Hi,

I've been looking for an Octy Mk1 TDi 130 estate for towing an MG Midget sprint and hillclimb car, weighing maybe a ton all-up, car and trailer. The current Audi 80 TDi 90 struggles and the driving position does my back in.

I can't find a 130 with the six-speed box and might go for a 110 with the five-speed (and get it remapped...).

Is it worth hanging on for a six-speed 130 to come up for sale? Are the intermediate ratios lower and worth having for towing?

Any comments or experience v welcome - thanks!

Archie

Can only give my views on towing a caravan but the pd 130 has masses of torque and makes towing so easy....no more changing gears to go uphill, well not often anyway, it realy is worth hanging on to find one

The best towcar is always a borrowed car

Edited 4 April, 200917 yr by DGW
No need for quote.

The best towcar is always a borrowed car

Like the best offroad vehicle is always a hire car?

AB

The fastest cars are courtesey cars etc etc!

Yep, the PD130 really is worth holding out for.

Have you considered a Passat in hatch or estate? Suprisingly cheap, and they last forever.

I'd definitely wait for a PD130, aside from the power the 6 speed box and clutch is much stronger than the 5 speed versions.

Barney

Edited 4 April, 200917 yr by DGW
No need for quote

I'd definitely wait for a PD130, aside from the power the 6 speed box and clutch is much stronger than the 5 speed versions.

Barney

:iagree: The 6 speed is a much stronger box.

keep looking around for the pd130, I did and I don't regret it taking so long to find. I too am looking to tow with it in the future and had that in mind when buying it. In standard form the engine pulls really well but when remapped WOW what a difference, watch out for the clutch if you remap, mine lasted 2 weeks from the remap, the car has also done 89,000 miles so it wasn't a supprise that it failed.

I spent about 5months looking for one, I test drove a couple that I found in Skoda dealers to give me an idea what they felt like to drive then I started looking in the classifieds and smaller garages and managed to save about 2k over book price.

I'll go against the flow here, the TDI110 is a good engine and doesn't have the DMF issues like the PD130 does as far as I know.

Also the TDI110 can run on 100% bio derv and remaps very well.

whats DMF :confused:

Dual Mass Flywheel

DMF is dual mass flywheel.....

Chris

AH Never had any problems with that either ........but my caravan is now longer since I towed it with the 130 octavia and Superb.......to give you some idea I towed up the hill past the Jamaica inn in 4th gear

In my opinion, you only really get problems with DMF and clutches if you modify the car, or don't know how to drive.

The clutch and gearbox in the pd130's is far more capable of taking mods than the 5 speed box and clutch.

I have the 110 octavia remapped to 146. I have driven the 130 tdi (which is a PD) engine in a passat and found the power delivery less smooth and more annoyingly very little pull at low revs in first gear (ie pulling off with trailer on back). I therefore prefer the 110.

In terms of pulling a caravan unless you drive very quick I doubt you'll find a benefit from the sixth gear, as it has very little effect on the lower gear ratios, mainly just provides a longer gear fro motorway cruising. Hence if you where to use it while towing you are either going very fast or would be at such low revs pressing the acclerator would result in nothing.

I tow an eldis caravan which must weigh around the ton mark occassionally and the car pulls fine.

Edited 4 April, 200917 yr by DGW
No need for quote

Thank you everyone for your comments!

I guess the answer really is to go and look at the car (the 110) and make my own mind up...

The six-speed might appeal; my current Audi 80 is a 1.9TDi 90 bhp five-speed and there is a definite gap between second and third - the first two are low, I suppose to get the car off the mark a bit smart-ish, and then there's a jump to third.

Sounds trivial, but so often I want to take a roundabout smoothly without having to stop and it's either rev the nuts off it in second or bog down in third. Is sixth on the 130 a higher top right enough, or are the intermediates closer-spaced with the same top ratio?

Good point about the Passat 130, thanks - the end-of-line Highlines seem to be in my price bracket (c £10K) now - will look for one of them too.

Thanks again for the help! I wish I didn't need the estate - sister-in-law's Fabia vRS is a belter of a car...

Archie

the gearing between the fabia vrs and the octi pd130 is either the same or very similar, the only difference I've found between mine and my wifes fabia vrs is speeds at which each gear can be used at, I'm under the impression this is down to the difference in tyre sizes on both cars. I find that 6th gear on the octi can only be used at 70mph and above, I certainly wouldn't use it if towing.

