Should I remap

[planehazza]

Would like more torque out of the 2TSI, but am concerned the car is getting on. It's approaching 80k and has no serious issues that I'm aware of, but I'm concerned that if I put a map on, it'll only exacerbate ageing and any underlying issues.  Would you spend the £550 on an S1 map on a car of this age?

[Ecomatt]

It all depends on how long you want to keep the car for. The only downside with a remap is that you quickly get used to the extra power and then end up wanting more power. Yes a remap will put extra strain on the engine but still with in safe tolerances if you buy from a reputable company.

[planehazza]

9 minutes ago, Ecomatt said:

It all depends on how long you want to keep the car for. The only downside with a remap is that you quickly get used to the extra power and then end up wanting more power. Yes a remap will put extra strain on the engine but still with in safe tolerances if you buy from a reputable company.

 

Yeah I know what you mean.  I had a VXR before hand and going from that to this, I severely miss the torque. My VRS just seems completely gutless under 3k RPM.  I'd be looking at Shark Stage 1 from Revolution in Gateshead.

[Ecomatt]

Having had a Shark Stage 1 map I can say they are good and you should be more than fine with that.

[planehazza]

Well, good news and bad news. Bad is that the nearest dealer is Alnwick, about 45-60 mins North of me, not Gateshead like I initially thought. Good news is that it's £400, not £500

 

Quoted as 280Nm stock to 400Nm mapped.  Canny difference that like!

Edited 16 February, 2017 by planehazza

[zeffania]

My little pd105 has been mapped for nearly 5 years now and roughly 70,000 miles. The car will be 10 in Jan and apart from the usual consumables, all good. Do it 

[robt100]

Same here on the 1.9PD front, 100k and no replacement parts needed so far. Just look after the engine (warm up/cool down etc) and it will be all good

[skinnyman]

9 hours ago, planehazza said:

Would like more torque out of the 2TSI, but am concerned the car is getting on. It's approaching 80k and has no serious issues that I'm aware of, but I'm concerned that if I put a map on, it'll only exacerbate ageing and any underlying issues.  Would you spend the £550 on an S1 map on a car of this age?

 

I'd recommend a stage 1 map especially if it's done after fitting a turbo back exhaust & sports cat.  I also came from a VXR (the 280bhp Vectra) so totally get what you mean about the torque.  When I first picked up the Octavia it felt more like a normally aspirated engine & quite gutless.  It was happy to rev reasonably well but ultimately wasn't at all entertaining. A few simple mods have transformed the car and I'm now happy with how things are.  It's quick enough, sounds great and handles pretty well considering it's a family estate.  

I always sing the praises of RS Tuning in Leeds, as Paul has remapped my cars in the past.  He doesn't put too much strain on the engine and will always map the car how you want.  Mine's an 07 plate currently on 88k miles.

Edited 16 February, 2017 by skinnyman

[Metblackrat]

Shark seemed to be the go-to guys for Skoda Remaps so I went to their local agent. It transformed the car. 

 

They recently announced on Facebook that they have reduced the price of their maps to £349 which is a bargain. 

[RichieXR2]

I'm going stage 3 fairly soon and have 110k currently however I have fitted a load of new parts and the car is well looked after. 

 

I have a brand new k04 and injectors, all pipework will be new also. 

 

I'd have no issues at all going for a map with your mileage as long as the car is looked after and you follow any advice given by your chosen mapper. 

[brad1.8T]

No brainer - just do it.  

 

I've had my Bluefin for 145,000km  (90k miles?) without issues

[planehazza]

Well now that my car is driving much better after having new tyres, hunter's, and a recalibrated TB, I've decided I definitely want a map.  Think I'll just buy the map without the STS option.  I don't think I'll have the need to ever unmap it, unless you can sell the STS and map on when I sell the car?

 

Who are the best to go to in the North East? 

 

Shark seemed to be the go-to guys for Skoda Remaps so I went to their local agent. It transformed the car. 

 

They recently announced on Facebook that they have reduced the price of their maps to £349 which is a bargain. 

Have you got a link please? I can't see this on their page, and their website still says £399. Cheers!

Edited 28 February, 2017 by planehazza

[zeffania]

map is specific to your car, immobiliser, etc. I got an STS so I could take it back to stock and re-use as I plan to stay in the group and remap my next car

[rodenal]

As to whether it's worth it or not, I think a lot comes down to your own expectations / what you want from the car. 

 

Mine is mapped (was put on at circa 50k, now on 65) using a bluefin handset which I very much doubt adds the claimed power, but it is enough to make a decent difference to the car. Has only been on since i've owned it, so the last year or so meaning any accelerated wear isn't too likely to show itself that quickly. 

 

I like the little bit of extra power, but it really exposes the cars handling shortcomings and makes the lack of any sort of decent noise from the tsi even more annoying. 

 

I think the time you're going to keep the car and what else you plan to do to it helps make the decision. Mine has the map, eibach springs, an uprated rear ARB and some decent discs/pads but to be perfectly honest if I was to start again (and putting aside things like worn springs meaning Eibachs made sense) all I'd do would be to either map it and accept the rest of the car for what it is or just leave it well alone. 

[Stuart-h]

mine has the quntum map on it. It's bog standard 2 liter bkd engine. I'm happy with the result ☺

[planehazza]

20 hours ago, rodenal said:

As to whether it's worth it or not, I think a lot comes down to your own expectations / what you want from the car. 

 

Mine is mapped (was put on at circa 50k, now on 65) using a bluefin handset which I very much doubt adds the claimed power, but it is enough to make a decent difference to the car. Has only been on since i've owned it, so the last year or so meaning any accelerated wear isn't too likely to show itself that quickly. 

