Hello,

            I have traded in my 2017 Fabia 110sel estate for a 2021 Fabia 95 sel estate, first registered March 2021 I am picking it up tomorrow.. This is my first Fabia with the 3 cylinder engine. I thought the tickover  was a bit high at around 1000 rpm but was told by the garage that is normal for these engines. Is that correct?  The fan and A/C were on  but not all of the time. Is1000rpm  Even if it is a bit high theres nothing I can do it with my non existent mechanical skillset and not a great deal the Skoda dealer can do either apart from work on  the ECU and I cant see them doing that in a hurry, A high tickover doesnt bother me one bit on environmental grounds. It could make gear selection more difficult than it need be and I didnt think this was as good as on my current car but there were no huge gear selection  problems on the test drive. A bit notchy maybe.  Anyone experienced being unable to engage a gear?

 

            The torque comes in at higher rpm I think on these engines, 1800rpm against 1400 on mine but I am not sure if that is just the 95 engine . The clutch seems to have a higher biting point and I stalled it once or twice when trying to take off   but all clutches are different and that doesnt bother me overmuch. The clutch works off an offshoot of the hydraulic system after all   and  theres not much  I or anyone else  can do about its performance. As long as the hydraulic fluid is up to the right level and is clean thats about all anyone can do.  l The car has done 12300 miles, it has been owned from new by Skoda HQ in Milton Keynes. I confess I had a few doubts about buying  a car that could have had multiple drivers but the tyres havent worn badly ( Nexen all round, probably 6 to 8  thousand left, more with annual rotation and regular pressure checks) so not indicative of being thrashed or driven badly. Brakes too seem to have not been used over harshly, 10mm left on the front pads isnt bad in my opinion. Again,  12000 miles in 16 months says to me the car has had a fair bit of open road motoring so the clutch should have had a reasonably easy time?  There are no certainties with any of these things of course anymore than there would be with a brand  new car .

 

         One thing  that did surprise me was the choice of engine oil used in the first annual service. it was 0w20 SAE. I will have to wait and see how oil consumption pans out over time of course but 0w20 does seem thin but it might be OK. I would have thought a 5w30 would have been chosen but not so and only  time will tell.  Its long life fully synthetic which should help.

 

            Any observations at  all  from my fellow Briskodians on any of the above plus any that are not will be most welcome.     I know nothing at all about the 3 cylinder engines, I have never had a Skoda 3 pot or any 3 pot come to that. If I could I  would definitely have stuck with the old 1.2 tsi engines. I thought they were excellent  but they were got rid off years ago with the revamp  now so no choice. Hopefully, this car will turn out OK , i have done my usual checks ( carpets checked for signs of damp, rapid  tyre wear excessive noise) . OK, not the most sophisticated checks but better than nothing? Plus  the Skoda stealership has checked it out in the workshop and serviced it and driven it and they says its fine. Probably doesnt mean much but better than nothing at all?  

 

                  Thanks in advance.

 

I have had a 1.2 TSI since June 2016 and it is now at 64K miles.

I have hired a 1.0 TSI and driven over 1K Km in one.

 

If the 1.0 TSI was my first TSI engine I would be very happy.

For me the 1.2 TSI is slightly better.

 

Yes the 1.2 has a little more guts at very low revs.

I back the car up a slope and in to a garage ( every night ) and use just the clutch with no throttle used at all.

I can also do this in my 1.0 MPI 3 cylinder Skoda Citigo.

 

My first pair of front Nexen tyres were changed at 27K miles.

 

Front and rear brakes are now about half worn at 64K miles.

 

They recommend 0W-20 for these engines especially if the car is on variable servicing.

VW 508.00

This specification 508.00 for petrol,  requires a 0W20 viscosity, fuel economy oil with long life additives. These specifications are NOT backward compatible with the eariler VW specifications.

 

I changed mine to fixed servicing from new and use a 5W-40 fully synthetic VW 502.00 oil.

 

This also helps me as all three cars I own / Service can use this same oil.

 

Bit late now as you are collecting it tomorrow but do you over think / over worry over things?

