i have just ordered a new octavia vrs to replace my mk1 vrs , i would like it chipped but is is it worth it with the warranty , any suggestions what i could do ? cheers

no such thing as 'chipping' anymore. Nowadays its known as a remap, so it retains the original ECU chipwork, but changes the elctronic data on the ECU.

I had mine remapped for 90 % of its warranted life, then sold it when it was out of warranty. My new fabia is less than a month old and is getting mapped on wednesday.

Do your research, read reviews etc etc, but dont let money focus your choice, as cheaper is not necessarily good, just as expensive is not necessarily better.

Tuners i would recommend trying are

Shark performance

APR

REVO

GIAC

Jabbasport a

amongst others.

When you say chip it I assume you mean remap it? I think most of todays maps are not detectable via any dealers anyway so probably wouldnt be able to tell its been done. unless they drive it of coarse. Also lots of places offer a switchable system so you can put it back to standard anyway.

no such thing as 'chipping' anymore. Nowadays its known as a remap, so it retains the original ECU chipwork, but changes the elctronic data on the ECU.

I had mine remapped for 90 % of its warranted life, then sold it when it was out of warranty. My new fabia is less than a month old and is getting mapped on wednesday.

Do your research, read reviews etc etc, but dont let money focus your choice, as cheaper is not necessarily good, just as expensive is not necessarily better.

Tuners i would recommend trying are

Shark performance

APR

REVO

GIAC

Jabbasport a

amongst others.

When you say chip it I assume you mean remap it? I think most of todays maps are not detectable via any dealers anyway so probably wouldnt be able to tell its been done. unless they drive it of coarse. Also lots of places offer a switchable system so you can put it back to standard anyway.

not entirely correct. if you go for bluefin or shark performance (with STS) then you can revert to 100% stock and dealers wont be able to see the map. However if you go for a remap without a handset ie revo, APR, or a shark map(with no handset) then the dealer will be able to see it if they want to look.

Some guys think that the likes of REVO which has a stock mode on its map means the dealer will not be able to see the map, but this is also incorrect. all it does is turn down the settings of the REVO map so that its perfomance emulates that of the standard car, so it still has the map on.

in summary you can only revert your car to standard with the bluefin handset or shark perofmance STS handsets. i believe Jabbasport and viezu also use the STS handsets as well

Edited 15 April, 201115 yr by janner_Sy

yeah i meant a remap lol sounds like a bluefin might be the way to go if i do it i want the added performance but dont want to bugger my warranty after spending £19,500 thank you guys

On my octavia vRS i had bluefin @ stage 1, then 2 followed by 2+. I then changed tuner and went with shark performance stage 3, then 2 and then 1 before reverting to stock and selling it.

Id choose shark performance again everytime, and its who im letting remap my car this time around.

A point to note though is alot of the new ECus have encryptions on them, as such the handsets will not work and the tuner will need to remap it by removing the ECU. No soldering or anything dodgy, they just cant get access to the ECU though the diagnostic socket due to the encryption.

I thought everytime you flash (change) the ECU there is a counter that changes hence the dealer would be able to tell someone has changed the map even if you had reverted back to the standard one.

not entirely correct. if you go for bluefin or shark performance (with STS) then you can revert to 100% stock and dealers wont be able to see the map. However if you go for a remap without a handset ie revo, APR, or a shark map(with no handset) then the dealer will be able to see it if they want to look.

Some guys think that the likes of REVO which has a stock mode on its map means the dealer will not be able to see the map, but this is also incorrect. all it does is turn down the settings of the REVO map so that its perfomance emulates that of the standard car, so it still has the map on.

in summary you can only revert your car to standard with the bluefin handset or shark perofmance STS handsets. i believe Jabbasport and viezu also use the STS handsets as well

So how does it leave a trace so a dealer could tell. Does it show something different from a standard map? I was thinking of a revo map with a sps switch so I too could switch it back if I wanted too. This again is just for a warranty issue but that hopefully wouldnt arise, fingers crossed!!!

