Folks,

I've had my UK Impreza Turbo for nearly a month now, and done 2000+ miles. I've got a few probs with it which will be sorted (hopefully) when it visits the dealers again this Thursday (hissing steering pump, vibes at 80mph ish etc )

I pulled along side a friend today in his 1.8T Passat, and he gunned it. I was in second moving up through the box, and only when at crazy (no flaming plz) speeds did I start pulling away. Oh yeah, im running it on sul.

I have noticed that the car seems to hesitate now and again when giving it full gas, even when way up the rev range.

I am getting the feeling that I have got myself a friday afternooner. I dont think my car would stand a chance in hell keeping up with a BMW328 or equivalent. Praps with some more running in things might get better.

*sigh*

Richie.

 

get it too the dealer quick sounds like your Scoobs got Subaru Flu!!!

Ive done 1300mile in my one now and it will and has shat on a 328

get them to sort it!!

 

My my00 only has 1300 miles on it, its still pretty tight but feels quicker than my last car (306 gti) during in gear acceleration as a 318 coupe found out!! saying that, the 306 was still pretty tight at 17k, hope the scoob loosens up before then!!!!

Tony

 

I thought you weren't supposed to be thrashing the car until 4k appeared on the clock?

 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Mulder:
<B>I thought you weren't supposed to be thrashing the car until 4k appeared on the clock?[/quote]

4K???? where the hell did that come from?? dont you mean 1K keeping the REVS under 4K?? if you are right I have just shagged my new car after redlining it at 1020 miles !!! help!!

Pete

 

Basically my dealer told me to drive it hard as it will be a better car in the long run. Dunno if this is actually true, but its what he said.

Not sure if I should bring up the fact that a 1.8T Passat was staying along side me all the way from 2nd gear right up until 'dont do this at home folks' speeds in 4th. I wasnt hanging about with the gear changes either.

Arggghh, this has kinda got me down

Richie.

 

Richie,
I think youve got a problem.
The last car but one that I had was a 1998 Audi A4 1.8T Sport, and as you know this is the same engine that is now in the Passat.
I can say that with out a doubt that it could'nt stay anywhere near my scooby in any situation.
It does take some time for the engine to get into its stride when new but not that bad.

P.s up in your neck of the woods next week if you want to try comparison e-mail me if you want.

Grant


[This message has been edited by GRANT (edited 17-07-2000).]

 

I think that Passat has only 150BHP and equally pathetic torque, which means either its been modified or 1) your handbrake is still on 2)front or rear brakes have seized 3)you've got the Sport engine by mistake or 4) you have a serious problem. The Scoob will loosen up after about 4-5k but evenso, you should still be able sort that Passat now !

Try driving it as hard as you can for a while, that made my RB5 a liitle more eager.

I'd take it straight to a decent dealer.

 

Had an attempted race with an A4 1.8T (same car as the Passat ) and there was no contest, I could out-accelerate him in my MY00 without using full throttle.

pslewis: Did you redline your Scoob before or after they replaced the running-in oil with the proper stuff (1000 mile service)??

 

Hmmm.... I'll have to get my dealer to take a look into it, although they are going to think I am mad with the number of things I already need them to look at. How can they tell if something is wrong?

I've driven it plenty of times full chat since the 1k oil change. The Passat in question is a new one, 4k ish miles and no mods.

Ho hum.

Richie.

 

I didn't use any boost that could be felt up to 300 miles, then used progressively more until at the 1000 stage I was using proably half boost. never over 4K revs.
After the 1K service, the service manager said, 'you go for it now - just make sure it's warmed up first'. so I did

1500 happy miles so far.

left an audi s3 of the the lights the other day quite easily.

 

I was doing 35-40mph ish at the time in 2nd.

Richie.

 

Hmm, 35-40. If that equates to more than 3000 revs (can't remember -- will check this evening) and you've held it at that before flooring it you'll only get about half boost.

It's taken me a while to get used to keeping it in a higher gear until you're ready to go, and then changing down (and surely this contravenes Roadcraft's advice...)

 

My MY00 has only done 1900 and it feels tight in the 4000+ rpm region. I try to redline it as much as possible to loosen it up, but unfortunately on the roads I use I don't get much chance to unless I want to kill myself.

As to keeping up with other cars, I've found that it certainly does depend on the driver. I'm certainly not an expert, but the other day I matched the straight line acceleration of an S4 down a motorway sliproad to about 80mph (then I let him go - it's really not worth it). Then yesterday I was driving behind a focus who was clearly in a hurry. As he was driving fast enough I didn't need to overtake him, but I got the feeling that if I had wanted to he would have made me work hard.

What impresses me is not so much the sheer acceleration of the scooby but its handling on corners. The way you can get it round tight corners not by braking, but by accelerating through them!

Richie, your comment "I have noticed that the car seems to hesitate now and again when giving it full gas, even when way up the rev range." Doesn't sound right. When you're on boost you should be getting good acceleration right up to about 5500 rpm, and even then it still goes.

I read somewhere that the ECU in later models tries to protect the drivetrain from a step change in torque, and this would be seen as hesitation. I find that if you try progressive acceleration rather than stepping on the pedal the results will be better.

