I was thinking of getting my TDI vrs remapped. Would like to hear from owners who have had this done and what difference it makes to performance and mpg. Been quoted 240 quid for a stage 1. 

£240 is cheap? Where's that?

Torquetronix

 

All the advice on here will suggest a well-known, well-researched map is the way forward. 

 

As with most things in life, you will get what you pay for!......

Remap is always good thing.

 

Better mpg not likely, especially if you start using all those extra power. Usually it stays same, as most of the time you will drive normally.

 

Maybe if you drive the car and change it 3 years period will be better to do it.

But how it reflects in terms of reliablity is very questionable. 

Can someone advise about the side effects (defects)?

Like DPF life,injectors,etc.

 

However being following few Octavia projects I noticed that first stages are ok and efficient, however stage 2 and 3 usually cost much, not always giving you proportionally equal power for the investment. And not always fluent in implementations

 

Stage 1 is good enough, will give you ~20% more power.

 

Me personally, I did decision not to do it till end of warranty period. Prefer stable and reliable car, power is more than enough for me,now.

What about the Superchips Bluefin for tdi vRS?
Has anyone had any experience is it worth of buying?
Superchips is offering it at a discounted price at this moment.

i had my mk2 petrol remapped by torquetronix in Kells a few years ago - no issues with it

the other place locally is autotune in pennybridge ballymena

Is your car still under warranty? If so, I'd probably recommend a tuning box from DTUK - really good company and product.

 

I was (and still am) a staunch advocate of remaps - had pretty much every turbo car I've had mapped - mk1 Fabia vRS by Superchips, E60 530d Superchips Bluefin and mk2 FL vRS Octavia petrol by Shark, all with excellent results.

 

Now with technology advancing and dealers being able to easily identify modified ECU software, I would definitely go down the tuning box route - my mk3 Octavia 150 diesel had the CRD3 fitted from DTUK and the results were really good, and really changed my view on tuning boxes. Easily fitted and removed. Give Andrew or one of the team there a shout and I'm sure they'd be happy to talk you through.

4 hours ago, encephalopathy said:

 

No car is out of warranty.

6 hours ago, vtec to vrs! said:

Now with technology advancing and dealers being able to easily identify modified ECU software, I would definitely go down the tuning box route - my mk3 Octavia 150 diesel had the CRD3 fitted from DTUK and the results were really good, and really changed my view on tuning boxes. Easily fitted and removed. Give Andrew or one of the team there a shout and I'm sure they'd be happy to talk you through.

 

can you,please,explain us how it works.Technically how it achieves the increased performance, and if any side effects occured.

Has anyone looked at or installed the latest Racechip Ultimate (£429.00) tuning box with phone app (Smartphone Connect + £49) for the TDI?

 

https://www.racechip.co.uk/shop/skoda/octavia-5e-from-2012/2-0-tdi-1968ccm-184hp-135kw-380nm.html

 

It does look really impressive and you get a fair BHP/Torque increase without invalidating your warranty, and i also love the idea of the phone app control.

 

I'm tempted...

 

 

16 hours ago, Deeejay1054 said:

Has anyone looked at or installed the latest Racechip Ultimate (£429.00) tuning box with phone app (Smartphone Connect + £49) for the TDI?

https://www.racechip.co.uk/shop/skoda/octavia-5e-from-2012/2-0-tdi-1968ccm-184hp-135kw-380nm.html

It does look really impressive and you get a fair BHP/Torque increase without invalidating your warranty, and i also love the idea of the phone app control.

I'm tempted...

 

Of course fitting a tuning box invalidates your warranty, the same with all modifications to your car...

If you blow the head gasket or turbo & then go to Skoda for a warrenty repair they will make you pay for it..

 

It is false advertising for any of them to say otherwise.

 

Some garages which will fit "aftermarket" tuning boxes might honor the warrenty themselves if there was a problem but this would not be paid for by Skoda.

 

6 minutes ago, Gabbo said:

 

Of course fitting a tuning box invalidates your warranty, the same with all modifications to your car...

If you blow the head gasket or turbo & then go to Skoda for a warrenty repair they will make you pay for it..

 

It is false advertising for any of them to say otherwise.

