I have a 2.0 TDI Elegance and was wondering. How different is the 2.0 diesel in mine and the 2.0 VRS diesel?

 

Is it essentially the same engine but remapped or do the differences run deeper than that?

IIRC, this was discussed on SCN (150 vs 184ps FR) and someone had compared all the part numbers for the whole engine and only 2 items were different, one was definitely the turbo (bigger on 184) and possibly the other was injector related.

 

So ECU software/map, turbo and one other thing....

 

I actually prefer the 150ps engine.

Edited 28 March, 20179 yr by penguin17

1 minute ago, penguin17 said:

IIRC, this was discussed on SCN (150 vs 184ps FR) and someone had compared all the part numbers for the whole engine and gearbox and only 2 items were different, one was definitely the turbo (bigger on 184) and possibly the other was injector related.

 

So ECU software/map, turbo and one other thing....

 

I actually prefer the 150ps engine.

 

Ahh that's cool good to know if I ever wanted to upgrade in the future!

 

Why do you prefer the 150ps?

2 minutes ago, basainty said:

 

Ahh that's cool good to know if I ever wanted to upgrade in the future!

 

Why do you prefer the 150ps?

I think it's a smoother more, refined engine and the power delivery is more linear and usable.  The 184ps engine is a bit more agricultural and all the power is higher up the revs, with the biggest differences are at license losing speeds. 

 

I swapped my 150ps FR to a 184ps FR (hatch was too small so went for the ST) and I was very disappointed.  I ended up getting a REVO remap after a few months and 230ps and 500Nm certainly changed the car.  I test drove both the 150ps manual and 190 DSG when I was first considering the Superb and again, I preferred the 150 engine.  It actually suits the Superb's characteristics. 

That's interesting to know! I do like the 150 engine. Never had a chance to try the 184 but as you said the 150 is more usual everyday.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

Oh also stupid question but what does FR and ST stand for?

Edited 28 March, 20179 yr by basainty
Typo

20 minutes ago, penguin17 said:

I think it's a smoother, more refined engine and the power delivery is more linear and usable.  The 184ps engine is a bit more agricultural and all the power is higher up the revs, with the biggest differences are at license losing speeds. 

 

I swapped my 150ps FR to a 184ps FR (hatch was too small so went for the ST) and I was very disappointed.  I ended up getting a REVO remap after a few months and 230ps and 500Nm certainly changed the car.  I test drove both the 150ps manual and 190 DSG when I was first considering the Superb and again, I preferred the 150 engine.  It actually suits the Superb's characteristics. 

 

Driving 150 TDI I am very curious to test 184 in vRS. Maybe I will go for a test drive.

 

But the vRS brings better suspension and brakes, which is also important difference.

 

Engine should not big difference (8.1 sec vs 8.4 sec, max speed I don't care). Still I will check the other thread, very interesting....

3 minutes ago, TTodorov said:

But the vRS brings better suspension and brakes, which is also important difference.

 

Engine should not big difference (8.1 sec vs 8.4 sec, max speed I don't care). Still I will check the other thread, very interesting....

 

That's a good point. Realistically unless you're on a track you can't reach the top speed and acceleration isn't much different. Almost doesn't seem worth it especially when the fuel economy suffers for it.

 

The better suspension and brakes would be a nice upgrade though plus I like the slightly sportier look and the dual exhausts.

I was doing research in the past if I can upgrade my 150 hp to 184 hp - either remap or physical upgrades.

However I could not get clear technical answers (to make me confident enough) how the ECU remap achieves 184hp only with software and how those 184hp compare to vRS 184hp - engine graphics, side effects, etc.

 

Then the cost of new brakes, etc - decided to drive it as is (I find it very balanced, still fast and powerful enough). After few year to upgrade it to the most proper one - TSI vRS.

 

p.s. if I'm not reading forums for long time I forget I "want" upgrades

I think i would rather upgrade the suspension and brakes and leave the engine alone lol. Have the sportier feel but have an engine you can use more of.

 

I've never tries the TSI engines. Too much of a fan of diesels lol.

 

What's the TSI VRS like?

TSI vRS is IMHO the best for performance - torque is high as diesel but available in wider range.

downside is the consumption - logically...

Agree with a lot of what is being said here. I did get the VRS in the end but mostly because I just loved the styling. Would be quite happy in the 150 with the same styling if it was available. 

