DJ's adventures in A2 land

I’m glad to say that today I added a dose of Millers using my oiler bottle solution for the first time when filling up - and it has completely surpassed my expectations: Very accurate metering, not a drop spilt and therefore no smell either. The little oiler bottles are absolutely perfect for the job.

Hardly worth the post but as a mini-project that makes fuelling up so much more enjoyable, I had to share ?

Also after seeing Tom @2work’s post HERE regarding the installation his new multi-function steering wheel and colour DIS installation, I’m feeling compelled to go the same route and finally make the pilgrimage to Lancaster, which means a 650 mile round trip from here to Maidenhead to pick up the SideGuard unit, then on to @timmus towers - then back to Devon the next day. Should be quite a trip!

The only thing left to do to will then be the seat colour change to Platinum. I have just sold my 1969 BMW 2800cs for a tidy sum which will fund all of this.
 
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Pepper pots with summer tyres on (pressures at 35 psi all round), double dose of Millers diesel ecomax in the tank to kick-start a long-term fuel system clean, winter grime banished inside and out and rear seats & false floor removed (ie. “van mode” selected!) - all ready for my 400 mile round trip next weekend whereby I’m borrowing the car from my brother-in-law to go collect some parts from my parents’ garage that they’ll have left out for me and then on to say goodbye to my BMW as it begins a new chapter of its life with it's new owner.

On this trip, 95% motorway or dual carriageway A road, I’m hoping to crack or at least get very close to 60mpg at a 70mph cruise.
F68AF481-80CC-4096-8FC7-8D243E863069.jpeg
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As an aside, this is the first time I’ve removed the rear seats completely - I’m simply astonished by how much space there is in the back with van mode! After all the reading about it on these pages I shouldn’t have been, but there really was much more than I was expecting even so!
 
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Pepper pots with summer tyres on (pressures at 35 psi all round), double dose of Millers diesel ecomax in the tank to start a long-term fuel system clean, winter grime banished inside and oit and rear seats & false floor removed (ie. “van mode” selected!) - all ready for my 400 mile round trip next weekend whereby I’m borrowing the car from my brother-in-law to go collect some parts from my parents’ garage that they’ll have left out for me and say then on to say goodbye to my BMW as it begins a new chapter of its life.

On this trip, 95% motorway or dual carriageway A road, I’m hoping to crack or at least get very close to 60mpg at a 70mph cruise.
View attachment 77834View attachment 77835
As an aside, this is the first time I’ve removed the rear seats completely - I’m simply astonished by how much space there is in the back with van mode! After all the reading about it on these pages I shouldn’t have been, but there really was much more than I was expecting even so!
David, you couldn’t take a picture of back sans seats could you. I’d like to show our soon to be member but I’ve got a car seat in one of mine and the other is in dry storage until I can sort the intercooler in a couple of weeks.
 
I’m afraid Audrey is parked down the street outside my BIL’s house and the keys are inside! However I think @timmus did a thread on the rear seats that has the pic you’re after? It may well be a sticky as I recall it was very informative and useful.
 
However I think @timmus did a thread on the rear seats that has the pic you’re after?
Here you are, folks...

:)
 
Today was the day of my mammoth road trip - up at 5, away by half past and off into the sunrise driving the length of the A35 from Honiton to Dorchester and up to Salisbury, a truly lovely drive with a complete lack of traffic.

Through the twisty parts I reflected on what the PTW gearbox has done to the car’s character: Sixth is a true overdrive top gear, a subtle difference from a “normal” top as the engine sounds happier in fifth at any speed below 65-70 on anything more than a slight incline. 70 - 75mph on the flat is the natural happy place for this car, at which speed the DIS reads 50/51 mpg. Fifth is ideal for pressing on through twisty A roads, fourth for B roads at 40-65mph, whilst 3rd is great for round town or country road blasting at 25-45mph.

After having seen another A2 in Datchet - and scaring the hell out of him I think with Audrey’s twin horn conversion (he looked at me in a state of shock as I gave him a couple of blasts then sailed by waving and grinning like a loony), I got to my parents’ in Berkshire and had a couple of hours, so I cracked on and changed the oil & filter as I’d noticed it was looking very black after only 4,000 miles - and the Mann filter I bought cheap off eBay arrived yesterday.

