BRIEFING

After more than a year with a JB4, around a month back I decided to find out whether I had been missing out on some extra oomph... JB4 is good for 340bhp/430Nm on these cars and average times of 13.0" for 100-200km/h and sub 5's 0-100 (my PB was 4.8"), it is a solid improvement over stock, plus you keep your warranty intact. However coming from a faster car I soon got used to it and then I was really intrigued by REVO's claims about GPF cars actually not being as restricted as originally expected, in fact making even more torque with the same boost levels as the pre-GPF cars and mapping to the same 370bhp as before. I decided this had to be put to the test, purely for sciencitfic purposes of-course. I also got a R600 intake and a Racingline turbo inlet pipe to replace the stock items but I did install them after I did a few measurements with only the REVO map and all stock hardware to compare.

https://www.onlyrevo.com/blog/all-new-gpf-stage-1-software-for-2-0t-ea888-gen-3-is38/

At the same time, the tuner warned me that the DQ381, is occasionally struggling even with stage 1 torque levels which is well on the 500Nm side. I hadn't noticed any slippage with the JB4 but then that was making 70Nm less and the truth is, I had not been entirely happy with the box's behaviour during manual operation and launching the car. Manual mode on the DQ381 is much jerkier than on the previous DQ250 to the point it made it unpleasant to me to drive it in manual, whereas my DQ250 car before was being driven in M mode, 95% of the time. Also, when using Launch Control, the car would often bog down as if ESP was kicking in (it shouldn't on a AWD car in Launch mode). In an attempt to adress all than then, I went for the TVS's stage 2+ DSG remap at the same time as the ECU remap. The stage 2 refers to the extra clutch clamping pressure, whereas the "+" in the name is essentially a side-remap so to speak, including several drive-ability and life extension features being added (more info in the link below), as well as having various modes and behaviours optimized (response times, shift points etc). I knew TVS as top DSG specialists hardware-wise and their DSG map reviews were excellent so: "add that to the basket too..."

https://tvsengineering.com/en/dsg-transmission/dq380-dq381/?fbclid=IwAR0ABBTfq8HoVxf3egD_5WUFCWgKc0YHC1mLGHmMvVcKpnoJC5VNfqEa3sE



 

REVIEW

The first thing that striked me after both maps were on the car was the difference in the DSG. D and S were reacting faster when putting my foot down but the real revelation was Manual mode: It was back to life! Manual upshifts became incredibly smooth under both full and partial throttle (not the case before), and downshifts completed immediately without any hesitation, it felt like a different gearbox. Especially considering all the extra torque that was going through it was even more impressive. Also, launching is now so much better as you ‘ll realize below. All in all, I can't recommend the TVS "+" map enough to anyone with a DQ381 car, especially tuned ones that like to use manual mode.

Performance wise, it was evident the car was pulling harder for longer. During my first Autobahn 100-200 sprint I could tell the car completed the run effortlessly and with an almost constant acceleration rate even after 200km/h. Launching was feeling very strong too, so a Dragy was needed in order to quantify the gains exactly and I was in for a surprise:


The comparisons are from the already tuned state of the JB4 (340ps), not from stock times!

0-100km/h dropped from 4.75” to 4.03”




0-60mph is now a 3.80” (never measured that before)




100-200km/h is a mid-11 run (down from 13.0” average)




Also clocked a 12.3” quarter mile (just one try) but I think I could better that slightly..



==========================
2020-24-07: UPDATED 1/4 Mile time: 12.18"




==========================

So REVO claims 370bhp from their stage 1 and the improvement in times definitely seems to back this up (I had clocked 11.9” 100-200 already before doing any intake mods). Coupled with the intake mods it’s probably closer to 390bhp which is the power a car weighing 1630kg would need to be doing these times. On the other hand, the car feels as if it’s stock when staying off-boost.

Honestly, I didn’t expect such an improvement from the REVO map over the JB4 (which I still find a great product for what it is and what it costs) but it seems they are squeezing out every last bhp from these new GPF engines. On lighter cars such as the Cupra, the times are even lower (sub 4 0-100 and 100-200 in the 10's...). But I reckon the Superb does ok for its weight too. A quick search online shows which cars are hitting similar times as the ones I'm currently seeing and they are ones quite firmly on the "Sport" side. For a car which is so lightly modified (just software and a free flowing intake + elbow) and retains full stock driveability it's not bad at all actually.

Edited 24 July, 20205 yr by newbie69

Where is the dislike button? No mention of mpg? 

 

Who are we kidding, this is great stuff. Love the dragy data. Once upon a time, 0-100km/h in 4seconds is top of the line crazy supercar territory. Now a Czech taxi (don't Google! ) Is doing it lol. 

1 minute ago, KeteCantek said:

Where is the dislike button? No mention of mpg? 

 

Who are we kidding, this is great stuff. Love the dragy data. Once upon a time, 0-100km/h in 4seconds is top of the line crazy supercar territory. Now a Czech taxi (don't Google! ) Is doing it lol. 

You have every right to be frustrated! No tuning review is worth anything without the mpg data   Well,  I know i've been out driving every day since it was mapped, testing or simply burning fuel for my own fun, so it wouldn't be that great probably. But on my 220km drive back from the tuner the mpg was identical to the one on my way to him (same avg speeds). See what you made me do now??

The last comment is the most funny and impressive bit though. A Skoda with basically just a software and an intake, not some stripped out project car, not even any exhaust modifications, performing like that, hilarious ain't it...

3 hours ago, newbie69 said:

See what you made me do now?

A good article but surely your MPG should have gone up in line with other mapped cars! 

Very impressive numbers!

in the end it turns out that apart from adding GPF and removing MPI in our DNU engines there are several improvements over the previous ones.
For example, I discovered that our stock low pressure fuel pump is oversized and for now I am developing my stage 3 with the original one!

Perhaps the 280 boys will believe me now that the humble 272 is a quick car.

7 hours ago, newbie69 said:

The last comment is the most funny and impressive bit though. A Skoda with basically just a software and an intake, not some stripped out project car, not even any exhaust modifications, performing like that, hilarious ain't it...

 

It is impressive and as far as I can think，one of a kind on the market in terms of the overall package. 

 

Budget (value) orientated brand

Big hatchback with lots of space (taxi)

Quick

 

Sure there are other cars out there that can do the same but they will be more expensive, smaller etc etc. 

 

Not quite a Nissan Stagea (crazier with Skyline drive train ) but this gives off a similar vibe as a great sleeper car. 

How much in Euro's would you say the intake mods cost? BTW I admire anyone you says sod the warranty. 0-60mph in 3.8 seconds is not bad for a barge. Also the estate would be a fraction slower than the lighter hatch. What surprised me is that the quarter mile time was only 0.2 seconds quicker than Roscio but they may be down to the surface difference.

1 hour ago, shyVRS245 said:

Perhaps the 280 boys will believe me now that the humble 272 is a quick car.

 

If only it had the valves 😉

1 minute ago, Nick_H said:

 

If only it had the valves 😉

Nick your 280 maybe noisy but it is also slow...........

4 hours ago, Roscio said:

Very impressive numbers!

in the end it turns out that apart from adding GPF and removing MPI in our DNU engines there are several improvements over the previous ones.
For example, I discovered that our stock low pressure fuel pump is oversized and for now I am developing my stage 3 with the original one!

I didn't know that, great news! Yours will be what I'll be able to call "fast", I call mine "ok" still  

 

1 hour ago, shyVRS245 said:

Perhaps the 280 boys will believe me now that the humble 272 is a quick car.

Lol, who said that Shy? Just point them to me!  Or maybe they couldn't stand the 272's mpg  and they had to come up with something to talk down your car?! Let them be...

 

31 minutes ago, shyVRS245 said:

How much in Euro's would you say the intake mods cost? BTW I admire anyone you says sod the warranty. 0-60mph in 3.8 seconds is not bad for a barge. Also the estate would be a fraction slower than the lighter hatch. What surprised me is that the quarter mile time was only 0.2 seconds quicker than Roscio but they may be down to the surface difference.

I don't know, I paid GBP prices for the intake mods as I bought them both from the UK    R600 was £358 and the inlet pipe was £126, the lowest ebay prices I could find.

By the way, if anyone can buy those items used do it, I lost a good used combo on FB so I had to buy new. They are so overpriced for what they offer...  The R600 gets the job done and other intakes are even more ridiculously expensive but 358 for two pieces of plastic of very relaxed tolerances and a foam filter is madness, even if it gives 15-20hp.

 

51 minutes ago, shyVRS245 said:

What surprised me is that the quarter mile time was only 0.2 seconds quicker than Roscio but they may be down to the surface difference.

