alpine diesel...

[Perik]

whats the diff??? never having owned a diesel car before, I am told I'm gonna need to buy alpine diesel when driving to falls this year...anyone know what it does differently to normal diesel?! graemlins/snownotfaraway.gif

[Podlettte]

normal diesel goes gluggy and heavy so it won't flow through the pipes easily. Alpine diesel has an additive, varies form place to place I'm told though can be kero etc Not sure what the big oil companies use.

one useful tip I received was to make sure your tank is as full as possible to avoid condensation, not sure if this is for all types of fuel or just diesel, but it was only mentioned to me once I'd bought a diesel car

[Wolverine]

Stops from freezing up in the pipes and engine.
If you're staying up on hill in winter/snow conditions you'd want to put it in as opposed to normal diesel.

[Perik]

hmm..interesting...anyone know the diff in price roughly?

[Total punter]

From a 4wd site.... Having never driven to the snow I had to research this all last year....

'STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW IN THE SNOW
When diesel gets cold, it ‘waxes up’. When it does, it simply can’t move through the fuel system effectively. You have to wait until it warms up for it to work again. Or there’s another option. Buy Alpine diesel. Alpine diesel has a kind of anti-freeze mixed into it by the service station. Of course, it’s only available in the snowfield areas, and it’s a fine art to get the mix just right.

Only use reputable service stations, and don’t be afraid to ask questions as to how they mix theirs. You can also mix an additive into your fuel by the tankful yourself, but you’d only bother if you were a regular to the snowfields.'

Mt Beauty is the only place I found near Falls with it available... There is a Caltex as you drive through town on the right (but it doesn't take Motorpass cards so I found out last year) and a smaller servo on the left right at the end of town (does take motorpass lol). I did the calculations and got to put 3/4 of a tank in there.

Having a diesel it is critical that your battery is in top nick.... with the extra charge needed to turn it over many batteries fail in the cold... You can't clutch start a diesel (as far as I know) and aparently many cars these days you cant jump start either....

[Wolverine]

From memory, not much C/L difference.

[Wolverine]

Um yes you can clutch start a diesel.
Works better in reverse gear though.

[Azz]

and don't risk not having it, not much fun if your engine won't run up there.

We also had one weekend last year when it was really cold overnight and still had trouble with Alpine fuel waxing up, the additive is only good until a certain temperature below zero. The RACV guy was kept busy that Sunday!!!!

I was told once that its only the diesel that is produced from Bass Strait oil that does this. Not sure if this is true or not.

[Podlettte]

re clutch starting - depends on the vehicle. mine was a poncy diesel so I didn't need to wait for the glow plugs to go out/on before turning the engine over, just started it like a normal petrol engine. Does that effect whether you can clutch start it or not? Have very vague memories of a colleague clutch starting an 80's hilux in jindy....

[Wolverine]

Umm no.
I've got glow plugs but I can still clutch start.
Did it in Feb when I was at the Bushfire Relief Centre.
The CFA boys got it turning.
Having said that they also cleaned my battery terminals and gave it a service. Bless em.
graemlins/big_laugh.gif

[Azz]

Yeah you can, I lost all my glow plugs up bush once, had to tow about 200mtrs, but it went.

[ernie_luvs_2_ski]

Driving out of dinner plain last year without alpine diesel wasn't too much fun...sat on the roadside slowly waiting for it to heat up enough. Took about 30mins...There's always the stories I've heard of people lying under the tank with cigarette lighters!! :confused: :eek:

[John Deere]

The glow plugs just heat the cylinders so it starts faster, if you clutch start it, the friction heats the cylnders enough for it to fire....the colder the ambient temp, the longer the tow will need to be.

Note that you are better of to put it in second or third, not reverse or first, as it will be easier to push and you will have more mechanical advantage over the engine that will be hard to turn....1st gear could give you a compression lock up of the rear wheels which wont help your cause at all.

[Podlettte]

My driving instructor said always clutch start any car in 2nd. Haven't had to use it yet