Anyone Done this Yet? - luxury imports

[semlin]

So i did some math on this because I find the idea intriguing. It would be cool if you could justify a diesel conversion based on fuel savings but by math that is still a ways away.

assume 12.5 mpg for gas and 25 mpg diesel (imp.)
assume C$15,000 for conversion costs all in (educated guess)
assume maintenance costs are the same
assume diesel/gas price parity @ $1.00/litre or $4.50/gallon (imp)
3,333 gallons = C$15,000
= 84,000 miles travelled in the diesel to break even on a straight line valuation
-if you assume diesel stays 5% pricier than gas and amortize the up front conversion cost at 3% per annum assuming 12,000 miles per year (7 years) then you are up over 100,000 miles to break even.
-if gas prices go to $1.20/litre = 70,000 miles to break even on a straight line basis, or around 90,000 miles adjusted
-if gas goes to $1.50 litre = 56,000 miles on a straight line basis or about 70,000 miles adjusted.
-if this is not your daily driver it will take a long time to break even.
-once you had paid off the initial investment you'd have a great vehicle but you would also have put a lot more mileage on your already used diesel powerplant (and tranny)

this all ignores how cool it would be to have a diesel and maybe even a 5 speed, but it also ignores the parts costs for that diesel. I think a conversion makes sense if you have an 80 with a dead motor or you can buy one very cheap, but otherwise you are better off driving that gasser until it dies (which will be a long time )

 

[70sguy]

The only reason anyone up here
is going to go RHD JDM is for the benefit of the Turbo diesel.. RHD JDM with a gas burner swapped in.. forget it.. there is more value in the JDM carcass as parts IMO.

Sheldon

 

[crushers]

there are more than just fuel savings to consider when swapping to a diesel. the smooth torque at low rpms, the smooth power and with Propane injection you have more than enough useable horsepower in comparision to a gasser.
i have done the figures as well and you can buy a lot of gas for the money of a conversion...

question for you:

why are the ford, chevy and dodge diesels so popular? when you can drive a V10? reliability, power and fuel milage in one package...

once you drive a diesel, you will never go back.

 

[semlin]

no arguments here about the advantages of diesel Crusher. I just drove a turbo diesel renault around france for 10 days and I was amazed. I drove it very hard with 2 adults and 2 kids and loads of luggage and got 45-50 mpg even when on the autoroute averaging 150 kph and it kept up fine, although the accelration is not quite the same as a gas engine.

 

[CDN_Cruiser]

once you drive a diesel, you will never go back.

I wish that was true - took the long road from BJ60 to an 80! At some point I would love to go for a JDM 70 turbo diesel import - likely will once I 'reconfigure' our different rides.

At least in ON, diesel is still a bit cheaper, which helps with the B/E. As an aside, when & why did diesel become the same price / more expensive than gas?!

Cheers, Hugh

 

[crushers]

i take you have not driven a HJ61 then?
a BJ60 is a tough old work horse, slow, reliable, slow, fuel efficent.
the HJ61 is a cross between the BJ60 and the 80 series, loaded with creature comforts, quiet, REALLY powerful, quiet, fuel efficeint.
we had an 80 for a while till the first HJ61 showed up and then the wife said to sell the gas hog and she would drive the 61, she loved it.
when the first HDJ81 shows up next month for us i will be able to give a fair report on how i like it...
cheers
Wayne

 

[Jim_Chow]

[snip] At some point I would love to go for a JDM 70 turbo diesel import - likely will once I 'reconfigure' our different rides.

At least in ON, diesel is still a bit cheaper, which helps with the B/E. As an aside, when & why did diesel become the same price / more expensive than gas?!

Cheers, Hugh

If you plan on getting a JDM 70, it'll have to be used, as Toyota stopped selling 70's for the JDM market this year. Before that, you could get a 4-door hardtop HZJ76 part-time 4WD w/ 5spd manual, lockers, rear leafs/front coils, manual or auto hubs, rear discs, rear barn doors for around $28K USD (LC 70 ZX). Add like $4-5K more for a Toyota turbine and aftermarket I/C. The only used ZX's I've seen in mags are going for $26K...same price as the new ones were. The Aussie 70's (new) are a lot more $$, like $40K USD, and I think they have the FRP top.

My guess at why diesel costs more here is demand/volume. After all, it undergoes less refining than gasoline, plus diesel quality in the US sucks (low cetane, high sulfur) compared to what you get overseas. It's is on-par with what's used in the Third World...it's a far cry from diesel fuel quality in Japan or Europe. Next year, low sulfur diesel is supposed to be more widely available here, but the cetane numbers are still way too low to get passenger vehicles to meet EPA requirements for passenger vehicles. I have no doubt that the overseas Toyota LC/hilux turbo diesel can run on N.A. fuel once the sulfur drops next year, but my guess is Toyota wouldn't make their diesels available in N.A. until it can meet passenger car emissions requirements, as it's a lot cheaper from a business point of view to use the same engine on multiple car & SUV platforms (eg, camry/4runner/taco 3 liter turbo diesels, etc.). I don't think the newer generation of turbo diesels like the D4D commonrails can tolerate poor quality diesel as much as the old, time-tested ones, like the 2LT or 1HDT.

I wouldn't mind driving a TD for the fuel efficiency and torque, but what I'd be worried about is obtaining quality fuel when not local (ie, on a road trip). Diesel quality varies quite a bit, so one is safer having a sub-tank for a total of 1000 mile range and filling 'er up before departing.