Happy days - the 36mm socket I bought when I first started driving to undo the rear axle hub nuts on my 1974 VW Beetle is just the job for undoing the oil filter top on the A2! Even better, 17 year old me had good taste as it was a high-quality (and to me then would have been expensive) Elora socket, made in Germany. I wouldn’t have ever heard of Elora before at that time and haven’t used the thing since then, so this happy coincidence that it’s just the job now 23 years later!
5F1CE05A-DF01-436A-A2CF-4AE2A6D5DD65.jpeg

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I thought I may need to remove the under tray, but with the car on the ramps and hence the sump and its contents being tipped back towards the rear, I found there was no need as the tray has a handy little cutout to get the 19mm socket and ratchet on no bother - clever Audi!

Anyway this is what I found - in summary it’s a good job I changed the oil I think:
1616882136648.jpeg

Filthy black!

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The filter seems a little distorted(?) and dirty


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Yep - That’s metal swarf on the magnetic end of the Gold plug that was installed at the last oil change - Not sure if that’s just legacy filings that were previously swimming around and didn’t drain with previous changes now being picked up by the new sump plug with its built-in magnet or what (positive thinking!).

At this stage the new dipstick was deployed - such a good idea to build up a stock of known weak point parts now while they’re still available!


A few issues:

Firstly, behold:
1616882439011.jpeg


Can you see it?
1616882468047.jpeg

Weirdly, the alternator is rock solidly mounted and appears to work fine....

Also, removing the pressed card engine cover revealed:
1616882553727.jpeg

No foam jacket, so that’s one order for @CreweAudi

Also I noticed three of the T25 bolts holding the under tray on are missing (@Clackers do you have any spare?) and I managed to drop the lower engine cover bolt into the engine bay, never to be seen again! Luckily it doesn’t seem to affect the cover being securely bolted on with just the two.
1616883099674.jpeg


Finally, I got my dad to hold the boot lid while I swapped out the tired, original boot struts with the 25 quid pair of Stabilus replacements - a nice easy 10 minute job that was deeply satisfying, especially as the improvement is dramatic and the boot lid slows right down when reaching the top of its travel just like the originals.

I ran out of time to do a diesel purge under the bonnet, so instead on the way back I ran the tank near-dry by driving for 30 miles after the DIS range reached 0 miles(!) - then tipped the 5 litres of Liqui Moly diesel purge into the tank, then drove the car for another 60 miles using the full range of revs - I then filled the tank to the brim using the burp toggle - this was the result:
1616883129699.jpeg


So there you have it, conclusive proof that the tank takes a good deal more than 42 litres and there is a healthy reserve left when DIS says otherwise. I will treat the range arriving at 0 as my cue to fuel up, rather than when the low fuel warning first comes on in future.

To finish off, I dropped a double dose of the Milllers additive into the tank and arrived back home just in time to kiss my boys good night. A big day indeed!
 
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Today was the day of my mammoth road trip - up at 5, away by half past and off into the sunrise driving the length of the A35 from Honiton to Dorchester and up to Salisbury, a truly lovely drive with a complete lack of traffic.

Through the twisty parts I reflected on what the PTW gearbox has done to the car’s character: Sixth is an overdrive top gear, a subtle difference from a “normal” top as the engine sounds happier in fifth at any speed below 65-70 on anything more than a slight incline. 75mph on the flat is the natural happy place for this car, at which speed the DIS reads 50mpg. Fifth is ideal for pressing on through twisty A roads, fourth for B roads at 40-60mph, whilst 3rd is great for round town at 25-40mph.

I got to my parents’ I’m Berkshire and had a couple of hours, so I cracked on and changed the oil & filter as I’d noticed it was looking very black after only 4,000 miles - and the Mann filter I bought cheap off eBay arrived yesterday. Happy days - the 36mm socket I bought to undo the rear axle hub nuts on my VW Beetle when I first started driving is just the job for undoing the oil filter top! Even better, 17 year old me had good taste as it was an Elora socket, I wouldn’t have ever heard of Elora before at that time and haven’t used the thing since then, so this happy coincidence that it’s just the job now 23 years later!
View attachment 78186
View attachment 78189

I thought I may need to remove the under tray, but with the car on the ramps and hence the sump and its contents being tipped back towards the rear, I found there was no need as the tray has a handy little cutout to get the 19mm socket and ratchet on no bother - clever Audi!

