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Upgrades to my Skoda Rapid 1.5 TDI: air filter, brakes, rotors and more

8th July 2024, 12:17 by Kanad Kalasur

In the end, I am as happy and content as a German car owner should be, when he is behind wheels of a stage 1 remapped diesel monster pushing the RPMS and getting pushed to his seat.

BHPian Tuisha110HP recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Some more updates:

1) Like mentioned in my last post, I did get a BMC airfilter in stock location. Also, the air channel has been cut to let in the cold air from outside- just like the euro spec air channel. Saved some money there.

2) The stock rotors were abysmally bad. Somehow worked till 46K kms. Then decided to go for the ATE slotted rotors and second set of yellow stuff pads. The first set of yellow stuff pads with stock rotors lasted for around 35000 kms. Still had some 4-5K kms life left.

3) Suspension update:

I was running a set of TRWs are rear and Sachs at front. GERMAN CART, (they are on instagram) told me sometime back that they would have the actual part for Rapid rear shock soon in stock. I thought, why not go for full Sachs. Got the rear ones sent to me and installed them. The story now has to be divided into three parts hereon:

The Good Part:

1) The full set of Sachs were even better than Front Sachs and rear TRWs. The car felt it was driving on rails. Absolute beast on highways and lane changes were as smooth as butter. Braking improved significantly.

2) The city drive were not was smooth as TRWs and the car was STIFFFFF.

The bad part:

1) Although the car was amazing on Sachs rear, they were as loud as a plane crash. When you are slow and you tackle speed breakers or uneven roads, they were silent. No problems.

2) The moment you pick up speeds, specially on flyover joints and small rumble strips, there were loud thuds. An abnormal kind of loud thuds as if something is going to break. Maybe the shocks were not getting the rebound as they should have, then fast rebounds were necessary.

3) They were kind of frustrating and kind of killing the joy of having an amazing setup.

The Best Part

Before I start, mind you, this is not a SPONSORED POST. I have to admit I have never seen someone from India having so much customer centric behavior and after sales service. The guy from GERMAN CART, I still dont know his name, was in constant touch with me to seek the feedback as I was the first one to have a full Sachs set up bought from him.

1) I told him about the noise, to which he asked me to drive for 1000-2000 kms. I had to move cities and relocate to Hyd. I drove 5000 KMS with full load, no load, slow speed and high speeds. Gave the shocks enough time to settle in. Got the rear buffers changed as well.

2) Sachin_CS from our own team bhp forum also got the shocks and I asked him about this experience. He shared that he is also getting the same noise.

3) German Cart himself was constantly checking with me how the shocks were behaving. He told me that no one else if getting the noise that I am complaining about out of all shocks he has sold.

4) One fine day, he suddenly called me and asked me to share my HYD address as he was getting a new lot and asked me if I am ready to check the new Sachs rear. I got that shipped to me in 2 days, got them installed in next 30 mins and went for a drive for 100 kms straight.

The new ones were silent as they should be. There was slightly a little loader thuds from front and rear, compared to stock. BUT that is what you expect them to have when you are getting a stiffer set.

5) Called him up and updated him the status. He asked me to send the old ones to him, so that he can send them to company for detailed diagnosis and check why the old ones were making those loud noise.

In the end, I am as happy and content as a German car owner should be, when he is behind wheels of a stage 1 remapped diesel monster pushing the RPMS and getting pushed to his seat.

Until next time CIAO. Posting some pics.