 

Thanks, AG Falco

 Yes, I do over think/over worry about things, not just  cars. i I need a really  reliable car to have any sort of quality of life but I also  know very well that even if I bought a brand new car thats no guarantee that it wouldnt give me problem, perhaps big problems. . Thats the dilemma for someone like me, non mechanical and no one close to me who does have  that skillset.   The i litre I am collecting tomorrow was on variable servicing , I got it changed  to annual, I am a low mileage driver, 5000/6000 miles pa . A fair bit of town driving .   Its interesting to see that VAG recommend 0w20 oil, I didnt know that. That isnt the case with my present 17 plate  car, a  Fabia Mk 3 5w 30  was fine to have that oil  when I bought it in January 2020 and is still fine but obviously things change over time.  So I am happy with the choice of oil for the 1.0 litre .   I know exactly what you mean regarding low down torque and clutch control; I dont have a garage but I do  trickle along in  stop start traffic with absolutely  no throttle. You havent  commented on the high tickover; can  you remember if the 1. 0  you hired had that and if it was did it give you any problems engaging gear? As a non mechanical person I made several suggestions about brakes, clutches and tyres. As you are clearly  a more mechanically minded person than I am do you see any obvious flaws in any of my suggestions/assertions? For example, if a car covers 9000miles a year as this one has would you agree that the clutch has probably incurred less wear than one that has done say, 5000 miles with more town motoring and more use of the clutch?  I cant see the Nexens on the car quite matching the figure you mention but they may well have never been rotated and  workshops very often inflate them to  their eco pressure rather than the standard pressure which, of course, reduces their longevity.. i have had several disagreements with workshops over this when they have done this, always without asking me. Do you have a view on the wisdom or otherwise of buying a used car from Skoda HQ? I deliberated hard and long before deciding to go for it.  If you could comment further as per my requests I assure you that your comments will be read most carefully. Thanks very much. for posting. 

The 0w 20 fs IV oil is what VW went to with nearly all engines for the WLTP and RDE and now RDE2.   Millions running with that globally now and they have been since 2018.  So no issue there.   Tick over on start up and while the GPF heats and with  anti stall is what it is.   Messing about is more of an issue than driving cars as they are now built to drive.    Ps. A car with Skoda UK or VW just means a demonstrator, courtesy car, lent to the NHS, leased to utilities / fleet, media or anyone.  Not a car driven by a nice person that was wearing a suit and working out of a Skoda office in MK or Leeds. 

A car driven 12,000 miles in 16,000 miles could gave been in a showroom for 3 months, sitting in a car park for months, driven 5-10 miles occasionally and maybe then longer trips on occasions or just 15 miles each way 5 days a week.  There is no way of knowing.

Edited 15 July, 20223 yr by roottoot

As rootoot has put.

 

You've got a different engine now so you need to get used to it and unless you're driving a different vehicle don't worry about the differences just get used to them.

 

We've had 3-cylinder engine cars and not just used for pottering around town, with turbos and one with out, only the non-turbo was a 1 litre the others a lot less cubic capacities.  By what I've seen on here they were probably more refined engines, and were in slightly lighter cars, but I'd not worry about a 3-cylinder engine just perhaps more careful to keep up with timely servicing, maintenance and repairs.

 

I think you're wise to go for annual oil & filter changes and I'd go for good quality oil (but then I always do) but you'll get what the dealer/garage has regardless.

 

Someone else here reckoned it was wasn't a good idea to let the car pull itself along on its computer settings with your foot off the accelerator as it could cause more wear to clutch/ flywheels - but I don't know.

 

Inflating  the tyres to their eco setting shouldn't give extra wear, it's not happened to the tyres on my wife's Fabia but does give a noticeable decrease in rolling resistance so presumably some effect to mpg and the emissions (muck/crud/crap/bits of 'rubber) that comes of the over large and wide too low profile tyres that fashion dictates are on modern cars.  Some say all tyres should be inflated well over car manufacturers recommendations, I think you can experiment a bit with different tyres but not stray too far from what the vehicle manufacturer recommends.

Edited 16 July, 20223 yr by nta16
spelling

One thing to remember with a GPF (gasoline particular filter) is they regen / clean when off the accelerator and at a high temperature so not like how a DPF does.  

16 hours ago, AGFalco said:

I back the car up a slope and in to a garage ( every night ) and use just the clutch with no throttle used at all.