True, but alot of the handsets and remap tools add a'-1' to the flash count, so it cancels out the additional flash of the remap. that would have to be confirmed with individual tuners though.

whats the difference between a stage one and a stage 2 remap then ?

stage 1 can go on a completely stock car with no issues. stage 2 requires a performance downpipe

So how does it leave a trace so a dealer could tell. Does it show something different from a standard map? I was thinking of a revo map with a sps switch so I too could switch it back if I wanted too. This again is just for a warranty issue but that hopefully wouldnt arise, fingers crossed!!!

I'm fairly certain that all vRS engines come with an encrypted ECU that can't be flashed via the diagnostics port which means that you can't use a Shark STS or Revo SPS. The only option is to take your car to a remapper who will physically open your ECU and bench flash it. This will leave tell tale markings on the ECU casing. Even with ECUs that can be flashed by the diagnostics port from what I've heard a determined dealer can find out that you have previously had a remap (although most won't bother).

With regards to warranties - unless a fault develops that is directly caused by the remap (eg blown turbo due to the boost pressure being too high) the dealers cannot refuse the warranty claim. Many forum members with remaps have been honest with their dealers at service time and had no issues with warranty claims.

not entirely correct. if you go for bluefin or shark performance (with STS) then you can revert to 100% stock and dealers wont be able to see the map. However if you go for a remap without a handset ie revo, APR, or a shark map(with no handset) then the dealer will be able to see it if they want to look.

Some guys think that the likes of REVO which has a stock mode on its map means the dealer will not be able to see the map, but this is also incorrect. all it does is turn down the settings of the REVO map so that its perfomance emulates that of the standard car, so it still has the map on.

in summary you can only revert your car to standard with the bluefin handset or shark perofmance STS handsets. i believe Jabbasport and viezu also use the STS handsets as well

You can not use STS to revert to the map, as new ECU's are encrypted, so STS is useless. ECU needs to be pulled pout and worked on the table to be reflashed.

I'm fairly certain that all vRS engines come with an encrypted ECU that can't be flashed via the diagnostics port which means that you can't use a Shark STS or Revo SPS. The only option is to take your car to a remapper who will physically open your ECU and bench flash it. This will leave tell tale markings on the ECU casing. Even with ECUs that can be flashed by the diagnostics port from what I've heard a determined dealer can find out that you have previously had a remap (although most won't bother).

With regards to warranties - unless a fault develops that is directly caused by the remap (eg blown turbo due to the boost pressure being too high) the dealers cannot refuse the warranty claim. Many forum members with remaps have been honest with their dealers at service time and had no issues with warranty claims.

Sorry My car is not brand new. It comes as a used skoda so still has the warranty but being used its got the tfsi engine. Would this be able to be remapped via the plug in port, and would it be ok to use the revo map and sps? and does anybody know how good these are?

Thanks

Edited 16 April, 201115 yr by broady

i have just ordered a new octavia vrs to replace my mk1 vrs , i would like it chipped but is is it worth it with the warranty , any suggestions what i could do ? cheers

I remember when buying the octy,and the dealer asked me if i would be having it remapped,i said well wouldn't it void the warranty.He's reply was don't tell anyone,i left it at that.2 yrs later and i still haven't bothered having it remapped,its the only car i have owned and have not done any mods to it.I think its probably down to me just not wanting to be bothered with mods anymore,but i do start to get the urge now and then.seriously thinking about it again now..

You can not use STS to revert to the map, as new ECU's are encrypted, so STS is useless. ECU needs to be pulled pout and worked on the table to be reflashed.

not sure this is correct

my sts will have new map, original map and immobiliser programme all set up in the box.

my understanding was that i can switch between the 3 programmes as i needed to.

You can not use STS to revert to the map, as new ECU's are encrypted, so STS is useless. ECU needs to be pulled out and worked on the table to be reflashed.

i refer you to post #7

]A point to note though is alot of the new ECus have encryptions on them, as such the handsets will not work and the tuner will need to remap it by removing the ECU. No soldering or anything dodgy, they just cant get access to the ECU though the diagnostic socket due to the encryption.