Remember the Passat is a much larger car. (also a different engine block - longitudinal rather than transverse though it could be the other way round I never get it right)

As for gear ratios at 60mph (I assume roughly the top speed you'll be towing at the 5 speed box will be doing about 2100 rpm in 5th while the 6 speed box is also doing about 2100 in 5th and just over 1700rpm in 6th. - disclaimer the exact rpms will differ depending on exactly which gearbox you get ... there are 2 6 speed and 26 !!! different 5 speed boxes.

As for your concern about the 2nd, 3rd ratios looking at the two boxes there appears to be more of a gap between 2nd and 3rd in the 6 speed (again I only looked at one of the 5 speed boxes it might be different depending on exactly which one you get)

As you say try one of each and see for your self.

Barney

Edited 4 April, 200917 yr by DGW
No need for quote

I find that 6th gear on the octi can only be used at 70mph and above, I certainly wouldn't use it if towing.

LOL I'd agree about the towing but I regularly do about 40mph in 6th just let the engine idle - just don't expect any acceleration

Thank you everyone for your comments!

I guess the answer really is to go and look at the car (the 110) and make my own mind up...

The six-speed might appeal; my current Audi 80 is a 1.9TDi 90 bhp five-speed and there is a definite gap between second and third - the first two are low, I suppose to get the car off the mark a bit smart-ish, and then there's a jump to third.

Sounds trivial, but so often I want to take a roundabout smoothly without having to stop and it's either rev the nuts off it in second or bog down in third. Is sixth on the 130 a higher top right enough, or are the intermediates closer-spaced with the same top ratio?

Good point about the Passat 130, thanks - the end-of-line Highlines seem to be in my price bracket (c £10K) now - will look for one of them too.

Thanks again for the help! I wish I didn't need the estate - sister-in-law's Fabia vRS is a belter of a car...

Archie

trouble is you cant tow with a fabia VRS ......my pd 130 engine has loads of power coming in from 1500 revs upwards and is more than capable of towing and taking off at low revs ....wait for a pd130 of some sort you wont regret it ....also just a thought but mine did 30mpg with a one ton elddis van on the back .....makes me very happy

If you're towing regularly, you might also want to look at beefing up the suspension as the Octy is very spongey as standard. I think Rob uses "donuts" in his to reduce the suspension travel but could be wrong.

Chris

If you're towing regularly, you might also want to look at beefing up the suspension as the Octy is very spongey as standard. I think Rob uses "donuts" in his to reduce the suspension travel but could be wrong.

Chris

Correct really changes the whole car when towing ...no more bouncing about and all for under £20

As for gear ratios at 60mph (I assume roughly the top speed you'll be towing at the 5 speed box will be doing about 2100 rpm in 5th while the 6 speed box is also doing about 2100 in 5th and just over 1700rpm in 6th. - disclaimer the exact rpms will differ depending on exactly which gearbox you get ... there are 2 6 speed and 26 !!! different 5 speed boxes.

As for your concern about the 2nd, 3rd ratios looking at the two boxes there appears to be more of a gap between 2nd and 3rd in the 6 speed (again I only looked at one of the 5 speed boxes it might be different depending on exactly which one you get)

Is there info on Briskoda somewhere with gear ratio details? I had a look but must have missed it - just curiosity, it's taking it a bit far to look for a 130 (rare - only five estates in the whole country on autotrader.co.uk) with the particular desirable gearbox (impossible!).

There's none of them bad cars so low mileage, good historyand condition, and fair price all just as important.

Cheers!

Archie

The Passat has been mentioned as a towcar - good choice. Why not buy a Superb? It's the same as a B5.5 Passat but with a longer wheelbase.

Mine is a 130 PS Diesel with a 5 speed box and tows a heavy trailer really well. On the Passat/Superb there is no advantage in having a 6 speed box as the top gear ratios are almost the same. The 6 speed North/South gearbox can be suspect in terms of reliability - the gearchange is not brilliant so the fewer the better. (More seriously, the PD engine has such a massive spread of torque, you don't need any extra ratios).

The Superb is a lemon in terms of resale values - you could pick up a good 130 PS Diesel for less money than the equivalent Octavia if you are prepared to look around. Passat towbars are cheap on eBay and very easy to fit too.

rotodiesel.