Hi to All

After a very impressive test drive in a vRS ( a 30000 mile example that felt fresh and taught with no rattles) I am about to order a new one as my driving school car (lucky, lucky learners). A few questions:

How much better are the xenon headlights over the standard? Is the pattern good and does it project high enough? Will a bulb upgrade in the standard headlamp arrangement make up the difference?

Anybody know which fuels go well and which do not in these? My Fiesta tdci seems to run for about 450 miles / tank on Total, Esso, BP or Tescos. Sainsburys deisel only goes around 400.

Are the BP and Esso Ultimate and Supreme fuels noticably better in the vRS (cant tell the difference in the Fiesta)?

Do the heated seats warm back and squab or squab only?

Lastly, for now, do I need to let the turbo cool down on a turbodeisel after a good thrash? I thought that the exhaust stream from deisels was much cooler than petrols, however, with the high output of the vRS lump, I wondered if it was necesary?

Best regards

Chris

Hi Chris.

To be honest, do a quick search, as those topics have been covered loads of times Xenons, I had them on my first fabia and miss them on my second. They don't have massive range, but they do light up the road very well on the coverage they make, especially the sides of the road - great for nasty ditch spotting at the last minute

Fuelwise, some say BP ultimate makes a difference. In my personal experience, it's difficult to tell - not sure if there genuinely is a benefit or if it's placebo.

Heated seats, I think it does the back too, but will wait for some northerner to answer

Letting turbo cool down? well, if you drive the last mile or so sedately, that should be fine I think. The turbo on mine isn't quite "standard" shall we say, and touch wood, not had a single problem

Hi Chris.

Nice to see you're going for it. you won't regret it , trust me. I've just had my first 10,000 mile service, and it's been great. my learners love it! (got my insurance down to

I tend to use the shell extra diesel or the BP ultimate.

I can tell when the wife has filled it with supermarket junk as there is more smoke from out of the back.

We use Shell all the time as well.

Lastly' date=' for now, do I need to let the turbo cool down on a turbodeisel after a good thrash? I thought that the exhaust stream from deisels was much cooler than petrols, however, with the high output of the vRS lump, I wondered if it was necesary?

Chris[/quote']

Re Cooling Down, as others have said a gentle drive for the last couple of miles is a good idea. If youve been working the car hard brakes etc will also benefit from a chance to cool before you stop

Tesco diesel is just fine and I didn't see any benefits from running any of the more expensive "ultimate" fuels, except my wallet was lighter Used to run it on a biodiesel blend too, but now that's got too expensive to be economical!

Lights-wise, if you can run to Xenon's I'd go with them, but the bulbs are expensive to replace and I believe require a trip to the dealers. I ran some Osram Silverstars on my halogen lights and they were a massive improvement, especially coupled with the 100W Philips Rallye main beams

Seats should heat base and about half-way up the back and should get noticeably warm in a minute or two.

Don't really need to cool the turbo down but I tend to just idle it for a minute or two if I've just pulled off a motorway. Diesel engines are much more thermally efficient than petrols and these days 130bhp isn't all that powerful for a diesel

Chris

Shell Diesel Extra (I think thats what its called) isnt any more expensive than standard is it ?

Shell Diesel Extra (I think thats what its called) isnt any more expensive than standard is it ?

It's more expensive than Tesco round here, plus I don't get me Clubcard points and they don't do Pay@pump

Chris

I don't know if it's the damper weather or just one of those things, but I filled up my Furby VRS with Shell diesel extra the other day and it really seems to have "quickened up". I overtook a lorry yesterday on admittedly damp road in third gear and i got a lot of wheelspin.

Hi to All

Thanks for your replies. I have decided on a spec and have found the price deal I want, so will be ordering my car on Monday morning

I have found fuel to make a significant differnce in petrol engines, but have yet to really notice anything much in diesel engines. I have had (as driving school cars), a Corsa 1.7di (turbodiesel) and Fiesta 1.4 tdci. Both of these cars seem to run a little quieter and smoother on BP Ultimate, but the difference is almost undetectable, so not worth the extra bucks.

However, thinking back to an old EVO magazine article, there were benefits in terms of engine valve back cleanliness in cars that had run 1000 miles on BP Ultimate petrol, so perhaps its cleaning power may help to keep the fuel system clean in a diesel if run say 1000 miles every 10K or so.

My V6 Omega runs extremely well on Esso Supreme or BP Ultimate, a very noticable difference. I am yet to own a car that runs better, or even as well as normal super unleaded, on Shell Optimax.

Changing the subject completely, who likes what when it comes to tyres for the vRS?

Chris

I have the Michelin pilot premacy tyres on mine which seem fine for everyday use. They sometimes but Bridgestone's on and they, apparently, are nosier than the Michelins but are very good in the wet.

I am yet to own a car that runs better, or even as well as normal super unleaded, on Shell Optimax.

My scoob is specifically mapped for Optimax, but even before the remap it was smoother and had better fuel economy than standard SUL

My scoob is specifically mapped for Optimax, but even before the remap it was smoother and had better fuel economy than standard SUL

Ditto mine! Ran it on BP Ultimate and it was very rough .... went out in a friend's who tried the same and his Knocklink was lit up like a Christmas tree! No lights with Optimax

Chris

Anybody know which fuels go well and which do not in these? My Fiesta tdci seems to run for about 450 miles / tank on Total' date=' Esso, BP or Tescos. Sainsburys deisel only goes around 400.

Are the BP and Esso Ultimate and Supreme fuels noticably better in the vRS (cant tell the difference in the Fiesta)?

[/quote']

I found absolutely no difference whatsoever in MPG using BP Ultimate compared to Tesco - hence I switched back to Tesco when Ultimate got 10p per litre more expensive!

It's difficult to say whether there's a performance or noise advantage using Ultimate - certainly not enough to justify paying 12% more for fuel...

Do the heated seats warm back and squab or squab only?

Interesting - Heated Seats disappeared from the official Skoda Price List many months ago and thus I'd assumed they were discontinued. They're certainly NOT a dealer-fit option (been there, done that). I can confirm they are back and squab.

Lastly' date=' for now, do I need to let the turbo cool down on a turbodeisel after a good thrash? I thought that the exhaust stream from deisels was much cooler than petrols, however, with the high output of the vRS lump, I wondered if it was necesary?

[/quote']

Even when I had a Subaru Impreza the advice was that this was only necessary if coming to a relatively sudden stop. The only time it would be applicable to me would be going into a motorway service station - I never bother when getting to work or home since both are in 30mph zones.