anything i can do to enhance pick up on my car...?

[joko]

i used to have an old car and the pickup on it was great - could be off like a shot at soon as touched the pedal

howwever my new one (new to me) feels sluggish in comparison...i dont think its a fault, its probably like most others, but i am used to the other an i wondered if there was anyway this could be enhanced?

either by me - something i can buy, or by a garage, and if so how much would it be?

thanks

[joko]

sorry i have a vw passat auto estate diesel, 02.

[S_C]

what did you have before ?

if for instance your old car was a 2.0 petrol mondeo

that would be a faster car by reason of petrol verses deisel and engine size for the size of the car

without spending a lot of money on things like turbo's , bigger exhausts and other preformance enhansing items the only way to keep your car at " its " peek performance is to keep it well serviced .

it is also noted that some automatic's have less pickup " acceloration " than their manual counterparts.

[logic]

you could try fitting a de cat pipe, to replace the catalytic converter, ( yes it is legal ) as long as the car meets exhaust emission tests,
a cat converter absorbs a great deal of power from the engine,
i have done this on all our diesel cars over the past six years, and it has made a great difference,
HTH.

[joko]

whats it got to do with you why i bought the car darren?

if you would care to read the question properly you will see its not about speed but about pickup...

the car feels sluggish when i press the accelorator from still...like its stuggling for a moment to pickup

[joko]

thanks to the others for proper answers

[ChuckFickens]

Welcome to turbo lag!

[logic]

it may be worth checking the hose or pipe that feeds the air under pressure from the turbocharger to intercooler, as if this is split or losing pressure in any way, it will give the symptoms you describe,
but as Chuck said, could be turbo lag, although this can be adjusted on the wastegate dump valve, but you will need someone who knows what they are doing, to adjust this,

[ChuckFickens]

errr, logic,

dump valve on a diesel???

[ChuckFickens]

and it will do absolutely nothing. there are no throttle bodies on a diesel hence the need to release back pressure created by the throttle suddenly being shut just isn't there.

[logic]

Chuck,
You are right to a point,
Firstly i should have said bypass valve, ( similar but not same I know, )
But there is a pressure build up, as the rotor continues to spin when the throttle is closed, thus creating a higher pressure in front of the turbo than behind it, this pressure build up tries to force its way back past the rotor casing turbo braking.
i have adjusted these on my 2.8 Pajero, and on our rover 45, both give rapid acceleration,
I think there are several things that could cause Joko's problem,
I suppose the most obvious, would be the air filter, But I assume that has already been dealt with.

[joko]

i havent done anything to it myself...but the care was owned by a mechanics brother up until a few weeks ago, so its probably been kept well.

it may be absolutely normal, and its just that im used to my other car having fast immediate pickup, so this one just feels different

cheers all ill look into it further

[ChuckFickens]

I'd actually guess there is nothing wrong with the car and you are under driving it.

You now have a turbo diesel, you need to drive it with higher revs to keep the turbo spinning so the engine has power.

[logic]

Thing is CHUCK,
We don't know what he had before,

it could be as S_C says,

[joko]

hi, yes i had a petrol, peugeot 405 auto est, 1995 model - for some reason it had amazing pick up

as i say the new car was owned by a mechanics brother so i dont think there can be much wrong with it.
im thinking it must just be that im used to the other car
it is unnerving tho, to put your foot down a bit from stationary and feel like the car has lost power....

how do you drive with more revs then chuck?

[Nkakamasembe]

If you are after acceleration improvement try this diesel performance chip "boiter additional puce volkswagen passat 2.0.tdi" from italian box, can be found on ebay.

[joko]

thanks nkaka...ive just had a look and i saw some for about £25...

but...can anyone tell me whether these are any good?

and if so, will they work on my vehicle...i have -

2002 VW passat auto estate, SE TDI TIPTRONIC, diesel, 4 cyl, 1896cc, 130bhp/96.9kw, torque 310 nm, 0 to 60;11.9 secs, topspd 122mph. avg cons, 38.7mpg

many thanks