Alan Jeffery

We went to Surrey yesterday. The trip was to check out and take delivery of a Hawkeye 2.0 JDM for a customer. The nice man wanted a track day car and we figured it had to be the best base going! The car has already had some work done, mainly on the suspension and brakes, and included a Syvecs ECU. Top stuff! all it needs is a 2.35 stroker
Which is us of course...
I took an old racing buddy of mine (Graham) along to drive the hack back. He's getting on a bit, but still races in classic touring cars. The hack is an S reg Passat TDi. 210,000 miles. Comfy, and cheap on fuel, no worries.
Some of our luckier customers will know this car well...
The check out was a total success, nice car and nice previous owner, loads of expensive parts on it and it drove really well. The suspension we'll call "firm" as in ideal for track use. I found that by keeping my **** firmly planted in the back of the seat the occasional airborne trips weren't too bad on landing.
Before we left, my buddy Graham said that we could stop at Fleet for fuel, as I'd pointed out we only had a quarter tank in the Scooby. He said Fleet services wasn't far away. He said "flash if you have a problem" which left me puzzled. "what flippin problem? a fire? run out of sweets? how many times should I flash? three for "I need a pee?"
"Prat" I thought, thinking that flashing your lights is bloody useless for communication.
We set off, he has the sat nav. so I'm stuck to his tail. Easy in the Scooby I thought.
M25, Graham's off like a rabbit.
Now you'd think it would be easy for a Scooby to keep up with a Passat on a Motorway wouldn't you? Well, not when Graham has gone into race mode, and the place is crawling with traffic. He's swopping lanes like he's desperate to get away and I have to stick there like somebody who doesn't know where the turn off is. I'm sure in his addled brain we were back doing one make racing like the old days. He never could stick seeing me on his tail..
All this is good fun of course, but I'm having to use a lot more power than he is, and the fuel is draining away.
Eventually I'm on fumes, the low fuel light has been on long enough for the bulb to overheat, and I'm having to drop back on a light cruise or risk running out. Despite my reluctance I had to admit defeat and flash my lights at the wally. I could see him looking in the mirror trying to figure out what the problem was!
We made it with about an eggcupful to spare.
I followed him all the way back to Exeter, then legged it off home big style. The car really settles down in the fast corners, a real confidence giver. I'd say the new owner is going to love it.
Moral? fill the tank before you take on geriatrics in Passats..

ByByR1

Great story,
lad at work has one, quite old estate diesel and reckons he has seen 143 on the speedo with more to go.

*BADGER*

iTrader: (3)

my scoobs slower than my estate vxl

i was quite skocked at that but hay ho its not always a turbo car thats the faster car

stedee

iTrader: (4)

i`m about to buy a ibiza tdi for that very reason, drove my mates standard one, bloody hell they shift, they`ll do 140 easy

prodriverules

iTrader: (52)

Tbf alot of theses modern diesels will shift especially the likes of the 335 bmws which will wipe the floor with a standard scoob!

*BADGER*

iTrader: (3)

got my **** wipped by one of them 888 astra dervs a while back jeez it was quick

prodriverules

iTrader: (52)

I know high revving top end power is a buzz especially out on track but for everyday driving and economy the drevs are leagues ahead BUT I don't like the power bands which are far to small given the rev range.

rickya

iTrader: (18)

Is that the white Hawkeye with Endless brakes and 5 spoke polished rims?

G4rfo

iTrader: (1)

good story alan :P

gpssti4

iTrader: (6)

Changing lanes and weaving in and out of traffic

RobsyUK

iTrader: (2)

Are modern diesels still screwed if you run out of fuel ? Do they need bleeding or can you just fill and go like a petrol.

lgtuk

Iv been commuting Woking to Colchester for the last 7 weeks and have come to the conclusion imprezas are sh#t on the motorway I have been left by a few oil burners now and the nail in the coffin was last week a poxy vdub eos 2.0tsi 150bhp was stuck to my rear and couldn't shake him

Mines a 2.5 Hawkeye around 270bhp nothing wrong with it been on the rollers and all good just don't understand it I have been seriously thinking of jag xf 3ltr d sport or some sort of 35d now as iv realised imprezas just are not that quick for everyday driving compared to modern cars and drink 4x as much fuel.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Its how you drive the car tbh, petrol cars prefer to use the rev range more than diesels, a diesel will produce its peak torque between 2-3.5k, they normally produce more torque than a petrol turbo (note most, not all ) equivalent car (say an astra cdti v the vxr) but the petrols normally produce more bhp, hence they like being revved more.

