Finally got my replacement TDI...with laser beams!

[mrmacmusic]

OK, so they're not lasers, but considering I (finally) collected the long awaited replacement for my troublesome 2.0FSI Avant in the dark last night, isn't that interior lighting pack nice!!

Seriously though, I'm now the proud owner of am '02 1.9TDI Sport (130) Avant - and in the 50 miles I've driven so far, it seems like twice the car my FSI was, and far smoother. We're officially in the honeymoon period, and with the problems I had previously, I'll give it a few weeks of normal use before I get too excited.

Dealer was true to their word, and I can't fault them really – it just took too long to sort out. Drove in '03 FSI SE, drove out '02 TDI Sport. No cash changed hands, and the new one was taxed, had £20 of diesel in it, the private plate was transferred and it had a new 1yr 'Approved' warranty. That little deal should have cost me over £2k

Anyway, any driving tips for me? I've never had a diesel (or any car with a turbo) and it sure is different (duh). You really had to work the FSI to make it go, but there's now a huge lump of torque at lower revs under my right foot. I'm guessing I should get in the habit of changing up sooner now...

Any tips and advice welcomed!!

 

[pav-g]

Just make sure you dont forget to use the diesel nozzle rather than the unleaded one when your at the petrol station - many people make that mistake, I suppose its down to routine reaching out for the green nozzle. By the way congrats with the TDi, sounds like christmas came early for ya. Good luck with new car

 

[mrmacmusic]

Cheers...and yes, I guess making sure I don't pick up the green nozzle will be crucial – no more early morning fill-ups for me!!

 

[Nickynibbles]

Excellent news your finally sorted. As you'll notice with the diesel the torque/power band is much lower down & narrower than a petrols, as is the rev limiter. The basic driving style will be to firstly notice when the turbo stops pulling so hard & then change gears just before that happens! Obviously you'll not need to change gears as much as their will be much more low down torgue. For instance I drive my 3.0 V6 about town at 30mph in 4th gear & 40mph+ goes into 6th, you should be able to do a similar thing.

Have fun, but think about having it chipped, as long as your warranty wont be voided of course!

 

[TINTMASTER]

:icon_thumright: welcome to the diesel dog family m8
if you think you've got torque now try a nice wee remap!!
fingers crossed ye have trouble free driving with her :icon_thumright:

 

[mrmacmusic]

Chips.... remaps....?? c'mon guys, I only just got the TDI!!

Seriously though, I looked into a remap, as it seems like a no brainer getting better 'driveability' without really sacrificing economy. The increase from 130 to 180bhp (and 228 to 310 lbft torque) sounds awfully inviting, but I plan to wait a while, just to make sure everything is OK with the new Avant. This will hopefully be on the 'fix up rather than replace' list down the line, along with a Caractere kit methinks.....!

New gear changing technique definitely required though.... it pulls at 1800rpm and feels like it stops at 2000rpm! It also seems like I now live between 1000rpm and 2000rpm, which I guess is about right.....

I'm off in an hour or so for a long run for work – 60 miles there and 60 miles back. That should shake off the cobwebs and give me a better feel for things, and the best thing is I'll use less fuel than I would have in the FSI!!!

 

[jase0851]

nice 1 mate pleased for ya, it was a good call goin for the tdi then

 

[colemanlee76]

Not sure if you still have to do it but I (most of the time) let the car idle for about a minute after use. Ive a 1.8T and I only do it coz i used to do it with a Metro Turbo ages ago! Summit to do with letting oil get back around to turbo!?

Correct me if im wrong - poss. don't have to as its a more advanced engine :icon_thumright:

 

[mrmacmusic]

Well, I really enjoyed my 120 miles yesterday – OK, so it's no Quattro (next time maybe) but it sure does stick to the road better than my FSI SE did. Probably got a lot to do with the sports suspension and the fatter tyres. Maybe it's had one of those RS4 anti-sway bars fitted too!!

Just a quick question about revs though – I notice that when pottering through town at 30mph, in 4th gear, the revs drop to 1100-1200. This feels really low to me, but I guess it's normal, can someone confirm please?? Third seems a bit high at around 2k. I don't want to labour the engine, and it seems happy enough to pick up from when you accelerate....newbie TDI owner question I guess

Looking forward to better economy too. I remembered the black pump this morning :thumbsup: and it looks like I might get 40% or so more out of the diesel. Great. Around 550-600miles to a tank sound about right folks?? I used to struggle to get 400.....

 

[Nickynibbles]

1100 rpm is fine for pottering about, I do it in my v6 petrol all the time! As long as you dont try & accelerate too hard at this rpm of course, else you'll end up putting your foot to the floor to go anywhere & dump a load of fuel into the engine which wont do your economy any good! You only really need to keep the enigine at a higher rpm when you need the turbo to accelerate you.

 

[Andy D]

30mph in 4th is fine and TBH this is what I do whenever in town.

I don't know if you've seen my last couple of threads, they may be of interest to you as they are regarding remaps and tuning boxes for the A4 130TDI as I have one too and am going to go down this road very soon.

BTW carackin choice of car mate!

 

[mrmacmusic]

Cheers Nicky & Andy....

...OK, so 1100rpm is fine. Sorted.

Andy, your '04 with the GMBh kit was what I was going to buy in May (but at £17k for an 'Approved' Avant it was too rich for me). Nice looking car though, hence why, if all ends up OK with this one, I fancy the Caractere front end, and yes, I reckon a wee remap is in order too... Read your posts about Tuning Boxes. Sound interesting, although I seriously don't think I'd need (or want) to 'pick' a setting. Maybe I would..?

 

[Andy D]

I found choosing my own settings suited me very well.

When going to a club meet I would have it turned up to Map1 +20%,

During day to day driving it would be at Map2 with no addition or subtraction of power.:weight_lift2:

On a long run it would be map 3+10% for unbeatable fuel economy.

Oh and for going to the dealers even for the simplest of jobs the tuning box is taken off to keep the warranty side of things tickety boo!:thumbsup:

The remaps are excelent but are much more expensive and pretty permanent, my various styles of driving depending on whether I am at a club meet, rolling road day or looking for excellent fuel economy, really means I am best serviced by a digital tuning box due to it's versatility.

There's a lot of positives and negatives to both boxes and remaps and it's usually a very hard call, I know it has been for me

 

[mrmacmusic]

Cheers Andy

Could you explain why setting 2 (+10%) gives you better economy?? I can fully understand +20% for meets and track days.....

You say the little black box can be removed as well. Where does it install, in the cabin or under the bonnet? Perhaps you could send me a link to the supplier/installer to save me asking stupid questions!