Anyway this is what I found - in summary it’s a good job I changed the oil I think:
View attachment 78191
View attachment 78192
View attachment 78193
Yep - That’s metal swarf on the magnetic end of the Gold plug that was installed at the last oil change - Not sure if that’s just legacy filings being picked up by the new sump plug with its built-in magnet or what.

At this stage the new dipstick was deployed - such a good idea to build up a stock of known weak point parts now while they’re still available!


A few issues:

Firstly, behold:
View attachment 78194

Can you see it?
View attachment 78195
Weirdly, the alternator is rock solidly mounted and appears to work fine....

Also, removing the pressed card engine cover revealed:
View attachment 78196
No foam jacket, so that’s one order for @CreweAudi

Also I noticed three of the T25 bolts holding the under tray on are missing (@Clackers do you have any spare?) and I managed to drop the lower engine cover bolt into the engine bay, never to be seen again! Luckily it doesn’t seem to effect the cover being securely bolted on with just the two.
View attachment 78198

Finally, I got my dad to hold the boot lid while I swapped out the tired, original boot struts with the 25 quid pair of Stabilus replacements - a nice easy 10 minute job that was deeply satisfying, especially as the improvement is dramatic and the boot lid slows right down when reaching the top of its travel just like the originals.

I ran out of time to do a diesel purge under the bonnet, so instead on the way back I ran the tank near-dry by driving for 30 miles after the DIS range reached 0 miles(!) - then tipped the 5 litres of Liqui Moly diesel purge into the tank, then drove the car for another 60 miles using the full range of revs - I then filled the tank to the brim using the burp toggle - this was the result:
View attachment 78199

So there you have it, conclusive proof that the tank takes a good deal more than 42 litres and there is a healthy reserve left when DIS says otherwise. I will treat the range arriving at 0 as a suggestion I should fuel up, rather than when the low fuel warning first comes on in future.

To finish off, I dropped a double dose of the Milllers additive into the tank and arrived back home just in time to kiss my boys good night. A big day indeed!
Great write up. Obscenely expensive diesel.
 
Great write up. Obscenely expensive diesel.
Yeah agree, normally I use the Texaco or Tesco near me as it’s a good 10p/litre cheaper, even with a shot of Millers to upgrade the additives. On this occasion, beggars can’t be choosers when you’re paranoid the car is about to run dry!

High risk perhaps, but given the recent conversations with @depronman on the subject of the healthy reserve Audi built in, I felt reasonably confident I’d be ok, plus I wanted the car running on relatively undiluted purge for a good hour or so.

I fear I may have wasted my money however, as there was absolutely zero difference in how the engine ran and drove on purge compared with before, with no change of economy figures noted on the DIS during or after!

So it seems I may just have to live with the fact that for now, unless a magic 5-10% improvement can be unlocked by cleaning and / or replacing some other components away from the fuel system, the most economical and mechanically harmonious cruising speed in sixth gear is just under an indicated 75mph, at which speed it’s doing just over 50mpg according to DIS once warmed up. I was rather hoping the purge in the tank would give me a definitive result here.

I suppose the next port of call could be to replace the EGR valve with one of Paul’s specials, else perhaps the MAF/MAP sensor? Exhaust partial blockage?! I am definitely clutching at straws.
 
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Just gone through some of the car's history from your time with it Dave @Special edition and noticed the printout from Stealth Racing both pre- and post-remap which adds another dimension to the reflection on the PTW gearbox upgrade:

Peak torque arrives at 2100 revs, which corresponds to just under 75mph in sixth gear, so that's why the engine seems at it's absolute happiest cruising in sixth at that speed and not 70, the speed I normally want to cruise at in other cars. I think 75mph for me is still a nice compromise between making progress, the sweet spot noise-wise, yet not going so fast that the car is drinking like a fish or my license is at risk! I would have liked the option to sit at a few MPH less and the car be in the absolute sweet spot in order to get slightly better fuel consumption figures but as the car seems to consume the same amount of fuel at either speed according to the DIS - probably due to the above reason - I suppose given this, the slightly higher speed is preferable.

I would like to drive another remapped TDi 90 with a MYP, NTG or PTU six speed and compare the experience: I think the PTW is a fantastic upgrade in gears 1-5 (i.e. in any situation away from dual carriageways and motorways) as you have a gear for each speed limit zone that keeps the revs down at the beginning of the torque curve - in top it is still a wonderful upgrade, however it does give the car such long legs it's at the upper limit of what the little ATL is comfortable with I think: You certainly wouldn't want it geared up any further at all! The other gearboxes would give just over 70MPH at 2100rpm assuming the standard 15" alloys - so a smidge slower road speed for the same revs, but that may even just make the upgrade that tiny bit better. The optimum would therefore be the PTW gear 1-5 and then the MYP et al. top gear ratios.

I really don't sound like a stereotypical Audi driver do I? Show me another model they've made in the last 30 years where people are as obsessed with max MPG rather than MPH! I really should just relax a little and enjoy the experience a little above the speed limit where the car is really comfortable - It doesn't get at all "busy" until you are well into 3 figures on the speedo, just like a proper Audi ?

As an aside, I note Dave that you had a brand new alternator put on it only 5 years ago, I wonder what's caused the housing to break / shear like that?! I also see that you had the temp sender and thermostat replaced - Why did I spend good money without asking you first! I could have saved myself a few hundred quid and some hassle there. Never mind. /
 
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The alternator was a reconditioned unit so unsure as to its exterior age David. All the interior parts would have been renewed but its odd it should have failed at that point. The thermostat and temperature sensors were replaced new with genuine Audi. Sorry i must have missed your post when you were looking to replace them otherwise i would have mentioned them.
 
Today was another early start to Reigate to see my sister - I thought I’d top up the tank and check the accuracy of the DIS-reported fuel consumption due to my ongoing investigations into Audrey’s apparent drinking problem!

So DIS is saying the long term average consumption is about 50mpg, now the car has just been driven to Grimsby and back from Devon by my Brother-in-law and then just a few of shorter cross-country runs of 8 miles or so each way, so that seems low. Filling up to the second click and calculating the true consumption (thankfully he always zeros the trip counter) revealed a true figure of 56mpg, which for someone who I’ve observed doesn’t drive with economy in mind is much better - I can’t recall who it was who said the DIS on their TDi90 exaggerates their consumption figure by 10% or more but whoever you are, you were dead right.

I note that the car seems to read a couple of mpg higher at a given speed that it did on my last trip, so maybe running it on the diesel purge plus double shots of Millers for the 600 subsequent miles has finally cleaned the injectors after all. 70mph now yields an instant readout of 55mpg on the flat once the car is a good way into the journey from cold, only dropping to 53mpg at just under 75mph, whereas as per my post on my last long trip, it would have been 50-51mpg. Interesting.

Careful driving to the speed limit all the way here - allowing the car to slow a little / pick up momentum on hills - has yielded a DIS average of 56mpg, so I will fill up again on the return journey this afternoon and confirm what this equates to in reality....
 
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David, while you will get a couple of figures from that method, according to Google Maps, Honiton to Reigate is only in the region of 150 miles. The margin for error is too significant to get an accurate representation. You'd do better to go all the way there and back, this would automatically halve the error margin. You should also fill up at the same side of the same pump upon return if possible. However you're still only looking at not much over half a tank.

Too late for this particular experiment, but ideally on both before- and after- fill-ups you'd vent the tank with the little button in the filler neck for 5-10 seconds at each click-off of the pump; after the first couple of clicks hold the nozzle at the top of the neck, and continue until the fuel (not foam) comes up to the top of the neck. That way you are minimising the possible difference between what's considered 'full' at each fill-up. For a short mileage in an economical car this difference could be a considerable fraction of the apparent amount consumed.

If I remember right, the average consumption on the DIS is over something like the last rolling 400 or 500 miles. As well as resetting the trip mileage at each fill-up, you should also zero the average consumption by holding the button on the underside of the stalk while viewing it (you can also do similar for the average speed and total journey time).

Should you get the chance of the Grimsby run again, you should be able to get there and back on the same tankful from completely full. Resetting the DIS before and filling up completely again on return will give you the most accurate comparison between what the DIS says and the actual MPG figure.
 