Also I suggest you invest in a boost guage. Not only does it let you know if your engine is working properly, but you can use it to get the best out of your driving.

 

Time for a trip to your dealer I think..
Last night disposed of a 328 and then pulled in an Elise up hill, giving him a considerable head start - even I was surprised at that!

Even with 7500 miles on the clock, this car still surprises me

Chris

 

Hang on a minute, what speed + revs were you at in 2nd when you floored it?

If you were off boost, then it would take time for the Scoob to pick up, and then when the boost kicked in you were probably playing catch up with the VW.

Greg

 

FWIW I agree with Dippy,

Having owned the car for nearly two years now I find that by progressively pushing down on the pedal (still quite quickly) and being in the right rev range in the right gear the car leaps off pulling like a train.

If I don't have the revs/gear/pedal position right then the car seems slower to pick up at first, but then goes to it's pulling like a train mode.

If however you can't out accelerate a passat 1.8T get it to your dealer and have one of the salesmen or mechanics try it out. They should know what is and is not "standard" performance on the road. If they suspect a problem have it fixed under warranty.

Yex

 

Richie,

Sounds like 1 of 2 things:

A) You've just experienced the built in pain in the **** "boost restriction" in second gear having held the revs for a while.

b) Your car is underperforming.

If it was A - nothing can be done, I'm afraid, except try blipping the throttle or do what I do and change up to third early and let the torque do the work. If its B your dealer should sort.

If its any interest, I had the same scenario following a 2 litre vectra onto a dual carriage way from a roundabout having held second for a bit.

2 days later had a good run with a 911 carrerra 4 (pre 993 model) and he couldn't keep up in a straight line from about 50 to silly speeds - so nothing wrong with the engine. (its a standard 99 uk turbo).

cheers

D

 

The "boost restriction" only seems to occur (IMHO) when you suddenly boot it very abruptly after holding it at 3-4000rpm (i.e. very little gas). If you're more progressive with the throttle (e.g. take 0.5-1s to floor the throttle) then it seems ok. I've done many overtaking manoeuvres like this and not had any problems that I'm aware of...

I feel a few tests coming on on the way home tonight

Richard

[This message has been edited by Richard Gledhill (edited 18-07-2000).]

 

Hi Richie,

You sound like I did when I first got my Scoob.

9000miles later I was laughing in the face of hellicopters. The engine really does loosen up beyond 7500, and the more welly you give it, the more it will loosen up. Obvioulsy then you have to suffer the trade-off between life of engine and early performance advantage.

It's funny, because you learn to drive the Scoob over a while, to get max speed out of it is not just a case of flooring the throttle anyhow. You have to mash it from early in the rev range to get the extra boost the ECU thinks you need. (that's something Pete Croney once explained on this forum)

When my brother drove my car it felt slow. I jumped in and it felt like a rocket. Same roads (deserted) and same time. Difference was, I had got used to flooring it in the right manner. (doesn't sound complicated, I know)

Another interesting thing is, that although the zero to sixty times are around 5 sec's or so, that's purely because it takes off from a standing start with such amazing traction. Therefore, something slower to 60, but only 2wheel drive, could well be faster in-gear. But then you could always use the cornering ability to leave anything behind.
I had never tried a standing start the way the magazines do, in my Scoob. But just once I thought maybe I should. It couldn't do that much harm, and I was getting the clutch judder that they say is cured by a good standing start. So I wound up the revs to about 3000, and let the clutch out as fast as I dare (I'd never done this before).
What happened? All hell broke loose! The car seemingly did a tiny jump forward, the tyres chirped, and it then just did a giant leap down the road. My brother was behind me in another car, and he later explained how it was like something from a video game. I have never ever felt so much acceleration from my scoob and I had driven it 9000miles by then. After you've done that, just once in a lifetime is enough for me, your faith in the car is complete.

So, having started out in the same way as you, I too had a Golf 1.8T match me on a dual carriageway (driven by a woman, who probably wasn't even trying). I am now completely converted and I know that now it's loosened up, and I know how to get the best out of it, it is absolutely untouchable!

The grin get's bigger with each drive, and I'm still revelling in it's amazing abilities.

Have fun!

Imran

 

MY00 DBM 5 Door - 3500 miles now!! and getting faster A Passatt 1.8T would not even be worthy of a challenge

Interestingly I had read the magazines about holding the revs and 'dropping' the clutch - so ... last Tuesday ... I tried it!!

5000 RPM - hold - slip your foot right off the clutch .... I have never ever experienced ANYTHING like it - my wife was sick!! the car just sat square...wheels screeched momentarily...and there I was 200 yards down the road!! surely NOTHING can live with that???

And NO I will NOT be doing it again - I need my clutch in one piece ..... BUt you need to do it just once

Pete

 

Pete

LOL

 

Ive dumped the clutch at 5,000rpm on more than one occasion and its nuts...mine wheelspins and tries to go sideways before launching fwds and the rest is history

Keep kaning it....mine is much faster than when i first got it, the engine has loosened up and i have, lets say, helped her breathe a little better