The 280PS Thread

[BillyJim]

Oil?

I prefer Sunflower over Vegetable. It's cheaper at Lidl, but why on earth would you put it in your car?

Gotta admit I've never tried fried Skoda. Sounds tasty though!

[micloi]

Taken from a German forum:

http://www.skodacommunity.de/threads/hat-schon-jemand-erfahrungen-mit-dem-2-0tsi-280ps.102902/page-59#post-1409394

 

JB1 BOX, downpipe with 200-cell cat, intercooler upgrade

 

368ps / 470nm

 

0-60mph 4.1s
0-100mph 9.9s

1/4 mile 12.5s / 111mph

Edited 19 July, 2016 by micloi

[old newbie2]

Mine did use half a litre in the first 1500 miles, now done 7000 miles and not used another drop.

Got mine from Opie Oils, cheapest and quick delivery.

Interesting, I've topped up our Golf (Same engine as 280) app 1/4 litre at 1600 miles. but since it's not being used much 

I've no idea if it's going to be an oil burner.

 

(Right now it's EOS weather, so the all-black inside estate car is tucked-up in it's garage...)

 

DC

[philpix]

Thanks for the info guys. Yep, Audi TT ragtop for me today!

[TomasT]

Russian reviewer, nice footage and same colour as mine

0-100 in 5.4 seconds at about 10.20 into review... Damn, he looks very surprised himself!

https://youtu.be/T6XuisirT7I

[CTRob]

Russian reviewer, nice footage and same colour as mine

0-100 in 5.4 seconds at about 10.20 into review... Damn, he looks very surprised himself!

https://youtu.be/T6XuisirT7I

 

Kinda looks like a sportline but doesn't have sportline seats!?

[micloi]

Russian reviewer, nice footage and same colour as mine

0-100 in 5.4 seconds at about 10.20 into review... Damn, he looks very surprised himself!

https://youtu.be/T6XuisirT7I

 

Same guy getting a 4.9s with a Superb II tsi modified to 350hp

 

https://youtu.be/n_k6GXZw97A?t=619

 

And 4.5s with a Golf R modified to 380hp

 

https://youtu.be/pZTlz19xCUM?t=620

 

And, finally, 4.7s with an RS4 Avant:

 

https://youtu.be/Isjf8Ft7xjU?t=673

 

 

 

The standard 280 does really well in comparison!

Edited 20 July, 2016 by micloi

[micloi]

Please remove if inappropriate.

 

How the superb 280 was conceived

[Rainmaker]

How the superb 280 was conceived

True story.

[BillyJim]

Er, excuse me for butting in, but is this also "The 350PS Thread" or even the 500PS thread (if you make it to end of my longwinded post)?

 

I've bitten the bullet and ordered the RaceChip "Ultimate" and "Response Control"

 

The verdict on them?

 

What kind of money will this add to the insurance ?

 

The RaceChip Response Control and Ultimate Chip Tuning are now both fitted.

My initial plan was to hold off until a forthcoming trip to Germany next month when I would put it to the ultimate test and decide if I would keep it.

Plans change, the desire to try it out became an unrelenting itch that needed to be scratched, so on it went and I've already decided it's here to stay.

 

I already briefly mentioned the Response Control earlier in post #885 so this is primarily about the "Ultimate".

I don't have access to a dynamometer so everything I say needs to be taken at face value, with few facts and figures to back it up

For that reason this post is based solely on my real-life driving experience.

 

The Ultimate comes in two flavours, with or without phone app control. As I forgot to tick the box I have the "without" device.

The contents of the box contained the device, which is little bigger than a pack of cigarettes, a long Y shaped cable, a blanking dongle, 4 cable ties, a small hex wrench and a slim manual.

In addition I was sent a PDF by email of the location of the two sensors, one directly on top of the motor and one near the bottom just above the air-con pump (strangely, the images were of an Audi 2.0 TFSI motor).

 

Fitting took about an hour, but a proportion of that time was due to a decision change half way through.

Initially I planned mounting the control box on the nearside of the engine compartment but I experienced difficulty getting the cable to feed through some pretty tight spaces. Switching to an offside mount made life much much easier.

The split ends of the Y cable have a short T section with the male and female connectors for the two sensors. It's a simple matter of disconnecting the sensor and plugging it into the T section, then plugging the other end back into the engine.

