My Volvo V40 with it's 2.0 4 cylinder 150bhp diesel engine has a conventional torque converter Aisin TF71-SC gearbox.
It's my first real auto, in the UK we generally all drive manuals. That said, I've done many tens of thousands of miles in my Fathers '12 BMW 320d with a ZF 8HP45 when I was in my late teens/early twenties and still living at home.
If I drive an equivalent 4 pot passenger car diesel with a manual gearbox I generally find myself accelerating between 2,000rpm to 3,000rpm and settling the car to 'cruise' around 1,750rpm to 2,250rpm. For example, my last car (2016 Ford Focus 1.5TDCi) to accelerate to 30mph I would use 1st and 2nd gear, changing up at 3000rpm and once up to speed, select 3rd with the RPM around 2000rpm and maintain 30mph.
My reasoning for this was is that it doesn't lug the engine and possibly cause excessive wear to the dual mass flywheel, the drive was generally smoother with less NVH and if I needed to accelerate quickly then the engine was ready to go with next to no turbo lag, just put your foot down and off you go.
My Volvo in 'D' changes up around 1,750rpm to 2,000rpm and can cruise as low as 1,100rpm. This regularly causes a harsh vibration and deep drone through the car, especially if you are driving on the flat and then start to go up an incline as the box is very reluctant to down shift.
If I drive in 'S' then it works much like how I would drive a manual. It changes up between 2,500rpm and 3,000rpm for general driving and cruises around 2,000rpm. I find the gear changes faster, but still just as smooth, the car drones and vibrates less, the car is quicker to accelerate if I need it and I've noticed next to no difference in fuel economy.
In 'D' the gearbox has a clutch which disengages the engine form the torque converter to minimise load on the engine at idle and save a little fuel. In 'S' this feature is deactivated.
So my question...
Will driving in 'S' long term cause any extra wear on the gearbox over driving in 'D'?
It's my first real auto, in the UK we generally all drive manuals. That said, I've done many tens of thousands of miles in my Fathers '12 BMW 320d with a ZF 8HP45 when I was in my late teens/early twenties and still living at home.
If I drive an equivalent 4 pot passenger car diesel with a manual gearbox I generally find myself accelerating between 2,000rpm to 3,000rpm and settling the car to 'cruise' around 1,750rpm to 2,250rpm. For example, my last car (2016 Ford Focus 1.5TDCi) to accelerate to 30mph I would use 1st and 2nd gear, changing up at 3000rpm and once up to speed, select 3rd with the RPM around 2000rpm and maintain 30mph.
My reasoning for this was is that it doesn't lug the engine and possibly cause excessive wear to the dual mass flywheel, the drive was generally smoother with less NVH and if I needed to accelerate quickly then the engine was ready to go with next to no turbo lag, just put your foot down and off you go.
My Volvo in 'D' changes up around 1,750rpm to 2,000rpm and can cruise as low as 1,100rpm. This regularly causes a harsh vibration and deep drone through the car, especially if you are driving on the flat and then start to go up an incline as the box is very reluctant to down shift.
If I drive in 'S' then it works much like how I would drive a manual. It changes up between 2,500rpm and 3,000rpm for general driving and cruises around 2,000rpm. I find the gear changes faster, but still just as smooth, the car drones and vibrates less, the car is quicker to accelerate if I need it and I've noticed next to no difference in fuel economy.
In 'D' the gearbox has a clutch which disengages the engine form the torque converter to minimise load on the engine at idle and save a little fuel. In 'S' this feature is deactivated.
So my question...
Will driving in 'S' long term cause any extra wear on the gearbox over driving in 'D'?