Skoda Rally Blog

OK, so yesterday was mostly spent fixing things on the car, such as re-welding the towing eye in a more secure manner (which took hours as the MIG decided it needed repairing and I had to do it properly), checking EVERYTHING on the car, and then eventually (in the afternoon) going for a drive. And there was some good news – firstly Andy’s mapping worked OK on the engine – it was far more driveable than the previous incarnation, and secondly, it was running lean, which is GOOD as it was therefore drawing in more air, and as a result would make more power once it was set up properly. A short drive and then a longer 10-mile one revealed nothing other than loose tappets which needed adjustment. A number of little things were fixed – nagging wiring issues and so on. All these things take SO long and yet seem to make very little difference, but they should all pan out in the end.

Today, though, was a different matter. Aside from the weather being miserable (meaning I was glad I didn’t put off fixing the towing eye), it took a while before I got a chance to do the tappets, and was pleased to find a bit of slack in a couple of them, and a much quieter engine afterwards. The throttle issue was resolved as I found the throttle stop inside the car was the problem, fixed by removing it (the floor does a better job). Once the new cable arrives, I’ll make a proper, adjustable one which will do a better job again. Next up were final checks and then it was time to go off to Triton again to get the mapping done. Andy Vey has to be one of the friendliest guys I’ve ever dealt with – his company spend most of their time dealing with cars that are far more serious and powerful than my Skoda, but I was taken seriously at every point, and in a professional and friendly manner. Got the car on the rollers, explained what had changed, and then it was time to start mapping again. Firstly, correcting the fuelling low-down (where I’d been driving the car and I’d noticed it), and then increasing the rev range and making the right adjustments there. After about 10 runs the car was running with good fuelling throughout, and it was time to start adjusting the ignition timing. What REALLY impressed me here was that Andy’s initial setup was very close to optimum. The original ignition and fuelling maps looked like the Alps – dips and crests all over the place, and a right mess according to Andy. He started again and this setup which he came up with was only a few degrees off of optimum – a few more runs saw increases in power and then a small drop meaning we’d found the limit. By now the oil pressure was getting low at low RPM (fine above 1500rpm), but he had a setup that allows listening to the engine’s internals, and was confident all was well – the oil was clear and clean with no particles in it, so we did one final run and all was well. There were three end results:

• 1 – a mapped, well-running engine. Not something I’ve had on a non-standard car.
• 2 – 80.2 bhp. Not an astronomical figure by any account, but certainly enough to be going on with, and made with STANDARD parts, meaning it will be possible to carry spares (I already have a complete inlet setup with suitable injectors)
• 3 – a Happy Darren. Not something that’s been seen for a few days.

What’s NICE about this is that there’s a big RPM range between peak torque and peak power, so I felt the engine would feel good on the road, and be nice on the stages. I didn’t want to look like a total tool, and also didn’t want to jinx things (I took a pic of the car about 1 minute before the last engine died), so I waited until after the mapping to take a pic…

I have to thoroughly recommend Triton to anyone in Bournemouth/Dorset the area who has a Subaru, Evo or similar, and anyone who wants some mapping work done – it was (engine issues aside) a far more pleasurable and painless (and quick!) process than I was expecting – today only cost me for one hour, which was very reasonable at ?105.

The drive home confirmed my feelings about the engine – it’s not massively quick, but it’s a world away from the previous setup, and fuelled well everywhere – nice and driveable. The oil pressure issue had gone once the oil had cooled down so I think all it’ll need is dropping the sump and a check on the big ends – I think they may need just swapping out (and I have a set, handily), and the addition of an oil cooler should see everything 100%.

I’m actually going to have a night off – no wiring, planning or anything. Tomorrow I’m working in the morning, and then I’ll get the rest of the car’s electrics and other minor issues sorted out. There’s a lot to do, but hopefully the major work is done now on the engine. Next problem? The LSD, although I have some parts coming in the post tomorrow which should help find out what needs to be done…