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Driving a TDi

mcchriswood

Active Member
Aug 8, 2009
98
0
Hi Guys.
very stupid newbie question here. And slightly embrassing.
I have been driving for quite a long time now and have owned around 13 cars (all being Petrol)
I picked up my Seat Leon TDi 130 yesterday on an 04 plate.
Couldnt be happier with the car, runs Great, excellent MPG and very quick. To be honest i can't ever see a reason too go back to petrol.
Now here comes my problem. The car has been remapped.
I can feel a massive surge in power around the 2000rpm mark.
I'm so paranoid about the revs building up so quickly and getting near the red line at 4500rpm that im changing gear basically straight away.
Not only this but where im used too just putting my foot down in a petrol through the gears if i put my foot down in 1st or 2nd the car seems too just try too grab traction and spins. Also should i be more paranoid about driving a diesel hard than driving a petrol hard because at the moment i am. How damaging is it?
Im not a GREAT driver however i'd class myself above average however in this new car im feeling like a new driver.
Im using the clutch much differently and the accellerator :S
It may be down to the fact that this is the nicest most expensive car ive owned but i cant help but think its because its a diesel.

On another note i have a button in the middle of the car between the seats near the petrol cap release button that i think says TCS - what is this??

Thanks guys
Chris
 
Hi

First of all diesel engines are not designed to be driven to red line, the power comes in about 1800 and usually drops off at 4000ish, i have mine remapped aswell and the power will keep going to redline and then fades.

The amount of torque in a diesel engine will just rip the tyres in 1st and 2nd so you need to apply the power with a certain amount of care and careful how you put it down, when your up to 3rd you should be fine to floor it, altho mine does spin up to 4th!

Diesel engines are hard wearing, they will always outlive a petrol. How are you using the clutch differently????

That button is the Traction Control, cuts the power when the wheels start spinning, essential to keeping your tyres for more than a few thousand miles!!!!
 
so i should have the button pressed??
I currently think its not pressed?? But how would i know??
Yes 3rd seems the gear im using all my power thorugh.
Im currently accellerating super slow in 1st changing at around 10mph to 2nd using a little more power and am in 3rd by 20mph.
Should i be aiming too gear change so that when im into my next gear its around the 2000 mark??
As for using the clutch differently im just being super careful so being very strict when pressing clutch lifting off slowly then depressing accellerator. - Im just taking longer in other words.
i think this maybe down to the fact that everywhere i read about different opinions on how a clutch deals with a remap
 
as stated power tails off at around 4k, can't see why you need to panic so much as the rev's don't rise that quick and even if you take it beyond 4k it won't hurt the engine you will just loose power thats all. mine rev's to about 5.3k and the remap means i can hold in gear power wise longer, but still in the same boat as yourself where the power is pretty much top at 4k
 
Watch the clutch when your giving it the beans, i'd imagine its still the standard clutch, yours will probably be ok being 130bhp standard, mine is the 150bhp and mapped to 180bhp and the clutch cant handle the power and it slipping thro 3rd and 4th.

If TCS is off you'll have a yellow warning light in the dash, if i remember rightly it an A with a circle thro it, never have it off so cant remember what it looks like!

As a general thing whatever gear you would use in a petrol, shift down a gear. Takes a bit of time to get used to it so just go out and ave a play about with it
 
Marktdi180 said:
Watch the clutch when your giving it the beans, i'd imagine its still the standard clutch, yours will probably be ok being 130bhp standard, mine is the 150bhp and mapped to 180bhp and the clutch cant handle the power and it slipping thro 3rd and 4th.

If TCS is off you'll have a yellow warning light in the dash, if i remember rightly it an A with a circle thro it, never have it off so cant remember what it looks like!

As a general thing whatever gear you would use in a petrol, shift down a gear. Takes a bit of time to get used to it so just go out and ave a play about with it
Click to expand...

i don't have that problem normally in 3/4th and mine is supposed to be 190bhp now its remapped, not been tested so i can't say for certain i just drive mine more like a petrol using the gears plus i like getting mine to higher rpm's with my exhaust hehe
 
Marktdi180 said:
Haha i took my chip out as i was brickin myself the clutch would go! Is yours still standard clutch? U change the exhaust?
Click to expand...

er yeah standard clutch atm, it does slip from time to time which was something i noticed going up to falkirk for my mates wedding recently but that was motorway and i think i have tailored my driving to the clutch the rest of the time

as for the exhaust its a cat back stainless 2.5" custom one i had done last year, recently its started to sound even better but think its bedded in a bit now plus the new cone filter i fitted the other week will help that. now got a nice woosh noise at about 2k that sounds almost like a dump valve, hence its nickname of darth lol
 
ive got a standard clutch also yes.
In what way should i be careful when using the clutch when booting it??
Other then then times i can just use it as normal right??
 
mcchriswood said:
ive got a standard clutch also yes.
In what way should i be careful when using the clutch when booting it??
Other then then times i can just use it as normal right??
Click to expand...

If you put your foot to the floor and the rev counter shoots up, usually by about 1000rpm, and then comes back down again it means the clutch is slippin
 
chris285 said:
er yeah standard clutch atm, it does slip from time to time which was something i noticed going up to falkirk for my mates wedding recently but that was motorway and i think i have tailored my driving to the clutch the rest of the time

as for the exhaust its a cat back stainless 2.5" custom one i had done last year, recently its started to sound even better but think its bedded in a bit now plus the new cone filter i fitted the other week will help that. now got a nice woosh noise at about 2k that sounds almost like a dump valve, hence its nickname of darth lol
Click to expand...

I was going to do exhaust, spacers on the back wheels and cone filter but had to get wheels powder coated, as the coating was peeling off them, and skinned me £315 so i'll have to wait a wee while lol
 
If the clutch slips the wheels wont spin, as the power is not going to the wheels as theres too much power for the clutch to handle
 
It's not the power the clutch can't take, it's the amount of torque the engines producing. Diesel's always produce more torque than petrols. Back in the days of RS Turbo's people used to use Diesel gearboxes because they were built for more torque and lower gearing meant faster acceleration.

You can't really over-rev a diesel either, they have a limiter which cuts the fuel (or they used to AFAIK).

You'll usually see clutch slip in hgher gears at low revs where torque is greatest with the most resistance. To test your clutch, sit in fifth or siz at about 1000rpm and boot it, you'll know if your clutch is buggered, because the rev needle will jump around the gauge like your in first gear. I remember the clutch going in my S12 Nissan Silvia, started slipping in fifth and got worse until it slipped even in second gear.
 
For goodness's sake stop talking about power and torque as though they were unrelated.

Power(bhp)=Torque(lb-ft) x rpm/5252

Diesels have a narrower power band than petrol engines.
An engine's rated max bhp is only achieved at max rpm.
Diesels have lower max rpm than petrols


Your TDI130 is developing 130BHP at around 4000rpm, and 83 BHP at 1900 rpm.
A petrol LC develps 180 BHP at 5900rpm, and 66 BHP at 2000rpm.

Yes, at low rpm the diesel develops more *power* than an LC. Almost as much as an LCR in fact, which develops 87 BHP at 2000rpm.

That's what causes clutch slip, trying to pull away with over 80 BHP applied to a stationary clutch plate. Wheelspin too, if the clutch engages and your tyres are a bit worn. Power.

Because diesels have more power at low revs they will expose leadfooted drivers to embarassment. Feed the power in, the pedal is not an on/off switch, you need to feel how well the car is gripping and keep just under the wheelspin point. It's no different in any high-powered car, petrol or diesel, just that diesels will catch you out first at "normal" rev ranges.
 
I moved the a FR TDI from a focus ST and it took me a while to get used the different way in which the power comes in and is delivered. You just hav to get used to it and learn to feed in the power as said in the previous post.
 
Hi mate - welcome to the land of TDi!!

Basically my advice to a new diesel owner is:-

- Let your car warm up before journeys - a couple of minutes on idle will be fine
- As your car has been remapped, try not to put your foot down below 2k rpm as this will put lots of pressure on your clutch & flywheel and you'll eventually have clutch slip!
- Let the car cool down after a journey
- Also don't boot it in 6th gear as you will more than likely feel a 'shudder' and this will harm your flywheel
- Enjoy the boost :lol:
 
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