Doctor_Strange

I had a superchips remap (mobile engineer visit rather than plug in box). Didn't think about it at that time so didn't ask him. Just wondered if anyone else on here has had one fitted. There seems to be quite a few different brands out there.

Hi guys. I've already had my Octy remapped from 150bhp to a stated 183bhp and from 254nm to 316nm. Thinking about having an induction kit but I need it fitting as I do not have skill or patience lol! Any recommendations for a kit and any tips on best places to have them fitted please? Cheers

I'll ask him to have a look at said belt while conducting the service but I just wondered if anyone has actually heard of this lifetime belt and whether his thoughts of 6 or 7 years is reasonable. I know it is stated as 5 years or 100k miles. My car has done 29k miles.

Happy New Year all. I have been gathering quotes for a basic service and cambelt change and I was advised by someone at work that a guy he knows elsewhere in the organisation, runs his own car servicing place and as such offers staff discount. His garage doesn't have a website but his Facebook page describes it as: A small family firm in the heart of Derbyshire offering car servicing, diagnostics and repair along with welding and fabrication work. Anyway, his email to me reads: I can do a basic service (which for me is an oil and filter change with sump plug plus air filter) for xxxx altogether. Regarding the timing belt - it’s the 1.4 TFSi engine which technically has a ‘lifetime’ timing belt fitted. It isn’t actually, but the interval of five years stated by VAG is very conservative and I would advise to save your money and not even consider it until the car is at least six or even seven years old. Any thoughts on this?

Indeed. I was under no illusions that it was a good warranty. These warranties are always drafted in favour of the supplier.

I won't be launching my car or tanking it everywhere but there will be the odd occasion where faster acceleration is needed. Should be fine with standard clutches. Superchips offer a warranty for £1 which pays out up to £8k for any problems caused as a direct result of the remap. No doubt the wear and tear get out card would be played in the event of any claim.

I'm not aware of any such feature in the 1.4 Octavia. I've never come across it in the dozens of articles I've read and videos I've watched before and during ownership.

Last year, when first making enquiries, I contacted JBS auto designs. 316nm is 233 ft lbs "Our custom Stage 1 doesn’t come close to the limit that these gearboxes can take with these engines fitted. Stage 1 we tend to see around 180BHP and 230Ftlb, which is 30BHP and 40Ftlb over stock and quite a way off the 280-300&flb that these gearboxes can take and do take when they are paired to the larger 1.8tsi engines also found in the VW/Audi range"

I was advised by one firm that the remap isn't close to what the DSG can handle.

No idea of the code but that active cylinder business first came along with the 1.5TSI so I understand

After careful consideration and having saved considerable money on insurance with a different provider who covered the modification, I decided to take advantage of superchips Christmas sale. I opted for one of their guys to come and install it via the ECU itself rather than a DIY job using the OBD port and this was all included in the price. Didn't take him long to do it yesterday and the gains are noticeable yet in a smooth and progressive way rather than a rip your face off short blast of torque. My car is a 1.4 TSI DSG and the gains go from 150bhp to 183bhp and from 254nm to 316nm. Locked in 4th gear at 30mph and it does pick up quickly with the extra torque whereas before you would need 3rd for the same level of initial take off. Once it goes past 4,000 revs, it really does keep on accelerating well as opposed to feeling somewhat strained at the top end before. Under normal acceleration, it seems to cruise up hills much easier whereas before it would have been more eager to change down. Obviously the torque is helpful on that front. Too early to comment on MPG but I am switching to super unleaded and not because I've had the remap. I've been reading up that even on modern cars, this E10 petrol can lead to both poorer performance and less MPG. Time will tell but I'm very pleased with the remap thus far.

Hi guys, I've done a video review today of my Octavia which I thought I'd share. It's very basic, literally me with my phone and some scribbled notes on an envelope Hopefully people will find it interesting or useful anyway. https://youtu.be/gnBw-VZMtiE Cheers

Apologies for the delay in getting back to all with this topic. I took it back to my local independent VW specialist who fitted 2 new shocks for me in March. Turns out one of the springs has detached on the drivers side shock and is jingling around. No cost to me as it's under their warranty but they didn't have the parts in stock so I have booked it in again next week. All in hand thank god.

I'll need to book this in at a local garage but I anticipate the usual "We took it for a drive and couldn't hear it." Despite the fact it can be heard with the window up! Basically, at low speeds over small potholes, speed bumps and generally uneven roads, there is the sound of metal jingling about loose somewhere. It isn't constant, so only when hitting bumps etc as noted above. I think it is coming from the front drivers side wheel somewhere. Anyone had anything similar before?

Here's my latest video from today. Following this I went out with the Mrs to give her some snow driving training in her Yaris which is on Goodyear Ultragrip 9 tyres. It was awesome in the snow. https://youtu.be/nu1Ek6jP1-8

A surprise snowfall today out on Beeley Moor. I came across several cars belonging to folks who had been out walking and noticed they were parked on the edge of the ditch with summer tyres!! I stopped my car to assist a young lass and her friends who were trying to get their VW Golf DSG going. Luckily, I have some shoe chains which I simply attach to my walking shoes to give grip even on ice and went to give them a push. I told her to switch the traction control off and keep the revs at 2000 and with help from me, off they went. Next and just behind my car in the footage, a young lad was all over the place, over revving his Corsa. The problem was worsened by the Land Rover driver who just kept coming towards the hazard! Eventually he listened to me and reversed out of the way. I then gave the lad the same advice as the girl and pushed him away from the ditch until he got going ok. Following this, I went on my way and the all season tyres showed their worth! This time I remembered to switch the traction control off and it was no drama 👍

Well I think the struggle getting up that hill was partly down to it being compacted snow and ice and partly down to me leaving the traction control on. If we get another snowfall, I'll try again with it switched off. All season tyres aren't quite as good as winter tyres in winter and aren't quite as good as summer tyres in summer. They are better than summer tyres in winter though and better than winter tyres in summer. Ideal for the generally mild UK winters with rare snowfall.

I live in the hills above Matlock in Derbyshire at 760ft above sea level so back in January when I bought the Octy, I invested in a full set of Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2. I have experience of true winter tyres and I can conclude these aren't quite as good in snow as those but still offer a huge improvement on summer tyres. Plus I can keep them on all year. Today was the first true test of the tyres but I made a mistake going up the hill covered in compacted snow and ice. I forgot to switch the traction control off so it proved to be a real battle. Summer tyres would have seen me spin off on the corner altogether so still a huge improvement. No problem on fresh snow. https://youtu.be/2aZeC0q-6Dk

I've decided to go with the local VW specialist at £257. They have a good reputation and did a good job on my Golf a few years ago. The service is oil and filter change, pollen and air filter change and spark plugs if they aren't long life. The brake pads and discs will be checked amongst other things and I will be advised of any further work required.

It's melted now 😂

My car is due its first full service in the new year as it will be 4 years old soon. I phoned the main dealer plus 2 local garages. Main dealer: £299 Colemans garage (trusted garage scheme and critical of main dealers not doing a proper service): £363 Manders garage (local VAG specialist): £257 Main dealer service would appeal to future buyers I guess.

I now live in the hills above Matlock in Derbyshire and we had a brief period of heavy snow which began to settle. I have a full set of Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 which I had from new in February. Ideal tyres for UK which mostly gets mild winters. They performed superbly on the snowy roads yesterday.

Well I've got my car back now and have since remembered that the SEL also has headlight washer jets and privacy glass as standard. Glad to have mine back but I did notice how much better the brakes were on the nearly new courtesy car! My car is due its first major service next year so no doubt it will feel better once the pads are changed. My car was in for the creaking suspension issue I have mentioned several times before on here and the 4th time it has been with the dealer. This time they have got advice from Skoda tech support and there is a known issue on the suspension strut where something protrudes too much and causes friction and the cure is to file it down. They have done that and lubricated all areas of the suspension and I must admit I did not hear the creak coming home or even pulling onto the top of the driveway where it always creaks. Only time will tell if it actually works or if it has simply masked it temporarily...

Had a courtesy car while mine (SEL TSi) is in at the dealer today and thought I'd go compare so to speak. Just spec and engine as the car is the same other than that. Spec I would say that as with most cars, SE is the best model in the range. One up from basic spec and whilst it does not have some of the toys of the higher spec models, it has everything you really need and is the best all-rounder. There a few extra's on the SEL that are obviously missing and off the top of my head they were: Larger alloys Power folding mirrors Auto dimming rear view mirror Auto headlights Auto main beam Auto wipers LED headlights Sat nav Part leather/alcantara seats 2 level boot floor There could be some more I have missed but I only purchased the SEL because it was in stock (used car) and everything just fell nicely price wise for me. I would say the seats are definitely more comfortable in my SEL. I find the SE seats a bit tight on the side bolsters which gives a sporty feel and I'd expect bolstering on the VRS but not on a car designed for comfort. I also prefer the dark wood effect in the SEL over the brushed silver finish to the trim in the SE. Wind the clock back 10 years and I would have thought differently. 😂 Sat nav I can live without as it barely gets used and isn't as good as Google maps via the android auto or Apple car play anyway. I would miss the auto dimming mirror I think but most of all the LED headlights which quite frankly are a revelation on the SEL and upwards. Engine/performance I have owned several diesel cars over the years and must say this is a good one. Plenty punchy enough for the real world and quiet at cruise. Inevitable diesel rumble under acceleration which makes me appreciate the smooth and quiet TSi engine even more but if I was covering enough miles to justify a diesel, I would certainly be pleased with this. Diesels always win for economy and mid range punch no doubt about it but all things considered in terms of performance, this engine is more sluggish than my TSi and the TSi would be better compared with the 2.0 TDi 150 in those terms. Off the line I found that it bogged down in 1st gear in a manner similar to my car if I put the gearbox in S. Definitely a much better launch off the line in D in my car. Of course, I don't spend all day launching like Lewis Hamilton off the line but I just wanted to see how it was in that situation. Overall I do much prefer the 1.4 TSi and it seems to suit the DSG better than the diesel. I didn't notice a difference in terms of comfort or road noise with having smaller alloys on the SE but that might come down to the Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 that I have got on my car which are very quiet. All in all a very nice car 🙂

I bought my Octavia in January and it had these. Very loud and struggled with power in the wet especially. Tread was getting low at the front. I shelled out for the award winning Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2. So much quieter and superb in heavy rain. Also highly rated in snow apparently. Can't fault them on these hot summer days too.