Push Key Start, Frickin Dangerous

[spud_edwards]

Having just bought a B8 A4 TDi 170, I'm pretty disappointed with a few things. My last two cars (petrol VWs) would pull away in 2nd gear if the wheels were rolling. This A4 I have to slip the clutch, even in 1st to stop it from stalling. And when it does stall it takes soooooo long to restart, its dangerous. Am I doing something wrong, is there a way to quickly refire her if she stalls? Plus the turbo lag in any gear is just a joke. Shame really, cos I love the way the car looks, handles and its generally well built.

[The Polisher]

with mine, if it stalls you just dip the clutch and it automatically restarts instantly............ wonder if this is a feature on the stop/start cars only?

mines a 143bhp, and I regularly pull away in 2nd, no issues.............

However, just noted you have come from petrol engines.............. diesels do require a different driving style, give it time for you to get used to it!

[n0v]

Hi,

I have noticed the time it takes to restart after stalling, it does take a little getting used to moving from petrol to diesel. I stalled at a roundabout i have been round 100's of times as i useded 3rd gear like have would in my petrol A class and stalled!!!

Panic, dip clutch, hold in key, fires up and go, all about 5 seconds but they were 5 long seconds. No quick restart like the start/stop cars.

I to have tried to use 2nd gear as you have and agree it is almost impossible and really requires first for anything slow. Also getting away in first is the same as you mention, maybe the gearing in a 170 is different than a 143. The posts on juddering are worth a read.

The turbo lag i've not noticed to be honest. It does seem fine to me and responsive. I've owned a number of diesels and think they are great, the last i owned was over 10 years ago so i am impressed with the advances in quietness and smoothness. I think this is also one issue with the ability to be in the right gear. You are not able to really hear the engine revs so have to use the tachometer.

But as said before i think it is just a case of getting used to the driving style you need to adopt.

Cheers

n0v

[John140]

with mine, if it stalls you just dip the clutch and it automatically restarts instantly............ wonder if this is a feature on the stop/start cars only?

mines a 143bhp, and I regularly pull away in 2nd, no issues.............

However, just noted you have come from petrol engines.............. diesels do require a different driving style, give it time for you to get used to it!
Agree with above, the TDI 143 is a bit less techy than the 170 and always has been. With the start stop it should start immediately again as you dip the clutch, without start-stop I would assume you need to do it manually.

[theskyfox]

Yeah Ive had this too lol. Ive tried to be a smartass and switch my engine off at some lights that took ages to change. When they changed green, I restarted my engine...then stalled on pullaway as I was still in 3rd gear. Was the longest moment of my life restarting her to get through the line...and I'm sure the que of cars behind me loved me too...

-Andrew

[Crazyfool]

It's a case of adjusting your driving style.

The start-stop really helps. As everyone says, it just restarts the car straight after stalling.

I have driven lots of 143 and 170 diesels and although they have low down torque, I find the petrol engine can pull much lower down the rev range. I am a bit of a lazy driver and I tend to find that when I drive the diesel like my petrol, the engine starts pulling at low revs, whereas the petrol doesnt have any problems. The cabriolet, albeit a V6 easily pulls in 5th gear at 15mph. The avant is similar, although it needs a little more time for the turbo to kick in.

I also find the turbo lag worse on the diesel engines compared to the petrol turbos.

[markp306]

I have driven lots of 143 and 170 diesels and although they have low down torque, I find the petrol engine can pull much lower down the rev range.
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I also find the turbo lag worse on the diesel engines compared to the petrol turbos.

That's an unexpected view point!

I have no problems with driving my TDI at low revs, although I have to admit you can tell when it is below 1500rpm and the moment it passes it!

I had a 1.8T (quattro) before and began to wonder if it had any torque. It regularly got bogged down and seemed to take forever to get on boost. Maybe that changed with the FSI I don't know?

Anyway, this "concern" was more than enough and I switched to TDI, although the better mpg figures had something to do with it too. :approve:

[J_B204]

I think comparing petrol & diesel is like comparing apples & pears...

You can't compare what a diesel does at 1500 rpm with what a petrol does, likewise if you drive listening to the engine noise (as I used to) I came unstuck at low revs. I changed from a petrol to diesel, also 'felt' like I needed more revs, or at least more pedal, to pull away in the diesel. In reality I think it was a combination of the engine taking longer to spin up, the torque being available at different rpm and the noise the engine was making.

Think you have to adjust your driving style, taking it to the extreme you wouldn't drive a truck the same way you do a racing car but they are both automobiles.

I've actually found my 170 far more responsive than I expected.

Hope this is useful.

Oh and as I've got stop start, stalling is not an issue!

[spud_edwards]

I guess it's a combination of wider gear ratios for better economy/top speed plus bolting on a massive turbo to get 170 bhp. Still sucks though.

[thescouselander]

I'm sorry but if you stall the car that's driver error, not the car's fault. Prevention is better than the cure - drive properly and there will be no problem.

[chody]

if the lag is really bad it could also be the egr valve you dont say if its a new car as i had a problem in my van it felt like it wouldnt pull the skin off spoilt milk below about 2500 rpm new egr valve sorted it

[spud_edwards]

@ thescouselander PMSL Get a grip..........You shouldnt have to slip the clutch to get moving without stalling, I've never needed to do it with any other car, and I had a few...petrols and diesels. It's bad design. So get off your high horse keyboard warrior.

