engine leads the field. It does have a turbo though. The 3.0d is the performance option and is bloody excellent. My Last BMW was an Alpina 5 Series (E39) because I love V8 sound and performance. I dare say the latest 530d would give it a decent run for its money...

[skippybangkok]

Have to step in and defend the chips. Used to have one in my Audi TT and it was awesome.

Good to hear another angle.........would be interested to hear from others experience........

[skippybangkok]

Errrr mistake.......... found out that in cruise control, if speed goes over limit down hill, and engine cannot control, they brakes are applied automatically - so not humongous compression breaking as thought........

[katabeachbum]

Have to step in and defend the chips. Used to have one in my Audi TT and it was awesome.

Good to hear another angle.........would be interested to hear from others experience........

been chipstuning most of my turbo cars for 15 years. Never had problem with engines, some autos cant handle the power/heat.

the TT has probably an 1,8T, which comes from Audi with 150,160,180, 210, 225 hp. different ECU/chips is main difference. my dads 2000 1,8 T was chipsed from 150-225 hp. still going strong, but now belongs to my brother. Never repaired engine, but replaced tiptronic 5 speed auto twice