i know all of this, i know that not havingt a stat is part of the problem, but in my estimates it should be no more than 15% decrease in fuel economy

it was not me that took out the stat, but the previous owner's mechanic, same guy that aparently set the push rods incorrectly and who knows what else that guy did

i do know the plugs heat rating, NGK has a list for felicia and favorit with carb and the BOSH rating as well, im 3 lower (cooler) and i will be replacing them, but the incorrect heat raitng is not causing the drastic fuel economy problem,

i stated before that the coil was replaced and checked the main with a voltmeter and HT wires where changed to removed them as posible culprit, and that the spark plugs are clean on the ground strap and firing end (witch means that the spark is good)

im saving some money to buy and fit the stat but is not a 15% decrease, its a 50% decrease from 60km/g (37mpg) so is a bigger problem s:

oh and by the way, i checked ignition vacuum advance, carb enrichment, load enrichment and they are all working fine

should i hear knockbacks if i pull away from a corner still in 4th gear (very low speed 600rpm) ??? cus i set timing never to hear knockback (even if they're not audible i know some exist always and thats o.k.)

I'd missed the bit about there being no thermostat fitted.

:)Wildoliver is spot on mate, you really need to get a thermostat fitted. It will make a bigger difference to your car's fuel consumption than you think.

By knockbacks I assume you mean pinking (pre detonation) it all depends on the system your engine runs, on a traditional car with a fixed dizzy and no ecu where the timing is set by the position of the dizzy you would set the timing to the manufacturers setting who would have ensured in normal driving on the correct octane fuel you wouldn't get pre detonation that said if your ever going to get it then 4th gear at tick over is the time (labouring the engine - bad)

I know I keep coming back to the same point but it is an important one.

Return the engine to standard. Stat in, correct plugs, correct timing, correct mixture, correct valve clearances. Once everything is standard then check your economy, till it is standard your wasting your time trying to find the fault as by your own admission you have 2 faults minimum (wrong plugs, which will be causing fouling and no stat) I suspect your timing and mixture are also "fiddled" with to try and make the engine run well. It is a miracle your car is running never mind achieving anywhere near the economy it is.

Sort out the obvious problems and return it to standard then start hunting the problem (which will most likely disappear). Trust me Skoda spent a lot more time, money and experience getting that engine to run efficiently than you will ever be able to.

Once you have (or got a mechanic to) returned everything to the settings they are meant to be I will help you as much as possible from several thousands of miles away. Till then though it will just go round in circles and be a waste of our time.

Return to standard.

By knockbacks I assume you mean pinking (pre detonation) it all depends on the system your engine runs, on a traditional car with a fixed dizzy and no ecu where the timing is set by the position of the dizzy you would set the timing to the manufacturers setting who would have ensured in normal driving on the correct octane fuel you wouldn't get pre detonation that said if your ever going to get it then 4th gear at tick over is the time (labouring the engine - bad)

I know I keep coming back to the same point but it is an important one.

Return the engine to standard. Stat in, correct plugs, correct timing, correct mixture, correct valve clearances. Once everything is standard then check your economy, till it is standard your wasting your time trying to find the fault as by your own admission you have 2 faults minimum (wrong plugs, which will be causing fouling and no stat) I suspect your timing and mixture are also "fiddled" with to try and make the engine run well. It is a miracle your car is running never mind achieving anywhere near the economy it is.

Sort out the obvious problems and return it to standard then start hunting the problem (which will most likely disappear). Trust me Skoda spent a lot more time, money and experience getting that engine to run efficiently than you will ever be able to.

Once you have (or got a mechanic to) returned everything to the settings they are meant to be I will help you as much as possible from several thousands of miles away. Till then though it will just go round in circles and be a waste of our time.

Return to standard.

I will second that. Unless you get the engine back to "factory spec" before you try and solve any problems you will be p155ing in to the wind for ever and a day!!

have you done a compression check?? it's not unheard of to burn out exhaust valves/seats if it's been run hot or too lean

right now, valve clearance is standart, ignition timing is standart (set it with a strobe light)

i know plugs are 2 o 3 number colder, and yes, the stat, if it gives me 30% increase in fuel economy i'll be amazed

only thing i tweaked in the carb was the idle mix, but is not hard to set to default

will follow your advice wildoliver and put everything in standart, in fact is my goal and then i got the weird valve thing

how much does a stat cost there, cus here is arround 60 Euros

Give graham at jorily a pm or go direct to his site

Skoda Parts - Jorily. The Skoda Parts Shop - Probably the UKs largest independent skoda parts supplier

by the way this rev. range is not suitable in my opinion.

notice that on the rev. counter green line is between 2000rpm - 3500rpm

if you want to accelerate and pushing hard between 600 ~ 2000 rpm think about your driving style.

give it a go this car is not like a turbodiesel or low rpm torque machine.

