Post
by Anton » Mon Jan 09, 2017 1:48 pm
I think most people who want a diesel either give up on the idea and go with the 1.6, or do it themselves. However, I haven't actually heard a single SJ diesel owner say good things about their own vehicle - as Scottie says, the gearing is too low for a derv, and almost all of the SJ diesel owners I've spoken to have said that the weight of the diesel engine ruins the SJ's handling offroad (and some say on the road too).
Mad idea, but could you get a very efficient petrol engine? For example, an old Suzuki Alto 1.1, 61hp, 57mpg. It's got almost as much HP as the 1.3 from an SJ413, but it's got diesel levels of mpg's. In the Alto, it does 57mpg, although you can cut 20% off that for an SJ, I'm sure. But it'll probably still equal a diesel SJ for fuel consumption, that is - about 45mpg...?
Alto's are 400 quid all day long with 60,000 miles on the clock, if you get a crash damaged one, you're probably buying it for £peanuts.
The engine is a Zuki F10D, should bolt up to the SJ410 gearbox I *think* (Scottie will know) - or should adapt to the 413 gearbox fairly easily.
Here's a question though - I get 35mpg in my SJ after a colourtune. I've never heard of a Diesel SJ conversion getting more than 45. Are you really going to save anything in the long run? You might be getting 25-30% better fuel economy, but is that worth the time and money?
I'd jump at a diesel for offroading torque if it was a light enough engine and didn't ruin the offroad handling. But honestly, there's a reason why everyone just drops the 1.6 in...