My way of driving and what it does to my car
 

I'd like to know the driving styles and what effects it has had on your car, especially the engine.

option 3 for me, tyres are the only problem.

A mixture of 1, 3 and 5 actually. As long as I'm the only one driving on the road, I'm gentle. If, however a car appears in my rear view mirror then I throttle not to be overtaken! especially on B roads and such, and if a car appears in front of me I go> shoots, you just have to be overtaken... I know, http://666kb.com/i/bo219iyu44p2kufqg.gif

I'll get my coat and book an appointment with my therapist
:hidesbehindsofa:

but the 2.0D loves it this way... who am I to deprecate?!

I've always driven using the full engine power BUT I am sympathetic and let the engine reach full temperature for a while first. With a cold engine I am extremely careful not to labour the engine but not to over-rev (say, no more than 2500-3000 revs) until warm.

I don't like using too high revs (except my Honda VTEC I had) but I will use full throttle and have the engine pulling hard through the gears.

I can honestly say I've never 'ruined' any of my engines btu am very careful about oil changes and being kind to them when cold.

The consensus-3 mostly.

Occassionally 1 when I'm in a sporting mood or someone like the mad polo driver I regularly get up my backs@de and 5 the last couple of days as its been wet on roads with plenty of leaves - also trying to get back to the 30 mpg driving style - at 29.9!

Mainly between 3 & 5 with the odd spot of 1 for good measure, to be honest the roads I generally drive on don't let you drive any other way than 3 to 5, mainly 5 due to the amount of slow traffic.

3 here but, as above, wait until it's nicely warmed up before a proper flooring occurs!

It's important to remember, ESPESCIALLY with modern diesels that they are choked from the factory with EGR/DPF systems that are there purely to reduce emissions.

Yes diesels are out of the torque band at 4k+ rpm but they still need a good blast to clear all the recirculated crap.

Every so often I used to sit my 2.0d on the motorway in 3rd gear at 70mph hovering a tad below the redline and leave it there for a couple of miles.

I put that down to the reason I never had EGR or regeneration issues.

Blast it out etc

Option 3 for me also,although like marmoset I tend to wait until the engines warmed up nicely. The only drawback I have is that swmbo has somehow managed to figure out my speed without looking at the speedo & usually comments on it(Damn!!!)

Option 2
I drive hard, use full throttle and max revs - and have had problems

Anyone who says they don't have issues from driving flat out daily either doesn't or is fibbing!
Alternators fall to pieces from prolonged high revs, pistons rings wear out and clutches and synchros are common issues in my cars.

Although I never get sticky brakes, clogged up breathers and electrical issues often fix themselves due to lots of heat, haha....

Although the foundation is rather slim to form conclusions upon, it does seem to indicate that it doesn't matter much how you drive - your engine and drivetrain seems to cope to the tune of roughly 6 good ones and one bad out of 7.

I have given this some more thought. Initially, what I hoped to find was a correspondance between driving style and typical issues connected with engine (ab)use. But it doesn't seem to be a lot of mechanical issues today related to whether an engine is lugged with low rpm and little throttle or boted constantly and raced to the redline.

Some sort of electronic/electric issue seem to be the most common nuisance with modern cars, and those are not much affected by driving style. Damp weather and poor, bumpy roads driven fast will possibly have some influence, but overall I think it is just down to dumb luck whether a car runs trouble free for a decade or makes lots of trouble almost from new.

What do you reckon - how much of the issues seen in moderns cars are down to the driver/conditions of use, and how much is down how that particular car was built?

I drive rather low reved... Mostly at about 2.000 rpm the gear is changed. At 50 km/h (approx. 30 mph) I'm already in 5th gear.

The engine has abolutly caused no problems what so ever. The gearbox - well, I don't talk about it. What my biggest problem in the C30 is, is basially the front suspension. The top steering bearings have been changed so often, about at least once a year... of course, both sides... My AC had a sheared pipe and didn't work. My drivers seat clicked/clacked in curves. My steering coloumn rattled quite heavily. My headlights get damp from inside and are currently filfthy (from inside!). The fogs are basically blunt.

Otherwise... All fine ;)

Do you think your 19" wheels can have anything to do with your suspension issues?

My box is sometimes reluctant to engage 1st and reverse, hot or cold, but I'm used to it, use a bit more force and have stopped "brushing teeth". 6th also require a determined push to the side before pulling the stick back. Otherwise it is good.

My headlights had fog inside after use for a few days when the car was new, but I haven't noticed later on.

Do you think your 19" wheels can have anything to do with your suspension issues?

Option 2
I drive hard, use full throttle and max revs - and have had problems.
850 T5R: 1 engine, 2 gearboxes, and a few driveshafts.

V70: gearbox glitch (hopefully now sorted).

No, because I only got the 19"s this year, but have had the car 3 years and in the 3 years have had to have the bearing changed very often. The issues are there even on 15" steel rims (the lightest rims you can get).

I think, the issues are due to my car being a very very early C30 (ws built MY 2007 but left the factory 2006) and due to it having the lowering kit. Oddly, the suspension issue is also on 2009 and 2010 C30ies...

Daim, isn't the C70/S40/V50 built over the same floor and technology? Is this perhaps a common weakness? Does your daily drive consist of a lot of rough roads?

Haven't Volvo had issues with the driveline in the more powerfull editions since they went FWD?

