Spoilt for choice...

[BTSvRS]

Been thinking long and hard about my options in regards to a remap on my vRS once my oil issues are sorted.

However having a dilemma in who/what to go with.

Due to where I live (Nottingham) I'm very close to a number of places which all have their advantages.

Firstly, what I want from my remap is not all out power, obviously I want to increase it, but for me I'm hoping for something progressive, which has noticeable gains, however, does kind of err on the side of caution in regards to life of the car components.

Option 1: rainworth skoda = revo maps, my local dealer, and as far as I'm aware, warranty will still be intact with the map which is a plus point, however from searching on here I understand revo maps are pretty aggressive in terms of power?

Option 2: Shark Performance, rated highly by friends of mine, and people on here for their work, close to where I work.

Option 3: APR, dealer in nottingham, this was my first choice for a map due to reading they indeed errr on the side of caution so to speak. However I do not have cruise control which means I would unable to use the EMCS system.

Option 4: TMC tuning box. Rated very highly on here, is removable so it has the ability to sell on and remove for trips to the dealers.

Would just like some thoughts/advice from you knowledgable people on here. Please correct me if any of the above is wrong.

Regards,

Ben.

[lippylj]

I went for the apr map on my 2012 fab VRS and it turned it into a different car,the power is very noticeable,the mpg has gone up but it has voided the warranty because they have got to cut out the ecu to put the map on,another good thing about the apr map is if you decide you want to go stage 2 they will do it for nothing

[BTSvRS]

Thanks for your reply. Where did you go for your APR map?

[lippylj]

I went awesome gti,in Manchester,took a couple of hours but they were really good,I go to them for all my parts.

[Vrs-Fletch]

What sort of mpg are you getting with the remap?

[Moist Von Lipwig]

I've got an APR map, done at Milton Keynes but it was Steve from C&R who took it down last year for me so that he could get the latest training from APR HQ. Not really sure what MPG I get as it isn't really something I watch too closely, normally average 350 miles from a tank though which is with lots of short commuting runs. Difference in power is very noticeable and it has the benefit of switching via the cruise control stalk (but as you say you don't have).

I had tried a TMC box prior to the APR remap but found it was causing engine warnings under hard acceleration, TMC did offer to reprogramme the box but I had lost confidence by then. You can always give it a try as they do have a 30 day return policy. Attaching it is fairly simple and there are good guides/videos on here and youtube.

If you possibly wait a couple of weeks, Ben has indicated that Shark should have a DSG remap available as well, which you may get a deal on (with a remap), possibly, maybe?

but it has voided the warranty because they have got to cut out the ecu to put the map on.

Pretty sure all the mappers have to remove the ECU for the map as OBD programming has been locked out by VAG encryption. There is a horror story about this in another thread by VRSY. Steve (C&R) did tell me that APR had managed to copy the tell tale fixings so that when they put it back you can't tell.

As you have found out the Revo maps have had bad press on here recently with various people having problems. Can't comment about it personally as all I know about it is what is on the forum.

[BTSvRS]

Thanks for the reply!

C&R were the company I was looking to use for the APR map. But like I said, the fact that I don't have the ability to switch between maps in annoying for me. I know awesome can do it all in one package, with installation of cruise control and the remap, which I have considered, however the cost I can imagine is high.

At the moment I think I am gonna rule out the revo map and make some more enquiries! hopefully some more people will come in with some opinions/advice.

[vRSy]

I'm fortunate to have had Shark PErformance, Jabbasport and APR software on my Fabia vRS. As well as this, I have test driven 5 cars with REVO software on, so i'm in a fairly decent position to compare.

Shark:

The Shark Map, as is well documented in previous reviews by me, was quick with a massive midrange. Now obviously I decided to change as i wasnt happy with the high boost that the map ran. I wont go into any more detail in this thread about it, but a search of posts by me will show my reviews/reasons etc. Shark have a great reputation and id rate their customer care as up there with the best, if not the best. Id imagine that since that quite public disagreement over the problem, that any issues will have been rectified, so will very likely be a good option still.

Ignoring the problems I had, the performance of my car was very strong. It had the legs on the REVO powered Ibiza Cupras with equivalent modifications and maps despite the Fabia being a fair amount heavier but not as quick as the APR stage 2 Polo GTI of a friend who I worked with when i lived in Chilwell.

Jabbasport

I replaced the Shark stage 2 map with a Custom Jabbasport map. They managed to make a few more peak Hp than shark despite running alot less boost which was what I wanted. I gave them a stringent list of requirements that i wanted fulfilled and they delivered in spades. Really impressed with their works.

Midrange performance wasnt as impressive as the Shark stage 2 remap, however the car ran alot cooler and ran alot more conserved settings. I did an in depth review of this in Feb 2012 which a search will pull up.

