[asit.kulkarni93]

Originally Posted by sidpak

Hey Asit,

Awesome thread indeed,
I have a 2010 Skoda Laura 1.90 and was seriously considering letting go of my workhorse as I have booked the new Kodiaq,
After reading your posts (surprisingly for the first time) I am now seriously considering getting a remap and giving my car some TLC and keeping for a few more years,

Look forward to your next update,

Cheers,
Sid

Hey Sid,

Thank you!

The 1.9 PD is coarse and isn’t as exciting as the 2.0 TDi CR but it’s reliable and fuel efficient. The NVH can be improved with a remap. These cars are well engineered and long term ownership with the help of an FNG isn’t troublesome. Congratulations on the Kodiaq.

Originally Posted by Joshua_Ray

Hey Asit!
Really spectacular thread that I am sure most Laura enthusiast's love following! You really have a well used & equally well taken care of Laura 1.9!
I too have a 2010 Laura PD, with a Stage 1+ Code6 tune & BMC stock replacement filter.
Power is at ~140 bhp & 320 nm, but the itch for more power has started to take over
I am considering a cat-less downpipe and a Stage 2 tune (~155 bhp & 350 nm)

I would request your experience in this area, does the cat-less downpipe cause more turbo-lag? What are the pros & cons from your perspective?

Eagerly awaiting your reply. Cheers!

Hey,

Thanks Man. Your car looks good too. Honestly, I don’t have dyno numbers on the remap with downpipe but the mid range feels good and the low end is a bit compromised but the team at Wolfmoto has just tuned my car’s low end and to be honest it feels good. Being a SOHC engine, one has to compromise somewhere. The only advantage on highway that I see is the amazing mid range makes overtaking a breeze.


UPDATE

The ODO is nearing 179k KMs. The car’s daily usage has reduced as I prefer the Figo for work commute. We did a Pune-Aurangabad-Shegaon-Jalgaon-Amalner-Chaubari-Mudhi-Dhule-Nashik-Pune trip. Apart from that, the car was in badlapur for a function. The wiper Nozzle has been troublesome for sometime now. Will order the original ones at Škoda ASC. The Magneti struts are decent but a lil noisy. The car is good to go otherwise. Wolfmoto team was in town and I reached out to them for updating the map on my car for better low end. They did a decent job. On my way back from Badlapur yesterday, with a boot full of luggage and 4 people on board the car performed better. It was pulling away easily in 2nd or 3rd gear. Now that four of us travel out frequently, the leg room is inadequate at the rear. It is bothersome on long journeys and I see nothing apart from an Innova which can solve that problem. For now the Laura is good to go and it performs really well.

At Shegaon, one of most well managed temples in India

Enroute Shegaon from Aurangabad

Enroute Badlapur

Enroute Amalner from Shegaon. Lunch break at Bhusawal.

Attachment 2286692

At our family farm near Amalner

[asit.kulkarni93]

UPDATE

Apart from regular Nashik trips, not many trips were carried out. One afternoon, I reached my workplace and the car showed the overheating symbol. I let it cool and scanned it till then. No errors were found but the coolant tank was empty. Once the car was cool, I topped it up with some water and checked for leakages. Found a coolant elbow near the radiator leaking. The cost was less than Rs. 1000, but had to search a lot to get it. It was replaced the same evening and since then the car has been good to go.

The brakes needed attention since a long time, Finally I got all the 4 rotors, brake pads and Caliper pins replaced. Rotors were from Bosch and brake pads from Brembo. The brakes feel much better. I had faced an issue during my Nashik trip when the older rear brake pads had hardened and there was a lot of brake fade. The Caliper pins were an issue too.

Since the last trip to Nashik in April, I felt the performance wasn’t upto the mark. The car would occasionally wobble on acceleration. This definitely wasn’t an issue with the wheel balancing but either the flywheel or drive shafts. The switch to SMF was turning out to be a mistake, the already Coarse PD engine became even worse and somehow the car didn’t feel good to drive. I had checked another Laura with an SMF but because it was a stock car, it was doing pretty good. The flywheel on my car was worn out and I could feel the difference in the low end. Finally I got back to the DMF with a new clutch from Sachs. The old clutch was good but I didn’t want to risk it. The car feels much better now but I felt something missing about the power delivery and on certain roads there would be a humming sound at lower speeds. Checked the wheel bearings first and they were good to go. The only other thing which was suspicious was the drive shaft bearing because it would make a kat sound on hard braking and heavy acceleration once in a while. The Axles were refurbished and the car is back to it’s usual. While the car was stationary, I got the subframe bush replaced along with the re-threading done for 2 bolts.

Apart from the overheating issue, most of the other things were taken care of as a precaution. Got LED turn signals installed. No canbus error. We were keen on replacing the Laura this year but the Figo replacement is a priority hence pushed this purchase. At 184k KMs, this car drives really well. I took it for some unexpected work late in the night and on my way back I was ripping the car. The ride quality is phenomenal and the way it picks up speed is terrific.

Returning from Nasik

Leaking coolant elbow

Awaiting monsoon drives now….

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

UPDATE


Since the last trip to Nashik in April, I felt the performance wasn’t upto the mark. The car would occasionally wobble on acceleration. This definitely wasn’t an issue with the wheel balancing but either the flywheel or drive shafts. The switch to SMF was turning out to be a mistake, the already Coarse PD engine became even worse and somehow the car didn’t feel good to drive. I ….

Great updates! What is SMF? Can't figure it out.

Drive on,
Shibu

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by shibujp

Great updates! What is SMF? Can't figure it out.

Drive on,
Shibu

Single Mass Flywheel.

Single Mass vs. dual mass flywheel can be read here:
https://motorwerke.ca/single-mass-vs...s%20engineered.

[Restart]

I want to get my 1.9 PD Laura remapped as well, fuel efficiency on average is 12.5kmpl for me, 100% city driving in Hyderabad.

Will the map, affect fuel efficiency given that same driving style is used before and after remap?

[sunikkat]

Originally Posted by Restart

I want to get my 1.9 PD Laura remapped as well, fuel efficiency on average is 12.5kmpl for me, 100% city driving in Hyderabad.

Will the map, affect fuel efficiency given that same driving style is used before and after remap?

Generally a good remap will give a better efficiency if driven like before. But mostly once the car is remapped we tend to drive more harder and in turn get a lower efficiency.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Originally Posted by Restart

I want to get my 1.9 PD Laura remapped as well, fuel efficiency on average is 12.5kmpl for me, 100% city driving in Hyderabad.

Will the map, affect fuel efficiency given that same driving style is used before and after remap?

If you don't change your driving style then you will find no drop in FE. But normally one tends to push the car post a remap.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Upgraded to 16-inch rims from the Octavia mk3 and painted them in the gunmetal shade

[asit.kulkarni93]

Final Update

The thread wasn't updated in close to a year. In the last one year, the car actually saw less usage. It was finally sold off on Monday with the ODO at 196k KMs. The AC was overhauled this year. Rest it drove really well. If it were a DSG, I would have kept it for longer but for my typical Nasik and mumbai runs it was getting tiresome to drive a manual.

Coming from a Toyota Corolla, The Laura according to many was a risky proposition. I am glad they were proved wrong. These cars are built to last. With the right parts and diagnosis, they can be very reliable. With a humongous boot and that amazing independent suspension, The Laura was a delight to drive. The 1.9 TDi PD was outdated but with a stage 2 remap and downpipe, it was a thrilling experience. The steering feedback surprisingly was amazing. After all these years, I now realise why VAG owners don't move to other brands. The replacement will be finalised in this week and hopefully is another VAG.

Parting Shot