Well, after waiting a while (letting my warranty plod along and waiting for things to go wrong - nothing has yet thank god apart from a few trim issues) I've decided the time has come to go see Ben @ Shark Performance. Spoke to him today to book the car in and was impressed by the honesty, professionalism and generally nice manner the guy has.

Over the last few months I've become increasingly frustrated with the car in standard guise. It simply does not have enough grunt to warrant the sporty credentials IMO, Vectra 150 CDTI's are all over me and I even had a job shaking off a 318d a few months ago. Wasn't happy about that one.

I think it's a weight thing - it's a heavy car and with such a smooth nature and need to rev it hard to make it go (I've even driven a PD and that didn't feel much different power wise, just a bit noisier) it needs helping along quite a bit. After having the old Fabia mapped to 160bhp and 300ft/lb (now the wifes) I knew at some point this thing would need the same treatment, even more so due to its lardiness.

Be interested to see how it feels afterwards. Ben said the maps he applies are very smooth and take away the stupid torque limitations that are present in the standard map.

Roll on Friday!

I am envious, waiting for my warranty to run out before I do that. You won't be letting many pheasants escape after the remap !

Over the last few months I've become increasingly frustrated with the car in standard guise. It simply does not have enough grunt to warrant the sporty credentials IMO, Vectra 150 CDTI's are all over me and I even had a job shaking off a 318d a few months ago. Wasn't happy about that one.

I think it's a weight thing - it's a heavy car and with such a smooth nature and need to rev it hard to make it go (I've even driven a PD and that didn't feel much different power wise, just a bit noisier) it needs helping along quite a bit. After having the old Fabia mapped to 160bhp and 300ft/lb (now the wifes) I knew at some point this thing would need the same treatment, even more so due to its lardiness.

Roll on Friday!

I agree, the TDI doesnt deserve the vRS badge. I think VW bolster that opinion as well. their CR170 is the Golf GT. There should be seperation between the diesel and petrol IMO

Such a shame but VAG are making some funny decisions on this front. The new Fabia vRS is a 180bhp 1.4 (as is the Polo GTI and Ibiza) which will crawl all over the Octy VRS TDI I think, and even the 2.0 TSi Octy doesn't have that much to keep it in front in terms of power to weight ratio. Should be like the Cupra R to be honest at around 265bhp for the TSi and over 200bhp for the diesel - the engines are clearly capable. Trouble is does that make them less affordable? Watched a review on 5th Gear comparing the Audi TT TDI 170 to the BMW 123d.

Power wise the BMW was streets ahead with the 2x turbos' and I think even the 120d would eat it - the 170 just isn't enough. Smooth but a few years ago in terms of power.

Perhaps adopting Vauxhalls approach of warm and then hot might be better? SRI for warm and VXR for hot?

The rest of the car is great but it's expensive to insure for what it is (a large family hatch) and doesn't have the go to match the looks, not in standard guise anyway.

Mate of mine sold a Nissan 350Z to buy one (PD VRS) in the hope he'd save money. Sure, on fuel etc he has but when his insurance renewal came round it shot up! Figure that one out. :(

Looking forward to your thoughts once you've had it done.

Are you going for the decat as well?

Looking forward to your thoughts once you've had it done.

Are you going for the decat as well?

Will post up my results

Not having the decat or anything else, my insurance went up enough just with this added to it. 205bhp and the extra dollop of torque should be enough I think.

VAG already have a 2.0 'BiTDI' as fitted to the latest Caravelle/Transporters, making up to 180BHP. I'd suspect we might see this engine in the next vRS with over 200BHP standard. Then, a quick trip to Ben @ Shark and you'd be laughing.

VAG already have a 2.0 'BiTDI' as fitted to the latest Caravelle/Transporters, making up to 180BHP. I'd suspect we might see this engine in the next vRS with over 200BHP standard. Then, a quick trip to Ben @ Shark and you'd be laughing.

Yeh but Volkswagen are having mega problems with reliability with this engine. To complicated for its own good i think.

Vectra CDTI's will remap to 200bhp easily not bad for a car that starts out at 150bhp so they are pretty quick when remapped. They're engines are fragile though, however lets face it 10ths of secs is all the difference in the 2.0 diesel class of cars.

Go for it.

I had mine done by Ben, but at 2200 miles and 1 month old....

What warranty problems? Speak to Ben about those.

Mike

Looking forward to seeing the results maybe we'll need a trip to my private runway to see the difference between the 2 cars.

Yes I was shocked to see my insurance for the derv burner was more than my 350z last year... however with a little shopping around I managed to get it down by £120! Winner..

And so you shall young man. :-)

Couldn't believe it when you told me your insurance had gone up. Going from nigh on 300bhp to a lardy oil burner - doesn't make sense.

Maybe its time for yours to go and meet Mr chippy from chipsford too? Will let you have a play on Saturday.

I agree, the TDI doesnt deserve the vRS badge. I think VW bolster that opinion as well. their CR170 is the Golf GT. There should be seperation between the diesel and petrol IMO

So what's in the Mk6 Golf GTD then?

Think to say it doesn't deserve the badge is a bit harsh. Skoda is limited to the engines VAG will supply, and can design between the different arms of the company. As a result the 2.0TDI CD170 is the most powerful latitudinally mounted diesel engine available...

I agree though, they're a bit behind BMW in the diesel efficiency, power and driveability stakes. The 2.0d twin turbo is a gem... the only problem is it's only fitted in the 1-Series; which isn't a gem. Or you have to goto Alpina to get a D3 - which all starts getting a bit pricey.

Ive never read such nonsense!!