 

Some garages which will fit "aftermarket" tuning boxes might honor the warrenty themselves if there was a problem but this would not be paid for by Skoda.

If something went wrong and the tuning box was removed before sending back to the dealer, would they still know a modification was fitted if it was just a tuning box? Thanks

This is the main advantage of a good tuning box, there are no visible signs or software fingerprints after you have removed it.

If you are comfortable witholding information from the dealer when you take the car in.

 

 

1 hour ago, Deeejay1054 said:

 

If something went wrong and the tuning box was removed before sending back to the dealer, would they still know a modification was fitted if it was just a tuning box? Thanks

I know the DTUK tuning box doesn't leave any trace of it ever being fitted however, when faced with an engine or turbo failure & the associated costs of fixing it.

 

Every OEM will do far more background checks, these will show that the car has vastly exceeded its standard performance characteristics & will therefore, NOT be repaired under warranty.

 

Tuning boxes are un-detectable but their effects are not, modern cars record vast amounts of information & store it.  The OEM's only retrieve this data when they are faced with large repair costs as there is a cost to retrieve & analysis this data therefore, they don't do it unless they have to.

 

Insurance companies don't have access to the car's stored data but, removing a tuning box from a front end damaged car isn't easy so, I'd always advise telling your insurance company.

Hi,

If you did find you had any issues with insurance at all then please feel free to drop me a line.

Regards,

Dan.

17 hours ago, themanwithnoaim said:

I know the DTUK tuning box doesn't leave any trace of it ever being fitted however, when faced with an engine or turbo failure & the associated costs of fixing it.

 

Every OEM will do far more background checks, these will show that the car has vastly exceeded its standard performance characteristics & will therefore, NOT be repaired under warranty.

 

Tuning boxes are un-detectable but their effects are not, modern cars record vast amounts of information & store it.  The OEM's only retrieve this data when they are faced with large repair costs as there is a cost to retrieve & analysis this data therefore, they don't do it unless they have to.

 

Insurance companies don't have access to the car's stored data but, removing a tuning box from a front end damaged car isn't easy so, I'd always advise telling your insurance company.

 

I'd like to hear DTUK's thoughts on this - they are normally very quick to defend their boxes. 

^^^ 

There is nothing to defend about the boxes, just do not take for granted that if you have a Manufactures Warranty Claim to make that the fact you had None Factory Approved Engine Management even if just via a Tuning Box that you will not Void cover.

 

Tuning Boxes in other World Regions including those in Continental European Countries do have Warranties covering engine failures, but just check out how much they cost compared to UK ones with 'buyer beware',  the only Guarantee being on the Box not the vehicle.

thanks all for your replies   it seems there is no getting away from it if you decide to fit a tuning box. in the case of an accident then basically your insurance will be void if you don't disclose this modification, it makes sense really.

 

I do think a tuning box is easier to manage than a remap though, as when a repair is required the dealer could easily decide to perform a software update and there goes your map!  It's a whole load of hassles having to keep going back to the garage to remap it again too... 

 

In terms of tuning boxes do they all offer the same increases, as they start from £200 up to £500 online.. thanks all.

 

Dealerships do software updates  / enhancements when in for a service because that is part of Main Dealer Servicing, if you do not want Software Updates you tell them not to do them, 

tell in writing at the Service Desk. 

Your property and they have no right to ignore paying customers, simply you say you have a remap.

Edited 3 August, 20178 yr by Awayoffski

@Awayoffski thanks...Do they write anything down on the service slip though regarding remap noted, or request from customer to not update software?

 

 

I'm expecting, soon, a new update after the diesel forum this week. This time will affect Euro 6 I guess.

Bad, not sure if you reject what happens, will see.

Deeejay1054,

They do if you tell them. 

then also put a note taped to the OBD port. Do not touch, car has remap.

Edited 3 August, 20178 yr by Awayoffski

So I think I understand a remap - the ECU's software is altered to provide more power and torque from the engine? This is usually permanent but can be turned on and off if you buy additional plug-in equipment? E.g. The Shark Self Tuning System (STS) which allows you to switch between your new map and your standard one. 

 

But, how does a tuning box work? Is it simply a removable box that fits into the car alongside the ECU and amends the signal sent to the ECU?

 

Cheers.