I can also do this in my 1.0 MPI 3 cylinder Skoda Citigo.

Reverse gear is, er, geared, more than the forward gears

 

I think Ken put it was a something idle-wotsit (rather anti-stall) with letting it chug along in the (forward) gears.

 

20 hours ago, hetty1 said:

The i litre I am collecting tomorrow was on variable servicing , I got it changed  to annual,

Good.

 

 

20 hours ago, hetty1 said:

You havent  commented on the high tickover

Quite normal, especially if there is extra load for things like AC and electrical use.

 

 

20 hours ago, hetty1 said:

did it give you any problems engaging gear?

No.

 

 

20 hours ago, hetty1 said:

if a car covers 9000miles a year as this one has would you agree that the clutch has probably incurred less wear

My Panda is 13 years old with 134K miles and still on original clutch with no sign of wear. I have had this from new.

I know of one car that had a clutch every year ( for three years in a row that was doing less than 10K per Year ) due to poor driving skills / no mechanical sympathy. 

 

 

20 hours ago, hetty1 said:

workshops very often inflate them to  their eco pressure rather than the standard pressure which, of course, reduces their longevity.

Incorrect.

A higher pressure will reduce rolling resistance. This can increase tyre life and reduce MPG.

 

On my Fabia I run 2.5 Bar all round and the first pair of Nexen's that were only on the front were changed after 27K miles.

 

Last two fuel tanks were 59.9 and 64.3 MPG, and I very occasionally ( in Winter ) almost get down to 50MPG. 😲

 

 

Enjoy your new car.

 

Thanks, AG Falco

I collected the new car yesterday and found it very lively and responsive. Brakes and clutch were fine, my earlier concerns were unfounded. Its hard to believe that it is  15bbhp less  and 11 pounds per square foot torque less than my 110, Its quieter too. Enjoying driving it. I have just the one question to ask AG Falco and nta 16 about the tyre pressures. I have been told many  times over the years  by garages and tyre shops that the eco setting will definitely improve the fuel consumption but at the price of tyre longevity. The reason, they said, was that the additional pressure wears out the centre of the tyre quicker. It decreased the rolling resistance so better fuel consumption but the price paid was tyre longevity.  My tyres have been increased to eco more than once by garages without my consent and the fuel consumption is heaps better. 10% better or more but I have always reduced them back down to normal/standard. You both say otherwise and I am puzzled. 

 

   Thanks.

33 minutes ago, hetty1 said:

the tyre pressures

 

If the tyres have a low ( normal ) pressure the edges will wear faster.

On a Fabia this will be more pronounced on the inside edge of the fronts and the outside edge of the rears.

 

( So if the fronts are being replaced move the rears diagonally to the front and fit the new tyres to the rear. )

 

If the tyres have an Eco pressure they will not wear the edges faster and will last longer.

The Nexen's I replaced at 27K miles were worn flat with no extra edge or centre wear.

I have replaced another 4 tyres ( two pairs ) since then and all were worn flat with no extra edge or centre wear.

 

If the tyres are over inflated ( above Eco pressure ) they can wear the centres faster but still last longer.

 

I see a lot of cars / tyres and very rarely see tyres that are worn out in the centre first.

 

At least 75% of cars / tyres I see have the edges worn first especially the inside edges of the fronts.

 

I have run all my cars on a higher / eco pressure for over 20 Years, it works for me.

 

Thanks, AG Falco

The Eco setting is a Skoda recommended pressure so it isn't too high.

 

Despite the heat, the tarmac and concrete are hot, I've taken some measurements with my simple pen style gauge (and wonky eyes) to help you decide.  I set the tyres at Eco setting.

 

I measured at just off lines of TWI (tread wear indicator bars) to be consistent and took three measurements on each tyre, middle and both sides grooves.

 

Front tyres are four and a half years old, 30,000 miles, Nexen Nblue HD Plus - distress purchases as one of the original Nexen (NBlue?) got a hole in it and I like to swap in at least pairs - IIRC these would have been on the rear until 2 years ago.

 

Offside front - 4 - 4 - 4

Nearside front - 4 - 4 - 4

 

Rear tyres are two years and 12,000 miles, Avon ZT7.

