Finally got around to writing up a brief review of my Biodiesel car.....
It's a 1994 model and has a 1.9L, 4 cylinder motor with a turbo and intercooler. So far it's been an excellent little car, cold starts are very easy, although I havn't been through the worst of a winter yet. It's a bit slow off the mark, but when it gets past 2,000 RPM & the turbo boost kicks in, it really takes off and is a lot of fun to drive.

I've owned it for 6 months and it's done 6,000km on B100. It's been averaging around 9L/100km, which is not that great by modern standards but it doesn't have any electronic gizmos on the injectors. I can't really comment on the consumption compared to dino diesel as I've only ever used B100 since I bought it. Although I do recall noticing a slight drop in acceleration after the first fill with B100. On the positive side, it doesn't blow any black smoke at all.

The only modification I've done to the car is add a $2 in-line fuel filter from Supacheap. You can see it in the centre of the second photo. The first one trapped a few black bits (like tea leaves) quite quickly and I changed it after about a month. The second has remained clear ever since.

In summary, the little Pug's been an ideal project car for biodiesel. It has a plush interior with climate control, electric windows, etc and would have been quite a high spec car when it was new. The suspension is a bit soft when it's pushed hard round corners, but this all adds to the fun of driving it!

Attached Thumbnails

   

Hi geewizztoo, I also own a 405 SRDT and have tried B100. Living on the Central Coast I picked up a few tankfulls from Hexham Bogas when they were trialing it publicly.
Unfortunately my results were not quite as good as yours. After the first tankfull I noticed an appreciable loss of power and accelerator feel. Though torque appeared to be increased. But, there was no black smoke. I drive 80k's a day to and from work, 14k's an a main road, 24km on a 90km/h backroad and about 28 k's on the F3 (110-120km/h indicated on the speedo...though it is about 6% optimistic) plus an occasional shopping expedition. Average fuel consumption on mineral diesel is about 6L/100km. It goes too 6.5 -7.0 when I'm in a hurry with no regard to fuel usage, and about 5.3 when I take my time and use BP fuel (yes...brand DOES make a slight difference in my car though the difference was greater before the recent introduction of low sulphur diesel). The best consumption ever was across the Hay Plains with my wife driving when we averaged 4.8L/100km. On average I get about 980k's out of a 60L tank before the fuel warning light comes on properly. HOWEVER, I have fitted two Spiralmax Turbo twisters in the intake, and a Turbo exhaust Tube fitted to the exhaust. These have definitely improved things fuel consumption wise.
Unfortunately B100 increased my fuel consumption to between 8-9L/100km consistently. B100 did clean all the built up dried spillage from around the edges of the filler cap and overflow tube, and it also went well on the barbie when we ran out of cooking oil...but that's another story.
One fascinating thing I noticed was what happened inside the exhaust pipe. Over about 5 tanks full, it removed ALL the built up deposits of carbon (some as thick as 2 mm) from the inside of the exhaust pipe (near the bends in the pipe) and left only a thin layer of ash that did not build up again. So I firmly believe in it's cleaning abilities. Also, there seemed to be a substantial reduction in the amount of soot buildup occuring to the engine oil.
When Biodiesel becomes available on the Central Coast I will use it but may have to play with the injector timings to get some power and economy back.
By the way, my brother has an 80 Series Landcruiser and his vehicle thrives on B100, so every manafacturers' vehicle is different.

ps It was also a bit quieter using B100, not so much clatter coming from the motor.

Hi and welcome aboard Brobin,
I have not run any petro diesel since I bought the car, maybe I'll have to try a tankful to do a comparison. When I bought the car it had 1/4 of a tank of petro diesel which lasted me for the first week before I put in my B100. It has been bugging me that there was a drop in acceleration and possibly increased fuel consumption since then. That's why I've been asking questions about injector timing on a separate thread. I'm sure that if the timing is optimised to suit the fuel it will make a big difference.

But just to put things in perspective, before I bought the Pug, I was looking to buy a diesel ute. I test drove a few 2nd hand diesel Hilux (non-turbo) and they have performance like a golf cart (my apologies to Hilux owners). The Pug really flies once it gets rolling and so much more comfortable & quiet. I know it's not apples with apples, but as a project car for biodiesel the Pug is well mannered and performs pretty much like regular petrol powered family car. Driving technique is different though, instead of knocking it down a gear going up hills, I just put put my foot down and the thing hauls like a train.

I think the guys with big diesel 4WD's don't notice so much of a reduction with bio, maybe there's more power & torque to spare.

A guy at my work has a brand new VW Golf 2.0TDI and he let me have a drive. Man that thing is nice. Goes like an F1 compared to the Pug. It hauls ass right from idle and sweet acceleration.

By the way, tell me more about 'spiral twisters'? where do you get them? Are the easy to fit?

Hi geewizztoo, and thanks for the greetings. I got the Spiralmax's from an American site:
http://www.spiralmax.com/
Good service and very fast delivery from California. Though it seems a lot of money for a bit of stainless. It is a long term thing and savings are gained with time. The idea is basically to twist the incoming air, and with the exhaust tube the outgoing exhaust gasses. I have found that fitting one pre-, and one post-turbo that the lag is reduced and the Turbo seems to be "on the boil" sooner. I fitted one in the soft rubber part of the intake next to the fuel primer bulb, and a smaller one in the soft rubber hose just before the intercooler. Fitting is simple for the intake twisters..it will tke you longer to undo the hose clamps than it will take to fit. The exhaust tubes need to be rivetted in (i have already lost one through NOT rivetting it in) and the shape of the pipe doesn't help either, so will take a little bit longer, but it is still easy to do.
Now before you say "what good is that", have a look at your own car, at the air intake pipe that enters the filter box. Can you see that bit of pipe about 6-8cm long that bulges slightly as it passes behind the radiator, just after the bend???? Well if you undo the hose clamps and have a look you will see that it is an "air twister". A factory fitted one. So there must be some merit in the idea of spiralling the incoming air pre-turbo...at least Peugeot engineers think so.
The exhaust tube does the same in reverse. It lowers back pressure in the exhaust and helps the motor to breath better. This seems to work quite well, and my Pug is still running the stock exhaust that was on the car from new...270,000k's and 12 years later!!! I fitted mine tight up near the bend in the tailpiece and rivetted it in. I think it is a 50 or 55cm insert type. It gives the exhaust a bit of a heavy whoosh sound under fast acceleration too.
Anyway, back to Biodiesel I have read in other b.d. forums that some vehicles need a couple of degrees adjustment on the injector pump to cope with the different burning characteristics of biodiesel. Have you heard anything yourself?

Hi Brobin,

Thanks for the gen on spiralmax twisters, I'll do some more reading.

Re adjusting the injector pump, have a look at the discussion under the 'Injector Timing' thread. It's something I'm going to try, to see if the original performance can be restored.

Please keep us all informed about your experiences. Judging by the different threads in your timing post we probably could all benefit from your findings.
Cheerio.

But just to put things in perspective, before I bought the Pug, I was looking to buy a diesel ute. I test drove a few 2nd hand diesel Hilux (non-turbo) and they have performance like a golf cart (my apologies to Hilux owners).

Hi Gewizztoo

Just to set the record streight about the Hilux.

I'm still running dino, haven't had the time to set up the DB Brewery yet, Mine is a 3.0ltr twin cab truck, non turbo, 2000 model, the ones you drove were probably needing a tune, My Hilux has heaps of power, 5th gear all the way up the mountains to home, take off in third gear by mistake if your not paying attention without any trouble, 11.5klm per liter, yes they are a bit noisy when you get over 120klm/h but thats because the tight arses put only minimal sound deadening in the floor, I have extra and it's nice and quiet, they are comfy to drive over long distances, nice light steering but not to overpowered, run the aircon with only a minimal loss of power and fuel, about 5% extra fuel, although they are a bit bouncy on rough roads, needs some double acting shocks to fix that, put 500kg in the back and you don't even know it's there, also a nice simple and easy to work on engine bay it also blows little or no black smoke, I wouldn't hesitate to recomend one

Hope this is helpful to any prospective hilux buyers

The Fat Man

Thanks Fatman,
I thought I might have upset someone.
It wasn't a fair comparison really as the two types of vehicle are worlds apart. The Hilux I drove were the 2.4 and 2.8 early models, dating back to the late '80's - early '90's vintage and were woeful. Then again I can't carry 1/2 tonne in the back of the pug. Horses for courses.
Also, at the time I was used to driving a modern petrol 4WD with a big donk.

Cheers

RE: the Hilux, I have been doing some research into the Toyota diesels to replace my present 2.4L Hiace. I looked at the 4W drive Toyota Surfs which are turboed. They have a tendancy to crack heads. Many of the affectionadoes were replacing the 2.4 head with the 2.8 head. It apparently does not crack.

The Hilux trucks can all be turboed. A conversion costs a little over $3,000. The 2.4 works, just make sure you don't let the radiator get low or overwork the engine. Probably not much of a problem for city drivers, however the 4W drive guys like to pull trailers through beach sand and tend to flog the vehicles.

A used Toyota Surf can be had for around $8,000 - $10,000 in pretty good condition.

Thought you may have been testing an older model, Just as an aside I was talking to a guy the other day that says he has driven 800,000 k's in his old 2.4 Hilux, gone through one gearbox though, mostly country driving

Catch Ya
Fat Man