vRSgone

None of the tuners I have approached seem to be aware that there are different engine variants of the 1.4 TSI twincharger engine (CAVE & CTHE)), let alone that there are different ECU's. I do not believe that any of them have managed or even tried to bust the encryption on the latest incarnation - why would they? It's an obsolete engine& therefore the number of people seeking a remap is small & dwindling. I believe the ECU can be remapped by removing it & the security seals & reprogramming the EEPROM directly - a labour intensive & risky business, but remapping via the OBD port, not a chance, I say & as others have said Dyno print-offs would be available if it were possible. I have now completed my 2nd day with a TMC box (rather than the Bluespark, of which I was rather a fan). I must say first impressions, TMC is better. But that's only a subjective impression, I have nothing on paper to back it up. But I may have soon - if I can justify spending another 60 quid on another Dyno test!

I have now managed to obtain a TMC tuning box. It will be interesting to compare the performance of the TMC & the Bluespark side by side. I wonder which one I'll be keeping?

Obviously, it is a calculated risk deploying modifications on an engine still under warranty, but even if a stage 1 remap was possible on the CTHE, I still think I would prefer the tuning box option. There doesn't seem to be much difference in the net BHP gains between a Stage 1 remap & a tuning box, & the tuning box does at least give you option of returning everything back to normal when you take the car in for service. None of the tuning companies I have contacted can remap a CTHE engine without removing & modifying the ECU, - which immediately violates the warranty - why take the risk? My warranty has only a few months to run now, & I have been running a Bluespark box for over 12 months, without any apparent ill effects. On the contrary, I swear it runs sweeter & I absolutely definitely get better overall MPG (round about 8-10% better). When I take the box off the difference is immediately apparent - the engine seems harsher & far less flexible. I examine my plugs regularly, & as far as my limited engineering ability goes, I can see no ill effects of running a tuning box. I never need to top the oil in between changes. I run my engine fast & hard & I would have thought that any consequences of the tuning box would have manifest itself by now in a breakdown of one form or another. My dyno graph is posted elsewhere on this forum, & assuming that a standard CTHE makes 190BHP, then I am seeing gains of 15BHP (approx.). But the increase in torque, & the availability of power over a much wider rev band is much more apparent. Incidentally I have declared all my mods to my insurer (Chris Knott), with no increase in premium. But then again, they know a careful, considerate driver, when they see one!!!

Good music George. You can hear every word - I like music that reflects real life. Not like the sh1te coming out of the likes of the X factor & the Voice (what voice?)

Does seem to make a difference (with the weights removed). Car does seem more responsive & less tendency for front wheel spin - especially in the wet. Doesn't appear to affect handling in any situation I've been in.

Totally agree. Transforms the handling. Gives you much greater confidence on bends.

I too am a Nextbase fan. Excellent product aftersales service. They replaced mine after 11 months & paid the carriage both ways. Mine is the Nextbase 402g with GPS. The advantage with GPS it shows (without argument), exactly when & where the incident occurred & what speed you was doing at the time. The other party then can't claim you was speeding - unless of course you were.

Here is my latest Dyno graph DETAILS;- Fabia vRS 2013 model CTHE engine Reprogrammed Bluespark 3 channel box with upgraded software, set to maximum Denso SKJ20CR plugs gapped at 0.6mm ITG Maxogen CAI (Thanks to Antvrs) Catback SS exhaust -70mm pipework no resonator box FUEL Tesco Momentum 99 ron Ambient temperature 24 degrees C It's making 206BHP (up from previous 193 BHP) & 253 ft-lbs torque (up from previous 247) But the power is now available over a much wider rev range. Very pleased with results, but squiggles on a graph don't mean much to me - putting your foot down & feeling the WHOOSH does!

I've posted my latest Dyno. Now it produces 206BHP & max torque of 253ft-lbs over a much wider rev range. Very happy. This Dyno is with the following mods;- Denso SKJ20 spark plugs gapped at 0.6mm Bluespark box with latest upgraded software & set at maximum. ITG Maxogen CAI Catback SS 70mm exhaust system with centre box removed. See the dyno in Mk 2 Fabia vRS rolling road topic.

Works fine if you are travelling alone, although it does make you oblivious to outside danger signals eg, honking horns etc, also you feel kind of isolated. Also not sure of legal status & safety issues of wearing headphones. I've installed Dynamat in rear boot floor, wheel arches, door panels, & floorpan. Hard work for not much improvement. Haven't changed tyres & loathe to do so whilst plenty of tread left, & how do you choose replacements? Suspension bushes? Hadn't really crossed my mind as a major contributor to noise, but something I may consider.

By way of experiment, this is what I have done. I recorded the inside cabin noise using my mobile phone, as an .mp3 file & played it back through my hi fi system at home, at a volume level that approximates that in the car. As soon as I switched on the Bose QC's, the effect was dramatic. Almost silence! One drawback though,- if I had music on in the car it also had a severe effect on that as well. It didn't eliminate the music entirely, but it altered it nearly out of recognition. That is why I suggested locating the microphones outside of the cabin so that they do not pick up the inside sounds - and thereby modify the music as well. The main purpose for the sound proofing is so that I can enjoy music on the move. Not easy to do with present noise levels. I suppose my next move is to remove the electronics from the Bose & hook up a real situation, but I don't want to ruin a marvellous set of headphones, but if I thought I was in with half a chance I'd risk it.

