2.5L Diesel vs. 2.5L Petrol

[skirky dave]

I bet he's very proud of it as i'm sure you are. I bet he's not too bothered about the mpg. Maybe you could post a video of it for us all to see. I'm sure the many members here would like to see the flying machine doing what it does best. I must admit, i've always liked the shape of the lightweight. I think that's where the Ibex shape came from.

[Chicken Drumstick]

4 hours ago, skirky dave said:

Aargh , my fault, typical!!.   I think i would be a little worried about all that torque going through my series 2A box though. i know people do it but i have heard of a few horror stories of the gearbox going bang, AND TRUST ME, the  luck i've had lately.....it probably would. If you get the chance, have a look at that Perkins Phaser on youtube. Also...the Big Purple One, Cummins 6BT, got to love the sound of the larger diesels. The pulling power must be immense.

Not sure if it was this thread or another last week, but I often mention the T-Series 2.0 litre as a conversion option. Not necessarily the turbo variant, but the n/a one. They are a super nice engine to drive, 136hp (so more than most tweaked Tdi's or a low CR V8) and have more torque at 1500rpm than a 2.25 petrol. They will suit a lighter weight SWB vehicle more than a heavy LWB and obviously not the best for heavy towing. But they should make for a rapid 88 or even a 90.

Land Rover actually offer this engine in the Discovery 1 Mpi model. And also made some Defender 90's for the Swiss or Italians or someone. So all the parts can be sourced, although availability of the engines is not so good these days.

[skirky dave]

Mmm couple of interesting points there, ok there's plenty of hp but not the best for heavy towing and yet they put them into the Dico 1 Mpi. I was always under the impression the Disco's were very much favoured for their towing ability. Parts , as you say could also be a problem in the future. As  i said before, when my 2.5 n.a packs up i'm not quite sure which way to go what with the rumour of Diesel engine's being kicked into touch by the government and the electric car being the only thing allowed on the highway in the future, years away from now i know but still,....My driving days may well be behind me by then!!.     Having said that, the T series 2.0 litre n/a  seems a nice engine. Any ideas on mpg roughly.

[Chicken Drumstick]

10 minutes ago, skirky dave said:

Mmm couple of interesting points there, ok there's plenty of hp but not the best for heavy towing and yet they put them into the Dico 1 Mpi. I was always under the impression the Disco's were very much favoured for their towing ability. Parts , as you say could also be a problem in the future. As  i said before, when my 2.5 n.a packs up i'm not quite sure which way to go what with the rumour of Diesel engine's being kicked into touch by the government and the electric car being the only thing allowed on the highway in the future, years away from now i know but still,....My driving days may well be behind me by then!!.     Having said that, the T series 2.0 litre n/a  seems a nice engine. Any ideas on mpg roughly.

MPG probably better than a 2.25 petrol and not quite as good as the 2.5 diesel. But will depend how you drive it. Suspect 18-22mpg average and mid/high 20's on a run.

The MPi Disco fitted a different tax class I believe being under 2000cc. That was the reason for it.

I wouldn't worry about the diesel thing tbh. Most old cars are usually excluded from new regulation changes. If you live in central London it might be more of an issue, but that's probably it.

[skirky dave]

Chicken Drumstick...let us all hope your correct..I heard that share prices in Jaguar / Land Rover had been hit quite hard the other week. You can bet the price of Diesel will continue to escalate to stupid levels. When i first had the 2.25 n/a in mine,  Diesel was £0.55 ppl, then out came the Renault GT Turbo in or around the mid 1980's.Then company motor pools changed to Diesel and whalla.... up went Diesel prices overnight. So much for DPF Filters eh.