David, while you will get a couple of figures from that method, according to Google Maps, Honiton to Reigate is only in the region of 150 miles. The margin for error is too significant to get an accurate representation. You'd do better to go all the way there and back, this would automatically halve the error margin. You should also fill up at the same side of the same pump upon return if possible. However you're still only looking at not much over half a tank.

Too late for this particular experiment, but ideally on both before- and after- fill-ups you'd vent the tank with the little button in the filler neck for 5-10 seconds at each click-off of the pump; after the first couple of clicks hold the nozzle at the top of the neck, and continue until the fuel (not foam) comes up to the top of the neck. That way you are minimising the possible difference between what's considered 'full' at each fill-up. For a short mileage in an economical car this difference could be a considerable fraction of the apparent amount consumed.

If I remember right, the average consumption on the DIS is over something like the last rolling 400 or 500 miles. As well as resetting the trip mileage at each fill-up, you should also zero the average consumption by holding the button on the underside of the stalk while viewing it (you can also do similar for the average speed and total journey time).

Should you get the chance of the Grimsby run again, you should be able to get there and back on the same tankful from completely full. Resetting the DIS before and filling up completely again on return will give you the most accurate comparison between what the DIS says and the actual MPG figure.
You read my mind!

Same style of driving on the return trip (via Morrison’s in Reigate to pick up some baby formula, saw a nice 2003 crystal blue A2 on its way out as I walked in from the car) - back to the exact same pump in Ilminster, filled to the second click once again, the result? 64 miles covered of the trip for every gallon, versus DIS saying 57 (and yes I reset it at the first fill-up as you recommended).

It’s not quite as accurate a method as the one you suggest, but good enough for a decent indication of what’s going on - the numbers could be slightly better considering my driving style is pretty economical and I have a six speed, but certainly much better than I was expecting given the low DIS readouts, and at least I’m now convinced nothing major is amiss.

The next experiment is to see whether I can achieve any further consumption improvement by adding 250ml of Jaso FC spec semi-synthetic two stroke oil to the tank, others including @DJ 190 and @timmus have long extolled the virtues of doing so - And I managed to bag 2L of Carlube’s offering for £6 delivered, so it seemed rude not to really.
 
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So, with the bombshell dropped in this post, it seems I now own two A2's - So I guess I'd better modify the thread title to reflect the fact that I now have a polygamous relationship with our aluminum friends!

The car was delivered to DS Motorsport in Coventry today, my favoured garage. This is @PaulA2 's old Akoya Silver TDi90 - here's Paul's for sale thread - it's another very highly optioned six-speed TDi90 and it's spec hasn't changed since it left Paul, save for losing it's rear cupholder and also the swing grey heated non-lumbar sports seats (the exact spec Audrey has currently), have been swapped out for non-heated platinum alcantara / leather sports seats with lumbar - My current plan is to reverse that by swapping the seats with Audrey and either get a trimmer to install heated pads in the "new seats" so that both cars benefit from working heated seats, or else just remove the heated seat looms and climate panel from Audrey to sell on (I doubt heated seats are much of a necessity in winter with alcantara compared with leather).

Despite it having a fresh MOT on it and having been recently serviced, I've asked DS Motorsport to give it a once-over. So far this is what they've come up with.

- The springs on it are aftermarket / H&R and give a harsh ride, the car came with B3s (OEM) rears and @A2Steve is supplying some OE fronts to restore compliance to proceedings - The car has the same Monroe shocks as Audrey so I know this is a good combination;
- It's a very clean car overall, but could do with some minor attention with a touch-up pen on a few small areas;
- The lower bumper grille is cracked and needs replacing; @A2Steve to the rescue;
- Needs new number plates as they're cracked;
- All four tyres are winters and are on the limit (these were the only advisories noted on the MOT).

On the last point - The car is still on the 16" Audi A1 alloys, for which good quality tyres are expensive! As I like my A2s to be comfortable and I’m a MPG geek, I immediately looked for a set of pepperpots (6Jx15") and have secured a set of chromed ones with brand new centre caps for a good price, so I'll order up some quality summer tyres to go on them and the car should look mint. The A1 alloys will be up for grabs once I've worked out what I want for them.

Who knows, I may end up keeping this one too, especially if I can convince my wife that it would make a great local run-around for her....
 
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Many congratulations.

I would say you could probably treat this one to a shiny new thread if you could be tempted into the idea.
 
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