Hi fellow Kiwi VRS owners!

 

As my warranty wears on, I am starting to think about a remap/tune next year for my 2016 VRS TSI DSG wagon.

 

Was just wondering who/where/what was currently recommended in NZ - preferably Auckland region - and get your experiences on the process and gains you have had here as well as any issues you have experienced with dealers or warranty as a result?

 

I see APR, TuneTechnic and Superchips/Peter James seem to be the top results when I search...any results with these guys?

 

Cheers

Edited 11 September, 20178 yr by Item

Bueller..?

Lower speed limits than the UK and few motorways. Why would you need a faster car?

The lack of traffic in many places in the South Island was eerie last year and I just relaxed into the lower speeds and admiring the scenery.

6 hours ago, gregoir said:

Lower speed limits than the UK and few motorways. Why would you need a faster car?

The lack of traffic in many places in the South Island was eerie last year and I just relaxed into the lower speeds and admiring the scenery.

 

Plenty of great drivers roads with 100kph limits on both islands! Bit of extra torque and HP always welcome - I still enjoy putting my foot down on occasion.

 

Apologies, 100 kph is 62mph and therefore faster than our normal national speed limit. It just felt very slow cruising on the quiet and largely straight roads. I stuck to 100kph as I'd received warnings about the rigorous police enforcement , dangerous rural cross roads and crazy oriental visitors. I experienced them all and escaped.

On 9/16/2017 at 20:51, gregoir said:

Apologies, 100 kph is 62mph and therefore faster than our normal national speed limit. It just felt very slow cruising on the quiet and largely straight roads. I stuck to 100kph as I'd received warnings about the rigorous police enforcement , dangerous rural cross roads and crazy oriental visitors. I experienced them all and escaped.

 

No apology needed! 100kph does indeed feel slow on the main motorways -interestingly they are currently looking at increasing this on some roads to 110.

 

Shame you missed the good roads though - Coromandel loop is a great one near Auckland...some of the South Island Coastal roads are amazing!

 

You do of course have to be careful as the surface quality and quality of other drivers is often below par...

 

There are some good tuners in the UK - try Shark or Superchips. They both do a device that can be posted out, and they can send you tuning files remotely for you to upload yourself.

 

I've tried both Superchips Bluefin and Shark STS, both with excellent results.

Looks like Superchips have a sale on their Bluefin too when I just looked for the links - happy days!

 

http://www.superchips.co.uk/search?make=33&fueltype=3&model=142&variant=3002 

Hello there Item, I too am considering a tuning chip for my vRS.  So now one year on from you posting the question (I've only just joined Briskoda) what did you end up doing?  Did you get a tuning chip for your car?  And if so, what type and how did you get on using it? My car is out of warranty and I've been thinking about the Superchips options... I figure that if you're going to do it you may as well get the biggest performance upgrade that they have available.  I'd be very interested to know what option you chose, did you have any problems with it, how successful was it for you, any advice that you can share?  Thanks... from a fellow Kiwi vRS owner.

We also have 110 Kp/h roads now too

In reply to my own question but hopefully this is useful to the next person who is going to ask the same things that I did:  

 

A week ago I opted for the stage-1 Superchips upgrade from Peter James, the NZ distributor. Top bloke, gave me good detailed information and answered a whole bunch of questions that I raised with him.  In particular I was concerned about the potential stressing of engine components but Peter explained that "[Superchips] are the official Mini Cooper, Audi and VW Rally team ECU reprogrammers in the UK and as such work closely with the manufacturers so we do not go over their recommended tolerances". 

Good to know so I went ahead and bought/installed the Bluefin unit.  The Octavia now has outputs of 206kW and 447Nm (compared to 162kW/350Nm standard) and the difference is immediately noticeable.  For sure there is the urgent acceleration right up to the redline but perhaps more useful is the increased torque that I can use day-to-day.  I am very satisfied with the driveability and flexibility provided by the upgrade.  It is money well spent... and the cost was 2/3 the price of the new radar detector that I've also bought.

 

Information from Superchips (NZ):
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“We do a lot of Skoda Octavia III vRSs as they respond so well to being Superchipped. You will get a lot better throttle response, low down and midrange torque and the car will pull all the way to the red line. Many owners report anything up to 10% saving on fuel as well, due to the fact there is less gear changing. And the annoying lag that they have at low revs also disappears. With the vRS 2litre the gains are as follows:
 

Skoda Octavia III vRS 2.0 TSI (220PS)

11/2012 onwards

Engine type : Turbocharged Petrol

Engine size : 1984 cm3

Engine code :CHHB

Cylinders : 4

Original bhp : 216 (162kW)

Original nm : 350

BHP increase : 59 (44kW)

NM gain : 97

Lb/Ft gain : 72

Boost at standard : 18 psi 1.2 bar

Boost modified : 22 psi 1.5 bar

Speed Limit Removal : Not Available

 

We offer a stage 2 but you need to change the air box and exhaust for this to work, so I wouldn't bother at the moment. Price is $850 delivered and a stage 2 is $199 on top. You need do nothing else to the car for stage 1, it will work fine as it is, brakes, suspension etc are all good for it. Even a stage 2, just need airbox and exhaust as mentioned. All fittings come with a 12 month 20,000kms warranty and have a million dollar cover. 
NZ fuel is fine now to take the tunes, a few years ago it was different because the sulphur content was too high, now it's down to EU specs so good enough for modern vehicles. It wasn't refined as well as the rest of the world. Always use 95 octane or above when the upgrade has been done. Do not use 91 octane."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

 

For comparison purposes I have created a chart of engine outputs and performance figures (all of it from official sources) so that you can see where the upgraded Octavia fits into the scheme of things.

