Just a quick thumbs up to Skoda!

 

Having owned 'Monte' for nearly 12 months it's going in for its second service (had it first serviced at 1,500miles) now it has reached 10,000 miles.

 

I bought it primarily as a car to get me to/from work cheaply and reliably, but it has turned into so much more than that!!

 

Having sworn I would never modify a car again, I gave in a while back and changed a few things, but all in all it is an EXCELLENT car, it has never rattled, squeeked, failed to start or thrown up and an engine management light (yet...)   Its getting on average 600+ miles per tank and drives beautifully - if a little sedately, and I have to say especially since I lowered it and put the spacers on, it looks pretty damn goooood!

 

WELL DONE SKODA!   Another very happy customer!....  Its certainly proved more reliable than our RRS tdv8!...

 

 

Steve

Steevie, can I bother you for a pic of your car with the 10mm, 15mm spacers on.

I'm wanting to get some H&R Trak+ on my vRS but was unsure on sizing, a lowered monte would be a better comparison than the other car I have seen running 15/20mm as his wheels have a different offset. I think Monte Trinitys are the same as Gigaro's

Interesting to read that you are getting 600+ miles to a tank. Have you managed that sort of economy since day 1 or did the engine take some miles to loosen up?

I am driving as economically as I can and so far have managed a max of about 560 miles to a tankful. I am currently at about 4300 miles.

Interesting to read that you are getting 600+ miles to a tank. Have you managed that sort of economy since day 1 or did the engine take some miles to loosen up?

I am driving as economically as I can and so far have managed a max of about 560 miles to a tankful. I am currently at about 4300 miles.

 

 

It took my previous 1.6 TDI CR about 7k to starting getting amazing results! then at around 22000 i noticed the miles per tank drop by around 100-150 miles, no issues with driving etc just noticed i wasn't getting as much per tank. i took it to my local dealer and just asked them to have a look, 30 mins later had the car back, they done a ECU update (from what i understand, they set the ECU to use the driving styles its remembered to adjust the engine accordingly for best fuel) full tank of fuel and 720 miles on it! (500+ was motorway miles on a LONG run home and back doing 70) 

 

I now have a shiny new Monte 1.6 TDI, MPG/fuel is rubbish but its only done 100 miles so far haha. but i know what im expecting!

I am getting 450/520 miles per tank and mine is a 1.2tsi petrol

600 miles to a tank is 60mpg which I think we'll all agree (unless you're lol-lol) is impossible

Even if you vented and got 50litres in and ran it dry you would have to average 55mpg over a whole tank.

edit... For some reason I thought you had a vrs. Ignore me, not so impossible!

Steevie, can I bother you for a pic of your car with the 10mm, 15mm spacers on.

I'm wanting to get some H&R Trak+ on my vRS but was unsure on sizing, a lowered monte would be a better comparison than the other car I have seen running 15/20mm as his wheels have a different offset. I think Monte Trinitys are the same as Gigaro's

Take a look at this link. http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/277554-nice-handling-monte/

Pictures are in that of mine.

Steve.

Thanks Steevie, I am sold, came close to going 15/20mm but I think it would be tiiight.

15mm & 20mm would probably rub when the fully laden....

Glad that's helped!

Steve

Helped loads, my springs are H&R so 10mm lower than yours. I think spacing more would look great until the first pothole..........

Currently enjoying the handling upgrades same as your linked thread.

Sparkly,

have you taken the weights off the rear?

 

Maybe only 25kg, but at the rearmost point, they are worth doing away with.

 

george

Hi George,

No I haven't, I'm aware they are sat there hanging off the back. I'm going to make a call on them once I get to know my current handling set up a bit better, the car is already more tail happy with the springs and roll bar, my fear would be losing the weights and pushing into the realms of excessive oversteer. All trial and error of course, but currently in a trialling phase still with the recent handling changes.

Still to do are some new dampers to match my lowering springs, going to try the poly bush control arm kit, I want to widen the track a little either via new wheels or some good hub centric spacers and lastly and potentially most important will be a brake upgrade where options will be a set of two pots from a friend's R32 who is moving to a Porsche set up or there is a Brembo GT Junior Kit currently on offer in the Briskie sales section, the upgrade will inevitably see me buy new pads, discs and perhaps upgrade the fluid. I'm sure a tinker with the rear ballast will fit in there somewhere and that lot should keep me occupied for a while.

