Skoda Laura VRS - Officially Unofficial Review and Initial Ownership Report

Shreyas Aterkar · 18th February 2013, 23:19

Congrats man, this is outstanding. Very well driven, 3rd fastest is really excellent especially you have likes of merc, porches and beemer on the track. Thanks!

v&v · 19th February 2013, 06:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by prithwi-81

Edited and cleaned up version of the first run. Timesheet at the end. Did a lil showboating, but hey.. :-)
http://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=HBc-jNLrV9w

Prithwi this video was nice.

Did you happen check at what speed 2 and 3 gears maxout ?

Akshay1234 · 19th February 2013, 09:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by v&v

Prithwi this video was nice.

Did you happen check at what speed 2 and 3 gears maxout ?

2nd gear is at about 110, and 3rd is at about 150.

prithwi-81 · 19th February 2013, 09:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by akshay1234

2nd gear is at about 110, and 3rd is at about 150.

4th at about185. The car runs out of grunt afted 5.5k rpm, so shift early.

prithwi-81 · 19th February 2013, 10:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by azeemhafiz

Hey Prithwi,

Congratulations on the fantastic times. Did you try a lap with the ASR on v/s the ASR off? I have seen it kick in some of the corners when driven spiritedly (most noticeably on the inner ring road in Bangalore before they got the speed humps).

My reading was that it kicks in much later and the interference was limited, in fact it felt more of an assist than a resist. What was your experience? Or did you not bother with it at all? Which I can understand too :-)

Thanks,

Azeem

ASR was on in first session as I was unfamiliar with the track. 2nd session was without asr. At didn't really impact times once you got used to the track, but it did help in mid Corner corrections in the first few laps. Once you got the hang of the line on the track, it helps a bit in the chicanes. Whts it does hurt is during sharp corner exits, as it does cut power. But that helps keep your tires intact. If you get the line right on corner exits, you can avoid the ASR kicking in. Like you said Azeem, it's kicks in late, and is more of an help/safety net than a problem.

v&v · 19th February 2013, 11:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by prithwi-81

4th at about185. The car runs out of grunt afted 5.5k rpm, so shift early.

Why ? My RS can pull all the way till 7k and is very happy between 5.5k-6.5-7k. It does a double ton easily in 4th. The real power & speed is in 2,3&4th gear.

Have to remapped your RS ? Why it runs out of grunt after 5.5 ?

Akshay1234 · 19th February 2013, 11:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by v&v

Why ? My RS can pull all the way till 7k and is very happy between 5.5k-6.5-7k. It does a double ton easily in 4th. The real power & speed is in 2,3&4th gear.

Have to remapped your RS ? Why it runs out of grunt after 5.5 ?

This pulls till 7k rpm easily too, but after 6k rpm the progress slows down a bit. I think a remap would take care of that. Your car had 5 gears so its not surprising it would cross the double ton in 4th. The Laura has a 6th gear, so the ratios are shorter.

v&v · 19th February 2013, 12:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by akshay1234

This pulls till 7k rpm easily too, but after 6k rpm the progress slows down a bit. I think a remap would take care of that. Your car had 5 gears so its not surprising it would cross the double ton in 4th. The Laura has a 6th gear, so the ratios are shorter.

Ya could be.
So akshay , does this means while cornering, more gear change required , as when you are exiting a corner at 5-5.5k or more , then you will need a quick shift to higher gear. This means 5 gear will have good torque and power. Old VRS the 5th gear is only for cursing.

Are we missing something here as the fun part of TSI or Turbo petrol's are between the RPM range 4 to 6.5k.

prithwi-81 · 19th February 2013, 14:45

Let me explain this a bit better - On an unlimited stretch the car will pull and pull and pull in all gears, however if the gearing provides you better acceleration by upshifting, its better to do so as you'll get to your target speed faster.

Say for example, I'm at 5.5k in 4th and pulling to Redline of 6.75k, the car accelerates from 175kmph @ 5.5k to about 190kmph @ 6.5k rpm in same gear. Time taken - roughly 6 sec.

Now - If I shift up at 5.5-6k from 4th to 5th the car's RPM drops to 4.8k and I accelerate to 190kmph @ ~5k in 5th Gear. Time taken for this acceleration - roughly 2 sec.