Unfortunately these T sections are labelled A and B, but the PDF labelled them 1 and 2. As the two sensor connectors have different types of connectors it was easy enough to work out which went where.

Ideally the front of the car needs to be raised (or put over a pit). The bottom sensor is more readily accessed from below with the bottom guard plate removed (held on by half a dozen Torx screws - T20 if I recall).

The top sensor is more easily accessed by gently lifting off the top cover which is only held on by four poppers.

The control box was mounted on the upper part of the engine mounting strut using long cable ties. The cable was then secured with more ties to keep it away from hoses and other hot components.

I had access to loads of cable ties so didn't need to use the four provided.

 

Now it was time for a test drive to see if the performance boost was noticeable.

Now bear in mind this was with the Response Control switched on and in the second-highest sensitivity position, Sport+1, the same I've been using constantly with the 280.

DSG was left in D and I never used S nor the flappy paddles. Fuel was 98 RON, the remnants from my recent continental trip.

 

Within the 30 limits it was very refined. Accelerating to 30 mph was swift and the DSG was smooth and it required very little throttle.

Being too heavy on the throttle could result in slightly jerky gear changes and a deafening roar from the exhaust. Boy-racers would no doubt love it, but that's not for me. 

Once at 30 I was able to maintain 30 with hardly any throttle input, only an occasional featherlight touch was needed.

The DSG held fourth gear at little more than tick-over, so pretty obvious that there would be an expected improvement in fuel consumption.

 

Out of the 30 limit and it was time to unleash those extra horses.

I didn't know how it would respond so opted to be both cautious and conservative (or so I thought!).

I depressed the accelerator to around ⅔ to ¾ ... It took off like a flaming rocket!!!

I let out a couple of expletives and glanced down. The digital speedo briefly showed 88 and was rapidly climbing.

Fortunately my co-pilot had kept his eyes on the instrument panel...

From 30 mph in fourth the DSG had instantly dropped to second. The rev counter flew up to 7000 rpm in rapid succession as the DSG went through the gears.

Within seconds I was simply running out of straight road so had to back down (the speedo was now well and truly into triple figures).

This was kick-down without actually kicking-down. Yeah, kick arse!

That spurt was probably best summed up by my co-pilot: "Won't be much on the roads you can't pass, then?".

No doubt thanks to the 4x4 there was absolutely zero torque steer and the car smoothly put all the power down on the road.

 

Driving at more sensible speeds the combination of the two devices have made the car a dream to drive.

It's well behaved, requires much less throttle than before and maintains equivalent speeds with less rpm.

Yet, when the situation demands, that extra power is instantly available.

I've never been overly concerned about fuel consumption but I do occasionally check the maxi dot.

I compared the maxi dot display for the same 20 mile journey I do at least three times a week.

The typical 280 reading I would get is around 28-30 mpg. On a single trip with the new 350 set-up it showed 32 mpg, so it looks promising.

 

Where I haven't tried it out is on the motorway. I rarely use the motorway over here (I avoid them like the plague whenever possible), so I'm looking forward to see how it compares on my next trip to the continent.

 

Warranty: I have no idea what effect this will have on the Skoda engine warranty. At the end of the day it doesn't physically alter a single factory pre-set. As RaceChip warranty the engine themselves for two years it already covers most of what I have left of the initial 3-year warranty.

As for servicing, in particular the VAG server-linked analyser, I simply unplug the cable from the control box and plug it into the blanking dongle and everything returns to the original 280 settings.

 

Insurance: I was with Churchill but when I contacted them they said their underwriters won't cover remaps (of any kind). I switched to LV= who quoted virtually the same price, including the remap, as I was already paying for the unmodified 280 with Churchill. A done deal!

 

Finally (thank god, eh?) RaceChip say the device is delivered with a pre-set optimisation for my specific car and engine. I have no grounds to dispute that.

Open the Ultimate (they even provide the hex wrench tool to do it) and there are two rotary switches. One is for diesels so serves no function. The other has 16 positions, initially set at zero for 350. Turn it to 1 and performance is further boosted by 21.5%. That's 425 PS. Each subsequent increase is a 1.5% boost.

Theoretically, at maximum, that pushes it to 500 PS. There is a caveat that boosting it too much may result in engine warnings and should only be done one step at a time (really? No s++t José. Watching four pistons fly out of the bonnet might be a subtle clue).

