Had my 280 remapped today by a local VAG specialist.

 

In one way I'm pleased, but in another way I'm a little disappointed that power output is only 344, where as I was hoping for somewhere around the 360 mark. Don't get me wrong, the car is fantastic, you can feel the extra torque in the midrange and much lower down in the rev range than before, but I've just got that feeling in the back of my mind that some easy HP has been left on the table. You regularly hear of people getting between 360 and 370 BHP from these engines with just a stage 1. In the grand scheme of things, I guess it's only 15hp that I'm missing out on, it's not going to make a world of difference.

 

Before hand, I knew the tuner didn't chase numbers, and it's tuned for 95 ron so there's a little lost there. He's also said that boost pressure is 1.6 bar instead of 1.8 bar that some tune to as the turbo is a week link. Maybe that's a blessing and will help avoid turbo failure in the future.

 

For those interested, HP is up from around 295 to 344, and torque is 463 Nm at 3200 rpm from around 360 Nm at 4800 rpm.

95 Ron 

Just now, Nick_H said:

95 Ron 

Yeh because that's what is mostly available near us. Shell V power is 21p per litre more expensive and I have to drive out of my way to get it.

Doesn't the 280 have a GPF which restricts the top end power?

Edited 4 November, 20205 yr by john999boy
Particulate filter corrected.

@TheBinarySheep

Are there no Tesco filling stations around for Tesco Momentum 99 which is a min 99 ron, or Sainsbury's with 97 ron?

 

As it is you might just manage to keep up with other traffic and be able to reach 70 mph with a tail wind.

7 minutes ago, e-Roottoot said:

@TheBinarySheep

Are there no Tesco filling stations around for Tesco Momentum 99 which is a min 99 ron, or Sainsbury's with 97 ron?

 

As it is you might just manage to keep up with other traffic and be able to reach 70 mph with a tail wind.

nearest Tesco is nearly 12 mile away. 
 

ive spoke with the tuner, and he says if I fill up with v power or similar then I will see a power increase.

 

what is interesting to see is that stock, the car made almost 300bhp on 95 Ron. I had read about some Golf R's showing reduced power on 95.

Edited 4 November, 20205 yr by TheBinarySheep

My first remap was a so called 'apr low torque stage 1 remap', to run on 95 fuel. This gave 351 bhp, so I would say you are in the right area.

 

As you said 'only '344 BHP with lower boost, the torque is key and as you say, maybe a bit less strain on the engine. I previously went for Shark stage 1 on my last VRS with a slightly lower quoted Bhp figure than Revo. Creamy smooth and great torque throughout made it very enjoyable and ut was certainly quick enough.. A  local ex-Skoda franchise garage tech , who sees lots of VAG-engined cars said it was one of the best he'd driven. So maybe less is more vice pub bragging rights. All my TSI cars have been run on Momentum 99 as the garage is less than 2 miles. I only noticed a slight change in tickover briefly when having to fill with 95 Ron once

@TheBinarySheep

Golf R's, GTI's. Audi RS etc etc as vRS are sold as having a Max PS / Nm, and that is on 95 ron.

It is not the Max it is the minimum you should expect when never above 3,000 ft above sea level and not in extreme temperatures.

 

You pay for the car and the power it comes with, if with 95 it is lower you were robbed. If with higher octane you get more performance then that is good. 

 

So they are not 'down on anything with 95 ron. As it is the figures are what they are sold to you, or you get a bit more in the UK / EU.

 They can be better as VW says on Super 98,  but then nobody in the UK sells 98 anymore. it is 97 min or 99 minimum.

https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/need-help/need-help-faqs/fuel

 

 

 

Edited 4 November, 20205 yr by e-Roottoot

The tuner also said that he struggled to keep the intake temps down, I don't know if this is something specific to the Superb. Went onto to say that if i were to do any other engine upgrade, he'd recommend an intercool as that would release 10 or so BHP.

Upon reflection, I've over the moon with the tune. With V-Power maybe it'll put out over 350 BHP, and that's more than enough really, and at least I know the engine isn't being pushed right to it's limits.
 

I can't highlight how much of a difference there is in the torque and how it's delivered. In sport mode, 3rd gear, foot down, it's absolutely brutal and really does force you back into your seat.

2 minutes ago, e-Roottoot said:

@TheBinarySheep

Golf R's, GTI's. Audi RS etc etc as vRS are sold as having a Max PS / Nm, and that is on 95 ron.

