Hello peeps, just after some views on bridgestone potenza tyres. Had my car (vRS TDi) for a little over 3 weeks now, and, every time i even go near half to full throttle my wheels just spin in 1st and 2nd (sometimes 3rd) gear, Now I know the TDi is pretty torquey but the wheels spin even, in my opinion, before the engine is building up any significant amount of torque. Is it just the tyres, or is it something to just live with (i'm new to diesels). So far i'm not that impressed the the bridgestones if i'm honest, but they look pretty new so it will be ages before i'm due to replace them. Are these the make of tyre that Skoda reccomend for the vRS. They are they 18" ones if that helps.

And while i'm here I might as well mention this one. Was driving home last night from the shops down a long quite road and thought i'd see how good the brakes are. So I reach a bit of speed. (not posting how fast ) and do an emergency stop. Great power and loads of feel (although I think ABS comes on a bit early) anyway come to a nice fast stop. A few metres down the road (about 10m and about 10mph) i put the brakes on again and it felt like complete brake fade. Speed up to about 60mph as fast as i could and do the same, huge power, fast stop (so no brake fade then) and drive of (10m 10mph) pedal felt dead again. :confused: Bit more testing and cant for the life of me get brake fade no matter how brutal i am with the brakes. Just seems to happen after maximum braking and within a few seconds of braking agian. :confused:

Any ideas???

Ill be no good at answering your tyre and brake question.

However, the spin you state in 1st and 2nd is quite normal. I almost had to learn to drive again. Get used to feeling the clutch in and youll be amazed how much more power you can push through the wheels.

Youll eventually get the instinct to know how much power causes the wheels to spin, and how to combine it with the clutch.

I still got a shock whenever I get it totally right - feels like riding a bullet!

Not surprised you are getting wheelspin for three reasons;

1. It has been frightfully cold recently and regular (summer) tyres do not work at their best (give less grip) with the temperature below 5 - 7 degC, and

2. All new tyres have a residue from the manufacturing process that takes a few hundred miles to scrub off before full grip is provided, and finally

3. TDIs have shedloads more torque than petrol engines and the laws of physics are often challenged!

Enjoy!

Please keep in mind the state of the roads at the moment . This is not the time to expect great adhesion from any tyre, especially if the roads have been left "slimy" by copious quantities of road salt.

Take a little time to get used to the TDI and you won't look back. I do not do enough miles to justify the extra cost of a diesel but I prefer the characteristics these days.

Enjoy.

A few interesting comments there guys. First off, I dont drive like a loon, but you do need to put nearly some throttle to get the car moving and for overtaking you should get past the car as fast as possible for the sake of safety. I do drive reasonably quick tho,(providing its safe to do so) after all thats why I chose the performance version of the octy. Although the tyres are new ish they have covered several hundred miles already so any residue from the manufacture will be long gone. And I appreciate it is cold out but it happens all the time even in the dry. Just come from another quick car and never had this problem even if it was soaking out. Thing i'm trying to get at really is, is it the tyres. I presume they are meant to be pretty good seeing as they adorne some rather tasty cars as standard fit and by the price of them, but i do know some cars really do suit some certain types of tyre. Is pressure an issue maybe? I'm not sure what the pressure is meant to be cause the tyre size i have isn't refered to in the handbook or inside the filler cap. Incedentally they are 225/40/18. If anyone can help. Cheers.

A few interesting comments there guys. First off, I dont drive like a loon, but you do need to put nearly some throttle to get the car moving and for overtaking you should get past the car as fast as possible for the sake of safety. I do drive reasonably quick tho,(providing its safe to do so) after all thats why I chose the performance version of the octy. Although the tyres are new ish they have covered several hundred miles already so any residue from the manufacture will be long gone. And I appreciate it is cold out but it happens all the time even in the dry. Just come from another quick car and never had this problem even if it was soaking out. Thing i'm trying to get at really is, is it the tyres. I presume they are meant to be pretty good seeing as they adorne some rather tasty cars as standard fit and by the price of them, but i do know some cars really do suit some certain types of tyre. Is pressure an issue maybe? I'm not sure what the pressure is meant to be cause the tyre size i have isn't refered to in the handbook or inside the filler cap. Incedentally they are 225/40/18. If anyone can help. Cheers.

