Mazda SkyActiv Diesel Engine

vanbcguy said:

The dilution of the oil happens as a result of DPF regens.

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Although the DPF regeneration cycle may contribute to the overall quantity of unburned fuel that ends up in the engine oil, I doubt that the regeneration cycle alone is solely responsible for the dilution. Some users in Australia reported as much as 2 liters of fuel in the oil in as little as 1,200 miles of driving. If the regeneration cycles happen every 300 miles (as is the case with VW), then one regeneration cycle would have to dump 500 mL of fuel into the oil. I find that highly doubtful, given that the regeneration cycles take only about 10 minutes to complete. With that much fuel in the oil, it is likely that fuel is getting past the rings and into the oil at any time the engine is running. There was another thread regarding this Mazda diesel engine where a lot of discussion took place about the possible causes of the oil dilution, the fixes and how Mazda handled all the bad press. Last time I saw anyone contribution there was maybe 3 months ago, but I saw a lot of very solid data presented there that pointed to more than just the DPF regen cycles being the cause of the oil dilution.

Mazda 6 Diesel - New Hope?

Here's an item today from the Blog Boldride. Maybe there still is a chance of a "snowball in Hell" that Mazda will bring their Mazda 6 diesel to the U.S.
http://news.boldride.com/2014/10/mazda6-diesel-sets-world-speed-record/60669/

endurance run

vwgtiglx: those Mazda diesels sure ran good in that test.

Its not just Mazda, most Japanese companies have backed out of diesel in North American after making public announcements-Subaru, Nissan. Not sure of Honda. I think most are waiting and seeing what happens with the Cruze, to me it is a dead car as in no sales but not sure what is happening really, if its low production or just too high a price with little push. The local dealers sell none, as in no stock on the lot and will special order if needed, one dealer has sold one so far, another dealer traded the one they had-not exactly big numbers! I gave up waiting for something different in our budget range, I was kinda hoping for a Subaru awd diesel or Mazda 3 5 door or 6 sedan diesel but not to be we just bought a Golf wagon (Jetta sportwagen) on clearance after 15 years in our Jetta it was time (316k miles).
Mercedes has some very cool products right now or coming with the new 4 cyl td, but I don't want to spend 40-50k on a car (same for BMW).

Oil dilution is not (only) due to DPF regens. Figured out in 2012 when the problems in Australia first made news:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=3913931#post3913931
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=3914357#post3914357

Although Mazda doesn't seem to be in position right now to bring their diesels to the US, the Euro 6 emission norm comes into effect in Europe as of 1/1/15, and that means that the new diesels sold in Europe will get a lot closer to meeting our T2B5 requirements. Let's hope this will make at least some of the carmakers there consider the idea of bringing their diesels here.

Closer but still a ways away.

TDIMeister said:

Also, while is it plausible that the SKY-D could meet Euro-6 without NOx aftertreatment, it's almost certainly not going to get away with meeting T2B5 without it. T2B5 is substantially stricter for NOx than even Euro-6, and the US FTP75/US06/SCO3 driving cycles are much more stringent than the NEDC with incursions into higher load, higher emissions regimes..

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When will you guys ever come to your senses? It WON'T happen. Someone does not want the US driving population to get used to the idea that diesel is 30% more efficient, and costs less to manufacture than Regular Unleaded.
1) BigOil wants you to keep using your GMC Subdivision
2) Bringing in the COMPLETE line of Mazda, Honda, Toyota, VW, AUDI, MB diesels to the US will absolutely destroy Ford, Chrysler, and GM. Forget about the Japanese cars. Let's just talk about VW. Look at the European line. Almost all have a diesel motor option. Bring them in, and people start seeing 50-60 MPG, better handling cars, better styling, and the LeBarons, Skylarks, Fusion Titanium (just the name, not the connecting rods), Taurus, Impalas, Chargers will look like a bunch of cardboard boxes.

all talk and no action

Where: LA Auto Show
Who: Mazda North America CEO.

Meanwhile, O’Sullivan says Mazda in the U.S. is “still committed” to a diesel engine for the Mazda6 midsize sedan.
The engine’s delay has come “down to performance numbers we didn’t like. It met all the environmental and regulatory issues it needed to (qualify) as a clean diesel, but it didn’t really have the performance that we wanted it to deliver,” he says.
Mazda now is exploring treating emissions with urea, “which we thought maybe we could get away without doing,” O’Sullivan says.
A bigger priority than the diesel mill for Mazda has been getting the CX-3 launched, due to its likely bigger impact on the brand’s overall U.S. sales.

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If diesel options were available on all vehicles, I don't think the market penetration would be much more than today's hybrids. The higher initial cost of entry will remain a deal killer for most buyers.

And there's also the consideration that even in Europe, small displacement turbo gas is the strategy that many automakers are going for because it's cheaper right now, and can get some impressive test numbers. (I know, the real-world numbers aren't so good.)

I think the only chance diesel has here (and possibly abroad) in the near future is if they saddle the gasoline fueled cars with a bunch of aftertreatment stuff. THEN they'll ALL be overcomplex, fragile, and expensive, and diesel will once again have an actual advantage.

But right now, I'm not so sure. Even the Golf, in Germany, currently is selling more gasoline powered versions than diesels. I think the ship has sailed. If all the manufacturers would have stayed committed to them here from the '80s onward like they did in Europe, maybe the technology would have matured better and our regulations would have matured with it. But it didn't. Dumbass Americans very quickly forgot about oil embargoes and rampant inflation, and continued to buy giant pump suckers in mass quantities while the fuel sippers gathered dust.