So far (and it really is early days) I don't feel compelled to change the zero setting.

[Rainmaker]

Superb write-up BillyJim. I'm very pleased you're enjoying it so much and that it seems to have been a sound investment. If you'd be so kind, I've be very interested - as I'm sure would everyone else - in reading how it affects the driving dynamics (and maybe even the fuel consumption) on your next continental jaunt. Have fun!

[eurotraveller]

Thanks very much from me, too, BillyJim!

 

Ooooh this is becoming an ever greater itch that I’m going to have to scratch as well; this will be just impossible to resist…

 

I suppose the best strategy will be to talk to other insurers first and not my current one, which covers 3 cars.

[BillyJim]

Ooooh this is becoming an ever greater itch that I’m going to have to scratch as well; this will be just impossible to resist…

 

I suppose the best strategy will be to talk to other insurers first and not my current one, which covers 3 cars.

You know you want to have to! 

Even if it's not the Chip Tuning, the Response Control is virtually a must-have.

A short PM coming your way regarding insurance.

[BillyJim]

Superb write-up BillyJim. I'm very pleased you're enjoying it so much and that it seems to have been a sound investment. If you'd be so kind, I've be very interested - as I'm sure would everyone else - in reading how it affects the driving dynamics (and maybe even the fuel consumption) on your next continental jaunt. Have fun!

Thanks, will do. 3 weeks and counting down.

[ionelmc]

What's the best and worst MPG for the 280hp engine? (I know it sound like a silly question for an engine not designed for economy but just humor me, eg: best/worst in city, best/worst on highway)

[BillyJim]

What's the best and worst MPG for the 280hp engine? (I know it sound like a silly question for an engine not designed for economy but just humor me, eg: best/worst in city, best/worst on highway)

My typical Maxi Dot readings have been...

23 mpg (12.3 l/100kms) urban in heavy peak-period traffic.

28 mpg (10.1 l/100kms) in free flowing urban traffic

28-30 mpg (10.1-9.4 l/100kms) rural

35 mpg (8.1 l/100kms) on the autobahn - travelling variable at 120 to 250 km/h, plus road works.

[eurotraveller]

Looks like you weren’t flooring it hard enough for long enough on the autobahn, BillyJim. Please note for your next German trip: must get lower mpg.  

 

Being a bit more serious, only a few short years ago this sort of performance would have come at the cost of low teens mpg … on a good day. The relative economy we can achieve now without even trying is, I think, astonishing.

 

The combination that the Superb 280 (or 350 if you like) provides of everyday usability / usefulness and performance / pleasure looks unbeatable to me. And I’ve tried what look on the face of it to be some pretty tasty ‘alternatives’.

[whatthebutlersaw]

Hi just joined today and I am excited to tell that i have just ordered a 280 4x4 l and k in moon white with a host of extras 14 to 16 weeks delivery and ordered through autoebid.com at £7000 discount ,my local dealer wouldnt budge and was very hateful when I told him but £7000 is as good to me as it is to him

[Prykey]

Hi just joined today and I am excited to tell that i have just ordered a 280 4x4 l and k in moon white with a host of extras 14 to 16 weeks delivery and ordered through autoebid.com at £7000 discount ,my local dealer wouldnt budge and was very hateful when I told him but £7000 is as good to me as it is to him

 

That's a very good price, is that through a broker?, fingers crossed that your order doesn't suffer in the same way as those who recently ordered through New Car Discount and Buyanewcaronline have.

 

You won't regret getting the 280

[whatthebutlersaw]

Yes Autoebid.com and as I have researched different brokers this one had great reviews

I am so looking forward to it...its certainly a lot of car for the money

[whatthebutlersaw]

By the way what do you mean by your comment about suffering like others

[frazered]

he means 'get cancelled'

[maffyou]

Some customers of brokers have had their orders interfered with by Skoda tightening up on the loopholes that brokers exploit (which a lot of the time Skoda are happy to let them exploit as it helps increase their market share).

[whatthebutlersaw]

I will keep my fingers crossed and by the way does anyone have a hatchback with the optional sunroof ,if so does it tilt and slide or just tilt thanks

[philpix]

I will keep my fingers crossed and by the way does anyone have a hatchback with the optional sunroof ,if so does it tilt and slide or just tilt thanks

Does both.