Tyre pressures should be on the inside of the fuel filler cap, IIRC they are 2.0bar front and 2.1 bar rear; except quite a few vRS drivers find 2.3 or 2.35bar all round a better level.

Nothing inherently wrong with the Bridgestones, by the way.

I know the car is new to you but is it a 'new' car, latest CR engine, or a 2007/8 PD model? If it is the PD engine worth checking that the 26E6 remap has been done this smooths out the power delivery at lower revs from a nothing or everything delivery.

The car is on an 07 plate and it was bought from a skoda dealer. Bought it just before christmas. He did mention something about a recall but didn't specify which one. I'm i right in assuming the 26E6 map came under a recall. Seem to remember reading something about the dual mass flywheel having a recall aswell???

Back to tyre pressures, the ones listed in the filler cap are for the standard 17" wheels. (on my filler cap anyway) mine have the 18"'s fitted. The figures you list above, are they for 17's or 18's. Cheers.

The car is on an 07 plate and it was bought from a skoda dealer. Bought it just before christmas. He did mention something about a recall but didn't specify which one. I'm i right in assuming the 26E6 map came under a recall. Seem to remember reading something about the dual mass flywheel having a recall aswell???

Back to tyre pressures, the ones listed in the filler cap are for the standard 17" wheels. (on my filler cap anyway) mine have the 18"'s fitted. The figures you list above, are they for 17's or 18's. Cheers.

Tyre pressure figures are for a vRS on 18s. They are 2.1 front and 2.1 rear on 17s BUT IMHO 2.35 works best.

26E6 is not a 'recall' but a 'campaign'; that is to say the dealer/Skoda will only do it (under warranty) if they are asked to - do a search on 26E6 to read up on it; all relates to the DPF.

Suggest you ask your dealer's service department (not sales) the direct question- "Has my car had the 26E6 remap and exhaust gas pressure sensor upgrade?" - if it hasn't get it done.

Cheers mate. will do.

I also experienced the same 'issues' with wheelspin when I first got my TD vRS, and I was coming from a petrol car with around 20 hp more. The problem (benefit) is the amount of torque from the TD at relatively low engine speed. The PD engine is also not the most progressive as to when it comes on boost.

The wheelspin is still there now, but at least I have a better idea of the amount of throttle that is going to cause it. The conditions at the moment definitely do not help, and as the tyres wear it gets worse. The traction control also appears to be of limited benefit off the line, other than to flash a yellow warning light at you.

That said would I change the car - no (ok maybe to one with the CR engine for the extra level of refinement)

I don't think you would be getting brake fade from one application at 60mph. I'm guessing your brake servo may have run out of vacuum from the first stop and needed a few seconds to replenish the reservoir, thus feeling rather ineffective and wooden (but if you press much harder than normal you still should stop OK).

As others have said, the PD vRS TDI engines torque does come on rather suddenly (at around 2,000-2,200 rpm IIRC). As far as the wheel spinning torque surge goes, is it possible the ECU has been remapped ? Some of the remaps give a significant increase in torque, and not always with smooth, linear response to the accelerator pedal.

Cheers for the reply, but I've been on many a track day and never experienced a problem (well, not really a problem) with the vacum servo needing time to replenish itself. Maybe its just peculiar to this car. I mean it should never really rear its head as a problem due to the fact i was deliberately trying to induce the scenerio and would be unlikely to come up in normal everyday driving.

As to the second point, its a possibility its been mapped as you can never really tell by looking at it can you!!. I mean, its of a similar power (slightly less) to my last car but significantly more torque (and weight) and it does feel, in the mid range, at least, alot quicker. I'll try to get my hands on another Vrs TDi to compare. On the other hand, it might just be me being a muppet as all ive ever driven is petrol cars, and i just need to modify my driving style.

Anyway guys, thanks for the comments.

I dont have an Octy, but had a Fabia vRS that had a fair state of tune, and amongst those was a Quaife diff, which helps a lot when trying to make use of the available power&torque&grip

Most of the time, I pretty much let the clutch come up in 1st and blipped the throttle before dropping it into 2nd. A smooth feeding in of a little power, up to half throttle I guess in that gear.

In 3rd, smooth start and then you can drop the hammer down.

Smoothly feeding down the accelerator is key, and as mentioned, road conditions are sh*te for tyres in the UK, as most just have no grip at low temperatures.

