Sounds like you got the wrong remap.

Amended for truth as a Fabia vRS can never be the wrong car.

Amended for truth as a Fabia vRS can never be the wrong car.

Sorry, forgot where I was for a minute.

This has reminded me when I had a remap. In the summer it was pointless. In the winter it slipped the clutch lol.

This has reminded me when I had a remap. In the summer it was pointless. In the winter it slipped the clutch lol.

Before I got the car I wanted it remapped. I was even prepared to pay a bit extra to get it from a dealer that would remap or chip it so it was covered by the warranty a la SEAT dealers, but Simpsons wouldn't do it, and Wings wanted almost £2K more than Simpsons, so it didn't get remapped.

And I've honestly never thought "This car is underpowered". Never.

Roly-poly in the corners, YES!

Too soft suspension? YES!

Slightly woolly steering? DEFINITELY!

But not underpowered.

So I fixed the steering and the suspension, fitted the RARB and stiff-walled 17" rims and tyres and now I honestly don't think it needs anything other than another coat of Collinite 915 every week.

Having just had mine remapped, I'm very happy with it, best £275 I have spent on any car. So as for a remap being a con, I would say no. As for it being a false economy - possibly, time will tell if/when things wear out or fall off as a result.

Opinion seems to be quite polarised on this one, either it's brilliant or a complete waste of time. I must admit my style of driving, being a grumpy old man, is less of the back road blast these days and more the enjoyment of in-gear surge. So I'm enjoying the remap in places where it's well suited. However, it has not escaped my notice that it's still the same slightly crap handling car when I hit corners, so I would not want to push any more power out of the car unless I had some handling mods done.

The problem guys is when someone (eg. like me) has a choice between something that will give you instant power for little cost, or something that won't but is probably better for the car like an anti-roll bar, it's difficult to resist the lure of the extra power and worry about the rest later

I'm also easily pleased though, I remember when I got my black tax disc holder, kept me smiling for three days at least!!!

For anyone thinking about getting a Fabia VRS, I will just echo the general sentiment that the stock car is very well sorted for power anyway, it doesn't need a remap, and the advantage of not getting one done is knowing everything is working within its designed limits. I wouldn't disagree that some of the handling mods (RARB etc) are a more useful first mod. But when you get used to the power and after a few years get a bit bored, I think a remap is a great value mod as long as you keep aware the limitations of the handling, clutch etc still apply.

Before I got the car I wanted it remapped. I was even prepared to pay a bit extra to get it from a dealer that would remap or chip it so it was covered by the warranty a la SEAT dealers, but Simpsons wouldn't do it, and Wings wanted almost £2K more than Simpsons, so it didn't get remapped.

And I've honestly never thought "This car is underpowered". Never.

Roly-poly in the corners, YES!

Too soft suspension? YES!

Slightly woolly steering? DEFINITELY!

But not underpowered.

So I fixed the steering and the suspension, fitted the RARB and stiff-walled 17" rims and tyres and now I honestly don't think it needs anything other than another coat of Collinite 915 every week.

Totally agree.

I've run a remapped car for 2 years - definately not a con

I've run a remapped car for 2 years - definitely not a con

I don't think the OP was claiming the additional power or torque wasn't there, more that the £250-£500 you spend on the remap wasn't the whole story when it came to what it cost to get it reproducibly and reliably.

Most of the people who haven't had any issues have had their cars remapped from early in the car's life with a known healthy clutch. People who have acquired their vRS's used seem to have a much higher incidence of clutch failures.

And I think it's also obvious that different companies make their power and torque in different ways so that some are more aggressive, and therefore likely to increase wear on the clutch, than others.