 

I like the little bit of extra power, but it really exposes the cars handling shortcomings and makes the lack of any sort of decent noise from the tsi even more annoying. 

 

I think the time you're going to keep the car and what else you plan to do to it helps make the decision. Mine has the map, eibach springs, an uprated rear ARB and some decent discs/pads but to be perfectly honest if I was to start again (and putting aside things like worn springs meaning Eibachs made sense) all I'd do would be to either map it and accept the rest of the car for what it is or just leave it well alone. 

 

I'm not going for raw power,  I don't think an Octavia is the car of choice for hot hatch   I just want a little more power... the 2L TSI is rather tame as stock, particularly in the low end grunt.  A stage 1 will be nice for power without going crazy on standard hardware

[penguin17]

I would like to think that anyone reputable would at least carry out some kind of pre-map diagnostics and checks before even thinking about applying a map.  They are also likely to understand the potential problem areas for your specific car and should also be able to advise of what items may need replacing beforehand (if any).

 

Stage 1's from Revo and Shark are still meant to be well within the operating tolerances of the engine and ancillaries so shouldn't be putting too much strain on the car.

 

 If you're in the habbit of killing clutches and DFW's and blowing turbo's then that's probs down to your driving style and adding a remap will probs just accelerate the process.  If you treat your car with mechanical sympathy then you should be fine with our without a remap. 

 

 

[planehazza]

Just now, penguin17 said:

I would like to think that anyone reputable would at least carry out some kind of pre-map diagnostics and checks before even thinking about applying a map.  They are also likely to understand the potential problem areas for your specific car and should also be able to advise of what items may need replacing beforehand (if any).

 

Stage 1's from Revo and Shark are still meant to be well within the operating tolerances of the engine and ancillaries so shouldn't be putting too much strain on the car.

 

 If you're in the habbit of killing clutches and DFW's and blowing turbo's then that's probs down to your driving style and adding a remap will probs just accelerate the process.  If you treat your car with mechanical sympathy then you should be fine with our without a remap. 

 

 

Totally agree mate, and I like to think I look after my car.  My wallet and receipt log certainly suggest it ha.  My main concern was the standard 77k old clutch, but it has no signs of slipping and I never plant my put down from really low revs etc.

[planehazza]

Anyone used Celtic Tuning? Did a search but can't see much mention of it with regards to Octavia mk ii.  

 

Form punching in just my reg number on their site, they seem to have very optimistic quotes for power increases from a stage 1 alone:

 

 

Edited 18 March, 2017 by planehazza

[skinnyman]

24 minutes ago, planehazza said:

Anyone used Celtic Tuning? Did a search but can't see much mention of it with regards to Octavia mk ii.  

 

Form punching in just my reg number on their site, they seem to have very optimistic quotes for power increases from a stage 1 alone:

 

They seem very optimistic to me.  I've had a stage 1 custom map done on my car after fitting a turbo back exhaust.  It was done on a rolling road and the results were not as high as the 262 they quoted.  Maybe their map is different and they can actually achieve these results but 262 bhp seems to be entering stage 2 territory and normally a few mods are required to get there.

Possibly someone on here has used their map and can confirm these figures?

Edited 18 March, 2017 by skinnyman

[planehazza]

Just now, skinnyman said:

 

They seem very optimistic to me.  I've had a stage 1 custom map done on my car after fitting a turbo back exhaust.  It was done on a rolling road and the results were nowhere near that.  Maybe their map is different and they can actually achieve these results but 262 bhp seems to be entering stage 2 territory and normally a few mods are required to get there.

Possibly someone on here has used their map and can confirm these figures?

 

I agree.  I'm still leaning towards Shark, but the problem is that there isn't anywhere more local than 2 hours away.  My trust VAG specialist are starting to do tuning and are going to be using Celtic, so it would make sense to go there. Problem is I've never heard much about them, whereas almost everyone rates Shark highly. Sounds like Celtic would be an off the shelf map.

[skinnyman]

5 minutes ago, planehazza said:

 

I agree.  I'm still leaning towards Shark, but the problem is that there isn't anywhere more local than 2 hours away.  My trust VAG specialist are starting to do tuning and are going to be using Celtic, so it would make sense to go there. Problem is I've never heard much about them, whereas almost everyone rates Shark highly. Sounds like Celtic would be an off the shelf map.

 

I know what you mean about there not being anyone local.  I'm in Scarborough so went over to Leeds to get mine done and would definitely recommend making sure you're going for someone you trust 100%.

 

In the past I used a plug & play option from a local remap company and it ended up in me needing a new turbo.  Shame really as I'd had the car from new & it was only three years old.  After that I decided to both travel and pay a bit extra just to avoid any more costly mistakes.

 

Having said that, there must be lots of people with different experiences to me and have had totally trouble free generic maps.

Edited 18 March, 2017 by skinnyman

[sniper29a]

My car has over 200k km on ODO, over 400Nm torque and I still have original OEM DM clutch and turbo despite heavy duty race style abuse...

Edited 18 March, 2017 by john999boy
Hyperlinks removed.

[robt100]

1 hour ago, planehazza said:

 

I agree.  I'm still leaning towards Shark, but the problem is that there isn't anywhere more local than 2 hours away.  My trust VAG specialist are starting to do tuning and are going to be using Celtic, so it would make sense to go there. Problem is I've never heard much about them, whereas almost everyone rates Shark highly. Sounds like Celtic would be an off the shelf map.

Do Shark do an STS kit for your vehicle? It might cost a little more (though once you factor in the 4 hour round trip maybe not) and it means you can do it at home, and remove it at any time if needed.

[wiilydog]

Have you tried energy turning in Ashington? As I've heard good stuff about them as they also make their own tuning boxes as well as remaps