Been looking at a Superb for the family car and had my mind made up on the 2.0 140 6 speed same engine I have in my Octavia

But after a chat to a dealer he said what about the 1.9 105 5 speed as he can do me a very good deal

I know a remap will get the 1.9 to around the 140 mark but will it feel quick and will I have to keep knocking it down to over take?

Any help to clear my mind

Thanks Tris

A remap will, of course, invalidate your warranty and bump up your insurance. I personally wouldn't consider upping the output of a less powerful engine to match that of a more powerful 'standard' one, if that's the only reason you're looking to do it...

Plus, I wouldn't want a diesel with only 5 gears, as you'll be fine in town and on dual carriageways, but you'll be hopping from 4th to 5th and back on A roads...

It wont invalidate your warranty unless you have a problem that is due to the re map

As I have had cars and re mapped them and both dealers told me that one dealer offered it before pick up

Dont mind the changing gear on B roads but not on the M/Way as it will be a family car so will spend its life in town apart from holidays

Still wouldn't want to be in a position where I had to try and claim for anything between the tyres and the filler cap if I'd had a remap, regardless of what the salesman had told me. Then there's the fact your insurance will go up quite substantially (the majority of insurers won't even quote you) and the remap will cost money in the first place, so I'd be surprised if it worked out cheaper over the entire period of ownership, despite the up-front deal on the 105bhp car...

Not saying you shouldn't do it (my car's hardly standard!); just that it wouldn't be my choice on a brand new car where the power I'm after is available as standard with a different engine. At the end of the day, a remap is taking the engine and drivetrain into its design margins, and so things will wear out quicker. Like I say, if you 'just' want 140bhp, I'd get the engine that produces it as standard.

As for gearing, there shouldn't be much between 5th in a 5-speed and 6th in a 6-speed, and in town you're changing gear frequently anyway, so I wouldn't make the decision on that basis if you going to be doing the driving you describe...

I see what your saying its just that I can get a deal of just over 2K cheapper then the 140

You really need to drive them both to see how the 105 drives.

We have a 105 MK5 Golf and the only things that lets it down IMO are the lack of initial torque from tick over when you pull away (compared to the 110 and 130), the gearing is also quite long on it. for example 30 mph in 5th is a no go (it isn't overly keen on 30 mph in 4th even).

But as ap0gee says, if 140 is your benchmark then get that and not a remapped 105.

Although £2k is a big difference (if it an identical or higher spec to what the 140 would be?), over 3 years of ownership the difference will be significantly reduced, plus the remapped car has the potential of being much harder to sell on than a std Superb.

If you can afford the £2k i would , its not dead money the 140 will have a better resale value and be a nicer car to live with tbh i find my 170 a little underpowered sometimes its a big car , I certainly wouldnt want the 105hp engine in a superb and i also dont think you should be thinking of remapping a car when its brand new

Thank you both for your coments

And very interesting what you say about the 30mph test as for the test drive I have called most local dealers and nobody has a 105bhp to try but have found a 140bhp to try

Well, if 2k is the benchmark, then bear in mind that a decent remap is 400, and you're potentially looking at a couple of hundred slapped on your insurance each year for having one. So half of your saving is gone after three years, which you could probably get off a 140bhp one with a bit of haggling...

I think your right

I think your right

Would you mind telling my wife that?

Oh, and while you're at it, checking the size of your signature pic against the allowance - could just be the way Opera displays it on my phone, though... Thanks!

Well, if 2k is the benchmark, then bear in mind that a decent remap is 400, and you're potentially looking at a couple of hundred slapped on your insurance each year for having one. So half of your saving is gone after three years, which you could probably get off a 140bhp one with a bit of haggling...

You probably arent looking at a couple of hundred quid each year i declared the remap on my Merc E class and there was no charge at all and i had the car 8 years

You probably arent looking at a couple of hundred quid each year i declared the remap on my Merc E class and there was no charge at all and i had the car 8 years

I suspect you're in a minority of one...

I suspect you're in a minority of one...

Dont think so i also fitted loads and i mean LOADS of modifications to my Nissan Skyline taking the engine power from around 250hp to 450hp with suspension , brakes and wheels to match best part of £15k's worth of modifications again declared the lot to my insurers and my premium went up by ........£50 per year on a £400 policy

As most things depends on who you are with if you are with Tesco for example they will charge a fee for ANY change to the policy thats what you get for going for a cheap no-frills policy

I can't speak for the E-Class, but with a Skyline, you're going to have to have been with a specialist insurer in the first place, since it's not even a UK car. And on a low-mileage policy too? Under those circumstances I'd expect them to be 'mod-friendly'. But for a diesel family car used every day, the cheapest way to insure it is clearly going to be one of the big companies, who won't be.

Sure, a specialist broker would happily give a mod-friendly quote on a Superb II, but there's no way they would be cheapest for a standard car...

I pay £260 fc on my Superb 170 not exactly breaking the bank and thats the same company that the E Class was with , i could perhaps save £20 if i shopped around and went for a basic policy but the policies are much better if you pay just a little bit more

Whilst the Skyline was through a specialist BROKER the insurance company itself offers policies to normal cars as well , there are certain things insurance companies dont like like roll cages , harnesses and nitrous systems if you stay away from them the loading is solely dependant on age, driving record and area. In fact i have rarely had a car or bike that wasnt modified in some way since the late 1980's and for many years i was insured with Norwich Union

The problem with remapping a car when its still in warranty is if there is a problem the manufacturer may not warranty it if the remap could in any way be blamed and then you have to try and claim from the remapper which is not always easy despite their claims of detailed warranties , plus the option of rejecting the car is gone

Can't argue with what you say about the remap on a new car (since I said much the same earlier in the thread ), however I still don't believe your experiences on the insurance front are representative. Short of putting up a poll, I can't prove that, but I stand by my original claims...

PS: FWIW, I'm with Highway through Brentacre, and whilst Highway are part of Liverpool Victoria, I know for a fact that LV themselves would have been MUCH MORE expensive...

Often an Insurer will charge a different premium increase depending on the percentage of extra power gained from the remap/engine modification ie. 10-20% increase power = 10% increase in premium, and 20-30% increase power = 15% premium increase. This was the method adopted by Admiral when I insured my remapped Impreza Turbo with them.

A remapped Superb II 1.9Tdi will run far better than it did when it left the factory. Throttle response will be sharper and pickup in fifth gear will be adequate for most overtaking opportunities. On the motorway I can achieve 70+mpg at a sedate 60mph. This equates to a range of over 700 miles on a tank of fuel. I expect economy to improve as the miles increase (currently 19,000 miles).