I clicked the wrong one. Ooops. Ment to of clicked option 3

Yes, it does use the same floor pan, just with a few changes. The track is a little wider on the C30 compared to S40 and V50.

no.3 for me
 

let's admit it-you can't resist the right pedal in the 2.0D when that 17 year old in the 'slammed' Civic is trying to clean your rear bumper with his front one...

I used to drive quite gently all of the time with my V50 2.0d, but the engine warning light came on a couple of times and dropped into limp mode, now I always give it a bit of welly once it is warm and it seems to of sorted the problem. I always let the engine idle of a minute after my commute 90 miles just to ensure there is enough oil around the turbo.

I'm still waiting for my new Volvo to arrive, currently I have an old V40 2.0 but I'm excited about my new 2008 V50 R Design D5. I keep seeing comments about how good the 2.0D engine is, what should I expect from my D5?

Waves of torque, best sounding diesel on the road, blistering acceleration and all while returning decent mpg. Expect to be blown away...

lol, slightly exaggerrated, not biased are we!

I would say, as much torque as you would need, some turbo lag, a nice sounding diesel (not as nice as the BMW ones, sorry!) decent acceleration, better than most other standard diesel cars around (mapped 2.0 onwards VAG stuff will be as quick if not slightly quicker, but there is always a bigger fish and you can always map the D5 to match) but not T5 or any other turbo petrol hot hatch quick. and yes decent Mpg, should see around 40mpg!

oh and cheap/flimsy feeling and sounding exterior door handles on the rear doors!

you will be very pleased with the increase in every day drivablility and economy vs your petrol, but you might miss the higher rev range! If you cant have a T5, the D5 is the next best, possibly better if you are doing more miles!

Btw...

I'm due for my 120k km (75k miles) service next week... Still on my first set of brake discs and pads and they have a lot of meet on them yet... ;)

I'm hoping to get to 160k km (100k miles) on the first set :) - and I drive quite a lot around towns with stop and go traffic...

Maybe a bit! I do love mine! Turbo lag, yes, but if you're driving it right you can eliminate it not too bad. Also dpf delete and remap help get rid of it and yes the rear doors do sound flimsy, which is weird considering how thick they are! But as far as the noise goes I prefer the 5cyl Volvo to the 6cyl BMW. Love that growl, but that's personal preferance I suppose!

Oh and I'm returning closer to 45mpg. Doing a fair few long runs though.

Speaking of BMW diesels - a bloke at work had his 530D from 04 tuned to nearly 300 hp. Went OK :thumbs_up:

Right up to the point the inlet manifold disintegrates and gets sucked into the engine...

Diesels might be ok...

but I've got about 320-330lb-ft at 2500 rpm (276lb-ft at the wheels) ... and mine revs to 6500 rpm clean :D Diesel can't compete with that combination of sound, revs and torque.

I just go LA LA LA :lala: when they talk about fuel economy!

LOL Monster Comment. When i'm not travelling 15-18k miles a year i'll probably look at the T5 or even T6 S60 mmmm nice!

Everyone goes hard at some point dont they? not many cars out there like to be hammered all the time although like someone already pointed out, the honda vtec that you get in the type r loves to be thrashed and revved like a nutter. it actually takes a bit of getting used to when you first start driving them!!

It's option 3 for me "I drive moderately hard and floor it from time to time - and have no issues".

Well no issues with the engine or drive at least, can't say the same for the brakes/discs though. I do tend to it leave it late before braking; was advised by the MOT tester recently that the rear was down to the metal, whoops! :grn-shocked:

Jon E A.

when i had my 2.0d drove it hard now i have my t5 even harder

but that fuel needle does go down quite fast lol

With any car from new I believe in a good "run in" procedure. No keeping it at constant speeds or below 2000rpm etc, simply drive normally with short bursts of acceleration every so often to get the engine "fit" and sweet running. Never had any engine issues, and have found my engines were sweet, used no oil, didnt knock or bang or smoke, and were pretty nippy with acceptable fuel consumption.In years gone by when the cars were kept for longer periods the mileages were relatively high with no real issues.

I have had issues with the Volvos although this is nothing to do with how they have been driven!!

Regards

The general advice with modern engines is to drive them fairly hard at the start.

More on this here.

Looking around, many tuners and engine builders recommend this method due to the reasons given.

Yes Ive read that before.Thanks.

There used to be a good write up on how to run your new Lotus in, which was great, and Ive always done it like that.

I drive very gently 95% of the time, but then also floor it from time to time and drive it hard up to the revs (this isn't in a Volvo as mine arrives tomorrow) but in all other cars I've had. Oh and I have had very little issue with cars.

I drive my 850 T5-R fairly normally, nothing mad or overly fast in anyway - most of the time.

I'll just go with the flow around town and not be one of the people whos always in a rush cutting through traffic etc to try and get ahead. The motorway, I'll cruise around 75, with the odd over take if needed.

I do use the cars performance on occasion though, I can be pretty impatient so if some clown is driving down a 50 road at 35 or whatever, I wont sit behind 'em if I don't have to! Plus I'm only young n' daft so smashing boy racers in their Saxos and Clios is a must, just can't resist!

95% moderate, normal driving, 5% banzai wheel spinning acceleration :P

I like to check the rev limiter out on a daily basis, which is nigh on impossible in the D5 or A4 as you're well past what the engine can give anyway. In the 911 it's like the gift that grows and just keeps giving.

Modern engines are designed and limited to be well within their capabilities. I put good maintenance, proper warm up procedure and regular proper use down to the lack engine issues.

Short journeys and meandering driving does engines no good in my opinion.