It's pretty good value that you pay not much money but get a significant performance boost.  The upgraded Octavia now matches the Superb for power and out-grunts it on torque, and look how the Octavia compares to a Golf R... approximately 10% less power but 10% more torque.

 

Edited 10 December, 20187 yr by ComeBackWIlson
Formatting

7 hours ago, ComeBackWIlson said:

In reply to my own question but hopefully this is useful to the next person who is going to ask the same things that I did:  

 

A week ago I opted for the stage-1 Superchips upgrade from Peter James, the NZ distributor. Top bloke, gave me good detailed information and answered a whole bunch of questions that I raised with him.  In particular I was concerned about the potential stressing of engine components but Peter explained that "[Superchips] are the official Mini Cooper, Audi and VW Rally team ECU reprogrammers in the UK and as such work closely with the manufacturers so we do not go over their recommended tolerances". 

Good to know so I went ahead and bought/installed the Bluefin unit.  The Octavia now has outputs of 206kW and 447Nm (compared to 162kW/350Nm standard) and the difference is immediately noticeable.  For sure there is the urgent acceleration right up to the redline but perhaps more useful is the increased torque that I can use day-to-day.  I am very satisfied with the driveability and flexibility provided by the upgrade.  It is money well spent... and the cost was 2/3 the price of the new radar detector that I've also bought.

 

Information from Superchips (NZ):
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“We do a lot of Skoda Octavia III vRSs as they respond so well to being Superchipped. You will get a lot better throttle response, low down and midrange torque and the car will pull all the way to the red line. Many owners report anything up to 10% saving on fuel as well, due to the fact there is less gear changing. And the annoying lag that they have at low revs also disappears. With the vRS 2litre the gains are as follows:
 

Skoda Octavia III vRS 2.0 TSI (220PS)

11/2012 onwards

Engine type : Turbocharged Petrol

Engine size : 1984 cm3

Engine code :CHHB

Cylinders : 4

Original bhp : 216 (162kW)

Original nm : 350

BHP increase : 59 (44kW)

NM gain : 97

Lb/Ft gain : 72

Boost at standard : 18 psi 1.2 bar

Boost modified : 22 psi 1.5 bar

Speed Limit Removal : Not Available

 

We offer a stage 2 but you need to change the air box and exhaust for this to work, so I wouldn't bother at the moment. Price is $850 delivered and a stage 2 is $199 on top. You need do nothing else to the car for stage 1, it will work fine as it is, brakes, suspension etc are all good for it. Even a stage 2, just need airbox and exhaust as mentioned. All fittings come with a 12 month 20,000kms warranty and have a million dollar cover. 
NZ fuel is fine now to take the tunes, a few years ago it was different because the sulphur content was too high, now it's down to EU specs so good enough for modern vehicles. It wasn't refined as well as the rest of the world. Always use 95 octane or above when the upgrade has been done. Do not use 91 octane."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

 

For comparison purposes I have created a chart of engine outputs and performance figures (all of it from official sources) so that you can see where the upgraded Octavia fits into the scheme of things.

It's pretty good value that you pay not much money but get a significant performance boost.  The upgraded Octavia now matches the Superb for power and out-grunts it on torque, and look how the Octavia compares to a Golf R... approximately 10% less power but 10% more torque.

 

Perhaps you should insert my stage 2 Vrs245 into your table with 336bhp, 517NM and 270kph top speed. Cost in the UK was £3,000 so possibly $6,000NZ, including uprated intercooler.

Does anyone do custom maps?

 

Mines hit 330hp, 450nm without any mods through one, using 99RON.

13 hours ago, shyVRS245 said:

Perhaps you should insert my stage 2 Vrs245 into your table with 336bhp, 517NM and 270kph top speed. Cost in the UK was £3,000 so possibly $6,000NZ, including uprated intercooler.

 

Perhaps I should... and so I have

 

Are you referring to a Superchips stage-2 upgrade or one from another outfit?  Did you change the air filter and [whatever was needed for] the exhaust?  What modifications did you get for your money?

I haven't actually investigated what changes are needed for a stage-2 upgrade as I've only just installed the stage-1.  The upgraded software is only another $200 but I wonder what the total spend would be with actual parts being replaced.

