RE: Shed of the Week: Skoda Octavia vRS

[R400TVR]

M666 EVO said:

Genuine question, why does it not have a dump valve? It has a turbo?

A 'dump valve' is the name given to an atmospheric boost valve, where the excess pressurised air is literally 'dumped' into the atmosphere, making that stupid squeak, hiss, or other noise. These are usually an aftermarket fitment, and can damage the engine of some cars due to already metered air being suddenly dumped out of the loop but the fuel for it is still added.
The standard is usually a recirculation valve, which returns the excess air to the intake system in a quiet manner.

[STiG911]

helix402 said:

Spumfry said:

Pendants' corner: they don't have dump valves.

I thought they had a black plastic Bosch recirculating dump valve as standard? (I’m not a VAG expert). The type where the diaphragm splits and is often replaced with a shiny Forge unit.

It does, but some people don't realise that a 'Dump Valve' can do one of two jobs depending on the installation type. As in here, where vented wastegate air is recirculated into the inlet so the turbo doesn't stall, as opposed to 'dumping' it to atmosphere.

[kellyt]

aaron_2000 said:

That's mostly down to possibly the best diesel engine ever made, the VAG 1.9 TDI.

Indeed. Not at all sure the petrol engine is quite that long lasted. Also the Car Throttle Octaxia was doing long hauls up and down the motorway each day, probably doing not much more than tick over in top gear.

The biggest challenge would be staying awake.

[Reeves_and_Mortimer]

Had one of these nearly new, really good car and easier to drive fast than the BMW 330ci M Sport (Manual) I had before, better gearbox and brakes. Huge boot which used to get wet every time you opened the hatch when it was wet and a crap stereo but that was easily remedied. Fun to drive, quick and a great stealth car. No wonder the Police had so many.

[kellyt]

s m said:

For a long time a black one, VX54 AOC , was the fastest car on the Shrewsbury bypass, able to chase and haul down a hard-driven M3 CSL with ease

Either that vRS had few remaining standard mechanical parts, or that statement is very hard to reconcile.

[drgoatboy]

Had one of these for a couple of years and really liked it. Mine had a switchable map and was properly quick once it stopping wheel spinning. Also had upgraded ARB which improved the handling no end.
Interior isn't the cleverest if you are doing tip runs (seats are a very light grey/white colour), but the boot is huge with a big opening. Recall buying a fridge from Comet (who!) and the guy in the shop wheeling it to the car for me and saying "no way that is fitting in there!", slotted in with room to spare.

Coils went on mine but aftermarket ones are less than £30 each so no real biggie.

Would quite happily have another if I was after some cheap tip transport

[s m]

kellyt said:

s m said:

For a long time a black one, VX54 AOC , was the fastest car on the Shrewsbury bypass, able to chase and haul down a hard-driven M3 CSL with ease

Either that vRS had few remaining standard mechanical parts, or that statement is very hard to reconcile.

Had a lot to do with the blue flashing lights in the front grille and 'Police Stop' sigh that would appear in the rear window at such times

[corcoran]

s m said:

kellyt said:

s m said:

For a long time a black one, VX54 AOC , was the fastest car on the Shrewsbury bypass, able to chase and haul down a hard-driven M3 CSL with ease

Either that vRS had few remaining standard mechanical parts, or that statement is very hard to reconcile.

Had a lot to do with the blue flashing lights in the front grille and 'Police Stop' sigh that would appear in the rear window at such times

lolz

[Turbo-Dan]

I had one, a 2004 saloon, seats were awful and gave me back pain, it was ok to drive nothing special really but its based on a mk4 golf so skoda were up against it to be fair.
In 5 months, 3 wheel bearings, recirc valve, thermostat and temp sensor, boost leaks galore, seemed to have a new electical fault every week whilst the last fault would cure itself, regularly locked me out, caliper stuck on warping discs.. i would regularly be driving along grumbling to myself about people claiming they are uber reliable lol. maybe I had a bad one, but the two vag group cars before that had similar faults and every time I looked into fixing something like wheel bearings I needed a special tool meaning I had to take it to a specialist. I don't think I'll go back to another vag group car for a while, I get the impression they are not quite as over engineered as they used to be.

[Drive Blind]

nicfaz said:

I remember that the wags at Skoda gave Autocar one of these to road test that had actually been tuned to at least TT 225 spec. They pretty much got away with it, getting some good press and the start of a cult following.

I don't recall them getting away with it.
When the performance stats came in Autocar called it out as a modified or mapped car.

As mentioned above, they then tested another one and got the stats you would expect for 180bhp and 1300kg to drag about.

[smudgerebt]

Nothing unusual about the estate.

The sill will be a garage jacking it up on it (very common).

Also very common is rust on the hatch.

I own a 54 black estate with exact same things.

Had it around 5 years now, not worth much, but is quick, massive boot, difficult to replace with something similar.

[thiscocks]

STiG911 said:

helix402 said:

Spumfry said:

Pendants' corner: they don't have dump valves.

I thought they had a black plastic Bosch recirculating dump valve as standard? (I’m not a VAG expert). The type where the diaphragm splits and is often replaced with a shiny Forge unit.

It does, but some people don't realise that a 'Dump Valve' can do one of two jobs depending on the installation type. As in here, where vented wastegate air is recirculated into the inlet so the turbo doesn't stall, as opposed to 'dumping' it to atmosphere.

I thought the 'dump valve' was separate to the wastegate?

[Qubit]

I have one of these (estate mk1). Had a hatchback previously which was overall slightly better (always on the look out for a decent hatchback so i can move back). Contrary to a couple of posters, pretty sure no saloon of these was made (at least in mk1). Ive also had a mk2 LE, which i disliked and swapped back for my knackered old hatchback

Someone mentioned the seats, which are one of the reasons I own this car, i suffer with back problems and find the seats in this better than most (BMW, Volvo among others). These are hard to beat; Practical, reasonably quick, more frugal than the 6 speed Leon Cupra (which i also had and is nowhere near as well put together) and reliable. Cheap enough not to have to worry about either, I could easily afford something 'better' but I like this. Great cars.

[RacerMike]

Turbo-Dan said:

I had one, a 2004 saloon, seats were awful and gave me back pain, it was ok to drive nothing special really but its based on a mk4 golf so skoda were up against it to be fair.
In 5 months, 3 wheel bearings, recirc valve, thermostat and temp sensor, boost leaks galore, seemed to have a new electical fault every week whilst the last fault would cure itself, regularly locked me out, caliper stuck on warping discs.. i would regularly be driving along grumbling to myself about people claiming they are uber reliable lol. maybe I had a bad one, but the two vag group cars before that had similar faults and every time I looked into fixing something like wheel bearings I needed a special tool meaning I had to take it to a specialist. I don't think I'll go back to another vag group car for a while, I get the impression they are not quite as over engineered as they used to be.

Ah yeah. You reminded me, I also had the temp sensor wiring for the thermostat break, and the reverse sensor wiring completely fell off the reverse sensor on the gearbox. That was a fun one to fix.

And ok....it was a saloon. It was a hatchback, but it looked like a saloon.

[kellyt]

Kind of odd, it sold almost immediately, but it didn't garner a lot of comments. Not actually very interesting, but sold really fast. In a way that explains 99% of the cars on the roads today.

[R400TVR]

thiscocks said:

I thought the 'dump valve' was separate to the wastegate?

It is. The wastegate controls the turbo boost pressure by opening at a predetermined point and lets the exhaust gas back into the exhaust system.
The recirculation/vta operates on the other side of the turbo and releases the pressurised air headed into the cylinders.

[s m]

kellyt said:

Kind of odd, it sold almost immediately, but it didn't garner a lot of comments. Not actually very interesting, but sold really fast. In a way that explains 99% of the cars on the roads today.

More interesting for some though than yet another Aston or 911 derivative story
Depends on your budget - I mostly enjoy reading about things I could afford and use like this and the VX220
Not surprised this sold quick though

[NickGRhodes]

7 years ago, I was very close to buying this exact VRS (fully back to standard spec), but news of a pending third child stopped that fun.

[JMF894]

Had a Silver hatch from 2008 to 2013.Bought at 42k and sold only due to divorce at 126k. Had a Revo map for most of that and only needed front wheel bearings and a small piece of vacuum pipe under the manifold. Never needed a coil, did 40mpg easily and never put a clutch or exhaust on it. Just serviced on time including cambelt and waterpump upgrade.

Great car. Here it is on the way up the Stelvio Pass 2010.


P1020289 by James Fawcett, on Flickr