APR

I was very happy with my Jabba remap, however even from the beginning APR had been my preference of tuner, but as they werent being represented in the UK on their previous scale it never came to be fr me, however just after my Jabba remap, I was contacted by Keith, the MD of APR Motorsport UK who had moved to the UK from the USA in order to push the brand as it should have been, as they had stopped concentrating on the UK whilst they had a massive expansion into the Middle East and Russia which resulted in losing their foothold in the UK. Not only did APR have new revisions of their 1.4TSI files specifically for the UK market they were also keen to develop a stage 3 setup. Since APR are pretty much the largest VAG tuner globally, have the funding and development capability to take on this development in multiple countries simultaneously meaning a more tested and proven final product I decided to change and now the Vice president of the global company had taken over the UK HQ customer support would be and has been fantastic.

Long story short, i swapped to APR stage 2, then went into the development of the stage 3 which is still ongoing. The APR stage 1 & 2 maps from what i have experienced myself and seen in dyno graphs outperform the other options available on the market and have a feature which no other company has. The ability to switch between multiple maps via the cruise control stalk is awesome, which on my car means I have stock map, 95 Ron, 98 Ron and a water methanol injection race file available to switch between at my own leisure.

When you see the research and development that goes into the APR map you will be amazed.

Midrange performance at stage 2 was as good as, if not better than the shark stage 2 whilst still running lower boost and the top end was alot stronger. Stage 3 is obviously another level of performance and isnt really relevant to compare to stage 2 setups.

REVO

Ive driven a lot of cars with REVO and whilst they always perform well, alot of people have had issues and i have never been a fan of their power delivery. I very nearly swapped to REVO from the Shark remap, but in the end despite being offered it for peanuts by REVO HQ i decided against it and cashed out on the Jabbasport remap instead. REVO told me on the phone that they had stopped any further development on the 1.4TSI and would not consider developing past stage 2 due to the issues that arise when pushing the limits of this engine. This to me looked as if they had conceded defeat on the 1.4TSI and limited me in future proofing the car if i ever chose to go past stage 2, which of course I did.

To summarise, the shark map was rapido but ran high boost. Personally Id like to see logs for later cars that tuned after my issues and also see how they compare them to the other maps when running the lower boost as well as see what the resulting loss of performance would be. If that is all good, then yeah, they are probably a good option, as said before, the customer service and support from shark is phenomenal. The Jabbasport custom map was genius and had APR not moved back to the UK market in force and aproached me to develop a stage 3 setup I would still be running the Jabbasport remap. But the APR software for me trumps the rest if the market. Smooth as a whistle, performance to outpace the rivals, development that from what i have seen is beyond impressive. Plus for those interested in going past stage 1, upgrades to higher stages of tune are free of charge, so in the long term it is cheaper than most of the other top tuners.

[BTSvRS]

couldn't of asked for a better breakdown, thanks Sy.

Makes me sway more and more towards APR which was my original choice to be honest. Just wish I had cruise control to switch between the maps. But gonna contact a few companies about getting this retro fitted!

[vRSy]

I was under the impression it wasnt something that could be retrofitted on the Mk2 vRS, although that info was from when the vRS had first been released. they might well be able to do it now.

Its a shame im not in Chilwell, Nottingham anymore as i could have taken you out in mine. Same with Jamidodger as he lived by me in Chilwell and also had APR on his VRS.

[BTSvRS]

Yeah I'm not fully sure myself, I thought I read on here that awesome can do it, but was gonna see if shark could too.

Yeah that's a shame, would of been nice to see what it was like at the higher stages of tune too. But thanks for the input, really appreciate it.

[icemanmjm]

I was under the impression it wasnt something that could be retrofitted on the Mk2 vRS, although that info was from when the vRS had first been released. they might well be able to do it now.

Its a shame im not in Chilwell, Nottingham anymore as i could have taken you out in mine. Same with Jamidodger as he lived by me in Chilwell and also had APR on his VRS.

Yes Sy they now can fit cruise control, i was down in manchester, had a great chat with the boys there and yes it can be done, my next port of call when i decide to get mine maped.

[BTSvRS]

Yes Sy they now can fit cruise control, i was down in manchester, had a great chat with the boys there and yes it can be done, my next port of call when i decide to get mine maped.

Did you have this done? if so, do you mind me asking how much it was?

[icemanmjm]

no not yet mate, but if my memory is right it was around with stage1 remap around £800.00 but not sure for sure but give them a ring, they are very helpful.

[vRSy]

youy could just get the map initially then retrospectively fit the cruise stalk and have the additional map features added at a later date.

[icemanmjm]

youy could just get the map initially then retrospectively fit the cruise stalk and have the additional map features added at a later date.

yes that is one thing i was thinking of doing cracking good idea

[BTSvRS]

Gonna give awesome a call tomorrow and price up the whole lot including the forge intercooler. I'll report back with the exact costs.

[icemanmjm]

yes mate look forward to it.