Audi A3 + S3 (1996 - 2001) - 1999 1.8 - Fuel Additives - Sluggish Acceleration

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Mon 31 Dec 2007 10:45
1999 1.8 - Fuel Additives - Sluggish Acceleration - Golddog
Hi,

I have recently been experiencing some sluggish acceleration mainly noticed in 3rd and 4th gear. If you put your foot down hard the revs jump up but there is a second lag in acceleration. The experience is similar to driving an automatic uphill when you try to accelerate and feel the gear shift down before there is acceleration except my car is a manual!

The car is an Audi A3 1.8 petrol manual built 1999. Air mass meter was replaced about 18 months ago so I am sure it isn't that (thankfully!).

My hope is that maybe there is some crud in the fuel tank which can be blasted out with some fuel cleaner/additive and premium unleaded on a fast stretch of motorway.

Do you have any suggestions or successful additives you have used in the past?

Thank you.

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 31/12/2007 at 10:50

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 31 Dec 2007 10:52
1999 1.8 - Fuel Additives - Sluggish Acceleration - Altea Ego
If the revs jump up and the car does not move accordingly the only addative you need is a new clutch.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 31 Dec 2007 10:58
1999 1.8 - Fuel Additives - Sluggish Acceleration - Golddog
This was something I considered given the age of the car but there is still a fair "biting distance" on the clutch when I change gear so I was hoping I could find a cheaper solution. Any idea what a new (used?) clutch will cost me on this model?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 31 Dec 2007 11:52
1999 1.8 - Fuel Additives - Sluggish Acceleration - Peter.N.
It certainly sounds like the clutch. I dont know the cost of a replacement but it would certainly be false economy to fit a used one as the cost of fitting will probably far exceed the cost of the clutch. If you pull away gently so as not to slip the clutch it could last a lot longer, its only the slipping that causes wear. The clutch on my last XM started slipping at full throttle at about 2k+ revs, I refrained from letting it slip and it was still driving OK when I sold it about 15k miles later.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

We give you the low down on how to save on insurance, little-known tricks and tips, what insurance groups mean and how to use insurance aggregators to beat insurers.

Insurance group finder and how to save on insurance

If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?