2001 Octavia Tdi (90) hatch- The Miserly Missile

[WoodieGuthrie]

Jumped in the 316 e30 to go and sort this, had left the bloody sidelights on so flat battery and no jumpleads (they are in the good lady's clio).

 

now awaiting brother arriving in his octy derv to start the 316

[WoodieGuthrie]

4TH Tank in on this today-

Had to bash 5l of veg and 6l of derv in until I could get to the veg supply.

786.7 miles covered and 56L of fuel used (50L wvo, 6L derv)

cannae complain at 63.86mpg!

Now working on an eco map to see if I can get more MPG out it..

[WoodieGuthrie]

My Octavia ALH manual has been re-mapped by myself. I saw a 1.2 second reduction in 1/4 mile times, and about 1 sec drop in 0-60mph.

However, my 60ft times didnt really improve.

I reckon it was a combination of the car being mapped for 200ft/lb from 1500rpm, and really crap tyres on the front.

As I read more into the mapping software, it became apparent that you could create a launch control map- essentially limiting the level of fuelling available at a standstill, then phasing in more as the car got underway.

I had a try at doing it tonight, and it makes a helluva difference: launches are consistent with minimal wheelspin.

Feels a bit odd to go foot flat to the floor with the clutch down, and only have it rev to 1600ish

the real trial will be in the rain!

Stock map (I.E. no Launch Control)



Modified map

[WoodieGuthrie]

Minor update on this today- Got to the bottom of the rattling noise from the boot area, even when empty- a good few shells and other assorted stuff in the spare wheel well. Cheeky shotgun shell too?


Stripped down the other rear drum and got the Wheel Cylinder swapped over- Glad to have some peace of mind, and would have been rude not to as new ones were £8 each


Also got the sock filters for the WVO set up, 10micron on the Right, 5 Micron on the left


The bottle on the right contains the oil as bought, the bottle on the left is after the 10 micron filter- good improvement:)

[Jimbling]

Yes a proper thread about a diesel without getting mad horse power out of it great work so far

[WoodieGuthrie]

Hammered this down to a Classic Car show near Chester a couple of weekends back-

performed without fault, and papped a happy 63.08mpg for the 766 miles covered:)

To this end, I'd decided that I should actually see what she is needing to see her MOT in Dec.

All the brakes have been done, so my focus was more on the suspension and exhaust.

All 4 tyres could do with replacing soon-can get them for circa £35 a corner (Uniroyal rain experts) in super comfy 195/65/15.

Onto the suspension then..

Front arm rear bushes

Balljoints

the front bushes seemed fine too- no real deflection when a jemmy was applied- so it looks like both front arms are in servicable condition.

The CV boots were spot on, as werr the track rod ends. That said, the front tyres are feathering on the inside edge so tracking could do with being done - likely pick it up when doing the tyres

The ARB droplinks looked ok, but are so damn cheap they may get done regardless

It seems the big issue with the suspension is that after 190k miles the dampers are pretty much done..

this was the best looking of the 4.

Replacements come in at circa £150 for 4 Bilstein B4-not too bad. Big buggeration will be trying to get the 13 year old bolts to shift from topmonts and the lower mount points.

They seem to be a common failure point- but replacements can be collected from the dealer.

[WoodieGuthrie]

Next up was the exhaust -

Been blowing really badly since I got the car- turns out it was due to the fact that the front section of pipe was in no way, shape or form attached to the rest!

it had been previously bodged with jubilee clips and a roll of metal.

Nae stuff in stock to fix it today, so faffed it back together as well as it could be.

A replacement appears to be about £50 - again, swearing at bolts is the likely issue

[WoodieGuthrie]

As part of the general going over I did the usual fluid level checks.

Coolant/brake fluid all spot on, jowever the Oil level was ABOVE maximum..

This is a sign that the WVO is getting past the piston rings- and collecting in the sump.

The car is still running well, no obvious running issues and no MPG drop

Obviously this is not ideal! I took the most sensible path possible, based on the fact that it is a supercheap beater -

I dropped some oil out the sump and topped it up to max with fresh oil.

Over the last 4000miles it appeared to be approx 500ml- will keep an eye on it.

[Jimbling]

If you have a battery gun or air tool you should be fine to get the bolts out, bit of advise though try tightening them a little bit before loosening them and some wd-40 or the likes or even a blowtorch to heat up the nut and it will zip out

[WoodieGuthrie]

If you have a battery gun or air tool you should be fine to get the bolts out, bit of advise though try tightening them a little bit before loosening them and some wd-40 or the likes or even a blowtorch to heat up the nut and it will zip out

I dont have an air/battery gun, but I can fabricate a hot spanner:)

[Jimbling]

Where abouts are you ? I'm sure there is some one near you that has one or can lend a hand

[WoodieGuthrie]

here are some pics from my most recent outing to York Raceway..
Both cars were driven by mates of mine, and I attended in the Octavia (As per!)

Volvo 740 2.3 turbo Auto- fastest time 17.05


Peugeot 106 1.1 5speed- fastest time 19.37

 

full story can be found in my blog thread

[WoodieGuthrie]

Last tank in.. 953 miles on 77.24L

Not bad for drag racing and lots of Motorway work at National speed limits:)

5.03 L/100 km

46.73 mpg (US)

56.11 mpg (Imp)

[WoodieGuthrie]

Had this drag racing again at the weekend and ran a PB of 16.677 @82.4mph

this was in part due to some lightening by removing the rear seats/emptying boot/removing spare wheel etc.

Another thing that contributed was swapping to front tyres with some actual rubber in them- meaning it can actually get off the line!

I'll upload some pics when at the PC

[WoodieGuthrie]

I've been playing with the pump voltages on the map. The voltage controls the rate of fuel delivery - I.E. how close the pump gets to the theoretical 51mg of fuel max.

 

Apparently the highest you can set is 3.99v before you get into limp mode.

 

I built a version of the map with the pump voltages turned up, loaded it on and went for a run.

The onboard logging showed that it was delivering more fuel, more readily, and the car certainly seems more responsive.

 

I took it back off as the throttle response was bloody sharp, and would likely be a hindrance in day to day running.

 

Will keep it for the drag strip, as I think it may help:)

[Jimbling]

Sounds good

[WoodieGuthrie]

Sounds good

It may just be...