In summer I'm looking to do some performance modifications to the engine of my tdi. Atm its great for long distances but boring as all hell on the twisties.

My current plan is going to involve t4 injectors, pd130 turbo, uprated SMIC, possibly lift pump and a remap. I need to know though if a "generic" remap would be suitable or if I need a rolling road remap?

JKM are literally 5 minutes drive from my front door and can do generic remaps afaik. CNtuning looks to be about an hour north so I have the choice of some reputable remappers.

edit: I've already assumed a diesel reacts the same as a petrol to the remap. I'll obviously sort or ARBs etc and clutch if needed.

Edited 11 May, 201313 yr by yesiamtom

I would imagine that if you were sensible that your clutch will be ok. After all the PD130 owners (and ones which are mapped) don't munch their way through clutches in quite the same way mapped vRS seem to (but maybe they are running at silly power?). That said, it will depend on your driving style.

I would consider maybe some new shocks too, I would think your brakes will be fine as they stand.

I could also suggest added a catch-can into the mix at the start of this to ensure your turbo and intake does not get filled up with cr@p, as you have the opportunity to clean everything out and start from fresh. it might not make the car any more fun to drive, but ti should reduce your maintenance window in the future.

Ah of course mbames I ommited some stuff to keep the post short. I'm not 100% sure on suspension atm but it won't be crazy low or hard as I do lots of miles in the car and regularly carry people. Probably drop it slightly, stiffer RARB if i remember correctly. Not sure whether to go coil-overs or refresh the shocks and go with slightly lowered springs. Reading TDIclub and similar they suggest the clutch may be okay for up to 180bhp if, as you say, the car is driven sensibly. If I need to I'll look into a better clutch at that point. I've cleaned my EGR and plan to clean my turbo, intake and SMIC in a few weeks time.

Catch can sounds like a good idea as well and I'd completely forgotten about it!

I was thinking (not sure how many miles yours has done), that it might want refreshing, even if you went with stock VAg stuff rather than lowering. Same would apply to bushes (dohbone mount, etc). Replace that tired rubber and tighten things up a bit.

If yours is 110, then I would imagine 180 might be the top end of what you can get before you have to start spending serious money and maybe reducing the lifespan of things.... how many more miles/years do you want to keep the old girl for?

I think my car owes me another 110k ish, to get to me a nice 1/3million miles :-)

Oh and some half decent tyres, no point ending up in the first hedge/ditch/tree you see, although I am sure you already have something good on there.

Currently the engine is in great condition IMO just needs a little cleaning as previously stated. Just ticked over 115k. I'll do polybushes at the same time as suspension.

Yeah I'm aiming for 160-180. The car has to retain the majority of its economy and drivability.

If it's boring why not just trade it in for a mk1 VRS. Diesels were designed to be economical, not fun. The only time I will consider a Diesel is when I`m living off my pension. No offense.

Diesels were designed to be economical, not fun.

I am not sure that is quite true.... after all why was the sporty mk1 fabia based around the 130PD

Just get a stage 1 map rear arb and 312 discs and carriers. Would be a very capable car returning 40+ mpg.

I thought long and hard about chopping it in for a VRS but with the additional cost of buying the car, insuring it, paying extra tax and using more fuel its impractical. The TDI block VAG uses is a very capable block and as long as you don't want over 200bhp its very cheap to tune. It will also give you very little decrease in mpg.

I'm not sure I would call the fabia diesel a fun car to drive. If you look up any car that is seriously fun to drive and exciting it won`t have a diesel engine at its heart. Sorry. Diesel engines were originally built for pulling power e.g. trucks, ships, trains. They were used in the car industry because they are good for fuel economy and thats where it ends imo. I mean if Diesel engines are so much fun why don`t all the big italian supercars use them...Ferrari, Lamborghini, Pagani???...

Edited 15 May, 201313 yr by sammyhale30

I'm not sure I would call the fabia diesel a fun car to drive. If you look up any car that is seriously fun to drive and exciting it won`t have a diesel engine at its heart. Sorry. Diesel engines were originally built for pulling power e.g. trucks, ships, trains. They were used in the car industry because they are good for fuel economy and thats where it ends imo. I mean if Diesel engines are so much fun why don`t all the big italian supercars use them...Ferrari, Lamborghini, Pagani???...

I had a similar opinion towards diesel engines prior to looking into buying a car with one myself, but diesel cars shouldn't be compared directly to petrol engine cars, they deliver power in a different way. Name a petrol engine car that can pull as well as my vRS putting a smile on my face each time, whilst still returning over 50mpg on average.. granted the TSI engines are impressive, but they are in a different price band all together.. Perhaps my perception of fun is different to yours, but whilst my car will keep up with/out running other petrol engine cars that rival it, whilst doubling the MPG then my smile will stay on my face, and the fun factor will come at much less of a cost and I'll continue to have a lot of fun in my diesel. Maybe its worth thinking about how race cars in the Le Mans are using TDI engines, they look to me like they're having fun.. Italian supercars depend on being flamboyant, loud, they cant change the sound track to that of a diesel, else one of the most important factors of the car would be missing! The difference between ordinary hot hatchbacks and the fabia vrs 1.9, is that they dared try something knew, whilst accepting that the market would be reduced, because people like yourself don't really understand the point in them.. I'm yet to meet however, a dissatisfied driver, of a Fabia vRS TDi. Not a rant, just voicing my opinion, as you did.