 

 

 

6 hours ago, ComeBackWIlson said:

 

Perhaps I should... and so I have

 

Are you referring to a Superchips stage-2 upgrade or one from another outfit?  Did you change the air filter and [whatever was needed for] the exhaust?  What modifications did you get for your money?

I haven't actually investigated what changes are needed for a stage-2 upgrade as I've only just installed the stage-1.  The upgraded software is only another $200 but I wonder what the total spend would be with actual parts being replaced.

 

 

 

Thanks for including my stage 2 details. Also that power was developed at 5,249rpm and the 0-100kph should be 5.5seconds and actual economy over 17,500 miles is 41.1mpg. Hardware required was full 3" Milltek stainless exhaust (resonated) including down pipe, Airtec inter cooler and Airtec cone air filter. The mapping was an extra £120 for stage 2 done by a Motorsport company who build racing cars in the BTCC called AMD in Essex. The stage 1 remap was initially £500.  Hope all this helps your understanding. Finally maximum torque developed at 2,661rpm.

Thanks for the extra information about your car and yes, it's helped my understanding of what is required for a stage-2 upgrade.  Probably too pricey for me to consider doing the same but good to know what is involved, and I'm pleasantly surprised to see that you've got such good figures for both performance and economy - what an all-rounder you have!

 

Did you have any difficulty achieving your 0-100kph acceleration time?  Do you have a special technique for the best take-off? I ask because although I haven't tried measuring 0-100 myself, I can only imagine getting torque steer and maybe axle-tramp or lots of wheelspin, or similar antics.  I've only had my stage-1 installed for a week but several times under full (rolling) acceleration in 2nd gear the steering wheel is writhing and the traction control light on the dashboard is flashing away.

 

p.s. Updated comparison table below.

On 10/12/2018 at 08:05, shyVRS245 said:

Perhaps you should insert my stage 2 Vrs245 into your table with 336bhp, 517NM and 270kph top speed. Cost in the UK was £3,000 so possibly $6,000NZ, including uprated intercooler.

 

On 10/12/2018 at 09:56, Saints92 said:

Does anyone do custom maps?

 

Mines hit 330hp, 450nm without any mods through one, using 99RON.

 

@shyVRS245 you need a better mapper...

 

In all seriousness, I've no idea what power I've actually got. It registered on the dyno as 290whp, and from what I've read you're meant to add 15%. Was 215whp standard.

On 26/11/2018 at 15:28, ComeBackWIlson said:

Hello there Item, I too am considering a tuning chip for my vRS.  So now one year on from you posting the question (I've only just joined Briskoda) what did you end up doing?  Did you get a tuning chip for your car?  And if so, what type and how did you get on using it? My car is out of warranty and I've been thinking about the Superchips options... I figure that if you're going to do it you may as well get the biggest performance upgrade that they have available.  I'd be very interested to know what option you chose, did you have any problems with it, how successful was it for you, any advice that you can share?  Thanks... from a fellow Kiwi vRS owner.

 

Hey mate - apologies, I completely missed this post!

 

I only stumbled back on this thread by accident as I have yet to pull the trigger and was interested to see what options were now around. Peter James were the same people I chatted with last year so after your experience, I will probably reach out again!

 

If you don't mind sharing, what did you pay?

The Stage-1 upgrade from Superchips NZ was $850.

The Escort Max 360C radar detector was $1299.

 

The best $2K I've spent in ages

10 hours ago, ComeBackWIlson said:

The Stage-1 upgrade from Superchips NZ was $850.

The Escort Max 360C radar detector was $1299.

 

The best $2K I've spent in ages

 

Hah - he quoted me $999 delivered so I will have to twist his arm on $850 if I go for it

 

I am still really torn on the idea. The performance gains sound great, but my natural pessimism tells me it is just a bad idea as far as increased risk of issues and reduction in longevity of key components of the car.

 

I wonder which view will win...

On 10/12/2018 at 08:05, shyVRS245 said:

Perhaps you should insert my stage 2 Vrs245 into your table with 336bhp, 517NM and 270kph top speed. Cost in the UK was £3,000 so possibly $6,000NZ, including uprated intercooler.

 

270 km/h !?  Yikes!

13 minutes ago, petecollier said:

 

270 km/h !?  Yikes!

Actually about a month ago it maxed out at 177mph or 283kph so perhaps the table should be amended to reflect that. Won't be trying it again because beyond 170mph the aero starts to make the car a bit nervous on the standard suspension. Probably needs lowering to counteract the forces acting over the bodywork. My car is the hatch not sure if the estate would behave differently.

Updated comparison table:
 

 

 

How’s the Superchips tune going after a few years?

i'd love to know how the SUperchips NZ tune insgoing too. i had my 2017 SUperb 206kw tuned by him last year. it had surges of power but major flatspots so was actually a second slower to 100km than standard! He spent hours fixing it about 3 months ater but its still pretty hopeless. i'm wondering if it could also be something to do with the DSG setup  maybe that needs a tune. any ideas?