 

8 minutes ago, TTodorov said:

TSI vRS is IMHO the best for performance - torque is high as diesel but available in wider range.

downside is the consumption - logically...

 

That's why I like diesels you get the torque but keep an ok consumption!

 

7 minutes ago, AJAMESR said:

Agree with a lot of what is being said here. I did get the VRS in the end but mostly because I just loved the styling. Would be quite happy in the 150 with the same styling if it was available. 

 

 

I'm tempted to buy the VRs bumpers and the badges just to give it that style. Maybe eventually move on to the suspension and brakes. Happy to keep the engine as it is.

Edited 28 March, 20179 yr by basainty

I think the current MY diesel vRS no longer has the uprated brakes so they would be the same as the standard O3 & the same for the 150 & 184PS.

Its only the TSI that has the larger brakes now.

17 minutes ago, Gabbo said:

I think the current MY diesel vRS no longer has the uprated brakes so they would be the same as the standard O3 & the same for the 150 & 184PS.

Its only the TSI that has the larger brakes now.

 

That's interesting to know. So apart from suspension, styling and a few engine differences there's not a huge amount of difference between them!

 

What's the difference in suspension setups?

22 minutes ago, basainty said:

What's the difference in suspension setups?

 

The rear can either be multilink or torsion beam on the MK3.

 

I think only the vRS and 4x4 get multilink as standard in the UK but I could be wrong

5 minutes ago, langers2k said:

 

The rear can either be multilink or torsion beam on the MK3.

 

I think only the vRS and 4x4 get multilink as standard in the UK but I could be wrong

I believe it's the same setup as the Leon. The 184 variant gets multilink rear.  150 is torsion beam rear. 

Anyone put a 150 on the rollers?  My 181hp vRS TDI was actually pushing out 196hp when it was measured by JKM.

31 minutes ago, langers2k said:

 

The rear can either be multilink or torsion beam on the MK3.

 

I think only the vRS and 4x4 get multilink as standard in the UK but I could be wrong

 

That's cool what difference does that make to the ride?

 

25 minutes ago, mk4gtiturbo said:

Anyone put a 150 on the rollers?  My 181hp vRS TDI was actually pushing out 196hp when it was measured by JKM.

 

Be interesting to see! If I'm lucky mine could be pushing a bit more out.

56 minutes ago, mk4gtiturbo said:

Anyone put a 150 on the rollers?  My 181hp vRS TDI was actually pushing out 196hp when it was measured by JKM.

 

It seems to be a fairly common story on the internet that all VAG cars produce more power than what the book states. 

19 minutes ago, basainty said:

That's cool what difference does that make to the ride?

 

As I understand it:

 

Multilink

More expensive

Heavier

More alignement/tuning options

Better comfort/road holding

 

Torsion beam

Cheaper

Lighter

Fewer alignment/tuning options

Worse comfort/road holding

 

The difference in comfort stems from the fact that the wheels are independent (ignoring the anti roll bar) on a multilink setup instead of being connected (dependent) in torsion beam setups, therefore if one wheel hits a bump it doesn't effect the other wheel as much.

 

It's also possible to get better wheel control through the length of the suspension travel with well designed multilink setups which normally translates to better road holding.

 

Without wanting to open a can of worms, a few google searches will explain in much more detail that I can.

To be fair you covered all I wanted to know anyway! That's awesome thanks for the explanation. Is the difference only marginal or is there a big difference on ride quality between the two?

For normal road driving, probably not much.

 

When making progress down country lanes I'd expect the multilink to start making a difference.

I'd say the biggest difference in the cars would be the XDS diff.  The vRS will benefit more from the diff than the multilink suspension.  

 

I had my diff turned to 'strong' via VCDS and you could tell the difference instantly.  

I was surprised to read that people prefer 150 ps engine to 184 ps. I drive the two engines side by side and think that the 150 ps is the more gruff / agricultural of the two, especially at low idle in terms of noise / vibration. 

 

Other than that, I agree with most of the other posts that 184 ps only comes into its own at 3000 - 4300 rpm during hard acceleration.  In Germany the 150 ps Leon struggled to keep up with the 184 ps Octy when gaps appeared in the outside lane of the autobahn 80+ mph, despite the power:weight ratios being broadly similar.