4eyes2wheels

So today was a day of motorway driving - M25, M1, M18 and A1 for 190 miles and the good news is that the mpg gradually crept up from 25 on the M25 all the way up to 28.2 mpg overall. A lot better than I was expecting. The way back down was marred by an accident on the M1 which meant crawling along for about an hour and so mpg on the way back was 26.3. I suppose the old girl just needed a good long run!

I'll probably get the other cable as well which comes with the shareware version of VAG COM so I can be independant - thanks for the offer though!

I am going to purchase cables and see what codes (if any) appear. I think we could be ploughing some more cash into the old girl. Just watched the Top Gear feature on the Mk5 Golf GTI so trying to resist buying on of them instead!

Thanks for the offer. You have PM.

I guess I need to just man up and do what you suggest. But there are SO MANY different options from a fiver to over 300 quid. There are also the handheld scanners for £25 ish that require no PC. .

Looks like I need to check out the VAG COM thread and work out what combo of leads and licenses I need to shell out for.

I guess we really need to get VAGCOM on the case otherwise it is an expensive game of replace parts and cross fingers. Lambda sensor hasn't been changed (as far as I can remember).

Any ideas? Don't want to hand it over to a local garage and give them free rein as I would with DG Autotech but can't get to see them anytime soon.

Even trolling along at 56 doesn't yeild the return it once did. I am especially bothered as I have a 400 mile round trip to Yorkshire on Monday and it's going to cost me a bomb! May sound like a dumb question but does a FULL EXHAUST SYSTEM include a Cat? How full is full?

Nothing in the service history to suggest it has been replaced. Mileage is (only) 78,500 so could be on the original?

Over the last two years I have been improving my VR6. Suspension, brakes, wheels, tyres, DG Cams and Map etc. I know the cams and maps will have an adverse effect on fuel economy but on a motorway run I would get 28 mpg roughly and around town about 24 mpg, over the last few months. Recently I have noticed the fuel consumption slipping. Having done 190 miles of mostly dual carriageway / motorway and filled up again I have averaged 22. Tyre pressures are right and I was only two up - not heavily loaded. I am wondering why the drop off? Was serviced in March. My exhaust is blowing and will need to be replaced soon - would that be a contributory factor? I have had a couple of engine sensors over the last two years - crank position amd camshaft position - but without VAGCOM it'll be a struggle to work out what's wrong. MAF ? ISV - I get the odd stall when warm. Any ideas or tips for simple diagnostics?

Yes please!

Astonishing attention to detail :dance:

In March at MOT time it was giving a few problems and Graham gave it a clean up - might be time to just invest in a new one. Now ECP Bosch £150 or Worldcarparts chinese copy for £60? I'll think on. Cheers!

I've been having the odd annoying stall recently and been thinking of replacing the ISV. Is it a easy replacement? :scratch: (I'm not very gifted with the spanners)

The issue I have with my VR6 brakes, even after the upgrades I have done, is that if pootling around they feel a bit old - travel in the pedal etc. Now, before you all say the VR6 needs to be driven hard, if I am "pushing on" and give them a good stamp to scrub off lots of speed (60 down to 20 to wing round a roundabout for example) then they are very good. I think it's just that they are better cars when pushing on, less good for pootling around but it's my only car so I have to use it for everything (while the wife is charging about in her R32!).

This is one of the problems I have going between my VR6 and the Mrs' Mk5 R32! Very embarassing! The other problem is it's SO tempting to drive fast!

I think I've replaced three of the four sensors in the last year. Yes they are cheap but can be a bu99er to remove the failed ones.

My experience of selling cars (and motorbikes) on eBay is that you have to sell them 3 times before they actually go! So many people pull out. Good luck with the sale, someone is going to get a very nice car there. My brother ran a new rocco for 18 months and loved every minute of it. Then he sold it to his girlfriend!

They do a MAF for £59 too. Now for someone like me who does 3k miles a year these look like they would be more than suitable replacements.

If you go on the Euro Car Parts website and in the checkout area apply code PCP25 you get a 25% discount taking it down from £205 to about £154. Found that code just by googling Euro Car Parts. But if you search the Bosch Part no 0280 140 512 you find this http://www.worldcarparts.co.uk/CarParts/tabid/144/ProductID/143/Default.aspx which is only £52 exc VAT.

I have been considering getting a Kestrel machine to do the same to mine. But then the damned thing stalls on me when turning on to my driveway (so no brakes and power steering) and I think I might need to spend money elsewhere! Top work!

This is exactly why I do the 280 mile round trip to DG Autotech :bonk:

Yesterday afternoon on Dave they had a Top Gear from 2003/4 when they were trying to prove whether progress had sped things up. They have a Mk1 Golf GTI against a Mk4 /5 GTI, Escort Cosworth against a Focus RS and a couple of others (Pug 206 v 205). The MK1 Golf was way faster which was nice to see.

:new-bday: