First Impressions - Mk1 Fabia VRS - SE

[Jrjg]

Back to the first impressions - how do you like the colour? ;-)

JRJG

[SEVrs]

Back to the first impressions - how do you like the colour? ;-)

JRJG

 

I like it but it seems to be a "marmite"  colour 

 

My previous one was "Black Magic" but the paint on that one scratched as soon as you looked at it...really poorly finished.  This one seems ok, even the spoiler hasn't peeled yet (touch wood).

[Jrjg]

I like it but it seems to be a "marmite"  colour 

 

My previous one was "Black Magic" but the paint on that one scratched as soon as you looked at it...really poorly finished.  This one seems ok, even the spoiler hasn't peeled yet (touch wood).

Wish I could say the same about my spoiler (N)

When I was looking to buy one I always thought "If I buy a standard vRS... every time I see an SE I will think: Why didn't I save another couple of weeks?"

I think it is a lovely deep blue, polishes up beautifully.

JRJG

[robstaaaar]

Thanks all for the replies and posts.  Cheered me up big time.  

SE blue is dope (that's good btw), comes up lovely after a polish/wax etc.

Glad to have you on board SEVrs.  

 

Robstaaaar

[MattH]

Some pretty healthy figure there in standard trim Matt.  Is there much difference driving the car post-tune and what mpg are you now achieving?  Also, is the Shark map a nice progressive map?  My early VRS had a standard map in which all the torque came in with a bang at 2500RPM, and lighting the front wheels up made it lose traction in the wet.  The SE seems more progressive as standard.

It's night and day really. Pulls better through the all gears and doesn't stop at 3k. Little to no smoke too.

As for mpg, i haven't really calculated it. But I think it's more economical now. But then you have the temptation to boot it more because it's there so it works out the same roughly.

On a trip from Manchester to Essex (237 miles via A1) my trip read 73.6mpg. This was with cruise on at 2500rpm which worked out around 68mph iirc.

[SEVrs]

That's pretty astonishing but I wonder how accurate the trip computer is?. Best I've managed is 64mpg on a 20 mile motorway run, and with very mixed driving, including short trips, the trip read about 50mpg. Topping up at the pumps and calculating it worked out closer to 47mpg, so the trip on mine is a little optimistic (by around 6%).

 

In response to Jrjg, yes the blue does polish up well.  If the spoiler ever does start to flake, I'll simply re coat in acrylic lacquer, job done. Peeling spoilers might indicate anything from poor original finish, to a mismatch between compounds, to inflexible lacquer coat.  Some acrylics dont take well to anything that flexes (as I found out to my cost when I re-sprayed a bike fairing...had to switch to a different compound...can't remember what it was now though).

[MattH]

I've had my spoiler resprayed. Cost me £80 locally. And they done a great job. They also did a fog surround for free.

[Ad Lav]

Mine is a tad optimistic - Regularly getting 55mpg from a tankful but reads 65mpg on the trip 2.

[SEVrs]

Mine is a tad optimistic - Regularly getting 55mpg from a tankful but reads 65mpg on the trip 2.

 

No real surprises. I don't think that any of these trip computers are that accurate.  Only way to do it is set odemeter to zero when you top up, then run the tank until the reserve light kicks in and stays on before topping up again so see how many miles have been done.  many owners might be surprised with how far out their trip computers are.  I was surprised tbh that mine wasn't more than 6% out...I would have expected 10% at least going on past experience with trip computers.

 

The VRS is still smoking like a trooper between drill sessions on start up, so must get the injector seals looked at.

[fabianski47vrs]

It's night and day really. Pulls better through the all gears and doesn't stop at 3k. Little to no smoke too.

As for mpg, i haven't really calculated it. But I think it's more economical now. But then you have the temptation to boot it more because it's there so it works out the same roughly.

On a trip from Manchester to Essex (237 miles via A1) my trip read 73.6mpg. This was with cruise on at 2500rpm which worked out around 68mph iirc.

