Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

From memory, my old Volvo had more of an on/off switch than a gradual power build up in regards to the turbo.

In the 122hp 1.4 TSI it builds from 1500 to 1750, then there is full torque (= boost) until some k rpm.
In the 86hp 1.2 TSI it builds from 1700 to 1900, then see above.
In the 105hp 1.6 TDI it builds from 1000 to 1500 :drool: 90% of the power is available from 2500rpm, that's 140 in 5th. As a result it feels much more powerful because an oldfashioned engine wouldn't have that much at such low revs... but then it dies from 4500 :lol:
 
Please to help me, wtf is causing this noise:

[video=youtube;_-09hXI5bbM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-09hXI5bbM[/video]

Also, this was when I left work. When I got back home and tried it, it didn't make that noise, or any noise at all.

The car also sometimes screeches when I drive, sorta like this:

 
The only ways to get the Octavia to beep/bong are...
... drive more than some km/h without the driver seatbelt.
... drive with the handbrake on. (Yes, it may bong when hooning in the snow... on a private track :nod:)
... drop below 1/8th of a tank while driving.
... drop below 4?C while driving.
... turn the lights to markers only and open the driver's door. (Keep it on low beams and it'll turn itself off - poor Danish man's automatic lights, always on)
... approach an obstacle in reverse.

In other words, it very rarely bongs at you :)

My Merc can top that! :) No bong for low fuel, just a light + full-screen central display warning (very hard to overlook), and I've never heard a car bong because of low temperature - my old A6 displayed a frost warning icon under 5?C, but that's it.
 
On the autobahn, I can drive without using the cruise control, because there's no speed limit. I use it occasionally, when there's not much traffic and I'm not in a hurry.

However, when we went to Holland with my mom's old Nissan Murano with broken CC, I actually wanted to kill myself - I found it absolutely impossible to keep driving 120km/h for more than 15 minutes without falling asleep, and having to keep the foot on the throttle all the time doesn't help. On the German autobahn, there's at least some movement going on - people go different speeds, change lanes and overtake; in Holland, it's just 3 lanes all doing 120, because there are speed cameras everywhere...

Please show me those roads, because the roads I travel on are filled with morons driving anything from 90 to 115, and a few people going 140+, and nothing in between.
 
That one seems odd, even in our not particularly extreme winters, the temperature can stay under that for weeks on end.

It doesn't bong if it stays under 4?C, it only bongs when you set off over 4?C and while driving get into colder weather. One bong and a switch of the on-board computer display to the temperature, then silence.
 
Please show me those roads, because the roads I travel on are filled with morons driving anything from 90 to 115, and a few people going 140+, and nothing in between.

It was a few years ago (summer of 2009 I think). Coming from Germany from the A3 onto the A12 in the Netherlands, all the way to Den Haag, and then a few days lated southbound to Rotterdam and back to Germany via the A20 and A12 again. My impression was that 90% of people were driving at constant 120, with barely any difference between lanes.
 
Please to help me, wtf is causing this noise:

[video=youtube;_-09hXI5bbM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-09hXI5bbM[/video]

Also, this was when I left work. When I got back home and tried it, it didn't make that noise, or any noise at all.

The car also sometimes screeches when I drive, sorta like this:


I was thinking brake problems.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LP
Something is wrong with your car if it keeps holding boost at cruising speed.

No, nothing wrong with it - it's not holding boost. I just like having the feel of controlling my throttle. Even when I drove from WV to CO, I didn't mind my last car's lack of cruise control. I would have been bored if I weren't playing with the throttle.
 
There are these things called freeways...

Snark aside, long highways with no change in speed will have you welcoming the existence of cruise control. My right heel definitely feels it after a day of highway driving in my cruise control-less Spyder.
I've said it before but CC is weird to me, I don't like the car driving itself but then again I don't get any pains from driving LD.

So I went on vacation and as part of it went to drive some buggies down some muddy roads. So I have a small story, the buggie I was in broke the chain on the last leg of the journey so one of the guides gave me his, which would cut out completely if you went off throttle, to start them you need to hot wire them so.... I ended following the guide top speed (I would guess 25ish mph) on narrow muddy roads with my foot planted all the way down and flew into the "garage" like that. The owner wasn't amused but I got a thumbs up from the guide and ruined the clothes I was wearing (wasn't aware it was going to be on mud roads). All in all it was fun :)
 
Last edited:
Well shit. I swapped out the shims and I'm still getting the rumble, and now I need an alignment because I had the axle off. The X goes in tomorrow so someone who isn't a complete moron can figure it out.
 
I never use the cruise control on my car. Seems a bit ridiculous on a turbocharged car with a manual gearbox.

how is either of those relevant to the usage of cruise control?

edit: dear lrod, i seem to have missed a page :p sorry about that... please continue, don't mind me.
 
Last edited:
Well shit. I swapped out the shims and I'm still getting the rumble, and now I need an alignment because I had the axle off. The X goes in tomorrow so someone who isn't a complete moron can figure it out.

Ah, that sucks. I have to ask, though, what is there to align on a rear stick axle with leaf springs? Caster/camber is affected by pinion angle, which you've set already and your leaves' centering pins should keep the thrust angles in line.
 
how is either of those relevant to the usage of cruise control?

Admittedly, they are not directly related. The point was that I bought a car for the purpose of it being fun to drive. Why would I want to ruin the pleasure of driving by letting the car drive itself? I'm just more of a purist on this matter.
 
I was thinking brake problems.

I'm thinking that too. I heard another honda do that as well, but it was an older accord.

Not sure.

weird non-synchro reverse and firse gears? mine whine, not screech but it could be something like that.

I really hope it's not that, since that's probably going to be an expensive fix isn't it?
 
Reverse problem is possibly bad rear calipers - do you use the parking brake regularly?

Squealing at speed could be brakes or it could be belt slippage.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LP
Admittedly, they are not directly related. The point was that I bought a car for the purpose of it being fun to drive. Why would I want to ruin the pleasure of driving by letting the car drive itself? I'm just more of a purist on this matter.


Nothing like the pure driving pleasure of keeping your foot in mostly the same position for 60+ miles on a straight road. :p
 
Nothing like the pure driving pleasure of keeping your foot in mostly the same position for 60+ miles on a straight road. :p

No kidding. Cruise control (or, in aviation terms, autothrottle) was a godsend on those fast runs to Houston in 2010 (when I had it) and a pain when I had to run it in vehicles that didn't. I even have throttle locks/cruise control on my motorcycles for similar reasons.

For that matter, one reason the drive back to Dallas from Houston with the F-350 was tolerable was because the cruise control worked. The failed upper steering column bearing made keeping it straight occupied more of my attention than I would like and being able to concentrate on that instead of additionally concentrating on having to maintain speed was a relief.
 
Last edited:
Nothing like the pure driving pleasure of keeping your foot in mostly the same position for 60+ miles on a straight road. :p

I've never been bored doing this. There are always cars that needto be passed. Especially when you consider that I've always lived in a mountain-ish area. Straight roads are a rare sight.
 
Top