The numbers are in no way realistic but by going up a gear, I'm improving my cars ability to accelerate faster and exploit the engine's power band better.

VRS 4th gear I feel is 1:1 ratio, so there will be taper in power towards the redline. Switching to 5th early, i found it could accelerate harder to higher speeds.

OR could be a simpler answer - my engine has only 4000kms on it, so still had not fully broken in yet, but that said after what it went thru on the track day, the statement no longer holds true ... lol !

anandpadhye · 19th February 2013, 15:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by v&v

Why ? My RS can pull all the way till 7k and is very happy between 5.5k-6.5-7k. It does a double ton easily in 4th. The real power & speed is in 2,3&4th gear.

Have to remapped your RS ? Why it runs out of grunt after 5.5 ?

Isn't the red line at 6500?
Or you have disabled the rev limiter?

v&v · 19th February 2013, 17:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Isn't the red line at 6500?
Or you have disabled the rev limiter?

No octavia VRS has at 7k.

prithwi-81 · 19th February 2013, 21:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by v&v

No octavia VRS has at 7k.

Official Laura VRS redline is at 6800rpm, but no point pushing the car there as the turbo is a mid range unit, and ends up choking beyond 6k rpm.

anandpadhye · 20th February 2013, 10:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by v&v

No octavia VRS has at 7k.

Strange!
Can you post a photo?

anandpadhye · 20th February 2013, 11:04

Never mind.
I checked one of the vRS review thread - there is a picture that shows the RPM meter to have redline between 6 and 7 mark. Same as my TSi. I will go home and take a closer look at my meter to see if it at 6500 or 6800.

So, in any case, my question was - doesn't the engine cut-off at the redline by default? I have always happily let go before I reach the redline so i don't know.

Akshay1234 · 20th February 2013, 11:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

So, in any case, my question was - doesn't the engine cut-off at the redline by default? I have always happily let go before I reach the redline so i don't know.

Depends on car to car, in the TSI it goes a bit higher than the redline to 7000rpm. But it some cars the engine does get cut at the redline.

18th February 2013, 23:19	#76
Shreyas Aterkar BHPian Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Mumbai Posts: 319 Thanked: 254 Times	Re: Skoda Laura VRS - Officially Unofficial Review and Initial Ownership Report Congrats man, this is outstanding. Very well driven, 3rd fastest is really excellent especially you have likes of merc, porches and beemer on the track. Thanks!
	() Thanks

19th February 2013, 14:45	#84
prithwi-81 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 686 Thanked: 1,046 Times	Re: Skoda Laura VRS - Officially Unofficial Review and Initial Ownership Report Let me explain this a bit better - On an unlimited stretch the car will pull and pull and pull in all gears, however if the gearing provides you better acceleration by upshifting, its better to do so as you'll get to your target speed faster. Say for example, I'm at 5.5k in 4th and pulling to Redline of 6.75k, the car accelerates from 175kmph @ 5.5k to about 190kmph @ 6.5k rpm in same gear. Time taken - roughly 6 sec. Now - If I shift up at 5.5-6k from 4th to 5th the car's RPM drops to 4.8k and I accelerate to 190kmph @ ~5k in 5th Gear. Time taken for this acceleration - roughly 2 sec. The numbers are in no way realistic but by going up a gear, I'm improving my cars ability to accelerate faster and exploit the engine's power band better. VRS 4th gear I feel is 1:1 ratio, so there will be taper in power towards the redline. Switching to 5th early, i found it could accelerate harder to higher speeds. OR could be a simpler answer - my engine has only 4000kms on it, so still had not fully broken in yet, but that said after what it went thru on the track day, the statement no longer holds true ... lol !
	(2) Thanks

20th February 2013, 11:04	#89
anandpadhye Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Pune Posts: 3,060 Thanked: 3,346 Times	Re: Skoda Laura VRS - Officially Unofficial Review and Initial Ownership Report Never mind. I checked one of the vRS review thread - there is a picture that shows the RPM meter to have redline between 6 and 7 mark. Same as my TSi. I will go home and take a closer look at my meter to see if it at 6500 or 6800. So, in any case, my question was - doesn't the engine cut-off at the redline by default? I have always happily let go before I reach the redline so i don't know.
	() Thanks