As the old saying goes, "torque gets you off the line, bhp keeps you going"

Tony

lgtuk

I know what your saying and understand but from the past 7 weeks I'd say that saying has been blown out the water I think modern cars are just more efficient at getting the power from the fly to the wheels Subaru just loose far to much...

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Not really, diesels still have a small power band compared to petrol engines, they are laggier than petrol turbo's (well compared to my twin scroll anyway ) and they dont produce the BHP that a similar petrol does.
In gear times will be as quick for a diesel but through the gear times wont be, you can check most modern diesels for that, you need a bigger diesel engine v the petrol for the same through the gear performance.

ByByR1

All good and probably right, but when you come to the back roads I would much rather be in a scooby than anything thing else(that my bank balance allows anyway). Best drive for cheap money

MattyB1983

iTrader: (51)

Im currently searching for a 530D, its quite surprising just how quick they are. With a simple remap a 530D is quite a weapon, not only quicker than just about any standard impreza (or even mildly modded) but quicker than most cars you'll come across on a day to day basis.
Modern diesels have come an awful long way over the last few years, you've only got to drive one to realize that chaps. A pal bought a new 335D a couple of years ago and had it mapped at benston motors. Would easily out perform the likes of e46 m3's, quite surprising how quick it was actually.

thenewgalaxy

The new turbo diesel engines are incredible. Since the turn of the century they've really upped their game.

Being destroyed by a Mondeo estate is the main reason I sold my Clio Cup. Cracking car down a dry twisty lane but on the M6 once I was being harassed by an absolute idiot in a Mondeo TDCi trying to overtake on the inside in heavy traffic. Don't know what his problem was he was pissing everyone off and generally being very rude, just like a lot of people on that road I guess. Anyway, when the traffic cleared as we came onto the toll I opened her up in fifth. The Mondeo swung round and blitzed me on the inside lane, all V's etc.

My father has taken delivery of a 350 CLS diesel. Just before we sold the 911 we went for a blast. On a dual carriageway I could not shake it off my back no matter how hard I booted it. They just keep going. I doubt I'd pull too far away from it in most performance cars at sensible speeds to be quite honest. Oh and it averages 40mpg!

Lastly I was absolutely obliterated by a 335d in my Blob PPP about three months before I sold it coming onto a slip road. Someone up here on the Fylde has one running something like 550bhp and the conversion was apparently rather inexpensive, or so I am led to believe. I bet it easily cracks 30mpg on a good run too!

On a track most of these diesels would not keep up with a sorted petrol car. Nose heavy, automatics, brake fade and all that. But as Alan says, what makes a good car in the real world isn't necessarily the quickest, finest and sharpest track tool.

The Pink Ninja

iTrader: (23)

I know of a 530 or 535 not sure which that is running around 350bhp/515lbft with just a remap as far as I know!!!

Alan Jeffery

Not quite! it was in the for sale section and is now sold.. I thought the brakes and rims were different to that description.

Alan Jeffery

Of course the point of the tale is that I was defeated due to low fuel in the tank added to the need to stick with him! The more power I used the less likely I was to make it to his choice of filling station.
Once I'd had some gas to go, and just plain felt like it, he didn't see me for dust.

fattb

iTrader: (1)

Ha, I have a mk4 golf gt tdi and I reckon with traffic and given the same circumstances the result will of course be the same

However full tank in the sti today and a mixture of 50 miles of lanes and B roads and there would of only been one winner ...... But it drank twice twice the fuel and wasn't twice as fast.…………but the smile was ten times bigger