Car went in to Winners yesterday. They didn't spend long, and didn't seem particularly interested in my boost printouts. The mechanic took it for a drive and thought it felt OK. Hmmm... it couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding.

It did, however come up with two fault codes for the first time:

Cam position sensor too advanced

+ recirc valve.

It's going back in to get these sorted and we'll take it from there. I'm pretty convinced that these aren't the route of the probs though, as no faults have ever come up before, yet it's always been slow. I reckon it's the turbo itself or the wastegate.

When I first had the car, it defo felt faster and the turbo was louder. However, it surged quite a lot. The garage sorted the surging by changing one of the pipes (think it was fitted the wrong way around at the factory!), but it lost all of the performance.

I reckon you might be best taking it to a tuner rather than a dealership. Shame your so far away from awesome gti.

I could be wrong here, but it used to be common for the ignition timing to be taken from the camshaft. If that's still the case, and you're running with the ignition timing too advanced, then yes the engine will feel flat. One of the effects of that will be a reduced exhaust gas velocity, and that will reduce the speed of the turbo, and hence boost pressure.

I think you're right, trouble is, it's under warranty, and I'm not gonna pay to get this sorted!

I really don't think dealership techs are knowledgeable enough. The guy didn't seem to really understand the boost printouts- I had to explain it all!

I really don't think dealership techs are knowledgeable enough. The guy didn't seem to really understand the boost printouts- I had to explain it all!

I would have asked for the master tech then. Maybe you could go back and try for him.

Ken, didn't know that! That's very promising if that's the case.

auroan, got a feeling this guy was the master tech :-/ He seemed to be the most senior person in the workshop. I'll make sure next time though.

oh bum..... erm how many dealers are they in your area. Maybe you could try ringing around, explaining your lack of trust of your local.

They are the pick of the bunch I'm afraid! Been terribly disappointed with the 4 others I've tried.

When it goes back in, I'll get them to do a block 120 VAGCOM test for the power + some boost logs. Surely they can't argue with that?

If the maf is on its way out this can affect preformance,if you have vag-com do some block 002 runs.

It's block 003? ... isn't it?

It's block 003? ... isn't it?

Both work i believe. I think 002 shows engine load whilst logging the maf readings and 003 looks to show throttle slide position whilst logging maf readings.

I think ignition timing is controlled by the computer, which in turn takes readings from he camshaft position, piston position, valve position etc etc. but i was under the impression they are self tuning?? if its advanced the spark is igniting early. ie when the piston is on its way up it ignites mid journey or early at least. when its doin this a lot of the energy is wasted pushing the piston down when going up. and as mentioned above the exhaust gas wont have the desired velocity.

basically there is an important euphemism to remember is

"suck, squeeze, bang, blow"

if ignition happens early squeeze wont happen properly, bang will happen too early and wont blow enough. Could well be wrong its been a while.

if you wana read up on it look for for the "otto cycle" on google. should be loads of exciting stuff:D

Thanks John- learn something new every day! Makes sense.

If the camshaft is out of sync surely it can be changed with the timing belt arrangement?

Hope you get it sorted mate

Mpg would be badly affected if timing was out though wouldn't it?

What mpg are you getting Andy?

has it had a trial remap on it....?

has it had a trial remap on it....?

His boost figures are as follows.

Peak boost- 0.27 bar/3.91 PSI

Peak spec boost- 0.6 bar/8.7 PSI

So standard map by the looks of it Paul.

Looks like a mechanical problem as car is not hitting performance that the map says it should.

crappy plastic DV ???

I'm thinking it's a mechanical prob too. No fault codes for 1 1/2 years, but poor performance. Got a feeling the fault codes are just a by-product of some sort of mechanical failure. Wastegate or turbo I reckon.

Be interesting to see how the car is once they sort out the two fault codes. I've got a feeling it won't make much difference...

His boost figures are as follows.

Peak boost- 0.27 bar/3.91 PSI

Peak spec boost- 0.6 bar/8.7 PSI

So standard map by the looks of it Paul.

Looks like a mechanical problem as car is not hitting performance that the map says it should.

The revo trial goes back to the "revo standard map" after 5 hours though, which would peak around this.

No-where near peak boost so it must be feeling pretty damn flat! Hope you get it sorted.

Cheers, ethos. Hasn't had a remap, or even a trial remap. I'm waiting for the warranty to expire before I go down that route.

Cheers, ethos. Hasn't had a remap, or even a trial remap. I'm waiting for the warranty to expire before I go down that route.

Yea, you'll want to get it to spec boost before you even think about a remap too imo!

Cars are a pain when they're not running right so I feel your pain.

I speant about 4 hours on SWMBO's 205 gti yesterday trying to find an oil leak

They are indeed! Did you sort it in the end? 205 GTI is a fantastic car! 1.6 or 1.9?

They are indeed! Did you sort it in the end? 205 GTI is a fantastic car! 1.6 or 1.9?

It's the 1.6 (the best one), very revy and sounds great!

I think i've sorted it, ended up taking loads of stuff off- girlfriend only does alot of short trips and this builds up some nice mayo from condensation!

Took it down some back lanes earlier to test it, had to drive it really fast though with was a shame

Looks great! One of those cars I always wanted back in the day, but never had one :(