Back To The Chipping Subject Again!!

[LadyLoki]

Originally posted by TaviaRS in this post

Don't go there Loki, Q will get all excited

Oh, yes, thank you for the flowers Q! First time in years I have been given flowers... *sniff*

I'm still not covering your clutch under warranty, mind.

I'd just like to say what a lovely bunch you are. Thanks for not treating me like a pariah because I have to occasionally give you guys bad news. If I could wave a magic wand, I would.

But than I'd be Harry Potter, and I fear Q would go off me.

[Delcac]

Cover his what.............Oh clutch.

Des

[LadyLoki]

Now now.... if I want smut I can go over to Delphi Forums and annoy the Christian Fundies.

[LadyLoki]

Quick question- is anyone heading to Rockingham this Sunday for the F3 day? I will be there (as a rather reluctant guest of SEAT) and wondered if anyone else would be...

[redbaron]

smut where? pm me the location..

[LadyLoki]

Paul- why are you fed up?

And yes, I am at work, here til 7pm, bored senseless....

[Delcac]

LL' you can always rely on me and Paul (ffalan) to lower the tone.

Des

[LadyLoki]

Originally posted by delcac in this post

LL' you can always rely on me and Paul (ffalan) to lower the tone.

Des

Excellent! That job usually falls to me.

[LadyLoki]

Well guys, it's nearly 7pm, and I am outta here. Have a superb, fabulous and all round great weekend with your chipped and va-va-voomed motors, I am off to see if my little sardine tin can make it to Leicester and back this weekend!

See y'all Monday no doubt.

[skodaw]

Originally posted by Jimmy in this post

What I'm saying is that during the development phase and indeed life cycle of a new product there are always compromises to be made to deliver a quality product on time and to a set budget. If however, Joe Public would like to pay extra for the 225 ECU then why can't he have it. After all the main engine, brake, suspension components are usually all the same to reduce initial capital cost.

That's a very good point - vRS share brake component's with no less than.......225BHP Audi TT!!,a lot of the front suspension is shared with.......225BHP Audi TT!,Steering components shared with......GOLF,S3,TT,Leon etc etc.

There is no doubt that the basic components can take the extra strain of "Sensible" tuning,lets not forget that the 1.8T engine was reliably tuned to 350BHP - for full on-full season racing with formula Palmer Audi -- that was the same basic engine as is in many 1.8T engines throughout VAG - including the vRS.

I am suprised that Skoda(UK) Technical Dept or otherwise can't give a definitive answer as to why mods are not covered or accepted - and quite frankly I find it quite unacceptable that the same product sold in different countries can be modified,not only that but direct from the dealer!.

With Audi - the 3yr warranty is made up of a 2yr factory warranty with a 1yr top-up paid for by Audi(UK),is the Skoda warranty the same ? - if so surely Skoda HQ must approve the mods to allow the other countries dealers to do this....that being the case and assuming the warranty works the same wasy as Audi -- we are covered ??:confused:

[skodaw]

Ladyloki

As you will see from my signature, my own vRS - which is less than 1yr old - is soon to be modified, I have worked within VAG for 16 years-as technician,service advisor,service controller & currently workshop controller.

In that time I have had the good fortune to drive many vehicles from the range,both standard & modified - I have never come accross a modified vehicle that wasn't cared for with the utmost respect for mechanical component's,unfortunately that most definately can not be said for standard vehicles - esp if those vehicles are company cars - we regularly see vehicles coming to us that are low on oil etc - a very basic weekly check,that just doesn't get done by joe public,however anyone who has modified their engine will be very keen to make sure everything is ok,especialy those that venture on track.

As has been said elsewhere most will carry out preventative maintenance, rather than risk a failure.

I would not be taking the chance with my own vehicle if I did not think it would cope easily with the increase in power - and if anyone knows what these engines can do - it's the various technical dept's within VAG - it would be quite simple for them to set acceptable levels of tune,that would enable warranty to stay intact, if that was the case I'm sure most would be happy to pay that bit extra,even if it involved coming off variable service to fixed-I will be changing my oil more often than required anyway.