[legendamongus]

I'm sorry but if you stall the car that's driver error, not the car's fault. Prevention is better than the cure - drive properly and there will be no problem.
Agreed. Clutch control for the win...

[derekm]

You will get the hang of it and not stall in future. I stalled a good few times when I first got my car. You just need to change your driving style. Dip the clutch earlier when coming to a stop and use 1st gear more often. Agree it can take a while getting going again if you stall. I have been left sitting there frantically pushing the key and nothing was happening, I found I had to pull it out and push in again (with clutch fully depressed) to get the restart quickly. Your 170 may have a bit less torque at the lower revs than the 143 which could make it worse but you will get used to it......

[thescouselander]

@ thescouselander PMSL Get a grip..........You shouldnt have to slip the clutch to get moving without stalling, I've never needed to do it with any other car, and I had a few...petrols and diesels. It's bad design. So get off your high horse keyboard warrior.

Well, nobody else seems to have any problems like this so unless there is a fault with your car I can only conclude it must be driver error. How about pulling off in 1st gear instead - after all they didn't just put it there to make up the numbers. Pulling off in 2nd is not good technique.

[markp306]

bolting on a massive turbo to get 170 bhp.

Not on a TDI. It's a variable geometry unit to get power across the rev range.

Don't quote me on this, but there isn't a lot of difference between the two turbos on the 143 and 170. I recall reading somewhere it was more about higher rail pressure and ECU updates......? Anyone know for sure?

[spud_edwards]

Well, nobody else seems to have any problems like this so unless there is a fault with your car I can only conclude it must be driver error. How about pulling off in 1st gear instead - after all they didn't just put it there to make up the numbers. Pulling off in 2nd is not good technique.

I appreciate you're from Liverpool, but you're obviously struggling to read. Who said anything about pulling off in 2nd?

And as for no-one else having the same problem, try to read n0v's post. If you're still struggling give me a shout ;-)

[thescouselander]

I appreciate you're from Liverpool, but you're obviously struggling to read. Who said anything about pulling off in 2nd?

And as for no-one else having the same problem, try to read n0v's post. If you're still struggling give me a shout ;-)


Apparently you did:


Having just bought a B8 A4 TDi 170, I'm pretty disappointed with a few things. My last two cars (petrol VWs) would pull away in 2nd gear if the wheels were rolling. This A4 I have to slip the clutch, even in 1st to stop it from stalling. And when it does stall it takes soooooo long to restart, its dangerous. Am I doing something wrong, is there a way to quickly refire her if she stalls? Plus the turbo lag in any gear is just a joke. Shame really, cos I love the way the car looks, handles and its generally well built.

The way I read it that kind of implies you were trying the same thing in your A4 - maybe you should have been a bit clearer. Also, so what if you need to slip the clutch, even in first? If the road speed doesn't match the engine speed in any gear this is inevitable isn't it?

[spud_edwards]

Apparently you did:



The way I read it that kind of implies you were trying the same thing in your A4 - maybe you should have been a bit clearer. Also, so what if you need to slip the clutch, even in first? If the road speed doesn't match the engine speed in any gear this is inevitable isn't it?

Maybe you never went to school, but if you did, did they teach you to only read half a sentence? I'm beginning to see where Clarkson gets his opinions on Audi drivers.

[legendamongus]

Whenever I've stalled mine, I find that I tend to sometimes push the key in to restart without getting the clutch pedal completely down in time, so I need to try to restart again. Tend to forget about the clutch as I'm focusing on pulling the key out instead. I've gotten used to it now though - it's not ideal but it's just a different way of doing it. It comes with time. If you still think that your car isn't pulling away properly, then maybe try a test drive in another one to see how it compares? Did you test drive yours and notice these issues at the time? It's been said before but diesels need a different driving style to petrols, there's inevitably going to be some turbo lag present.


I appreciate you're from Liverpool, but you're obviously struggling to read. Who said anything about pulling off in 2nd?

And as for no-one else having the same problem, try to read n0v's post. If you're still struggling give me a shout ;-)

Maybe you never went to school, but if you did, did they teach you to only read half a sentence? I'm beginning to see where Clarkson gets his opinions on Audi drivers.
Yes. As am I...

[NickH A4]

16897

[spud_edwards]

Whenever I've stalled mine, I find that I tend to sometimes push the key in to restart without getting the clutch pedal completely down in time, so I need to try to restart again. Tend to forget about the clutch as I'm focusing on pulling the key out instead. I've gotten used to it now though - it's not ideal but it's just a different way of doing it. It comes with time. If you still think that your car isn't pulling away properly, then maybe try a test drive in another one to see how it compares? Did you test drive yours and notice these issues at the time? It's been said before but diesels need a different driving style to petrols, there's inevitably going to be some turbo lag present.



Yes. As am I...

Legend A Mong Us.......if you can't see that Scouselander was being d*ck, gobbing off like he's the Stig when he hasn't even read my post correctly, then you're as much of a retard as he is.

And you're wrong, I was so unimpressed with the A4 I've given it to my ex. She's a c*nt too, so she'll fit in well in this forum.

Good day

[a8 tech]

pmsl

[thescouselander]

Man part or not - at least I can drive my car without stalling, which is more than can be said for you:p Perhaps you could get your ex to give you a few driving lessons.

[a8 tech]

:biglaugh: Just spat my tea out reading this

[b8sline]

What a thread ! :biglaugh: