mapping

[Boatman1]

Would appreciate the collective wisdom of those experienced in mapping. I have an 06 vrs 100,000 miles which has run without any problems over the years other than replacement of the parts one would expect. It has been regularly serviced and used on good long runs but never thrashed. What in your experience is the best company for this job, what would be a sensible remap which would not break my engine, clutch etc or require upgrading various parts and what has been insurers reactions on being advised of a remap. If there are upgrades to parts you feel are recommended in addition to the remap please feel free to advise. Thank you.

[Munfred]

My vrs has over 200k on the clock now and has been running a jabbasport remap for the past 20k

Jabbasport remap, jabbasport cone in a box and jabbasport RARB

Had to pay £50extra and not allowed to go above 180bhp with Brentacre.

[Gt4thomas]

 

My vrs has about 125,000 miles on it. Has be running with a remap from from Celtic tuning (£250) for the last 10,000 miles. 179hp 290flbs. (Stock engine/clutch)

 

Only mod at the time was a pipercross panel filter. Gets thrashed everyday, zero issues.

Green light insurance, very good with mods.

 

Good price/performance mods.

Rear anti roll bar

Audi TT front brakes 

 

Best bet would be going to a reputable mapper. 

 

 

 

Edited 8 May, 2018 by Gt4thomas
More info

[Boatman1]

Thks for the advice GT4, excuse my ignorance what is a pipecross panel filter? some sort of air filter/cooler?

[sepulchrave]

7 hours ago, Boatman1 said:

excuse my ignorance what is a pipecross panel filter? some sort of air filter/cooler?

 

It's not a good idea on a diesel turbo is what it is.

 

Diesels need more FUEL to go moar fasterer, more air comes from a bigger turbo, daft filters don't do anything except let extra muck in.

[wja96]

Getting a remap on a 10-year-old+ car is asking for trouble. 

 

A remap places stress on the turbo and the clutch primarily. So as well as budgeting for a remap, budget for a new clutch and turbo as well. You may not need them, but then again, you should be aware of the potential for issues.

 

Cars ‘bed in’ so if you suddenly change something major, it is possible it will have unintended consequences. 

 

If you want a faster car, buy a faster standard car. You’ll be better off in the long-run.

[JWvrs25]

@wja96 You havent been on the Fabia VRS facebook page then...

at least 80% of these cars have been remapped all of which 11+ years old now . As has been said its turbos which let go on these cars, even non mapped ones are almost as likely to fail. Mines on 137k mapped for last 15k and clutch is just starting to slip a bit now. (It does get hammered a fair bit lol). They are good cars for mapping and you can see big gains without changing any other components whilst maintaining decent reliability. 

I wouldn't say a well maintained remapped car is any less reliable than a standard one if driven accordingly. Definitely not 'asking for trouble' if looked after. Boost pipes will tend to pop off easier but thats an easy fix with some self tappers.

I would certainly do a 312mm front brake conversion if you are going to be using the extra power, as those standard brakes aren't great.

 

 

[wja96]

@JWvrs25 - no, I’m not on Facebook. And I’ve run several remapped cars (my de-DPF’d Shark CR170 Audi TT quattro  was especially quick) but none of them were over 4 years old. Remapping old cars is a mugs game. The PD130 is probably the most remappable engine ever made, but anyone who remaps one at 10-years plus really does need to budget for the bits that will be stressed and quite likely break. Turbo and clutch. 

 

And the fundamental advice remains the same. If you want a faster car, sell the Furby and buy a faster car. There are plenty of 6-7 second 0-100kph cars for the same money as a Fabia. Especially when you add in the cost of a remap, a new turbo and a new clutch.

 

To run a speeded up Fabia you want better suspension (and I’m not talking about some crappy lowering kit), ideally a stiff rear anti-roll bar and potentially bigger brakes (although you really need to run a bias kit with the 312mm fronts or the rears never kick in at all). 

 

To do all that made sense when you had an £11,000 new-ish vRS in 2006 but to drop £2000 to tart up a £1500 car isn’t smart. Buy a £3500 car instead. You’ll be a lot happier in the long run.  

 

 

[Boatman1]

Thanks to all for your input although much of it is contradictory, I wasn't thinking of going mad perhaps up to 165bhp and changing the idle speed to 1000rpm because at 800rpm the car shakes like crazy, apparently this cannot be adjusted manually. I've been told that as long as you don't abuse the acceleration below 2000rpm the existing components should cope with such an upgrade.

[Boatman1]

wja96 what you say makes sense but I love the Furby which has been well cared for and looks almost as good as new and mark my words the Mk1 Vrs will in the future be regarded as an iconic car. Take a look at what the SE range is fetching, half the new price for a well cared for example with 70,000 on the clock. I saw one for sale in Nottingham for £6,500 and people pay it.

[JWvrs25]

Turbo and clutch are common replacements at the age regardless so i wouldn't be concerned about that. What can you get for the same money as the fabia which is quicker and does everything else as well? i'm intrigued to know why so many people buy a diesel skoda vs something quicker for the same money.

I can vouch for the fact that mine is fine on standard suspension with the extra power, and ive not heard anyone having issues with those brakes, the rear wheels are the ones which lock up first when braking hard in the dry surely that means they are working fine? 

A simple 'stage 1' remap (>165bhp)  is fine on these cars and will make you enjoy the car more. Just bare in mind there is a bit more stress on components so budget accordingly for replacing parts a bit sooner. I would also recommend max 8k mile oil changes especially as the mileage creeps up as it will help the turbo and camshafts which are most sensitive to oil.

@Boatman1 100k is nothing for these cars and if yours has been well maintained i wouldn't hesitate it getting it mapped by a reputable company.

 

 

[Boatman1]

JWvrs25 Did you have any issues with your insurer over the remap?

[wja96]

17 hours ago, Boatman1 said:

wja96 what you say makes sense but I love the Furby which has been well cared for and looks almost as good as new and mark my words the Mk1 Vrs will in the future be regarded as an iconic car. Take a look at what the SE range is fetching, half the new price for a well cared for example with 70,000 on the clock. I saw one for sale in Nottingham for £6,500 and people pay it.

 

What people will pay for something and what it is worth are not the same thing. Mileage is not an indicator of how well a car has been treated or what damage has been done to components by driving it through potholes etc. Well cared for is a VERY relative term. I bet you I could polish up the paint on any Fabia, give the seats a wet-vac and you’d swear blind it was “well cared for”.  And if I’d ragged the motor from cold and rode clutch at every traffic light you’d never know it. 

 

I’ve been tuning cars since 1984. I sold my old Fabia with nearly 300,000 miles on the clock and the only modification it didn’t have was a remap. I don’t have a problem with remaps - if you want a good one, I recommend Shark. And Ben Wardle will tell you he’s remapped loads of these at six-figure mileage’s and they’re fine. And if you ask him which two components a remap will destroy first, he’ll tell you turbo and clutch. Possibly the front tyres too!

 

 Irrespective of how you drive the car you will place some additional stress on the turbo and clutch and you should budget to replace those. It has been stated in other posts in this thread that they are items you would replace at some point anyway and that’s true. And from expensive experience I can assure that f you remap a car with 100,000 miles on the clock and then you drive it harder (and you will) you will hurry the clutch and turbo to an early grave. 

 

Cars and their major components don’t last forever.

 

 

[n15mgd]

I have a 269000 mile 2007 which has been mapped since it’s 60000 mile service,had a turbo at 197000 miles and still on its original clutch to this day

[Boatman1]

Thank you all for the advice, have been quoted £320 for stage 1 remap to 161bhp with 10% fuel saving, insurers want an additional premium of £54. 

[retro]

Mine was remapped 2 or 3 owners ago I would say over 5 years ago to 170hp and 392nm or 289lbft. Full service history and I service it every 6k miles, run it on bp ultimate/Texaco supreme diesel. I have been advised by a mate of mine who is **** hot on PD engines to run diesel redex every 2nd tank full to keep the system as clean as possible, yet to do it though.  

 

Still on the original turbo (does need to cleaned out now though as VNT is sticking but that's nothing to do with the map) and it is on 172.5k miles doing 15k a year. Clutch and DMF were done about 60k miles ago maybe more can't remember 100% off the top of my head. 

 

Basically, just go for it! As long as you aren't hammering it below circa 2k rpm, let the engine get up to temp too and let the turbo spool down before switching off and you will be fine.

[sepulchrave]

2 hours ago, retro said:

I have been advised by a mate of mine who is **** hot on PD engines to run diesel redex every 2nd tank full to keep the system as clean as possible, yet to do it though.

 

A snake oil salesman, blimey you really pick 'em don't you. 

[retro]

43 minutes ago, sepulchrave said:

 

A snake oil salesman, blimey you really pick 'em don't you. 

I do try 

[JWvrs25]

18 hours ago, Boatman1 said:

Thank you all for the advice, have been quoted £320 for stage 1 remap to 161bhp with 10% fuel saving, insurers want an additional premium of £54. 

for that price id expect a custom rolling road job as opposed to just a guy with a laptop in a car park. 

[wja96]

19 hours ago, Boatman1 said:

Thank you all for the advice, have been quoted £320 for stage 1 remap to 161bhp with 10% fuel saving, insurers want an additional premium of £54. 

 

10% fuel saving? How does that work? To make more power, they add more fuel per injection pulse but the fuel efficiency is worked out by counting pulses so the car looks like it’s using less fuel, but actually it’s using the same or more. 

 

The extra power is generally made at the top of the rev range, and the torque at lower RPM needs more fuel, so the whole argument about “more power so you use less revs to do the same job” doesn’t add up. 

[duck]

I have been recording my MPG since I got my VRS (8 years)

 

Average mpg standard VRS = 48.2mpg

 

Average MPG standard VRS with Shark remap = 50.6mpg

 

Yes diesels need more fuel to make more power but there's more to a decent remap than that hence the opportunity to gain mpg in normal driving when the car is re-mapped.

 

A remap on a standard VRS makes the car so much nicer to drive, sure it will slightly increase the likelihood of components failing but if your sensible in your driving and get the remap done by a reputable tuner then its a no brainer....go for it.

 

I would highly recommend Kris at Diesel Powered should you decide to get a re-map.

[Johnnynapalm]

I flashed a black smoke Map on mine at 99k . Now at 128000k and still going strong. 

[JWvrs25]

3 hours ago, Johnnynapalm said:

I flashed a black smoke Map on mine at 99k . Now at 128000k and still going strong. 

Thats what ive got, seems pretty good if not a tad smokey

[Boatman1]

On 13/05/2018 at 17:58, JWvrs25 said:

for that price id expect a custom rolling road job as opposed to just a guy with a laptop in a car park. 

It is a rolling road job and it's being done by Quantum on Monday at a cost of £249 130 bhp to 165bhp and a projected 10% fuel efficiency gain.

[toonartist]

On 05/06/2018 at 23:15, Boatman1 said:

It is a rolling road job and it's being done by Quantum on Monday at a cost of £249 130 bhp to 165bhp and a projected 10% fuel efficiency gain.

 

My vrs is rolling road mapped by Jabba... must be 12+ years ago now. 180bhp and 340lb torque. At the time I asked them to set it up so it was fuel efficient when I wasn't playing and of course, good extra kick of bhp when I was. They toned the torque down initially to give a few extra months on the clutch and then when I went back for the uprated clutch, they released the extra torque then. Still find it easy to get 54mpg avg with a mix of play and steady driving over a 100 mile drive. If I'm being very relaxed I can get it to 66mpg average.... but that's ticking along at 60mph. When this next clutch goes, it will have the LSD and single mass fly wheel fitted as well I think.

 

Turbo lasted 10 years after remap and it had a fair bit of playful driving  so no complaints there. The car is going through a major refit at the moment.... mechanics and bodywork with the intention of keeping it for a good 5-10 years or more. You'll have probably already sorted insurance but just for the record, take a look at Chris Knott insurance. I've used them for many years and they always get a really good price and match anyone better. Easy to add new modifications to the policy etc. The missus had to make a claim on her VRS when someone drove into her at the lights..... the service they provided then was excellent!! 

 

Edit... just found my rolling road pronto out when it was done, June 2006. 185bhp at the engine and 152bhp at the wheel with 355lb ft torque

Edited 16 July, 2018 by toonartist