Running the A3 in Recommendations Please!

J4MMYz

J4MMYz

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Hello, yes it's me the annoying guy that keeps making threads :p

Since i've found out my car has been built and will be on it's way soon, I wanted to have a talk about what I should do to make sure I don't blow the engine up since it's going to be harder than driving blindfolded to not put my foot down...

I know your not meant to rag the heck out of the car when it's new, but how long for?

I'm not a crazy RPM guy when driving normally, I probably go to 3k highest then change gear... obviously this car is a lot more powerful than my naturally aspirated 1.4 SEAT so i guess i wouldn't have to rev too much anyway to get going, but how many miles would be safe enough to be officially past the 'running in' stage? - Also would 70MPH on the motorway be fine or is it recommended to do 60?


Also, i'm thinking of filling it strictly on V-Power (1.4 COD) - i did ask the dealer if it's fine to do so and she said it's down to preference - in which case i'd rather.


So just wanting to know what you guys did to run your car in, and when you thought it'd be fine to have a little fun. Cheers!
 
Oooh. Thanks pal

If anyone could also comment of what they personally prefer that'd be helpful still, i'll check those links out now
 
So I think basically I better not drive it like it's stolen for the first thousand miles :p
 
J4MMYz said:
So I think basically I better not drive it like it's stolen for the first thousand miles :p
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I thinks it more a personal thing TBH

Rule of thumb is - wait till the engines warmed thro' & then give it some :D
 
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Its very personal. But Audi do recommend you run it in and their recommendations are in the handbook......................

I've always run in my new cars and motorbikes and will continue to do so....I've never had an engine failure or a vehicle that uses oil.
I tend to stick below 3,000 up to 500 miles then gradually increase it, so by the time I'm at a thousand I can start to enjoy all the performance. Always having the odd short blast during the process. Worst thing you can do is allow the engine to lug down, always make sure its revving freely and always wait until the engine is warmed up.

I hope your not going to be driving your new S3 at 3000 revs maximum then changing gear or the S3 police will be confiscating it. It's a performance car after all.
 
Don't think its an S3.

Not sure if the 1.4 is mapped for higher octane fuel, if so there wouldn't be any improvement in terms of power delivered. Should say inside the fuel flap. Im sure V8 will be along shortly to correct me.

Personally I made sure the engine was up to temperature and then gave it some, all the way to the redline.
 
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Bristle Hound said:
I thinks it more a personal thing TBH

Rule of thumb is - wait till the engines warmed thro' & then give it some :D
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This.

Always let it warm through fully but, once it has, make sure you load it in both "directions", i.e. not just acceleration but also engine braking. This is important in the first couple of hundred miles as it helps the piston rings seat better in the cylinder.
 
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I'm sorry thought it was an S3? where did I get that from?

Must be that oldtimers disease very ones talking about. Or were they, mmmmm don't seem to remember, now where was I?
 
steeve said:
Its very personal. But Audi do recommend you run it in and their recommendations are in the handbook......................

I've always run in my new cars and motorbikes and will continue to do so....I've never had an engine failure or a vehicle that uses oil.
I tend to stick below 3,000 up to 500 miles then gradually increase it, so by the time I'm at a thousand I can start to enjoy all the performance. Always having the odd short blast during the process. Worst thing you can do is allow the engine to lug down, always make sure its revving freely and always wait until the engine is warmed up.

I hope your not going to be driving your new S3 at 3000 revs maximum then changing gear or the S3 police will be confiscating it. It's a performance car after all.
Click to expand...


Unless your referring to BH, I've got on order the 1.4 COD s line :p

But yes, i'll do the same for the first few miles.
 
So you guys don't think theres any point in putting in V-Power? If I do, would it be bad for it, or no better off?
 
J4MMYz said:
So you guys don't think theres any point in putting in V-Power? If I do, would it be bad for it, or no better off?
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V-Power won't do you engine any harm at all. Can only do it good IMO
 
J4MMYz said:
So you guys don't think theres any point in putting in V-Power? If I do, would it be bad for it, or no better off?
Click to expand...

You'll need to experiment. I've found with most of my previous cars that V-power is better for the fuel economy. If a car is designed to run on 98ron use 98ron as it'll be at it's most efficient.
The factor you need to take into account when deciding is the percentage difference in petrol price greater or lower than the percentage increase in MPG.

You may also want to factor in the discount you get from shell points too
 
This one has been done to death and getting quite boring as there has never been any scientific evidence that buying more expensive fuel for a 1.4 engine gives you any better mpg. I can get up to 65mpg on cheap, £1.14 a litre, supermarket fuel and I very much doubt if I will get any improvement. Plus any garage that sells it is further away anyway.
 
The only thing I see in V-Power is that it helps clean the engine, i'd rather keep it in good order even if it's a little bit extra.

Oh yes, V-Power for shell points, we all did that with the vans at work, apparently they got 4k over budget on the fuel and I was the worst person to do it, I also filled up at motorways a lot which we aren't allowed to do now unless in emergency so we all got a slap on the wrist and we don't do it now, we have to use regular diesel - oops :p
I did have about £50 of nectar points and £40 of shell points over all, I remember I handed in a £30 off fuel at shell voucher and the lady behind the counter couldn't believe it haha.