Yeah as I said this wasn't a "focused" attempt. I left without the full Launch Control rpm which makes up to 0.5" difference from what I have seen so the true time is lower, maybe even drop to 11's, but after 6 launches within an hour I decided to give the drivetrain and Haldex a break. Still not feeling too sure about doing standstill launches, the process is a quite a shock now!

1 hour ago, KeteCantek said:

 

It is impressive and as far as I can think，one of a kind on the market in terms of the overall package. 

 

Budget (value) orientated brand

Big hatchback with lots of space (taxi)

Quick

 

Sure there are other cars out there that can do the same but they will be more expensive, smaller etc etc. 

 

Not quite a Nissan Stagea (crazier with Skyline drive train ) but this gives off a similar vibe as a great sleeper car. 

Agree 100%. I mean there are several faster cars out there, I'm not thinking I'm some "king of the road" after this     and above 100km/h the Superb's frontal area and weight start to show. It's much more impressive how it catapults at lower speeds without any spin.

However, for what it is, what it costs and the overall package you get, it almost shouldn't be allowed for a Skoda with such minimum mods to reach that sort of performance.

Even with only 360bhp and more than 3 months since my stage 1 I haven't met one car that could pull away from me.

1 minute ago, shyVRS245 said:

Even with only 360bhp and more than 3 months since my stage 1 I haven't met one car that could pull away from me.

Depends on the starting speed. In daily driving and below say 40mph it's hard for most stock cars to really open a gap, too little time to show power differences and especially if they are not AWD they have very little chance to put the power down well so you're not far off the truth.
But above 60mph, and when in an actual "race", proper AMG, BMW M and Audi RS cars will have no problem leaving it behind. Anything less would still struggle though as with 390bhp it's trailing a stock RS3's (8V) acceleration times by only a couple of tenths, which is not too shabby.

5 minutes ago, newbie69 said:

Depends on the starting speed. In daily driving and below say 40mph it's hard for most stock cars to really open a gap, too little time to show power differences and especially if they are not AWD they have very little chance to put the power down well so you're not far off the truth.
But above 60mph, and when in an actual "race", proper AMG, BMW M and Audi RS cars will have no problem leaving it behind. Anything less would still struggle though as with 390bhp it's trailing a stock RS3's (8V) acceleration times by only a couple of tenths, which is not too shabby.

The German's are handicapped by the Green limiter at 155mph unless remapped themselves.

35 minutes ago, newbie69 said:

Agree 100%. I mean there are several faster cars out there, I'm not thinking I'm some "king of the road" after this     and above 100km/h the Superb's frontal area and weight start to show. It's much more impressive how it catapults at lower speeds without any spin.

However, for what it is, what it costs and the overall package you get, it almost shouldn't be allowed for a Skoda with such minimum mods to reach that sort of performance.

 

 

I think VAG has cottoned on to that fact they shouldn't put too hot of an engine in a Skoda... Not helped by emissions regs which means all we are getting is probably one vrs octy, current 272 superb, lots of phevs, Evs, and standard diesel / petrols from now on. 

 

The next fast Skoda's will be phevs or ev. 

1 minute ago, shyVRS245 said:

The German's are handicapped by the Green limiter at 155mph unless remapped themselves.

Yeah, but the cars I mentioned will have moved ahead from as early as 70-80mph    so it doesn't matter.

Which reminds me, I now have a disabled speed limiter, I really need to go to Autobahn this time... 

2 minutes ago, newbie69 said:

Yeah, but the cars I mentioned will have moved ahead from as early as 70-80mph    so it doesn't matter.

Which reminds me, I now have a disabled speed limiter, I really need to go to Autobahn this time... 

I'm also curious to know what mine will do........and I'm not talking MPG.

Just now, shyVRS245 said:

I'm also curious to know what mine will do........and I'm not talking MPG.

I really LIKE this post! 

1 hour ago, shyVRS245 said:

Nick your 280 maybe noisy but it is also slow...........

But ..But ... VALVES !!

Merely for comparison.

17 minutes ago, shyVRS245 said:

Merely for comparison.

To be noted: I don't condone such posts! 

Shy don't start please 

3 hours ago, shyVRS245 said:

Even with only 360bhp and more than 3 months since my stage 1 I haven't met one car that could pull away from me.

 

Yes, it is very quiet on the roads isn't it? 😋