So how does it leave a trace so a dealer could tell. Does it show something different from a standard map? I was thinking of a revo map with a sps switch so I too could switch it back if I wanted too. This again is just for a warranty issue but that hopefully wouldnt arise, fingers crossed!!!

as said in my earlier post, the REVO SPS switch DOES NOT allow you to swap the REVO map with the standard map. All it does is adjust and lower the settings of the REVO Performance Map to emulate stock performance. So its still the REVO map on the car, except it will only perform the same as the stock car will.

not sure this is correct

my sts will have new map, original map and immobiliser programme all set up in the box.

my understanding was that i can switch between the 3 programmes as i needed to.

the TFSI engines are largely unaffected by the encryption. In early 2010 VAG started encrypting the ECUs to stop people tuning their cars via the diagnostic port. This was promptely bypassed by the tuners who could remove the ECU and tune it that way.

they have since released a newer encryption in Dec 2010 causing newer issues, however the tuners have broken that one now as well

Edited 16 April, 201115 yr by janner_Sy

You'll run into a problem remapping a brand new vRS, the current line of ECUs are heavily encrypted and to date nobody has managed to crack the encryption to enable these new ECUs to flashed via the OBD port. Currently the only way to flash a current ECU is via "Bench flashing" where the ECU is removed from the car and taken apart, then a special tool is used which in effect allows direct access to the NVRAM and the chip flashed. The electronics in the ECU remain the same, but you need to in effect bypass some circuitry to get access to the chip. The ECUs are encrypted with a greater than 512bit key I believe so it will be sometime before flashing directly over OBD is possible.

edit: Beaten to it by a couple of mins.

On VCDS scan there will be an error that ECU was tempered or flashed. You can wipe that error off and it will not show again. I doubt dealers care to dig that deep and check ECU for modifications.

i refer you to post #7

as said in my earlier post, the REVO SPS switch DOES NOT allow you to swap the REVO map with the standard map. All it does is adjust and lower the settings of the REVO Performance Map to emulate stock performance. So its still the REVO map on the car, except it will only perform the same as the stock car will.

the TFSI engines are largely unaffected by the encryption. In early 2010 VAG started encrypting the ECUs to stop people tuning their cars via the diagnostic port. This was promptely bypassed by the tuners who could remove the ECU and tune it that way.

they have since released a newer encryption in Dec 2010 causing newer issues, however the tuners have broken that one now as well

so my car would be remapped with a revo map one a higher performing one and the other is there simalated standard map. how then can a dealer tell if it doesnt show any fault codes or would they have to dig so deep they might not be bothered? that said hopefully i wont be claiming on the warranty and it will be just get in the car and enjoy!! how good are these maps?

The Revo map is excellent, I can recommend

Has anyone ever heard of anyone not getting something done under warranty just because their car was remapped? I haven't.

I buy a new car every two years from my dealer, I don't think they'd want to risk losing me as a customer so would probably overlook the fact that my car was remapped anyway.

I too would like some figures if possible, or failing that a more quantitative description of how the remap affects performance.

For example, the 0-60 or how torque is affected through the range etc etc.

I appreciate that this may be difficult to do but anything would be better than nothing

Also, does this degrade the life of the engine/components to any great degree? Since I'm planning on hanging on to my VRS until it falls to bits this is also important info when considering a remap.

thanks !

0-60 is a pointless measurement of performance. however the in gear acceleration such as 30-50 in 4th etc is massively reduced. You would be genuinely shocked

stage 1 on the 2.0 TSI will add around 50hp and 80lbft of torquemand thats just the peak values, there are huge gains across the entire rev range.

This is the revo stage 1 on the 2.0TSI look at the huge gains available at every point of the rev range.

Standard its making peak power of 204Hp @ 5750rpm. With just a £500 remap (cheaper if you go elsewhere), its making 204hp@ 3500rpm,

Im a little wary of REVO personally, theyre maps are very often the highest performing of the maps, but i often read of sketchy customer service in the event of an issue, and blame everything other than the map, although they are often correct, its just not helpful to the guys trying to track down issues. They are also one of the most expensive maps.

I had bluefin and shark performance on my octavia vRS @ all the stages of tune, so essentially 6 maps. Have driven many REVO cars as well. REVO and shark performance eclipsed the bluefin perfromance. the shark performance and revo were neigh on identical in performance.

My choice in order of preference with past experiences of trying the maps on my own and driving other cars with different maps would be

Shark performance

APR

Performance Torque

REVO

tbh, you wont go wrong with any of them

Edited 16 April, 201115 yr by janner_Sy

re: Encryption

for what its worth, I have just successfully read the ECU on my 3 week old TSI VRS using a Shark STS box?