The 170 CR engine mated to a 6 speed DSG in my vRS is superb

Powerful, Smooth and extremely gutsy.

I certainly DOES warrant a vRS badge!! :wonder:

Edited 16 February, 201115 yr by ChrisRs

It's not a 'slow' car by any means, it just not a hot one either. It's what I'd class as adequate in the power stakes, but the lack of overall grunt means you have to work the engine hard. Without revs to play with you need torque, and it only has 258ft/lb to start with. The old Fabia VRS had 236ft/lb in standard guise and that was a smaller lighter car hence it felt more urgent and entertaining.

With the VRS being their sporty variant I'd have hoped it would've been quicker. They've started to get the idea with the new Fabia as that has 180bhp which I bet is quite a giggle but to claim the Octy VRS TDI is fast suggests you've not driven many other cars. And to struggle to shake off a 318d......that added insult to injury.

And also I test drove the DSG and that was a bizarre experience. It insisted on keeping the revs as low as possible when tootling around but then used the red line when in sport mode. In a diesel? Didn't make sense to me. Mid range is where it's at, supposedly. If it would have had flappy paddles that might have helped though.

it does have flappy paddles.

DSG would work well with petrol in sport mode

That will help. The one I drove didn't have MFSW so didn't have them. Putting it in manual and nudging the gear knob felt pointless so got a manual.

I need to stress these are just my opinions, nothing more. If the VRS TDI feels good enough to you, that's great. It is a lovely car. Looks great, handles well, comfy, well equipped and fairly poky. I just want it to be quicker that's all. Meaty if you will. The 3.0 V6 TDI would be fantastic but hey ho. :-)

Well personally, having owned a 2litre TDi (Fiat) previously and before thta a 3 series BMW 318, i find the Octy CR TDi VRS to be more responsive , smoother and more powerful than all my previous cars. The handling is superior and although i agree that the diesle vrs is not a true "Hot Hatch" this is more down to its size than anything else. If you want a "hot hatch" then the diesel vrs is not the car to go for, but if you want a "hotter" family sized car with a larger than average boot and virtual "golf" handling for well below the price of similair models and makes then the Octy VRS is the one. Also sticking a 3 litre TDI in the car would raise the price to the point that it would no longer be competetive price wise therefore reducing its customer base, as well as altering the handling characteristics because of the extra weight.

Edited 16 February, 201115 yr by BillyT1903

Lol. I was joking about the V6 but it would be fun. :-)

I agree to a point but when you have average rep mobiles all over you like Mondeo TDCI's, Vectra CDTI's and BMW 318/320d's which are not really sporting, for Skoda to put in what is currently an average amount of power in the 2.0 diesel class and class it as sporty by putting a VRS badge and body kit on it just doesn't seem right. It's like its got the show but not the go to accompany it.

It just needs that bit more. Even 200bhp would be enough which is what the remap will get me. Adds the sporty edge over mediocre competition.

Lol. I was joking about the V6 but it would be fun. :-)

I agree to a point but when you have average rep mobiles all over you like Mondeo TDCI's, Vectra CDTI's and BMW 318/320d's which are not really sporting, for Skoda to put in what is currently an average amount of power in the 2.0 diesel class and class it as sporty by putting a VRS badge and body kit on it just doesn't seem right. It's like its got the show but not the go to accompany it.

It just needs that bit more. Even 200bhp would be enough which is what the remap will get me. Adds the sporty edge over mediocre competition.

I agree the 3.0litre V6 would be brilliant, and yes it would be cool to have 20 or 30 more BHP btu Skoda are probably governed by VAG on the power front. i would still rather have my VRS than A GTi tho, but everyone to their own

Yeah you're right, VAG being the owners they do dictate what they get to play with. As I said above I watched a review of the TT TDI compared to the 123d and the main complaint was the lack of urgency in the engine - mated to that car it didn't feel sporty enough. Much smoother and quieter though which I do like. Found BMW diesels are still quite noisy - VAG have hit the nail on the head in that regard.

I like the idea of the GTI Golf but economy and interior space are negatives hence I currently have the Octavia. Also the fact the insurance would be £1,000,000,000 a year for me doesn't help as I'm under 70 and don't live in rural Hamspshire.

MPG was the main reason I went for the TDI over the TFSI and in that regard it is good, far better than my Fabia ever was even though it does weigh more. Shows how engines come on over the years.

Yeah you're right, VAG being the owners they do dictate what they get to play with. As I said above I watched a review of the TT TDI compared to the 123d and the main complaint was the lack of urgency in the engine - mated to that car it didn't feel sporty enough. Much smoother and quieter though which I do like. Found BMW diesels are still quite noisy - VAG have hit the nail on the head in that regard.

I take your point. Hence mentioning the 123d unit earlier. But it's got the best unit VAG currently have available for this vehicle configuration

And as you say, it'll get much better with a remap :yes:

It did seem an odd review to me, comparing apples with oranges to a degree. A 120d would seem more appropriate but someone commented saying its the best of what BMW have (small diesel coupes I think) compared to the best of what Audi have so it kind of makes sense. All it proved though is VAG don't have a 4 cylinder diesel that is as powerful as the competition but simply hope people don't notice/ care. Interestingly the 123d is apparently cheaper too than the Audi was.

Maybe VAG will release a newer version with a warmer map in the future? It's all it needs really.

Puts more stress on the clutch and flywheel, and on traction though. Maybe there are fears on reliability if they apply more power?

If the petrol deserves the vRS badge then the CR absolutely does, it actually only has 10-15bhp less. If Audi would of just allowed the 2.7 or even the excellent 3.0 TDI then great, but they would of never allowed a soot chucker to be the quicker of the two vRS's.