Abarth 500C - TSI I'm confused - scot22

I thought I understood that TS! stood for turbo supercharged. However, after spending an idle 10 minutes browsing the internet ; I read on the Sunday Times motoring page that it actually stands for two things - supercharged or stratified injection. The writer said there were problems with supercharged but not stratified. I don't rely on one source of information so have come to the forum. There are many here I trust.

Being a luddite or, depending on your viewpoint, a traditionalist I do not properly know the difference. I would appreciate a simple explanation and a comment on any strengths or weaknesses, particularly in relation to engine size.

Abarth 500C - TSI I'm confused - elekie&a/c doctor

Here is VW''s explanation as to how it works www.vw.ca/en/shopping_tools/innovation/engines/fsi...l Many modern petrol cars are using this system of high pressure fuel injection.to improve power and economy,but there are a few drawbacks.The systems are more expensive to fix ,emissions can be a problem,and the inlet air tract on the engine does not get fuel wash,that can lead to inlet manifolds clogging up and causing poor running.

Edited by elekie&a/c doctor on 21/05/2017 at 16:53

Abarth 500C - TSI I'm confused - scot22

Thanks for the helpful post. Are these problems likely or just possible ? Not accepting stratified injection does limit choice of car.

How does it compare with likelihood of normally aspirated engines having problems ?

Apologies for being a bit dense but they appear to be very beneficial in some respects. I don't want my suspicion to cause me to miss out.

The Abarth 500C came up by accident - I meant any !

Abarth 500C - TSI I'm confused - skidpan

On a VW/Seat/Skoda TSi stands for Turbo Stratified Injection. The exact identical engine in an Audi gets a TFSI badge which stands for Turbo Fuel Stratified Injection. Guess most of the idiots who pay more for an Audi think they are getting a different better engine. Once read an article about an Audi driver who tried to reject his new Audi because the TSi engine was made by Skoda, what a total ar5e.

Had TSi engine in a Seat Leon for almost 4 years and now have the same engine in a Skoda Superb. They are simply brilliant. Loads of power/torque, little turbo lag (none if you keep the revs above 2000), excellent flexibility and incredible fuel consumption.

The VAG engines with a turbo and a supercharger were known as dual charged and were troublesome so avoid.

Had no problems with my TSi engines so buy and enjoy.

Abarth 500C - TSI I'm confused - scot22

Thanks skidpan. Its valuable to hear from an experienced driver who has driven them. Seems like I should liberate myself from suspicion of anything non traditional. I think I have been confused by twin charged problems. However, never going to accept electric handbrake.

Abarth 500C - TSI I'm confused - elekie&a/c doctor

Not much you can do to reduce any future issues.But I would be very meticulous regarding regular oil changes with the correct grade of oil.I believe these have fairly short service intervals(by current standards) and use the Selenia/Fiat oil as recommended .

Abarth 500C - TSI I'm confused - scot22

Thanks again. I think I have OCCM syndrome ( obsessive car maintenance syndrome ) still had problems with C30 - suspect first 4 years not looked after so carefully. When I saw how the car had been handed in, before sales valet, I should have guessed. There was rubbish in car and boot and clearly not cleaned on a regular basis - live and learn.

Thinking of increasing initial spend and getting car one or two years old and changing after warranty finished. Another thread for pro's cand con's ? Probably already been several related.

Abarth 500C - TSI I'm confused - Avant

In which case, Scot, there's a lot to be said for going for a car with a longer warranty, such as Toyota, Hyundai or Subaru (5 years) or Kia (7 years). But you'll need to make sure that the car has been serviced by a main dealer, so that the warranty is still valid.

Abarth 500C - TSI I'm confused - veloceman
Leon 1.4 TSi is brilliant as described above.
However due to the recent facelift model having electronic handbrake you'll have to settle for one 6 mths old at best.
An answer to a problem that never existed!
Abarth 500C - TSI I'm confused - scot22

Thanks for the additional posts. I'm really keeping an open mind but always like to finds out as much as I can about things. Often been told I over think : reaction in motoring to having not thought enough in the past !

Abarth 500C - TSI I'm confused - skidpan

However due to the recent facelift model having electronic handbrake you'll have to settle for one 6 mths old at best.
An answer to a problem that never existed!

In the past I have driven 2 cars with electric handbrakes and was far from impressed. They worked OK but the location of the button in both was stupid to the point of being dangerous. In the Toyota Avensis is was on the dash under the steering wheel to the left and in the Volvo V70 it was again on the dash to the right of the steering wheel. Both are locations that are difficult to access and neither is where you automatically reach for the handbrake.

When I test drove the Skoda Superb I was immediately comfortable with the location since logically they put it where the hand brake should be. But having had the car for 3 months now I am truly sold on the feature especially since it has an automatic feature. When this is selected the handbrake is applied as soon as you stop and it releases as soon as you move off, simply brilliant. The only aspect that annoys me is when you try and reverse with the door open to check for obsacles, it will not release until you cancel the auto feature but its not a deal breaker.

Abarth 500C - TSI I'm confused - scot22

My experience with electrics is such that I would not trust it. I am sceptical of new developments in cars and if possible will get something as traditional as possible. Trouble is that if I exclude everything I am suspicious of the choice is very limited. I am assuming you get your cars new.

Despite earning a fortune in state education, I am not in the new car market.

Abarth 500C - TSI I'm confused - skidpan

My experience with electrics is such that I would not trust it. I am sceptical of new developments in cars and if possible will get something as traditional as possible.

We have never had it so good and cars have never been more reliable. Back in the 70's and 80's when cars were simple clockwork devices they would fail to start, break down regularly, rust away etc etc. Exhausts would last 2 years if you were lucky, clutches 40,000 miles and by then to boot would be full of water.

Embrace the present and the future. Would you want todays cars to be as bad as cars of the 70's or earlier were.

I certainly don't.

Edited by skidpan on 23/05/2017 at 19:34

Abarth 500C - TSI I'm confused - scot22

Some innovations are good : some are not. I agree with embracing the present and future but not without critical thought. Much nowadays is not built to last. I wonder what some elements of new cars will be like in a few years time ?

Abarth 500C - TSI I'm confused - SLO76
Got to agree with skidpan here. I sold enough 80's metal used in the 90's to know just how good we've got it today. Ford diesels that needed jump started every cold morning, Escorts with holes in the boot by 5yrs old, BL products with blistering wheel arches at 3yrs, Renaults needing wheel bearings by 30,000 miles, timing belts that needed replaced every 3yrs, haywire Vauxhall automatic chokes and trim that literally fell off in your hand on French and Italian motors. Not to mention having the crash worthiness of a wet paper bag unless you could stretch to a big BM, Merc, Saab or Volvo.

Cars may be more complex and therefore more costly to fix when they do go wrong today but anyone who remembers the joys of trying to run a run of the mill motor in from the 70's or 80's as everyday transport will usually testify to things being much better today. Buy wisely then look after it properly and there's no reason why it won't take you well into six figure mileages and well past 15yrs of age, with some notable exceptions we often talk about on here.

The greatest reason why any of them go wrong is all too often down to poor maintenance. Daft biannual oil changes to suit business users and blatant neglect by ignorant or skinflint owners will soon show up in costly failures especially on complex turbocharged motors.

I'm still not sold on the electronic parking brake that's creeping its way into every new motor though. I like innovation but this really is adding complexity for the sake of it rather than solving any real need and adding additional and unnecessary electrical componentry within the wheel where it'll encounter salt, muck and water is asking for trouble. Early examples of it on the Passat are notorious for going wrong and dealers price in the high risk of it failing when bidding on them.

Edited by SLO76 on 23/05/2017 at 21:36

Abarth 500C - TSI I'm confused - veloceman
I generally like progress but the horror stories of speaking to cab drivers that are paying £1,400 to get them fixed puts me off. (Passat).
Not really convinced at my sisters Cactus which basically uses I-pads to operate everything.
And of course I remember juggling choke, throttle and clutch pulling out of a junction on a cold frosty morning in my Dolly Sprint - lots of things are much better!
Abarth 500C - TSI I'm confused - 72 dudes

Our new Q3 has an electronic handbrake and, like Skidpan, I think it works very efficiently, once you have taken a few days to get used to it.

Mrs 72 dudes is less comfortable with it however.

Fortunately this is a Motability car on a 3 year contract hire agreement, so no worries about it going wrong!

Abarth 500C - TSI I'm confused - scot22

Car bills are ineveitable. I have my cars maintained by a trustworthy garage with hihg standards. I ensure any car I drive is as safe as possible.

Not worried about repairing epb : I'm worried about it misfunctioning in a driving situation, e.g just coming on on failing when car needs to be held.

Improve things please - don't just add gimmicks.

Abarth 500C - TSI I'm confused - SLO76
"Improve things please - don't just add gimmicks."

Yup, bring back the days when you could buy a totally basic high quality motor that would last for decades without irritating faults. As much as run of the mill motors are generally better reliability wise and regards rust protection today than ever the same can't be said about many premium products which are now over complex and prone to expensive issues past 7 or 8yrs old.

In the 80's you could buy a Mercedes 123 or 124 series E class with nothing in it at all aside from power steering and an engine. It was about quality not useless gadgetry. Sadly Merc, BM, Audi and Volvo don't offer anything like it today and despite the bulk of punters wanting all the toys there are still folks like myself who would rather see money spent on quality than toys. I'm sure the taxi trade would agree.