So today i got my car back from APR after the initial 2 days of calibration after fitting the LOBA LO270. First things of note; Its nowhere near as fast as the Golf R
, it needs better brakes, it looks like it is on stilts, the front tyres have been overwhelmed in 1st/2nd gear, but the sound of the Fabia stereo is better
Oh and on my first test drive i managed to get a puncture in my rear tire
The car with the initial higher boost BETA test map is rapid, simple as that, and it feels very very smooth.
However it was suffering misfires. Something which doesnt happen on the stock turbo/stage 2 maps. Keith has spent pretty much the entire last two days trying to fathom out exactly why the car is misfiring, it is even doing it when on idle!!! We've done 5 varieties of new plugs; all different heat grades: with varying spark plug gaps, coil packs replaced, fueling maps altered and critiqued to see if its fueling/injector related. None of this was found to be at fault. Keith did say the new coilpacks helped reduce alot of the idle misfires though.(these are on a mass back order by dealerships, so they must be changing alot on warranty)
What they have found that stops the misfires is running lower boost. This 1.4TSI engine does not like high boost. The misfire occurs at 6800rpm, so its not in everyday powerband, but its still there and needs sorting. Over the next few months they plan on getting around this issue either with software or hardware tweaks, because essentially its pointless paying <£2k for the hybrid turbo if your not going to run it at its potential.
Another thing we have highlighted is the DSG isnt happy right now. From a rolling start there doesn't appear to be an issue, however from a standing start its spitting its dummy out, so more work is being doen to find out the limits of the box itself. I feel that there might be a need for a DSG remap though!
The purpose of today at Santapod was to test the BETA files against the limits of the DSG/engine etc, find weaknesses, flaws etc. We tried various settings on maps today to see what maps worked better, or with no interference from the DSG. Keith plans on spending a few months of R&D on it over the next few weeks and whilst im working away from May-Nov so ill be coming back to a much different car.
TBH, i think i have been my own worst enemy on this one. I knew keith had only 2 days worth of calibration completed due to the LOBA turbo not arriving as early as expected, plus i knew keith was investigating the misfires, yet for some reason i expected to be receiving a near completed car
Currently driving around on a low boost map. Still bloody quick though!!
Its also a pleasure to see an indicated 47mpg again
Even managed 36mpg on the way there in convoy and at points we were making some serious progress