Have you tried just the 19kg spare and jack taken out and seen how it feels for handling.?

With the weights and the Spare out and you might actually like the grip/traction at the drive wheels.

 

I have the weights off, but sometimes 2 spare wheels are being carried, so the same as standard pretty much.

When handling is more important, they are not being carried.

you are going to really be switched on to notice anything much on the handling front other than it feels fine with less weight at the rear..

 

george

you are going to really be switched on to notice anything much on the handling front

On the above I can't comment, I think it's generally best left to others to give opinion on that

I haven't had the jack or wheel out yet but as I said, I'm sure some trialling will be done.

I don't know if your car is lowered or has the upgraded ARB's but I would say that mine has good front end grip/traction and my feeling is that the back end is more likely to get out of shape when pushed albeit within the limits of car controlability, therefore my thought was that with the potential 25kg + 19kg removed and less weight over the rear tyres this could be exacerbated, to what extent, I have no experience to comment on so will be interested to try it.

The thing is a Monte like Steevie Wonders is not much different weight wise when on the road, even if the Official weights say different.

 

You need to put the cars on Corner Scales and weight the front of the Diesel Monte/manual box

against the vRS. petrol/DSG.  Weigh the rear corners as well.

 

The  diesel Monte with the modded suspension that gives good handling is not carrying Weights or a Spare Wheel unless someone has put one in.

So getting them on Weigh Bridge & Scales for corner weights helps tell the story and obviously doing the test driving.

 

We know that they are road cars, but some might go on Trackdays, Sprints, Hill Climbs, etc especially on Hill Climbs.

& weight tells, extra weight really tells, and removing weight is the cheapest Mod with almost all vehicles.

 

BTCC is rather different, and the ballast gets fixed in a central position.

but just 45kg can tell, hence their 'Success Ballast' that are added as a Handicap..

http://btccpages.com/btcc/regs.php

 

george

Not driven a Diesel Monte, not taken one round corners briskly, on most of the above I can't comment. Originally joined this thread to get some pics of Steevie's Monte with spacers added.

I doubt the Monte's are expected to be out there hitting corners at the same pace as the vRS, whether they are or not is another matter. Maybe a Monte owner can comment on their car's handling characteristics after lowering and ARB mods.

I'm unlikely to get the corners weighed anytime soon so again no comment, but I appreciate the theory.

I can really only comment on my own car and it's feel on the roads I drive. When I come to make these changes on my car I'll report back

Undoubtedly though weight saving is in so many things 'king', handling, braking, acceleration etc etc so I repeat, I will investigate this.

You never answered though George, is your car lowered and fitted with RARB, do you not have the same findings as me regards moving towards a more oversteery set up from the prev under steer? Interested to hear your thoughts here.

I drive a Standard car and a non standard ones, the standard one does me well on the roads i drive.

Cheap parts, readily available, jump from car to car and you can tell how they go when they are standard.

National Speed limits in the UK does not really give much of a problem going around corners on them.

 

I know nothing about over steer or under steer on front wheel drive cars, i just go around corners as safely as i can and try to stay on the ashpalt.

 

george

 

Cars often need to park over pavements, or go on to verges, so you need the clearance.

sometime function over style matters.

Ok then be mysterious , any reason you don't want to fess up on the non-standard one? Very evasive couple of answers there . And not the first time you've ducked out of talking about your own cars..............

I appreciate that it's not big or clever flouting the speed limit or trying to get the back end of your car out on public roads, that's what tracks are for and only then whilst respecting the other drivers on track.

I would say though that on a nice twisty B road making good progress my car hints at which way it would go under/over without needing necessarily to have lost traction. I admit to having my rear end go on me in the wet a couple of times when I was getting to know my new setup and this was minor slip, beyond that I abhor yobs and nobs on the road.

Nothing mysterious, i do lots of pictures of cars used on roads and road trips, and thats it really.

If i wanted to do Build Threads i would, but i just dont. I like standard simple cars for daily drivers, 

 

george

I remain curious about the 'non standard one', by virtue of you in fact having a 'non standard one' at all hints at more, very interesting.

Given how you sidestepped that second question I'm guessing you must secretly be a football manager or politician hiding out on Briskie.

But as you have no interest in talking about it I shall leave you in peace, the above was only intended as banter, hope it didn't sound like an interrogation.

The mystery remains...............

Mark