 

Offside rear - 5+ - 5++ - 5+

Nearside rear - 5+ - 5++ - 5+

 

Now as you can see there's a surprising anomaly, the outsides appear to have worn very slightly more than the middle, I checked twice to be sure, my gauge only shows numbers and the difference was small, perhaps the outers tread are patterned or worn, a four wheel alignment was done when these tyres were fitted but that means nothing given our Third World roads. (but at least the top bankers didn't loose their pensions or bonuses).

 

So if anything this suggests I may need a higher pressure to those rear tyres.

 

The Avon ZT7 have 'Avon ZT7' raised in the middle grove and very thin slightly raised ribs in the grooves, I don't know what these are for unless it's the noise reduction, they certainly look a classier tyre than the Nexen but obviously more for grip than wear than the Nexen.

 

HTH.

Edited 17 July, 20223 yr by nta16

Run the higher pressure:

A. It is much safer in emergency braking where G forces place extreme loads on the front tyres. I have been on two business sponsored safe driving courses that have drummed home this point.

B. Better fuel consumption.

C. Caters for unusual short duration loads like giving a couple of friends a lift.

 

I have never experienced extra or uneven wear from the higher pressures. 

Uneven wear has only been due to misalignment but you don't need to pay for a four wheel alignment as the rear has un-adjustable torsion bar suspension.

 

I also prefer the ride and handling with the higher pressure which is about 5 to 6 psi more than than 'normal'.

 

Can you explain what the danger is from these extreme G force loadings when braking with tyres that are inflated to the manufacturers specification?

 

Probably won't matter to hetty1 if the car is for mainly short journey town use but when I changed my wife's 2105 Fabia Mk3 tyre pressures from "normal" to Eco, with the four Nexen tyres fitted at least, the handling and ride was noticeably not as good - but the standard Fabia isn't exactly a sportscar anyway.  I think the Eco pressure, in the appropriate conditions, can add a little more interest to the drive on more twisty roads.

 

As I've seen a few Aussie owners of other cars put how they run tyres at high pressures so that may be to do with the different conditions to the UK and also possibly different tyre compounds for the region - but I don't know if the vehicle manufacturers state higher pressures there.

 

On 17/07/2022 at 06:33, J.R. said:

Can you explain what the danger is from these extreme G force loadings when braking with tyres that are inflated to the manufacturers specification?

 

Under heavy braking the additional load on the front tyres causes them to flex the outer casing enough to lift the centre of the tyre.

Pre abs apparently it used to manifest in parallel skid marks from the outer edges of the tyres only being in contact. 

Higher pressures reduce the wall deformation to allow road contact across the whole tyre and better braking.

That is what they told us on the course and I have had a veteran traffic cop confirm it to me as well.

17 minutes ago, Gerrycan said:

Under heavy braking the additional load on the front tyres causes them to flex the outer casing enough to lift the centre of the tyre.

Pre abs apparently it used to manifest in parallel skid marks from the outer edges of the tyres only being in contact. 

Higher pressures reduce the wall deformation to allow road contact across the whole tyre and better braking.

That is what they told us on the course and I have had a veteran traffic cop confirm it to me as well.

The obvious question here, is why isn't the higher "ECO" tyre pressure the default tyre pressure?

Presumably there is a downside to the higher pressure?

2 hours ago, EnterName said:

The obvious question here, is why isn't the higher "ECO" tyre pressure the default tyre pressure?

Presumably there is a downside to the higher pressure?

 

Some people find the ride a little hard/bumpy.

 

 

You might have also noticed that the higher pressure setting were listed for high load / fast speed.

They are now listing them as an ECO setting as well.

 

A lot of people think 30 PSI all round is OK. 😲

Some people even get the pressures checked once a year when the MOT is Done. 😲

( PS. they don't get checked on an MOT. )

 

 

Thanks, AG Falco

 

 

4 minutes ago, AGFalco said:

Some people find the ride a little hard/bumpy.

That's relatable.

 

5 minutes ago, AGFalco said:

You might have also noticed that the higher pressure setting were listed for high load / fast speed.

They are now listing them as an ECO setting as well.

Yes I had noticed that.

