Struggles with motorway speed.

[Roodedoo]

I think you should find another owner of a similar vehicle and arrange a early Sunday morning race/drag strip showdown somewhere in the hills. Just like being 17 again ;-)

Sounds like a perfectly sensible plan - something Ferris Bueller might have thought of doing on his day off?..

I discovered there's no blanking plate on the deleted egr. So could be losing some boost in there. I'll fix that before the drag race.

M10 multi-spline for the bolts on the short pipe to the cooler and M8 multi-spline for the other end of the short pipe, if anyone finds themselves doing the same. (Obvs need to get these bang on, as rounding them would be a nightmare)

 

[Bargy62]

@Roodedoo did you get it sorted in the end

 

[Roodedoo]

@Roodedoo did you get it sorted in the end

It's a work-in-progress. I spent days looking for a dropped egr plate with gasket, during grim weather. Ended up buying another egr gasket and making up a better plate.

I'm sure airodynamics is part of it. There's some plastic welding i need to do on some crapped up under-body panels and the rear bumper is baically scooping up air until I put something there too. And obvs the box on the roof dynamics needs addressing too.

Because I'm converting it at the same time, the list of things is huge.
And I haven't found myself on a motorway, let alone a dual carriageway these last 2 weeks.

When time allows, I'll check back in after work I've done that's relavant to this thread

 

[Roodedoo]

I finally had the time last night to delve into the long coding.
I've no idea if this is normal or not, but it's been suffering from an identity crisis, thinking it's a Polo.
After changing it to 03 (where it's 04 in the photo), the van is running through the gears much more smoothly and is quickly up to 5th @ 30mph.
I've not been up to the motorway yet, but it feels like it's working less hard, if that makes sense!

Different numbers are associated with different vehicle names, including T6, but I read that no. 03, which has no label, has been used with my tyre size, which is 225/65/R17

 

[Pauly]

Thats a setting for the cluster and wont have any affect on the engine or any driveability factors

 

[Kind of Blue]

Apologies have not read the whole thread, only a couple of pages, just in case it has already been suggested. I think that AA and RAC vehicles might be governed to the national speed limit or just below. I am sure I read that on another thread somewhere?

 

[Salty Spuds]

Apologies have not read the whole thread, only a couple of pages, just in case it has already been suggested. I think that AA and RAC vehicles might be governed to the national speed limit or just below. I am sure I read that on another thread somewhere?

 

[Kind of Blue]

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GrizzBear​

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• 12 Mar 2025
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  Mines an ex-RAC and had a limiter on it set to 70MPH. It did feel and sound like it was straining when at that limit.
  No issues now I had it removed. Not my area of expertise so I asked the guys at Absolut5 to do it".

 

[Roodedoo]

Thats a setting for the cluster and wont have any affect on the engine or any driveability factors

I know, it's odd, I've read how other people's DSG changed its behaviour with different settings here, and mine has never quickly gone up to 5th @30mph before.
I can only experiment and see what happens.

(Yes it goes over 70 but has to work hard to do so)

 

[Roodedoo]

"​

GrizzBear​

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• 12 Mar 2025
• 
  
• 
  Mines an ex-RAC and had a limiter on it set to 70MPH. It did feel and sound like it was straining when at that limit.Thank you
  No issues now I had it removed. Not my area of expertise so I asked the guys at Absolut5 to do it".

Thank you.
I wish it was a limiter.
I paid the original dealer to have it removed. I had a remap with another company, who I would hope would have spotted one, and I've explored every avenue I can find in VCDS for a limiter. I've also hit 90 with the wind behind me, downhill in 5th gear.
Perhaps it's a bad EGR delete.
There are lots of factors to explore.
I've tested fuel pressure and boost pressure, but not while driving. So these tests are next on the list.

 

[DXX]

If nothing has improved since post #1, 4 months ago it’s time to sell it or burn it I’d say. Life’s too short.

 

[Salty Spuds]

If nothing has improved since post #1, 4 months ago it’s time to sell it or burn it I’d say. Life’s too short.