[Jimmy]

Originally posted by LadyLoki in this post

Good point Jimmy, I was simply relaying what the general feeling seems to be within this office. Next time I'll think before doing that. Dammit.

LL, I've just re-read my reply and do apologise if my response was somewhat impolite - it's nothing personal, honest. I just tend to go off on one sometimes. Your valued opinions are gratefully received.

When I asked why we didn't- as has been said here- capitalise on the market, the answer was a deafening silence, followed by... 'Why do you want to know?' At this point I thought it best to shut up. [/b]

You keep badgering them LL on behalf of your mates at Briskoda.net. Your mission should you wish to accept is to get an honest answer from Skoda UK on the subject of aftermarket modifications vs warranty issues. This message will now self destruct blah blah.........

Oh BTW I'm also very straight.:flowers: (I nicked them off Q)

[ncarring]

Bunch of creeps, the lot of you!!! Have a nice weekend LL

[Delcac]

Ya, I bet you don't mean that......................................have a nice weekend indeed.

Des

[KLB]

LadyLoki,

I've been pondering this over the weekend.

<Uh, oh.. He's started to think again! NURSE! 75cl of Wolf Blass Yellow Label, stat!!>

I understand that Customer Service is.. er, well, Customer Service. The principles and practice are the same whether you work for a car maker or, say, a big food retailer. On the other hand, I would have expected a bit more overlap between Skoda Customer Services and groups like Briskoda. From what you've said here, it seems that "They" have a fixed view of what Skodas should be, and real customers - like us - shouldn't be allowed to upset things.

Any thoughts?

p.s. I do believe you're genuine; although any gossip - say, about.. I dunno.. Sandi Toksvig, a pork pie, and a monkey wrench, just for a random example - wouldn't come amiss

[dab]

Originally posted by leon in this post

...

Has anyone else had experience of dealers who are this good!! I was going to name the dealer but not sure on board rulez and legal :cheers:

Yes, my dealer wanted me to get mine chipped remapped, and told me that they had already done his Superb, a WRC they had, and a couple of other staff cars. Dealer is based in NW UK, if you want the name pm me.

Can't get mine remapped YET due to insurance b*stards!

Damo

[dab]

Originally posted by ffelan in this post

i doubt any mfr will come out and support mods/things too much but some sort of approved scheme using appropriate tuners would help.. like bmw does with schnitzer/jon cooper or merc with amg/brabus.. would move skoda brand up as well or is this the real problem...as it would take them past vw/audi/seat???

Re: Brabus, The guy who owns the one in the NW has opened a Skoda dealership in the same area (Wigan way I think) I was hoping that he might see the link and start offering tunning services for skodas alongside the merc's (well maybe just at the Skoda dealership), but their parts manager (at brabus) who I know (sort of) said that he (the owner) has no plans to offer Skoda tunning, what a shame

Damo

(sorry about all the () if you see what I mean)

[redbaron]

you dont read many of my posts do you?

[LadyLoki]

Hey Mike

Who's been talking about the monkey wrench incident?

Further to your thoughts: Personally, I'd love to see more co-operation between Skoda or Customer Services and you guys, that's why I am here. I think we could learn a lot about what you're looking for from the cars, and knowing what your customers want is half the battle won; then you just have to do what you can to provide it.

The chipping issue is a messy one- we know there are dealers out there doing it, and we can't really stop them doing it- but we don't want to know, nor do we want them laying the cost of repairs at our door if and when they mess it up.

There is a genuine respect in the company for the people that put their faith in Skoda, and we do try to make that clear when we talk to you guys on the phone. It's tough to tell you that we won't cover something under warranty, or to try to take away the choices you have about remapping etc, but there is advice, then there are guidelines, and then there are rules we are unable to bend, even slightly. It sucks, but they are designed to protect the- how shall I put this?- 'less technically able' members of the Skoda family from royally facking up their cars.