Petrols drive very differently, as you can generally just bury the throttle in any gear, as the power is higher up the range. That said, the 2.0TFSI has a lot of torque for a petrol too these days.

OK, I have just made the same move as you, coming from a 1.6 petrol Focus to a vRS diesel, 07 plate like yours.

The torque is pretty deceptive, and I had the wheels spinning in 3rd while overtaking a truck back in the cold spell just after New Year. But I have to say that since the weather improved (as in, got above freezing) I have found it more difficult to provoke the tyres to break traction. It's possible, but as somebody else said, with careful left foot on the clutch these things can really be made to fly.

Mine's on Michelins - also 18"ers - and was bought from a dealer. The car I bought was originally on the 17" wheels but the dealer put the 18s on as part of the deal. The tyres were brand new when I collected the car 12 days and about 1600 miles ago, and are doing great so far.

I suspect your brake problem is EBA based. Most of the vRS (if not all of them) have Emergency Brake Assist on them. If you brake suddenly then the computer and the servos complement the force you put on the brake pedal, and pull the car up quickly. The principle behind it is that the computer reads the situation and decides that you are "emergency" braking, works out how much you COULD be braking wihtout losing control, compares it to the brake you are ACTUALLY using, and adds what it thinks is appropriate. This will be why you are feeling the car stop very quickly in your simulated emergency stops, but the brakes being much more progressive and "soft" at regular road speeds, because you are not being assisted by the computer.

HTH.

Phil

(PS - would welcome any input about best tyres for the 18" wheels on the vRS, being new to the car)

(PS - would welcome any input about best tyres for the 18" wheels on the vRS, being new to the car)

Thanks for the info on EBA, I hadn't thought of that in my reply.

The Pilot Exaltos that come std on vRSs are highly regarded by most (including me - I got the dealer to swap the Dunlops mine came with for the PExs from a different vRS he had in stock). For replacements the Falken 452s seem pretty popular here. If you do a search you'll find more info (much, much more ).

This will be why you are feeling the car stop very quickly in your simulated emergency stops, but the brakes being much more progressive and "soft" at regular road speeds, because you are not being assisted by the computer.

I get the whole EBA thing as my last car had this fitted. It basically feels like complete brake fade (as in have to stand hard on the brakes) to slow it down. Its pefectly fine at normal braking (a little over servo'd if i was being picky) but completely dead staight after a very hard application of the brakes. If it was EBA making the car stop alot quicker than surely it would kick in again the next time i stand on the brakes. Its not really a concern for normal road use but could be an issue when i take it onto a track.

(PS - would welcome any input about best tyres for the 18" wheels on the vRS, being new to the car)

I had Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2s on my car from new; overall great tyres, long mileage but just a little lacking grip in the wet. Have since switched to Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas, cheap than Michelins although not a long lasting, but much better in the wet!

Have a look at these threads;- http://briskoda.net/gearbox-tyres/definitive-tyre-test/89331/ and http://briskoda.net/gearbox-tyres/definitive-tyre-test/89331/

A lot of people on other forums have been noticing a reduction in grip recently (and not just 'cos it's icy) and one of the theories put forward for this is that the salt used on the roads now contains a derivative of molasses which helps stick the salt to the road rather than it getting scattered around by traffic, the side effect of this is that there is now a slippery residue left which reduces overall adhesion... one step forward, three steps back

A lot of people on other forums have been noticing a reduction in grip recently (and not just 'cos it's icy) and one of the theories put forward for this is that the salt used on the roads now contains a derivative of molasses which helps stick the salt to the road rather than it getting scattered around by traffic, the side effect of this is that there is now a slippery residue left which reduces overall adhesion... one step forward, three steps back

Main factor IMHO is the sub zero temperatures getting the ground cold, followed by a spell above zero which them means that you get humidity condensing on the roads, making them slippery plus (probably) low tread depth on tyres.

Mind you the sugary salt theory does sound very plausible and gives me visions of a Tom & Jerry cartoon! :eek:

A lot of people on other forums have been noticing a reduction in grip recently (and not just 'cos it's icy) and one of the theories put forward for this is that the salt used on the roads now contains a derivative of molasses which helps stick the salt to the road rather than it getting scattered around by traffic, the side effect of this is that there is now a slippery residue left which reduces overall adhesion... one step forward, three steps back

Salt always makes the road a bit slippery anyway- just less slippery than ice.