Having spent a lot of time (and money), trying to reduce the road noise in my Fabia vRS & only seeing minimal improvement, I was wondering whether an active electronic noise reduction system would work? What I had in mind was the electronic circuitry of Bose QC 25 noise cancelling headphones. I'm thinking that microphones taped to the wheel arches & then fed into the input of the Bose QC's, the output then amplified & driving a couple of speakers (existing ones preferably). I am familiar with the operation of electronic active noise cancellation, but I do not know whether my proposed system would work? Any sound/electronic boffins care to comment?

You'll see it tonight. Cost (when I bought it) £119 fitted by Bluespark.

As I understand it the only way to remap a CTHE engine which uses a Bosch EDC17 or MED17 ECU, is by removing the ECU (which is secured by anti-tamper bolts), & then removing its lid with a heat gun - see here:- A little bit drastic don't you think? Worth jeopardizing your warranty? Not when a tuning box will give you more or less the same gains & to all intents & purposes is invisible & easily removable. I have a Bluespark 3 channel tuning box & I'm absolutely delighted - far cheaper than TMC as well!

Every tuning firm I've approached (APR, TMC, REVO) SAY they can remap a CTHE, but when it comes down to it, they admit they can only do it by 'Jail breaking' the ECU, which if your car is still in warranty, is a path you really want to avoid. I must admit my knowledge is at least 6 months old so I suppose things could have changed......but I wont hold my breath. Who's going to waste time & money writing code for an obsolete engine with only limited sales?

Maybe the 3rd generation cameras are of better build quality. Certainly there are a lot of 1st & 2nd release cameras still being sold. I suspect mine is at the best 2nd generation. My problems have been:- 1st camera - No or very intermittent GPS 2nd camera - Slightly better GPS but still slow to lock -on & quick to drop out. This one also had distorted & crackly sound. 3rd camera. - No GPS. Out of focus on everything more than 20 feet away. Crackly sound & Internal battery not always charging. I came to the conclusion that all the faults (except the focus problem) were due to the new (improved?) base not making proper contact with the camera contacts. initially I tried the recommended fix of inserting a thin paper shim in between the camera base mount parts, so that it was a tighter fit. It made the situation worse. Finally I decided to wire the base & camera together using thin enamel coated copper wire. RESULT:- Constant GPS, quick to latch on & no distorted sound & battery charges OK. DISADVANTAGE - I can no longer remove camera from mount, but I can live with that. Out of focus was cured by diassembling the camera & refocussing the lens & then 'locking' it in position with nail varnish - I found shocking pink was best.

As far as I am aware the Mini 0806 is currently not available. At least not from any reputable supplier. A damn shame because it is capable of amazing quality video. It has been let down by poor assembly & inadequate QC. I sourced mine from an Amazon supplier who shipped direct from China, & consequently only covered by Amazon's 30 day replacement/cancellation policy. I'm on my 3rd replacement camera with a down time of 5-8 weeks in between replacements, & each replacement has been faulty! I cant be 4rsed any more & have 'sorted' the problem myself, touch wood! Has now been 6 weeks & still going strong.

No not at all. It's a suction mount with a ball & socket joint which locks very positively. Can post some footage if you want?

For a reasonable budget 1080p dashcam with GPS, I reckon the Mio Mivue takes some beating. Fairly low profile & very reliable. (so far). Nextbase 402g is OK but its an ugly brute that won't fit behind the drivers mirror. Also on mine GPS is bit temperamental & then the digital speed read out/compass rose reverts to showing the road ahead.

Virtually impossible to get 360 degree coverage (I have been accused of 'Going over the top' by having a 3rd camera to monitor events inside the cabin & through the driver's side windows). Where do you draw the line? The Mio Mivue is a nice cheap camera with full HD Video & it seems very reliable.

Link working now. Good quality videos & good post production editing.

Nope. Still doesn't work (Not from my computer, any way) http://evodt.co.uk/videos%C2%A0

Link doesn't work (bottom one). Would like to see your videos.

I believe the 0805 camera has a better reliability record than the 0806. I finally decided that it wasn't the camera playing up, just the base. My problems were:- no or intermittent GPS, or crackly sound. I've finally solved the problem (I think) by hard wiring the camera to the base - and so far after a couple of months the camera is fine. The video quality of the 0806 is superb - far better than my other 2 cameras (Nextbase 402g & Mio Mivue 5) & with 2 sd slots of up to 128Gb each, plenty of recording time.

Here's my set up. 2 front cameras (1 looking inside , but out of drivers side window), & a satnav, all permanently wired. 1 rear camera (mini 0806). & rear camera. I decided I wanted my cameras to be on when I was parked up, as I had already been bumped once before, so I wired them via 2 toggle switches situated in the blanks next to the gear stick. That way I could switch them on as required. You will need: I piggyback fuse holder & 1 or 2 12v to 5v converters, from Ebay (cheap as chips) . I picked up an 12v always on feed from the fusebox and wired to a 5v regulator which I situated in the drivers side access panel. . Wiring runs down windscreen pillar. For the rear camera, I used a separate 5v converter which I situated underneath the rear seat cushion & ran the wiring along side the plastic trim that holds the carpet down. For grounding, I used any metal chassis, & secured the ground wire with a ring connector & self tapping screw. Cost in total, using 2 5v converters & the piggy back fuse holder, less than £10. Switches were from Halfrauds & about a fiver each. Total time for the job - round about 2 hours. Only problem has been the Mini 0806 camera - I'm on my 3rd!