I had never worked for an automotive manufacturer before I joined this place (my background is with utility suppliers) but I was honestly impressed with Skoda's attitude to the driver. I interviewed for another huge motor manufacturer and turned down their offer because I was *appalled* at the standard of service they felt they could get away with, simply because they are the biggest supplier of cars to this country.

The main point I guess I wish to make is that Skoda want you to love your car; but they don't want you stuffing it up in some backstreet garage. To stop this happening, they have had to impose an embargo on *all* garages- even our own lovely people- chipping and remapping. They just don't feel that the cars need it, less you intend to race them professionally etc.

[Delcac]

So why don't they produce one that doesn't need chipping instead of producing a Fabia with a diesel engine in it and call it a Rally sport, RS.

Des

[MonkeyHanger]

So, they "don't feel their cars need" chipping / re-mapping.

Ok, fair comment, they don't "need" it, but what about the owners who WANT it?. Not the average Joe Public who uses his car to get from A to B, and isnt bothered about enjoying the drive.

I'm talking about the sort of people who post here, Enthusiasts who spend a small fortune on their cars, and i dont just mean the purchase price. I'm talking mods, car care, extra ice, security etc etc etc.

These are the people who will repeat-buy, recommend Skoda's to friends, keep their warranties by using Dealer's for servicing etc etc etc. They are also the people who have helped drag the Skoda brand image out of the gutter, to where it is now.

The simple fact is, Skoda are missing out an a potential revenue source here, Ford used to capitalise on the RS brand with special accessories (and specialised RallyeSport dealers) & Vauxhall endorse Irmscher accessories.

Why are Skoda UK so blind ?

How about a little payback for our faith in their products ?

[robmawer]

But neither Ford RS nor Irmscher have "made the money" for their respective companies. It's been in fleet sales. Skoda have a reputation (albeit misguided) for making, well, crap unreliable cars. So to deal with this the answer is to make conservatively tuned cars which are primarily reliable, as this is

what will break the ice.

That said, it would be nice to have an official tuning option, the vRS is what people notice about Skoda,

and Impreza did a good job transforming Subaru's reputation.

Now I've gone and confused myself...

Rob.

[Witchfinder]

LadyLoki - don't learn too much from us. There's a large contingent of the hard core customer base, and probably aren't entirely representative of the majority of Skoda owners.

That said, we need the following:

* A decent petrol engine and leccy rear windows in the Fabia vRS.

* A four wheel drive Octavia vRS with 225 BHP as standard.

* A four wheel drive, V8 Superb. With twin tubos (well, I can dream can't I? )

It sucks, but they are designed to protect the- how shall I put this?- 'less technically able' members of the Skoda family from royally facking up their cars.

That's the whole point of offering "official" modifications. It's a huge untapped revenue source, and because the dealer network would control it, it should be free of the "fack" ups.

They just don't feel that the cars need it, less you intend to race them professionally etc.

Then why do "they" offer anything other than one powerplant and one trim level? People want more. They are willing to pay more.

I bought the Octavia vRS because it's a high performance, high spec car, for a really good price. I'd like higher performance, but to get that I'd have to go to one of your competitors (and pay substantially more money), or get the car remapped.

I want to drive a giant-slayer. The thought of rubbing my inexpensive Skoda badge in the face of more expensive cars appeals to me. I love the concept of cheap performance. Please don't make me buy a Subaru or a Seat to get it.

[Witchfinder]

One more quick point - why have Skoda got such a huge motorsport investment (in the form of the WRC) when they are so openly hostile to the concept of performance/sports tuning?

[spc]

Just been speaking to a friend who has a new Mitsubishi 4WD 4 door pick up. I asked he would consider having it chipped. Already done he said, by Mitsubishi! He told me he decided to have the factory chip because he wanted to keep the warranty. The increase was from 110 to 140 bhp (on a turbo diesel) This may not be the vehicle you would want to drive, but the point is it has a manufacturer approved and installed chip giving a 28% power increase. So it can be done!