Anyway, I might make a new thread on the whole V-Power for the 1.4, i'll see if it's worth it or not. I did make a thread a while back but i've lost it, I remember everyone said use V-Power... but does anyone know what the 1.4 COD octane rating is anyway?
 
veeeight said:
Lots of 95 v 98 threads already here:

http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/thread...stions-on-the-8v-chassis.198794/#post-2286197


and for the 1.4 is it 95 RON

But if you read the threads linked you'll discover it's much more relevant to discuss the MON rating for a turbo car.
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Hmm... so your opinion would be to use V-Power? Maybe I should make a 1.4 COD thread to see how many people agree/disagree. Lots of S3 threads but not 1.4. Clearly though, everyones saying if it has a turbo it would benefit accept the 1.0/1.2 TSI
 
My opinion?

No to using 98RON on a 1.4. The ECU isn't mapped to advance the timing so no performance benefits.

You'll get just as good detergents on 95 RON.

But it's your car and your wallet, so whatever makes you feel good! :)
 
Cheers for the opinion.. I might make a thread in a bit like I said, would be nice to see what people think or do in their 1.4

I'm only thinking on the cleaning befits, plus I drive more for pleasure than commuting so I doubt a high fuel bill would be likely (well it will when I get it because all I will do is drive it)
 
veeeight said:
No to using 98RON on a 1.4. The ECU isn't mapped to advance the timing so no performance benefits.
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Really?

I'd been told that all modern cars would vary the timing to avoid knock and could therefore run on really quite crap fuel with low RON (e.g. in developing countries, or even the US with it's 'regular gas').

As a result I thought that any car would simply ****** the timing as much as it possibly could so in theory any car would use different timing on 98RON.

Whether the adjusted timing leads to any performance or economy benefit is another argument I suppose but even then I'd read that turbocharged engines do usually get a small but statistically significant benefit.
 
My dealer told me to drive carefully the first 3 miles of every trip and after that, anything goes.
 
a3_phil said:
I'd been told that all modern cars would vary the timing to avoid knock and could therefore run on really quite **** fuel with low RON (e.g. in developing countries, or even the US with it's 'regular gas').

As a result I thought that any car would simply ****** the timing as much as it possibly could so in theory any car would use different timing on 98RON.
Click to expand...



Most cars will have knock sensors
Most engine ECU's will have the instruction to ****** the timing when knock is detected

Not all engines will have higher than usual compression ratios
Not all engines will have ECU instructions to Advance the timing to take advantage of higher RON fuels

The 1.4 falls into the latter camp - it will ****** timing to account for cr@p fuel, but won't advance beyond 95RON timing. Recent Fifth Gear episodes have shown no bhp improvement for cars running 98RON, where they weren't recommended by the manufacturer.

From a manufacturer pov, it makes no sense to start putting uprated components like con rods and pistons to cope with additional power increases through advanced timing in a 1.2 or 1.4, they will prioritise reliability and durability of the engine (the S3 has uprated components).


Re RON Ratings:

For high-performance turbo cars, it's perhaps more relevant to compare the MON rating, rather than the RON.

Both Shell V-Power and Tesco Momentum 99 have (minimum) 99 RON values.

However, the MON figure is derived from a more demanding test, more reflective of todays engines, with higher RPM, higher head loads imposed during testing.

In this case, Shell V-Power has a 86 MON and Tesco Momentum 99 has a 87 MON.


In the UK, we only display RON on the pumps, but in the US/Canada and a few other places, the display is (R+M)/2, hence why you see different figures on the pumps across the pond.
 
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veeeight said:
Most cars will have knock sensors
Most engine ECU's will have the instruction to ****** the timing when knock is detected

Not all engines will have higher than usual compression ratios
Not all engines will have ECU instructions to Advance the timing to take advantage of higher RON fuels

The 1.4 falls into the latter camp - it will ****** timing to account for cr@p fuel, but won't advance beyond 95RON timing.


Re RON Ratings:

For high-performance turbo cars, it's perhaps more relevant to compare the MON rating, rather than the RON.

Both Shell V-Power and Tesco Momentum 99 have (minimum) 99 RON values.

However, the MON figure is derived from a more demanding test, more reflective of todays engines, with higher RPM, higher head loads imposed during testing.

In this case, Shell V-Power has a 86 MON and Tesco Momentum 99 has a 87 MON.


In the UK, we only display RON on the pumps, but in the US/Canada and a few other places, the display is (R+M)/2, hence why you see different figures on the pumps across the pond.
Click to expand...

You live and learn. Thanks for the info.

I hadn't realised the limit of the advance was basically just 95 RON. Makes sense I suppose as why set your car up to run differently on 98, 102, 110 etc. which would presumably mean much more rigorous testing with crazy advances etc.

Makes no difference to me though as I'm on the black stuff now... :D
 
.


Will 95 v 98 make a difference to an "ordinary" car?





Does 98 make a difference to bhp?

 
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