I tend to put my rear pressure to somewhere in the middle between normal and heavy load, because I have a load of luggage, but not a load of people in the car.

I'm probably one of the few obsessives who change their tyre pressures back to normal when they get to their holiday destination.

(Mind you this year I forgot to pump them back up for the journey home. )

 

7 minutes ago, AGFalco said:

A lot of people think 30 PSI all round is OK. 😲

Some years ago I had a friend who'd pumped his tyres up until they looked right, which to him meant they were pretty much perfectly round.

His car bounced round corners like a space hopper until someone told him you have to actually measure the tyre pressure and not just do it by eye. 😂

7 hours ago, EnterName said:

The obvious question here, is why isn't the higher "ECO" tyre pressure the default tyre pressure?

Presumably there is a downside to the higher pressure?

As @AGFalco said the minimum recommendations are comfort biased.

During the safe driving course introduction a couple of guys checked the participant's cars tyre pressures. More than fifty percent were below minimum recommendations, including mine on my first time at the course.

Tyres are naturally porous and leak air, slowly but steadily so unless checked regularly are likely to be under.

Pressure varies with temperature so if set when tyres are cold on a hot day then they will be lower as the ambient temperature falls, overnight or even on as daily temps fall from current highs in the UK.

Running at comfort settings leave little margin for error so I always follow the course recommendations. It is a bit like wearing a seat belt, a bit of discomfort and inconvenience for a whole lot more safety when things go wrong.

Edited 20 July, 20223 yr by Gerrycan

6 hours ago, Gerrycan said:

Pressure varies with temperature so if set when tyres are cold on a hot day then they will be lower as the ambient temperature falls, overnight or even on as daily temps fall from current highs in the UK.

This is very true. I set my tyre pressures for going away during the day, which was a fairly warm day just prior to the heatwave.

I checked them again the following morning and there had been about 0.3 bar drop in pressure, which quite surprised me.

I think they're 2.5 front and back at the moment, but I might nudge them up to the eco setting, which if I recall correctly is 2.6 bar front and back.

There are greater ambient temperature variations over even a day is some parts of the country let alone continents so you'd have to make allowances for this.  Usually we're only told to check the tyres when they're 'cold'  - "i.e. before you’ve made any journeys that day.  This is because warm or hot tyres that have recently been driven on may give inaccurate pressure readings." - https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/how-to/checking-tyre-pressure/#when-should-i-check-my-tyre-pressure

 

You could have different pressure readings on the four tyres when 'cold' just because one or more are in direct sun or out of the sun and shaded.

 

Part of the problem with ride comfort is the decades old fashion to have oversized wheels and tyres with low profile tyres, a smaller wheel with higher profile tyre would aid ride comfort and it wouldn't make any odds to handling and road holding for the majority of the owners and use of most models.  My neighbour's 'motorized shopping trolley', though it's very rarely used as that or anything else, has the optional extra larger (alloy instead of steel) wheels with lower profile tyres, form over function.

 

   

17 hours ago, EnterName said:

 

Some years ago I had a friend who'd pumped his tyres up until they looked right, which to him meant they were pretty much perfectly round.

His car bounced round corners like a space hopper until someone told him you have to actually measure the tyre pressure and not just do it by eye. 😂

A story from the safe driving course, I have related before, was about a complaint they received from previous participant who said she followed their instructions and went to her local garage and put the recommended extra psi into her Datsun 120 (that gives an indication of the age of the story although cars just do not rust here) but it was bouncing all over the road and rattling to bits, she lived locally so they asked to pop in to the track.

They tried a standard 'pencil' tyre pressure gauge on and the end popped out of the housing, they eventually found a gauge that could measure it. My memory is a bit vague about the fine detail but I believe they said it was around a 100 psi. Unbelievable the tyres did not explode, or pop off the steel rims and equally that the forecourt pump with malfunctioning gauge could get it to that pressure. She did say it seemed to take a long time!!!

 

I've picked up brand new cars on two occasions that had pressures in the mid 40's which just felt wrong and I had to let down. I assumed they weren't checked during the PDI.

Apologies to the OP for going so far off topic

In this country it is setting the tyres to to 25 PSI when you need 2.5 BAR or vice versa.

Other figures are available. 

 

Thanks, AG Falco