210 - its a stealth rocket

[Petrolhead Paul]

Just to let you know my "running in" flat spot seems to have gone now after 1350 miles and now I can open her up to 6000rpm at long last it is feeling very quick already. I can imagine it being awesome with 5000+miles on the clock.
Suspension has settled slightly although I think it should improve further with miles, and the Tarox G88/Greenstuff brakes are now fully bedded in at optimum biting efficiency. Given it another thorough workout this weekend with no fade, they seem to do the job for normal "press on" fast road driving, as long as you don't expect too much from them. They are a big improvement over the original equipment brakes which fade far sooner and don't bite as well.
However for track use or ultimate stopping power then APs, Tarox 6 pots or maybe the Cupra R Brembo set up would be highly desirable, I may well upgrade in the future when funds allow.
The dry weather grip from the 205/45x16 Goodyear F1s is superb considering how much power is going through them, however I certainly wouldn't push it too hard in the wet - the ESP light would be flickering all the time.
Now the tyres are starting to wear in steering feel is also improved, the car feels more chuckable and surefooted.
However hold on tight to the steering wheel when accelerating hard, as tramlining and torque steer can still occur even with ESP on - its highly dependent on the actual road surface, the car may have Impreza pace but its never going to launch like one over uneven roads.
In summary I'm highly impressed so far and the best is yet to come - by biggest niggle may seem trivial, but its the quietness of the thing. This is a damn rapid car that you can take to 6000rpm but is still lacking in aural stimulation (ooh er missus). I've been told no induction kits are suitable, but I'm hoping it might be possible to modify the airbox to increase induction noise.
Sure one of the Greek or Israeli guys has done it with positive results (who was it?)
Whats everyones opinion on this? Or howabout an un-oiled cotton gauze K&N or similar element? Maybe thats a better option - more induction noise without any airbox alterations.

P.S. I'll stick some pictures up of little red riding rocket when I get hold of a new digital camera.

[chungster]

Paul,

Told you it was the right decision!!!

Anyhoo......don't say i didn't warn you about any further "mods" to the engine...(including drilling ya air box).

This could destabilise the air going thru the MAF........and if it throws a wobbly to the ECU..........i'm just saying Amethyst might not fix it under warranty.

I know i can't do nowt without proper approval from certain quarters....or the warranty is in the pan.

I'm just letting you know of these "possible" consequences.

Mark has fitted a Ramair filter to his Leon.......and even though Darren has had no problems with his PiperX........i still won't risk it.

You could try fitting the whooshy dumper too.......some reports say its working with no probs!!!!

Its all down to personal opinions at the end of the day......i won;t hold it against you if you started drilling things!

Lee

PS: 10K miles and the suspension is still CRAP!

[ZBOYD]

The RAMAIR hs made little difference in sound to the car, but after only 2 mins i noticed considrably more smoothness in the power and throttle response.

AS i said in my other post, the VW folks have experienced few issues with oily MAF sensors, so im prpeared to use it and i feel as an improvement has been made already.

My only advice would be to give any panel filter a good wipe down if its pre oiled, or if it isnt, use a fairly light thin coating of retention oil.

I think if the things dripping in oil, then you run a higher risk of experiencing problems.

Would love a nice induction noise, but im not drilling my box to achieve it.

After Curborough im very happy at the moment with the cars performance its running nicely, i also have a clear understanding from Awesome about potential issues that could arise or may have arisen to cause the intermittant flat spot i seemed to be plagued with.

Good to have somewhere close by with lots of experience. :)

[Petrolhead Paul]

Lee and Mark (ZBoyd) - don't worry, I am loath to drill the airbox, as you say it might destabilise things. However I can't see that much risk in sticking an un-oiled cotton gauze filter element in, if it DOES play up then it could be removed and the paper one stuck back in.

The reason I say cotton gauze and not foam (like the Pipercross and Ramair) is that they can give a bit more induction roar, as Mark says foam filters in standard airboxes are barely noticable.
Just for the record, what are the symptoms of oil fouling up the MAF sensor?

Lee when you say the suspension after 10k is still crap do you mean ride quality or handling? There is a difference. Its the ride that pisses me off most at the moment (highlighted by the shit quality roads in Surrey), although the handling could be improved I'm not sure its worth £1k to do so.

Mark Re: "i also have a clear understanding from Awesome about potential issues that could arise or may have arisen to cause the intermittant flat spot i seemed to be plagued with. "

Go on then tell us what the causes could be...

[Steve3961]

Originally posted by Petrolhead Paul
Lee and Mark (ZBoyd) - don't worry, I am loath to drill the airbox, as you say it might destabilise things. However I can't see that much risk in sticking an un-oiled cotton gauze filter element in, if it DOES play up then it could be removed and the paper one stuck back in.

The reason I say cotton gauze and not foam (like the Pipercross and Ramair) is that they can give a bit more induction roar, as Mark says foam filters in standard airboxes are barely noticable.
Just for the record, what are the symptoms of oil fouling up the MAF sensor?

Lee when you say the suspension after 10k is still crap do you mean ride quality or handling? There is a difference. Its the ride that pisses me off most at the moment (highlighted by the shit quality roads in Surrey), although the handling could be improved I'm not sure its worth £1k to do so.

When air mass meters get coated in oil the simply give the wrong infomation to the ECU. This when driving can normally be felt as a severe lack of power and/or flatspots. Apparently when you turn your engine off the Air mass meter hot wire actually heats up to around 1000 degree's to remove any debris it may have picked up from diving. Although i don't think even this removes the oil from a performance filter!

[Petrolhead Paul]

Originally posted by Steve3961
When air mass meters get coated in oil the simply give the wrong infomation to the ECU. This when driving can normally be felt as a severe lack of power and/or flatspots. Apparently when you turn your engine off the Air mass meter hot wire actually heats up to around 1000 degree's to remove any debris it may have picked up from diving. Although i don't think even this removes the oil from a performance filter! [/B]

OK, so can someone tell K&N and Green to stop advertising filters and induction kits for VAG 1.8Ts before they mess up someones car. Unless maybe K&N will sell non pre-oiled filters.

The quest to engineer some soul sound into the 1.8T goes on...

[ZBOYD]

Well if its flatspots were talking about i was getting them anyway :D

As i said Jim from Awesome seemed pretty positive that they've experienced few problems with oiled filters on the Golf engine.

The RAMAIR came preoiled, and it was a bit excessive, so we used a clean rag and cleared away all the excess oil, and wiped the filter on both sides once or twice, to clear it of the unneccersary excess.

One thing we need to think about also, is that even though the Ibiza and Leon run the same 1.8VT engine, they are differences in configuration.

The most noticible difference is that the Leon is a match for the Golf engine, its throttle/fuel/air is runnng from the right.

If you look at the Ibiza its on the opposite side.

The airbox on the Ibiza is smaller and narrower and also less deep than the Leons.

Maybe not major differences, but if the airbox on the Ibiza is smaller and tighter, could be more prone to oil contamination, ive noticed on my paper filter i removed that the dust/crap is all in one area of the filter.

Anyway as i say the car feels smoother as i speak, and im sticking with the RAMAIR, it seems very good.