[qwakers]

17 hours ago, skirky dave said:

Mmm couple of interesting points there, ok there's plenty of hp but not the best for heavy towing and yet they put them into the Dico 1 Mpi. I was always under the impression the Disco's were very much favoured for their towing ability. Parts , as you say could also be a problem in the future. As  i said before, when my 2.5 n.a packs up i'm not quite sure which way to go what with the rumour of Diesel engine's being kicked into touch by the government and the electric car being the only thing allowed on the highway in the future, years away from now i know but still,....My driving days may well be behind me by then!!.     Having said that, the T series 2.0 litre n/a  seems a nice engine. Any ideas on mpg roughly.

i had a disco mpi. got it cheap as a offroad plaything.

 

it is not a good tow engine, i did the rings in it towing a rangerover on a trailer.(ironically, the rangerover was to become my towcar!)

it had no torque, offroad youre revving the tits off it to make it do anything, which meant low 1st gear was WAY too tall. (standard r380 ratios and 1.2 tx box) 

not only that but on road it was way too revvy and well, not gutless cos if you revved it like a sports car itd move but for normal road use? just a pain in the arse.

 

i eventually 200tdi swapped it. what a difference. but it never saw the road again, offroad only from then on.

[Chicken Drumstick]

I can see a heavy Disco and a 1.2:1 transfer box not being ideal. In an 88 though it should be quite a different story. And will go equally as well as a 2.25P low down, just a lot more power and revs when desired.

[MECCANO]

Hi guy's, finally found a spare moment to tap back in. the lwt is still going strong!

My setup uses a lt77 with a Sherpa/ sd1 2000 bell housing and pinion which is only 7 inches long. The lt77 seems more than strong enough for the turbo version and it has had a thrashing. I do have an issue with the sychros on 3rd, but I think the problem is I have the wrong pivot on the clutch arm so the clutch always had a hint of drag. For good measure I have an r380 ready to go.

I did toy with using an mpi bell housing ( there's enough room as the engine is so short, But I liked the idea of sitting right back.

I have a 1.2 transfer and the lt77 is a v8 box.

Mpg. If driven sensibly aka keeping up with traffic, crusing 65 you will achieve 35mpg.

I recently collected a rapier trailer from Leicester (250 miles round trip) and achieved higher than this. Probably nearer 40.

The flat torque curve means you can just leave it in fifth and cruise along. If you think ahead, you dont even need to change gear when overtaking trucks in the slow lane.

However if you give it the beans you will be down to the 20's.

The open diffs and short wheelbase can make things a little wild when the boost kicks in, and can be a little unpredictable. I'm considering converting the lt230 to rwd.

I haven't blown anything yet!

 

The conversion wasn't massively expensive. the expensive parts these days are the bell housings. My engine cost me £90 but was missing the turbo. That cost me £50. I made my own loom for £50. The front property is standard Land Rover and the rear was made for £90. I had to install a swirl pot and injection pumps. The swirl pot was £20 off eBay. The fuel pumps are a cheap defender type low pressure and a jag HP. The most expensive parts were intercooler hose. (The intercooler was £90 off eBay new) and the exhaust was made from parts and probably topped close to £500. But that could have be built using two sections and enough time.

Edited November 29, 2018 by MECCANO

[Bowie69]

What's the BHP, mister?

[MECCANO]

The stock figure is 200bhp and a similar torque curve to a 3.9 v8, on about 11psi of boost. Mines cranked up to 14.5psi with a larger cooler and 2.5 inch exhaust. Most that have these mods seem to achieve around 225bhp. I do have a t28 turbo in the garage but the pistons and ecu will stop you going much further. If you can get m series pistons or replace with forged and replace the ecu with squirt you could achieve 270 before needing to spend much on the bottom end.

Edited November 29, 2018 by MECCANO

[Chicken Drumstick]

Very cool. I would question the mpg. You are claiming significantly better than the 2wd Rovers cars got with the same engine (or even the na variant). A heavier Land Rover with comparatively massive rolling resistance and dreadful areo would be unlikely to even match them. 

[Quagmire]

Dreadful aero - yes.

Heavier? Probably not.