On it's way - Wahoo!!

[Bluerex]

Ordered the crew van today... delivery scheduled for 5th November (my choice), ready to tow the trailer to Classic Adelaide, then drag the M3 home again. Pics to follow,

C

PS anyone want to buy a WRX??

[gregozedobe]

Ordered the crew van today...

Welcome to the T5 fold Bluerex, what spec did you order ?

Good to see another dog lover with a T5 in Canberra (I'm a dog agility addict myself, and I've converted my basic van to a comfortable but simple camper to go to agility trials in).

I find my T5 (128Kw manual) a great highway cruiser, with heaps of torque on hills, and I've heard T5s make good tow vehicles (even if the towing package seems to cost rather a lot).

[Bluerex]

Because I wanted a service vehicle for the Classic Adelaide in November, I did not have a huge choice in options - oh well, I would have liked better seats up front, but time was against us.
So...
128kw TDI
Short Wheel-base
4-Motion (6 speed manual)
White/Grey (I had to choose from White/Grey,White/Grey or White/Grey)
Tow bar
Cargo Barrier


cant wait

c

[WEDEL.1]

Lucky Duck!

Maris

[Bluerex]

QUACK!!!

[phaeton]

:j lol

Saw one at AIMS looked good

[Bluerex]

3 more sleeps!

Then off for tinting, cargo barrier, some aux lighting and power outlets - all good for dragging the M3 to Adelaide and back

C

[WEDEL.1]

Congratulations, our VW Club of SA will probably be running a stage og the race.

You'll have to change your user name? BluT5?

Maris

[gregozedobe]

3 more sleeps!

Then off for tinting, cargo barrier, some aux lighting and power outlets - all good for dragging the M3 to Adelaide and back C

Have Fun ! I'm sure you and your SWB will be very happy together. Say hello to Justin for me when you pick it up, he's one of the few car salespersons that hasn't managed to get up my nose quite quickly.

Read up about running in if you haven't already. To sum up, take it easy when warming up, vary the engine revs (no cruise control for the first 3,000km), flex the accelerator foot at least twice an hour to exercise the turbo vanes and help the rings bed in. Round town running (lots of stops and starts) is better than steady highway cruising.

Greg C

[Bluerex]

Read up about running in if you haven't already. To sum up, take it easy when warming up, vary the engine revs (no cruise control for the first 3,000km), flex the accelerator foot at least twice an hour to exercise the turbo vanes and help the rings bed in. Round town running (lots of stops and starts) is better than steady highway cruising.

Greg C

Sooooo, pickup van, attach 550kg trailer with 1200kg of BMW rally car, drive 1300km to Adelaide, 1000km for the rally, then 1300km home again isn't recommended?

c

[gregozedobe]

Sooooo, pickup [brand-new] van, attach 550kg trailer with 1200kg of BMW rally car, drive 1300km to Adelaide, 1000km for the rally, then 1300km home again isn't recommended? c

IMHO that will be fine, but for optimum running-in I would suggest that you :

1 Take it easy until the engine is properly warm (90 degrees C on my gauge).

2 Constantly vary the engine revs on the hwy (hence no cruise control). I tended to maintain a sort-of constant road speed on the flat bits (which you will see lots of on the way to Adelaide), but regularly shuffle through 4th, 5th and 6th gears to change the engine revs.

3 Use lower gears up hills (with that load I'd be aiming to keep the revs above 2200 on any decent hill). Just because the engine will pull hard at 1600 on a hill with a load doesn't mean you should let it. With over 2000kg of total load I'd be inclined to only use 6th on the flat bits if there was no head-wind, otherwise use 5th. If you want to get an idea of the current load on your motor, look at the instantaneous Fuel Consumption reading on the trip computer (if you have it). For me anything much above 12l/100km on the open road means the engine is starting to do some serious work, but with your load you'd probably be happy to see that on the flat

4 Check the oil level every 500Km to start with (the odd TDI engine can use a bit of oil at first, and you can go a long way on a tankfull of fuel). General consensus is that a "firmly" run-in motor is less likely to consume oil (mine doesn't use any at all, and that is common).

5 Don't be too gentle on the accelerator all the time. Regular full pedal-to-the-metal from 1800 through to 3000rpm actually helps the running-in process as it increases the pressure on the rings which helps them and the cylinder walls wear in to each other and get a better seal. It also helps keep the moveable vanes on the VNT turbo free (they are known to stick on TDIs that are ALWAYS driven at low revs and gentle accelerator.

6 For the first 2000Km I would try not to go over 3500rpm, after that 4000 would be fine (not much point going above 4000 anyway as you get better power by changing up a gear)

7 Chasing around at the rally should be fine, as you will probably be doing a fair bit of 5 above Just try not to get booked for speeding.

8 Enjoy the drive. I find my T5 is just a wonderful highway cruiser By the time you get back it will be mostly run-in. I started using my cruise control after 4000Km, but still varied the revs every 15 mins or so until after 5000km.

I'm sure lots of people couldn't be bothered with all this mucking about and their vans have turned out fine anyway, but I pay for everything out of my own pocket and I tend to keep my vehicles for 10 years or more, so I wanted it to be as right as I could make it.

Hope that helps.

Greg C

[Lams]

oops I missed step 1 and step 6

[Bluerex]

Hey thanks for that!
We did a 600km run yesterday (pulic holiday here in Canb) up hill and down dale through the snowy Mountains - great drive with a good mix of loads and revs. The plan is to get up over the 1000k mark before starting the long tow. Unfortunately we didn't get the trip computer - with the delivery time critical it was a case of "grab what we could" so no options. I would also have liked arm-rests - can they be retro-fitted?

C

[gregozedobe]

I would also have liked arm-rests - can they be retro-fitted? C

I doubt it, as the seat has to have an (internal) frame for them to bolt to. Feel around the side of your upright to see if the frame is there (about 1/3 of the way up).

I actually have armrests on my van, but removed 3 of the 4. The outside ones were a nuisance because you have to fold them down to allow the side airbags (in the side of the seat) to operate in the event of a crash, but you have to fold them up to get in and out. Having the two centre armrests fitted made it a bit awkward to walk through to the back (made it a narrow gap), so I've ended up with only the driver's centre one.

[Bluerex]

Hmm, I can feel a bolt hole on the side of the seat frame, don't know if the internals are there to attach to. I agree that the most important arm rest is the driver's. Who did the removal?

C