Don't worry, Mercedes is already using a GPF, and I believe they've said they'll use AdBlue too: http://www.dieselnet.com/news/2014/08mercedes.php

Really, all this isn't going to drive diesel sales, though, it'll drive electric sales.

bhtooefr said:

Really, all this isn't going to drive diesel sales, though, it'll drive electric sales.

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Exactly. And that is probably OK, so long as consumers will accept the current state of EVs.... which sucks in comparison.... so they won't. The best EVs today (the few that there are) can't even come close, because you simply cannot "store" the same level of energy pound-for-pound in a cell like you can with petrofuels.

But that will drive forward innovation on the EV front. I still think until SAE or someone sets an industry standard for battery cells, the purchase cost of EVs and long-term PM costs will remain high. But tax-wise, right now, they are not so bad. Until the tax man realizes how fat that cow gets...

OH, what kills me is the talking car heads saying that since gas prices are down, the SUV's are flying off the lots! Are we really that stupid? To think that prices will stay down? Well, I guess the sheeple are indeed that stupid, which is a sad statement.

chudzikb said:

OH, what kills me is the talking car heads saying that since gas prices are down, the SUV's are flying off the lots! Are we really that stupid? To think that prices will stay down? Well, I guess the sheeple are indeed that stupid, which is a sad statement.

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Yes, we are. I've seen it happen over and over again since the first fuel crunch in the early 70s. It never fails to amaze me.

chudzikb said:

I was holding out hope for quite some time, gave up... Although, they have been racing them in North America with a good deal of success. Us on the other hand will never see one...

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I have a lot of respect for John Doonan, Speed Source and Sylvain Tremblay, but really don't believe those gentlemen would refer to their Tudor United season as "a good deal of success," other than improving their reliability and finishing races. Hope they are back next year.

Graham Line said:

I have a lot of respect for John Doonan, Speed Source and Sylvain Tremblay, but really don't believe those gentlemen would refer to their Tudor United season as "a good deal of success," other than improving their reliability and finishing races. Hope they are back next year.

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Successful, in that the cars were here, and they ran without blowing up every 10 minutes...a very LOW bar for me!

No Want Diesels!

I saw a Cruze diesel at the local Chevy dealer. It had shoe polish messages all over the windows, and balloons attached to it. But the proles want Ta-HOES, so I guess, as the O-Jays used to sing, "Give the People what They Want."

Graham Line said:

I have a lot of respect for John Doonan, Speed Source and Sylvain Tremblay, but really don't believe those gentlemen would refer to their Tudor United season as "a good deal of success," other than improving their reliability and finishing races. Hope they are back next year.

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I agree, I record that series and watch it while I spin on my stationary bike. I always root for the Mazdas but it seems "normal" for one of the two 6 based cars to have a DNF. In the DP race car it just does not seem competitive.

chudzikb said:

OH, what kills me is the talking car heads saying that since gas prices are down, the SUV's are flying off the lots! Are we really that stupid? To think that prices will stay down? Well, I guess the sheeple are indeed that stupid, which is a sad statement.

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Probably a good time to put me twin turbo Z on the market, LOL

Mazda 6 Diesel Delay

FYI

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/12/01/mazda6-diesel-delayed-still-coming-report/

Mazda, the only company that will buy back cars because they produce less hp then what they claim, lol RX-8.

I stopped waiting as well - purchased a slightly used Passat TDI SEL. I'm happy with the car but still fear the reliability. Sorry Mazda - I would have purchased one.

My take - don't expect to see it anytime soon. Mazda already announced they are working on the skyactive version 2 and version 3 engines. I can't see them dumping any more development money into an engine slated to be replaced in the near future.

What they are saying is that they are committed to diesel technology, just not selling them. They will use the diesel technology (high compression, direct injection, forced induction, etc) to make gas engines more efficient, to meet the new standards of 2020.

It would seem that Mazda may have finally abandoned their no urea campaign (or no urethra, as their idiot at the auto show repeatedly said). Perhaps that decision will take their diesel from vaporware status to actual production? I suppose time will tell.

Mazda joins Navistar on this expensive and time-wasting endeavour. It's unfortunate, but that's why I wish there's more correspondence of global vehicular emissions and safety standards. But it also underscores how difficult it is to make the jump from what is achieved by prototypes in the lab and controlled conditions to making it fit the extremely wide range of conditions and abuse that products will be put through in the hands of consumers and having to meet regulations to 120k miles.

TDIMeister said:

Mazda joins Navistar on this expensive and time-wasting endeavour. It's unfortunate, but that's why I wish there's more correspondence of global vehicular emissions and safety standards. But it also underscores how difficult it is to make the jump from what is achieved by prototypes in the lab and controlled conditions to making it fit the extremely wide range of conditions and abuse that products will be put through in the hands of consumers and having to meet regulations to 120k miles.

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Amen, Dave.

chudzikb said:

OH, what kills me is the talking car heads saying that since gas prices are down, the SUV's are flying off the lots! Are we really that stupid? To think that prices will stay down? Well, I guess the sheeple are indeed that stupid, which is a sad statement.

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The brevity of memory is ridiculously low, if it happened more than two years ago no one seems to remember. I'd even be willing to wager that if it happened 12 months ago few would remember. It's really hard to have much impact when the MSM talking heads are nothing more than water carriers for a misguided viewpoint.

It still amazes me that people didn't learn and continue to make the same silly mistakes over and over. At some point someone will have to bear the consequences of that. BTW, what's the definition of insanity?

As much as I believe that no lie lives forever, the more you repeat a falsehood the more likely it is that people will believe it.

Steve

Well put Steve...MSM does help with the sheeple. Everything is fine, keep moving, all is well, all is well...