SEvrs is bang on with the right questions there to MattH. As id like to know aswel what differences there are from stock to a shark map as im twiddling my thumbs about 1.

what kindv map did u get fromv shark?

was it a Performance or Economy map or both?

And with the map that you got is it quicker between certain speeds say lower down between 20-50mph or higher up btweem 40-80?

Lets face we can't exactly do more than that on the roads anyway. (Briskly driving[emoji12] )

[SEVrs]

Well, another few hundred miles up and most of the teething issues have now been identified or sorted.

 

The smoke on start up was the injector seals, so a new set of seals on their way;.

 

Cruise control switch packed in and that's being replaced;

 

Hats off to the VW Hub in Tewkesbury.  Their customer service has been exemplary.  So far, they have provided the car and under warranty/ for the sale have:

 

Fitted 3 new tyres; put a years MOT on the car; given it a full service, are sorting the injectors; are sorting the cruise control;  have provided a new luggage cargo net and tools; valeted the car;  tested the coolant system for leaks;  tested all electrics;  replaced the rear wiper pipework elbows and continue to do this without a single quibble or argument as they want the car to be perfect.  

 

I have paid for a cambelt/waterpump service.

 

Tomorrow, the car goes in for a Whiteline RARB fitment and for an EGR blanking plate/EGR delete and 150BHP remap.

 

It's all starting to come together.  The car did 70 miles today, mostly motorway, and sticking bang on the legal limit retirned 73mpg which is simply astounding (even if the trip computer is a little optimistic, that's still as good as anything made today except a hybrid).

 

I have no hesitations whatsoever in recommending a Mk1 VRS to anyone curious.  Get one with leather and you're laughing.  In fact, get one without leather and you're still laughing!

Edited 27 August, 2014 by SEVrs

[SEVrs]

Right

 

ongoing (saga):

 

Had the car re-mapped today ("economy map") and had Whiteline RARB fitted.  Handling transformed so I recommend this to anyone thinking of it plus it doesn't ruin the ride.

 

The car should be putting out a healthy 155 to 160BHP now and the wheels light up in 3rd gear so I have no idea how people running 200BHP plus manage to get any front wheel traction.

 

One problem though is that when revved, it smokes like a trooper which it didn't do previously. Garage said "boost pipe leak?" but I'd have thought I could have heard that if it was leaking that badly.

 

My thoughts are that there's a problem with the (custom) map and it's over fuelling.  The turbo is fine and whistles gently at tickover and on initial spool up, but isn't that loud plus the car pulls like a train.  0-60 times are a genuine sub 7.5 seconds by my reckoning, so nothing wrong in performance.

 

Any feedback on boost pipe issues?  The EGR was removed and cleaned out.  It was the worst I'd ever come across and at just 49K miles, there was only 30% of the bore left free, so incredibly, the car was running with at least a 70% intake bore restriction, that's how gummed up it was.  That was all cleaned out and a blanking plate fitted between EGR and turbo manifold with EGR delete done on the map.

 

Any other issues causing smoke with revs other than boost pipework leak somewhere or over fuelling?  I did notice some oily gunk seeping out of the boost pipe where it joins onto the intercooler intake pipework, right next to the alternator and my thoughts were that if gunk is leaking out, then air is leaking in.  Would that be enough?

[SEVrs]

Smoking issue resolved. Whipped off intake manifold and, like the EGR, it's only got a fraction of the inlet area available to the airflow due to being completely gunked up...almost down to pencil thin intake area!  The car must have been driven by Miss Daisy before I got it.  Never, ever seen a car this badly choked up.  Map parameters tuned down to cure smoke until I can get the intake manifold cleaned (caustic bath).  Will report back when done but even in its present state (smoking to one side) the amount of power available is quite an eye opener. For anyone with smokey exhausts under power, it could well be worth checking out your EGR/intake manifolds, only dont be tempted to leave the manifold insitu when you remove for cleaning if you value your injectors and turbo!