[akshaydaryani]

Hi Nikhil,

Getting delivery of my car in 1st-2nd week of Feb, Quick question for the same.

Can we upsize from the 225/45 R17 stock tyres to 245/40 R17 using the same set of 7J wheels. Is it safe?

Please help me with this..?

If not possible, then would probably just stick to the stock size and just change to the Michelin PS4's

Thanks a lot!

[Suraj25]

Originally Posted by akshaydaryani

Can we upsize from the 225/45 R17 stock tyres to 245/40 R17 using the same set of 7J wheels. Is it safe?

The max recommended tyre width for 7J rims is 225. 245s will definitely be too wide.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Nikhil, time you drove a 1.8 back to back with your 2.0. to get some real-world comparative insights.

Maybe coax TAFE to loan their demo 1.8 while you wait for your service?

Hahaha.... And leave the car alone? No thanks! I'm sure if I ask for a TD of a regular 1.8 TSI, they wont refuse. But I will NOT be leaving my car alone anytime soon.

Anyway, I finished the service this morning. A detailed post on tht coming up tomorrow.

Originally Posted by thedragula

Thanks for the choice of words. This is exactly how I feel when I compare the Linea T-Jet (even in its Wolf remapped form) to the Palio 1.6 GTX. I own both and the former is a daily driver but when GTX has its day in the sun, am grinning like a madman coz its a way more involving drive and just more exciting.

Also, thanks for (i) the detailed reviews of the Perfinza. Am seriously considering those for the T-Jet in the coming months, and (ii) recommending that I stick with the stock Acceleres instead of an immediate upgrade. The Acceleres are pretty good tyres.

Am guessing you have now completed more than 5k km on the MRFs. Any change in your opinion now? Have they gotten harder and/or noisier?

It's been a bit less than 7,000 kms and they seem to be as good as they were on Day 1. I had to do some hard braking today on NICE road thanks to a moron truck driver(the other driver is always a moron ) and the tyres were immensely confidence inspiring. Never felt scared even though it was harder than I've braked in the last few months.

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Thanks for the candid review Nikhil. Even I am not a fan of loud exhausts. I like fast cars that don't make much noise. I like my 2010 Laura T.8 TSi - it's silently fast. And ride is plush. Whenever I start thinking of vRS, the exhaust, especially the weird snore during upshift in 'S' puts me off. Not my style. Let me test drive the Polo GTI to see how it feels.

The DSG fart is not nice.... I mean, I guess it sounds ok outside and people like it. But I would much rather have a louder BANG like my Civic had with a bit of fire! Or be dead silent. This is neither here nor there.

Originally Posted by akshaydaryani

Hi Nikhil,

Getting delivery of my car in 1st-2nd week of Feb, Quick question for the same.

Can we upsize from the 225/45 R17 stock tyres to 245/40 R17 using the same set of 7J wheels. Is it safe?

Please help me with this..?

If not possible, then would probably just stick to the stock size and just change to the Michelin PS4's

Thanks a lot!

As Suraj mentioned, you cant go bigger than 225.

Originally Posted by Suraj25

The max recommended tyre width for 7J rims is 225. 245s will definitely be too wide.

[arindambasu13]

Hi Nikhil, saw you exiting Bangalore Club back gate yesterday afternoon in your VRS while I was walking past. The car certainly looks fab. Couldn't hear much of an exhaust growl though, seemed quite muted.

Anyways, lovely car mate. The alloys really befit the blue color

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Hahaha.... And leave the car alone? No thanks! I'm sure if I ask for a TD of a regular 1.8 TSI, they wont refuse. But I will NOT be leaving my car alone anytime soon.

Anyway, I finished the service this morning. A detailed post on tht coming up tomorrow.

Good to hear you finished off with the service while waiting. My 1.8's MFD is refusing to cater to Android Auto and it's been lying in the workshop since last Friday .

Innumerable to-and-fro going on with Skoda technical teams for resolution. Hopefully will be returned end of day.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Hi Nikhil, saw you exiting Bangalore Club back gate yesterday afternoon in your VRS while I was walking past. The car certainly looks fab. Couldn't hear much of an exhaust growl though, seemed quite muted.

Anyways, lovely car mate. The alloys really befit the blue color

Thanks man

Also, the exhaust is audible only at higher revs and when upshifting.

I am normally a very slow and sedate driver within city limits. So, no chance of you hearing the exhaust

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Good to hear you finished off with the service while waiting. My 1.8's MFD is refusing to cater to Android Auto and it's been lying in the workshop since last Friday .

Innumerable to-and-fro going on with Skoda technical teams for resolution. Hopefully will be returned end of day.

Oh man.... Skoda woes.

[smalhotra_93]

Any ideas as to when the production for the 2018 will start production and deliveries ?

Also , is there a black color on the cards ?

[Hells Bells]

Originally Posted by smalhotra_93

Any ideas as to when the production for the 2018 will start production and deliveries ?

Also , is there a black color on the cards ?

I understand the stock of colours remains the same as 2017 lot based on the latest info floating around. The deliveries are being proposed in Feb/March so I am guessing the production should have started off by now.

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

A phenomenal pic taken by Abu Abraham.

Absolutely!! Skoda International FB page has also posted this pic

[Nikhilb2008]

This past week I went to Cochin and back for work. Didn’t really speed or push the car or have any plans of enjoying the car per se. It was a work trip and my car’s job was to get me there, drive me around Kochi for 3-4 days and then drive me back.

I’m happy to report the car performed exceedingly well. When you’re not really hammering the car, it is quiet, smooth, refined, fuel efficient and very comfortable. And you know that if you need it, there are oodles of torque and power to make any overtaking a point and shoot affair.

On the highway I was 100% in cruise mode except when I was stuck behind slow moving trucks drag racing at 40kmph. Those times, as soon as I spotted a small opening, I just stamped the A Pedal and the car downshifted 2 gears and just TOOK OFF! I would rev till 6k rpm in 2nd, hit about 90-100 and then settle down again.

After the drive to Kochi:



This obviously brought down my fuel economy which would have been around 13-14 till then. However it was fun and made my drive a lot faster.

Within the city, I had to make a few visits and my car visited various car dealerships. Here are some glimpses.



Look closely for the vRS facing the superbikes!






I was also very happy with the fuel efficiency within the city. Of course, most of my driving was in the smooth flowing traffic of the bypass road and the main highway upto the airport.




On the return journey too, it was the same story.

I have a renewed appreciation for this car. It was like Jeeves. A quiet efficient butler that you can trust to just get the job done and of course help you out in case you need some extra power.

The drive to BLR:



The entire trip



To conclude this post:

Driving something this fast daily has a downside. You start to take it for granted. You read about people with the same car doing Stage 1,2 and 3 upgrades and you feel you have a quick car but nothing special.

We are spoilt. We drive a car most people would kill to own and we crib about how it doesn’t feel fast, etc etc.

This week, I had a reality check. Went to my colleague’s house in Kochi for dinner and he’s a big automobile enthusiast. Has a Duster for daily use, a W124 as his project car and a Harley for weekend rides. Took him, his wife and kids for a small drive on the empty road near his house.

My colleague had had a taste of the DSG fart earlier and wanted me to do it again for his family. So, took off in 1st gear, upshifted to 2nd and continued revving till about 70-80kmph.

The push in the backseat, the roar of the engine, the loud BRRAAPP from the exhaust when I upshifted made the kids go mad. My colleague himself was overjoyed. His wife too was laughing.

Made me realise I have a gem of a car. And that maybe I’m paying too much attention to relatively inconsequential stuff like ‘feel’, ‘experience’, ‘raw’ etc. Probably too influenced by auto journalists constantly harping on and on about how cars today are boring.

Decided to just enjoy the car and appreciate its strong points.

Anyway, for ‘Thrill’, I’ll be driving a boosted K24 Civic tonight!

[Hells Bells]

Nikhil,

You just need to pay attention to the stares of folks on roads to feel special all over again Do it discreetly if you wish by looking into the rear view mirrors! I had a blast when a guy once walked over at the HP petrol pump on Old Airport road to compliment "you have got some car, mate!".

[smalhotra_93]

Originally Posted by Hells Bells

I understand the stock of colours remains the same as 2017 lot based on the latest info floating around. The deliveries are being proposed in Feb/March so I am guessing the production should have started off by now.

Oh ! Sounds good. Have booked myself a Steel grey one. Proposing to be delivered by end of February. Reading Nikhil's stories , can't just wait to lay my hands on it.

[$t@llion kh@n]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

We are spoilt. We drive a car most people would kill to own and we crib about how it doesn’t feel fast, etc etc.

Made me realise I have a gem of a car. And that maybe I’m paying too much attention to relatively inconsequential stuff like ‘feel’, ‘experience’, ‘raw’ etc. Probably too influenced by auto journalists constantly harping on and on about how cars today are boring.

Absolutely true! Profound wisdom Nikhil. Its great you realize that you already own a car that people dream(like me) Very very few people(aam junta) would have experienced the kind of power this car has.

[Nikhilb2008]

TAFE experience.

I was approaching 15,000 kms and it was time for my 1st major service. Even though I had gone to TAFE at 8k kms for an oil change, this was my first proper scheduled service.



I messaged Shankara Narayanan, the spare parts manager of TAFE and requested him for an appointment.

Someone called me promptly from TAFE and confirmed an appointment for the 4th of January.

I was at 14,987 when I left home… The route I took was a long one via NICE road but a peaceful drive.

When I reached TAFE, the odo reading was 15,024 kms.




A Service Advisor named Neethan was assigned to my car and I was asked to wait for him to join me. However, he was busy with another car and took a long time to finish his work. Cant blame him though. Just my luck.

After waiting for about 25 minutes, another gentleman called Venkat came up to me and said he will get the work started. Sat with him in the car, he drove it inside the workshop, parked the car in the bay and the car was lifted.



The work was started almost immediately. The work happened so fast by the two mechanics assigned to my car that I missed a lot of it! I had to request them to wait for me to take photos. This, inspite of me not leaving the car at all!

In approximately 20 minutes since the car was stationed, the oil filter, air filter and cabin filter was replaced. The oil had been drained and the wiper blades had been changed. The windshield washer fluid was topped up too. I had just refilled the washer fluid a couple of days ago so just a few ml was required. The remaining was in the bottle which was kept in the boot. To be used when I need it next.

Old Air Filter




New Air Filter



Old AC filter





New AC filter




Windshield washer fluid:



Oil filter:



Then they lowered the car and started pouring fresh engine oil. Oil used was the same one I used last time. Motul Xcess 8100. VAG approved oil.



Last time, a sliced water bottle was used as a funnel to pour engine oil. Looks like they took my feedback seriously and this time, they used a proper cone with a thin filter to strain out impurities.






This time, they used a Würth spray to protect my battery terminals.




After this, it was time to reset the ECU. The laptop was connected to the OBD port with a tool and after a thorough diagnosis check, I was given the all clear to take the car out of the workshop.




I skipped the car wash as I prefer washing it myself or getting it done at a trustworthy and reliable place like Feynlab.

The final bill was 6154/-. This included 2k for the wiper blades. MY wiper blades were streaking badly and definitely required a change.






Making the invoice took ages. I simply don’t understand why when everything is computerised. I waited for 30 minutes and then the invoice had a charge of 550 something for “Lubrication and cleaning”. He said this is what is done for all cars. Some lubrication for the brakes or whatever. They are supposed to remove the wheels, spray something near the brake pads or whatever. This wasn’t done on my car but someone made a mistake and had entered it in the invoice. To remove this, it further took another 15 minutes.

The overall service took about 2 hours. The actual work was less than an hour or just exactly one hour. The initial waiting time was something that couldn’t be helped. But waiting so long just for billing was not acceptable.

Final Invoice:

Attached at the end of this post.

My experience:

This time, the experience was even better than last time. They realised that they had delayed my car and they made up for lost time. The work was started quickly, parts were brought quickly and the technician worked very quickly.

I was very impressed with their efficiency. The service advisor Mr Venkat and later on Neethan were quite helpful. Mr Venkat stayed with my car till the service was done and ensured everything was done perfectly.

Mr Naveen, the service manager also came, had a look and offered his assistance. I didn’t need to ask for any help from though.

Mr Shankara Narayanan was with me for a large duration of this visit. He was helpful as always. He’s a car nut himself and it’s always fun to talk to such people.

I was IN and out of the workshop in a little more than 2 hours and I consider myself very satisfied. I can only hope this level of service continues for the next 4 years.

It has been a common experience in India that when things are new, everything is nice but after a few months or years, things start to go downhill.

As of now, my vRS is new, and TAFE do give it some importance as it’s one of the first in Bangalore. I only hope they continue to put in this much effort throughout my ownership of the car.

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

TAFE experience.

I was approaching 15,000 kms and it was time for my 1st major service. Even though I had gone to TAFE at 8k kms for an oil change, this was my first proper scheduled service.

Attachment 1717588

I messaged Shankara Narayanan, the spare parts manager of TAFE and requested him for an appointment.

Someone called me promptly from TAFE and confirmed an appointment for the 4th of January.

I was at 14,987 when I left home… The route I took was a long one via NICE road but a peaceful drive.

When I reached TAFE, the odo reading was 15,024 kms.

That's a great service experience and I was even more impressed by the bill at the end. A little over 6K for such a powerful and expensive car. Does this include the oil as well or did you supply the oilf?

The cost of the various components also look reasonable. 68/- for the windshield washer fluid. Is there any reason why the brake pads were not cleaned?


Drive on,
Shibu.