General advice about turbo'd cars

[RobM]

Tomorrow I'm picking up a LCR, which will be my first turbo'd car. So is there anything 'different' I need to bear in mind when driving it, or generally owning it? What can't you do in a turbo'd car that you can in a NA car. Or, more importantly, what should you do in a turbo'd car that you don't need to in a NA car?

I know about letting it run for a short while before turning the engine off, and I know the importance of decent cooling and oil, but it's the day-to-day stuff I don't know about

Any advice would be appreciated, however basic it sounds

Ta

 

[cordobabrendy]

when tooling it remember that it drinks petrol with a macdonalds straw so dont forget to fill up. dont just floor it when moving off as you will end up spinning for all youre worth!
oh and get pics up.

 

[CupraUK]

also when overtaking, give yourself enough time (or be in the right gear) to build revs and pressure, floor it at 1500rpm and you'll be going nowhere very quick until that blower is at full spin

You said that its your first turbo, but what king of power are you used to? If you've been driving a 1l metro then the thing you probably want to be most careful about is losing your licence very quickly at over 220 bhp!

 

[RobM]

I've had a 160bhp Focus and a Toyota Celica as my past two cars, so it's not a gigantic leap, but it's a step up nonetheless

At what point does the Leon reach full boost? And where does it start to get going?

Cheers for the advice so far!

 

[cordobabrendy]

standard it starts pulling properly around 2500-3000 and its time to change gear a shade before 6k. remapped it comes on song around the same time but pulls a lot harder up to 6kish, unless you go for a bigger turbo you will never need to redline it.

 

[RobM]

Superb, it always takes a while to get used to the characteristics of a new car and engine, but knowing things like that really helps. That's also why I asked about dyno prints for a standard LCR the other day.

I can't wait now

Will get pics up once she is mine!

 

[m.r.davies]

hehe, nearly friday! i bet your buzzing

 

[RobM]

Friday is here and I'm bouncing off the walls. I want one of those fast forward things that Adam Sandler has in his new film...!

Trouble is it's raining today Although that may be a good thing, as it will force me to take it easy and get used to the car at a slowed speed.

Picking car up at lunch time and hopefully fitting stereo and car kit tonight. Will get some pics up when done!

 

[foon]

Still with us?

Friday is here and I'm bouncing off the walls. I want one of those fast forward things that Adam Sandler has in his new film...!

Trouble is it's raining today Although that may be a good thing, as it will force me to take it easy and get used to the car at a slowed speed.

Picking car up at lunch time and hopefully fitting stereo and car kit tonight. Will get some pics up when done!

Assuming you haven't done anything too silly duringthe afternoon....

Two things.
1. Make sure you're pointed at the exit of the roundabout (with steering wheel centred) before you boot it

2. If you want to hustle, try the old Porsche 911 trick - unless stopping, don't let the revs drop below 3000, just drop gears. It's amazing how you press on when you're always on-boost.

Enjoy!

 

[RobM]

Well the car is now here

I had a little trouble with it at first, as the remote central locking, elec windows ad elec mirrors all packed up on me! Took it to Seat and they changed a blown fuse and all was good again

The car is just superb. It really is. It's going to take a while to get to know how to drive it to it's full potential, of course, but first impressions are it's very fast! It also drives really well, giving a good balance between being 'sporty' and comfortable, which is good.

Will get some pictures taken asap... but I'm off to Amsterdam tomorrow so it might have to wait until I'm back

 

[Fluke]

2. If you want to hustle, try the old Porsche 911 trick - unless stopping, don't let the revs drop below 3000, just drop gears. It's amazing how you press on when you're always on-boost.

Enjoy!

+1
Don't even let the revs drop when changing gear.
Don't lift your foot right off like you are taught to when learning to drive. Just lift enough to stop the revs rising as you push the clutch. Be firm with the gear shift.

I came to my Leon six weeks ago after 15 years of driving very responsive, normaly aspirated (petrol) engines. I am in the habit, even when hustling, of performing, slow, lazy gear changes. The biggest change in going to a turbo (diesel) is that to drive it spiritedly, I MUST do racing gear changes to avoid turbp lag.

 

[RobM]

That kinda backs up my decision to buy a short shift kit really. I think the standard shift is a little too vague to really be able to hammer through the gears quickly, I'd be constantly scared of missing the right gear.

 

[CupraUK]

Short shift is one of the best, cheapest and quickest mods (10 mins to fit) to do. Its also totally stealth if you just get a OEM looking one, if you got an EIP they don't even put their name on it.

PS: Now get off here and go and enjoy your new toy!!