Krispe

Car is now back from Lion Garages and running perfectly, even sounds a little quieter at idle. Price would be around the £350 mark if you just change the tensioner, but I decided to get the chain done as well as they can still stretch over time. My old style tensioner that they removed was still ok though, no chipped teeth on the ratchet. However it was still worth the upgrade to me for the piece of mind Buckster - The VRS is a great car. I've had mine from new and it's been brilliant, fast and practical (mines an estate) and still looks great in Race Blue, it also has Eibach Anti-Rollbars and springs fitted. I have now passed it over to the wife to use as her car instead and planning on us keeping it a further 2 - 3 years. My car being a 59 plate with now 74k miles was at the biggest risk of failure, however the original tensioner was fine and may have never failed, (you need to remember this engine is in lots of cars, Golf GTI, TT, A3,A4,A5, Leon, etc so the percentage of failures is actually very very low based on the number of cars out there.) If your worried pay the £350-500 for the new tensioner and piece of mind on a great car with an otherwise great engine!

Mine is into Lion Garages in Northampton, (VW/Skoda specialist), to have a new chain tensioner, chain and guides fitted today. It's a 59reg VRS TSI with 74k miles of trouble free motoring I've had from new, but my paranoia has got the best of me so now having the chain tensioner replaced along with the chain and guides as a precaution. I just think of it as the same as having the cambelt replaced on my previous VRS TFSI. Cost is £435 + VAT (£522). My plan is to keep the car for another 3 years so to me it makes sense, I have been using Warranty Direct for the last two years since the Skoda Warranty ran out, but the renewal cost for next year is as more than replacing the chain tensioner, plus there is now no guarantee they will pay out if it fails???

OK so my paranoia is starting to get the best of me! I have a 59 plate VRS TSI with 77k miles on it. It is out of warranty and I'm now paranoid about cam chain tensioner failure. Has anyone actually had their chain tensioner and chain replaced as a precaution by an indie garage and if so how much did it cost and who did the use??

My 59reg VRS, (October 09 delivery) has bluefin installed. It is due a service soon so my dilema now is do I tell the dealer not to add any software updates, (therefore admitting I have a remap and possibly voiding any warranty claims), or risk a software update which could make re-loading my bluefin map impossible.....?????? :wonder: If Skoda dealer in Northampton was still going I'd just tell the mechanic as he was great with regards to modifications / warranty etc however my nearest dealer is now Bedford and I'm not sure how re-map friendly they are....

http://www.jkm.org.uk/performance/tsi-skoda-jkm.htm JKM Have a Project TSI Octavia. There results from stage 1 revo, (with Miltek cat back exhaust), are 254.5bhp, 310lbs on their dyno. I now feel gutted about going Superchips Bluefin on my car as I know that its nowhere near those figures.

VRS 2.0 TSI - Bluefin (OK), pipercross panel filter, eibach rollbars, superpro lower engine mount insert.

Hmmm.... Blufin works fine on my 59reg TSI..... Must be a recent addition to 10reg cars?