....up shift@ 2000rpm down shift@ 600rpm

by the way this rev. range is not suitable in my opinion.

notice that on the rev. counter green line is between 2000rpm - 3500rpm

if you want to accelerate and pushing hard between 600 ~ 2000 rpm think about your driving style.

give it a go this car is not like a turbodiesel or low rpm torque machine.

Have to agree if your driving in 4th at 600 rpm your economy will be really bad. For best economy accelerate gently in gear i.e. 1st until you reach the max torque rpm for your engine (not sure but usually about 3-3500 rpm) then change to 2nd and repeat until desired speed is achieved. Changing gear at too low revs labours the engine and wastes tons of fuel. Try driving like this, checking on your specs when max torque (not power/bhp) is achieved and you may see an increase in economy:thumbup:

Have to agree if your driving in 4th at 600 rpm your economy will be really bad. For best economy accelerate gently in gear i.e. 1st until you reach the max torque rpm for your engine (not sure but usually about 3-3500 rpm) then change to 2nd and repeat until desired speed is achieved. Changing gear at too low revs labours the engine and wastes tons of fuel. Try driving like this, checking on your specs when max torque (not power/bhp) is achieved and you may see an increase in economy:thumbup:

when you shift down @ 600rpm from 4 to 3rd the intial rpm for 3 would be 1200, and then i accelerate gently from that till 2000 rpm and do the upshift,

when i'm coasting in 4th and 5th gear usual rpm is 1700 - 2000 rpm sometines 2200 rpm

i will bear that in mind and give it a go, guess a "briskodarer" way of driving would do me good

It certainly won't do any harm by driving with the rpms going a bit higher. Cruising around 2000rpm with that engine is ideal, I'd be changing up at around 3000rpm though.

Get a thermostat fitted please, the difference in economy will be staggering.

My 328i dropped to low 21mpg, then when I replaced the stat it went back up to 33mpg ish. thats a 60% improvement :eek:

tires are 165/70R13 stock alloy rims 32 (2.0) pressure

2.0 is quite low... I used to drive with 2.0 and increased to 2.4 front axle and 2.6 rear axle. It saves up to 0,8 liter/100 km

no vacuum lines have leaks

gasoline used is 4 parts regular (88ROZ) 6 parts premium (95ROZ) with Xp³ additive

Xp3 Fuel Additive

I would recommend you 95 ROZ...

15W40 SAE Mobil1 engine oil 75W90 Mobil1 trans oil

for the engine 10W40 would be better but 75W90 für transmission is okay

2.0 is quite low... I used to drive with 2.0 and increased to 2.4 front axle and 2.6 rear axle. It saves up to 0,8 liter/100 km

I would recommend you 95 ROZ...

for the engine 10W40 would be better but 75W90 für transmission is okay

i'll take you advice with the tire pressure, only thing i'm concerned it that the wheel grips ok (we get a lot of rain here and its better safe than sorry) but the oil i put in was cus i consulted my manual and it said that that's the oil it uses for warmer climate

since there is a difference in price pumping straight 95 would be a higher cost and the manual said it uses 91 ROZ, but with the additive i add it busted the stability of the fuel so i get a good mix at less cost still a little over the 91 ROZ and by reading on the internet a lot reading higher ROZ ratting will not give me any benefit and might even hinder power output (cus it burns slower)

wildoliver;

I did spark plug reading after running 3km straight @ 2200rpm, all the plugs showed no fouling, checked valve clearance after hot and it did give me .10mm .15mm color was bone white with a color change in the middle of the ceramic to dark gray (1mm below the base ring) timing was different on #1 but right in the apex for every other so i'm going to say something that might be stupid... (hope i dont hear the dugh 400000 miles away) since #1 is closes to the cool water intake and i have no stat so maximum temp is 80 degrees could the difference in temperature from #1 to #4 (witch always came with the best reading) be the reason i have different reading on #1 and #4(witch is fardest to the cool water intake) ?

i can't wait till i save enught to buy the stat and replace the plugs to the correct heat range.

Cephuez till you replace the plugs and stat your wasting your time fiddling further. Pump your tyres up and save up for the bits, then get it sorted mate.

Cephuez till you replace the plugs and stat your wasting your time fiddling further. Pump your tyres up and save up for the bits, then get it sorted mate.

indeed, indeed...