Or just be happy to stick to 70 mph. We rarely go above 65

 

[Roodedoo]

Or just be happy to stick to 70 mph. We rarely go above 65

Totaly. I stick behind trucks mostly!
I'm much more into my mpg than speed.
It's mostly a short bit of the M4 that's a bit hilly, which is disappointing, changing down to try and keep up with the trucks.
Low/medium speed, everything is great.
If the engine is healthy, but can't go fast, I'm happy

 

[Roodedoo]

If nothing has improved since post #1, 4 months ago it’s time to sell it or burn it I’d say. Life’s too short.

Way too much time and money invested....
I'd sooner swap the engine if it comes to it - like you say, life's too short!

My original post was really to get an idea of what these vans are normally like.
It's been a dream in the pipeline for a very long time. I'm severely disabled (boohoo, it's not about that), but it does mean I need an auto, and this is the first time used vans with decent auto boxes have become affordable for me.

 

[DXX]

Way too much time and money invested....
I'd sooner swap the engine if it comes to it - like you say, life's too short!

My original post was really to get an idea of what these vans are normally like.
It's been a dream in the pipeline for a very long time. I'm severely disabled (boohoo, it's not about that), but it does mean I need an auto, and this is the first time used vans with decent auto boxes have become affordable for me.

If I were you I’d get that box and rack off the roof, it’s going to cost a fortune in Diesel.
Drag is exponential to speed. Double the speed = 4x drag. Triple the speed = 9x drag.

 

[mmi]

Gets even more dramatic when considering the power needed to overcome the increased drag.
The power required to overcome the drag is function of speed cubed. Double the speed = 8x of engine power is needed.

Drag (physics) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Roodedoo]

If I were you I’d get that box and rack off the roof, it’s going to cost a fortune in Diesel.
Drag is exponential to speed. Double the speed = 4x drag. Triple the speed = 9x drag.

Unfortunately, they're essential due to the cost of living and moving into my van in due course.
My simple solution is to just drive slowly.
Behind a truck at 55-60 on the flat, I can manage 50mpg (that was before I told the van it had bigger wheels and assured it that it wasn't a Polo).
I just want to make sure everything mechanical is tip-top. I'm a perfectionist that way. OCD, call it what you want.
The engine is only 30,000 miles old, and the turbo maybe only 10,000.
I want to be able to tow my tools in a box trailer about the same size as the SWB space in the back and have the power to tow it uphill.
I have the metal, and I'll weld up a fairing for the box soon.

It's like you say, speed won't ever be great. I just want to be sure the engine and box are doing what they should be doing.

 

[Kind of Blue]

The vehicle does not sound right though it is difficult to compare mine is a 199 but not that different. If you are carrying stuff on the roof to be fair it needs taking off temporarily and running naked for a while. perhaps find a v good independent but they might not want to know if it has been tampered with. Mine has told me that he does not like certain things being fiddled with or mapped and he is a really good guy very efficient and full of common sense Not a supporter of removing environmental gear for a number of reasons and your not the fist to have some problems with tuners and those doing the defeats and delete. In the health world it can be a bit similar also plenty of conspiracy theories being supported by poor science proposed by someone who knows someone. These vehicles are incredibly complicated compared to what we had in the past, fiddle with one thing and who knows how it affects some other component. Their must be only a small handful of proper well educated tuners in these island yet we can get plug, in down load that, you name it, things to pep this up or loose that from any number of outlets who are not real tuners at all just plug in a chip or download something merchants.

I really do hope that you can sort this for your own piece of mind and well being and that you can get on with driving and living with it. Best of good luck

 

[Roodedoo]

Gets even more dramatic when considering the power needed to overcome the increased drag.
The power required to overcome the drag is function of speed cubed. Double the speed = 8x of engine power is needed.

Drag (physics) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Thanks for taking the time.
I'll have a read.
I know there was a problem before I added the roof stuff and all-terrain wheels - a mechanic friend driving it for an MOT remarked on its lack of power when it was on its old commercial wheels and before the roof rack. (After the deletes).
I've just added to the amount of power it needs.
I'll do more tests when time permits, and if anything useful pops up, I'll add to the thread.

 

[mmi]

Box on the roof, need to make fairing.

How much extra height does the box and the rack add to the van?
Same width as the van?