Had my VRS TSI since October last year and so far have made a few modifications:- 1.) Audi S3/TT short shift gear linkage... Purchased from my local Audi dealer for about £27. Direct replacement for the one fitted to the Skoda. Supposed to shorten the throw from 1st - 2nd, 3rd - 4th etc. Can't say I noticed that much difference, maybe an inch shorter throw? 1st to 2nd also feels a bit "notchier". Still for the price think it was worth it. 2.) Superchips Bluefin remap... Definite improvement over standard car pulls harder from lower down the rev range right up to 6krpm. Very smooth map and like the fact I can install it at will with the bluefin device. Good price - £399 (plus at the time I also got £30 of vouchers from JKM) Superchips offer warranty on the maps for any damage their map may cause, because of this I think their maps are deliberately conservative to reduce the risk of problems and subsequent claims. My previous VRS Tfsi had a custom AMD rolling road map installed and it did feel stronger than my current Bluefin on my new car. However on a couple of occasions with the AMD map my turbo would seem to cut out and not come in again until the ignition was turned off and on again, (could just have been some dodgy fuel although I always ran V Power or Tesco Super 99ron). Also an ecu re-flash at the Skoda dealer lost my AMD map and no way of re-installing it. The Bluefin map is good for those looking for a nice smooth increase in performance at a good price, especially if they are not looking for further modifications later down the line. However in hindsight as I am looking for further mods later I should have paid the extra and gone REVO or Shark Performance instead as will probably still end up having to buy one of their maps as I'd like to go to stage 2 at some point. 3.) Pipercross Panel Filter.. The airbox on the TSI is a much better design than the integrated engine cover item on the old Tfsi engine and a dam site easier to change air filters. The TSI also has a removable plastic water baffle in the bottom of it, which by removing this alone should improve airflow. However you then run the risk of the standard paper filter getting wet and turning to mush if driving in heavy rain/spray. The Pipercross filter is a foam filter and therefore not affected by water so the baffle can be removed. Once the Pipercross was fitted the car does seem to rev easier and pull better from 4 - 6krpm than standard (according to my bum dyno ) However I do feel that some of the early pull around 2.5 - 3krpm is now missing? I still prefer the easier revving higher up the rev range than the standard set up but I may put the standard paper filter back in without the baffle to see what that feels like. 4.) Neuspeed Lower engine mount insert... The VRS Skoda does seem to have a lot of engine movement which leads to wheel hop under hard accelleration in low gears, especially in damp conditions or when turning. (You can drive around this with more care with the throttle but sometimes you will still get wheel hop). Had my local garage fit this as it is a tight fit to do your self although possible using a jack to push it in. After fitting it I thought "what the F**k have I just done". The initial vibration and noise at low revs was awful although after a few miles this settled down. However it was still very noticeable around 1500rpm and slightly noticeable again around 2700rpm. I hate squeeks and rattles in cars and I had to drive with the family in stop start traffic later the day so this new vibration/noise made me want to rip out the insert pretty much strainght away. Funnily enough my wife never noticed the difference with the insert fitted. After a week the vibration had settled down, (but still there a little), BUT the benefits of the insert are pretty good... No Wheel Hop!! I can accellerate hard in low gears and yes I may get some wheel spin and the traction control kick in to try and stop it, (even with ESP turned off), but no more BANG BANG BANG noise. The car feels tighter, (no detectable drivetrain movement) and sportier, ( the little extra vibration and noise make it sound and feel meaner). Superflex Lower engine mount.... I did however order a different engine mount after fitting the Neuspeed and doing a little search on the net. I thought the Superflex would be a little softer and therefore have no additional vibration. The Superflex is shorter than the Neuspeed and did feel a little softer, but once inserted it still causes the same amount of vibration as the Neuspeed one did (after the Neuspeed had bedded in for a week, although the Superflex was not as harsh as the Neuspeed one was initially). Now its warmer I also get more vibration when I turn the aircon on whilst idling. Overall I'm still in 2 minds about the inserts. The vibration now seems less, only noticeable at a few specific revs, (althoug the air con idle vibration bit still really bugs me), but ideally I'd like zero vibration as standard. However I really like the tighness feel to the drivetrain and no wheel hop and the fact that sometimes I actually like the vibration as it makes the car feel sportier and meaner. I can see why Porsche has come up with dynamic engine mounts for the GT3 as I'd like soft mounts for motorway / traffic and low speeds, yet firm mounts when I want to have some fun. Unfortunatly on the VRS TSI you can not have both. 5.) Eibach Anti-Roll Bars... These are a recent addittion, but a very noticeable improvement. I had Eibach front and rear anti-roll bars fitted. The fronts set to soft and the rear to hard. Ride quality remains unchanged which is what I was after but cornering is greatly improved. There is still a little roll on initial turn in but then it stops. Car feels very neutral almost a touch oversteery as it hugs the corners. I had a play yesterday in Milton Keynes, (roundabout city), and the car felt great much more "chuckable". Bit more tyre squeel due to the increase in cornering speed and at one point I'm sure it felt like I was on 3 wheels :p . Car does not feel like it wants to understeer as I accellerate mid/corner exit, in fact I feel the back go a little light. This may also be due to the fact I have Vredestiens on the front but the crappy continentals still on the rear, and the weight of the rear end, (estate), wanting to break away. I either need to go to track or find a wide empty roundbout to further test this theory but feels great so far, (although it may be a little interesting in the wet ) Highly recommend the Eibachs for those looking to greatly improve handling without effecting ride quality or ride height. Next up..... downpipe, sports cat and another remap....but cash flow dictates this may not be till end of year / early next year.

http://www.goapr.com/products/stage3_20_tsi_trans.html 370hp / 385lbs from TSI with new Garret Turbo and ancelleries, but still uses standard TSI fuel pump and injectors Looks like the TSI will be a better and easier engine to modify than the TFSI. If only bloody Skoda would stick a K04 turbo on as standand on the new TSI then I'd be really happy! (Although I stil get too much wheelspin as it is with my stage 1 map :| ).

I have the Audi S3 / TTS short shift linkage fitted to my VRS TSi. Bought it from my local Audi dealer for about £27. Reduced my throw between 3RD -4TH, 5TH - 6TH by approx 2cms LOL, (Actually I never measured it, it is shorter now but not massively so, but still feels nice and smooth).

Purchased mine through DTD. Collected from Marlborough. If you can't get a dealer to match the DTD price then just buy from them as I had no issues with the purchase.

Yup had same noise on my TSI. Metallic Rasp sound at 2 -3krpm. Thought there may be an issue with the turbo or just some heatsheild loose. Can't say I notice now. done 4k miles and also now running Bluefin. Will listen again when I next go for a drive and report back if its still there.

I like it due to the almost factory airbox appearance. Also I'm not a massive fan of induction roar so an enclosed one like the Carbonio should be a bit quieter than most "open" induction kits. Finally most of all I like the price as its £225 at Awesome-Gti which is cheaper than the Evoms. (Actually its £265 inc vat so still not cheap, but cheaper than the EVOMS)

What about this one? http://www.goapr.com/products/intake_carbonio_20tsi.html Both Awesomwe-GTI and JKM sell it. Its the one I'll be going for for my remapped TSI

I also had these guys fit the bluetooth kit to my New FL VRS two months ago and it works brilliantly with my iphone and the bolero stereo interface. Highly recommend. They fitted it at my workplace in Northampton as they travel down the M1 every couple of weesk doing installs between Bradford and London.