It is not the Max it is the minimum you should expect when never above 3,000 ft above sea level and not in extreme temperatures.

 

You pay for the car and the power it comes with, if with 95 it is lower you were robbed. If with higher octane then that is good. 

 

So they are not 'down on anything with 95 ron.   They can be better as VW says on Super 98,  but then nobody in the UK sells 98. it is 97 min or 99 minimum.

https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/need-help/need-help-faqs/fuel

 

 

 

 

Thanks, maybe I got the wrong end of the stick, or maybe it's in the US. I read some forum posts somewhere that said the label on the fuel filler cap for the Golf R was 99 ron, and using anything less would result in a reduction in power. I can't remember where I read it now, but I obviously read something wrong.

US fuels are different, and maps, and high altitudes, as in South Africa, Australia etc etc.

Cars are mapped differently.

1 hour ago, TheBinarySheep said:

Had my 280 remapped today by a local VAG specialist.

 

In one way I'm pleased, but in another way I'm a little disappointed that power output is only 344, where as I was hoping for somewhere around the 360 mark. Don't get me wrong, the car is fantastic, you can feel the extra torque in the midrange and much lower down in the rev range than before, but I've just got that feeling in the back of my mind that some easy HP has been left on the table. You regularly hear of people getting between 360 and 370 BHP from these engines with just a stage 1. In the grand scheme of things, I guess it's only 15hp that I'm missing out on, it's not going to make a world of difference.

20 hp out of 360 makes very little difference... those 20 hp you would have them only at high revs.
The big difference is the 463 Nm of torque, as you have already noticed with the sport mode in third gear and foot down. 

 

in any case I suggest you to use petrol with at least 98 octane, if it is not available near you you can always add an additive. you will surely have better performance.

 

1 hour ago, TheBinarySheep said:

The tuner also said that he struggled to keep the intake temps down, I don't know if this is something specific to the Superb. Went onto to say that if i were to do any other engine upgrade, he'd recommend an intercool as that would release 10 or so BHP.

Upon reflection, I've over the moon with the tune. With V-Power maybe it'll put out over 350 BHP, and that's more than enough really, and at least I know the engine isn't being pushed right to it's limits.
 

I can't highlight how much of a difference there is in the torque and how it's delivered. In sport mode, 3rd gear, foot down, it's absolutely brutal and really does force you back into your seat.

All you have to do now is hold on to your licence! 

As @Roscio said above the extra 15-20 bhp would only make a difference if chasing acceleration figures or generally working the engine at high rpm, for the most part of daily part-throttle applications it will feel just as strong as higher stage 1's.

It's clearly a conservative map all-right, that is not bad in itself, however 1.6bar is the default stage 1 peak boost almost every stage 1 2.0 TSI I've seen works at (and I've seen a few dozens over the last 4 years) mine from REVO does too (actually 1.58). And this is the typical max boost figure when flooring it from low rpm, it then gradually drops to ~1.2 near the rev limiter.  It's not that other stronger stage 1 cars run at 1.8bar, that's excessive for cars on the stock downpipe anyway, but most probably that your tuner has tapered the boost quicker/to a lower figure as revs rise, again, for a safer operation I'm assuming. That is the way he decided to write the map and he could have his reasons, some bigger tuners have spent thousands of hours tuning vehciles around the world to be able to squeeze every last drop still withing the factory tolerances but they also charge a few hundred $ more so there's that too.

At the end of the day does it matter? Only you know that but I'd say unless you race often or chase times don't even bother if the cars feels strong and healthy in the way it delivers power, that's more important.

I’d be happy with that result though as others have said there’s no way I will run my 280 on standard 95 Ron. I have to settle for Sainsbury’s 97 Ron super unleaded as it’s either that at around 114.9p a litre or shell v-power at around 129.9 a litre which is just crazy excessive and I’m sure I’d never notice an increase in power or economy to justify that. There is an esso garage local in the same town but I pass the Sainsbury’s going to work so that does for me.

the nearest Tesco fuel is only 10 miles but in completely the wrong direction.

I have a super chips bluefin handset from my last diesel superb that is actually the correct model part number for the 280 (or my wife’s 1.2 tsi) but the quoted figures of 332bhp and 438Nm are a bit on the low side for me plus with an engine of this performance level (audi s3 / golf R) I’m not sure I’d be happy to just flash it myself without a dyno before and after or a tuner’s experience to know it was a safe map.

I trusted them with the old 140 diesel (and have gps logs of the performance to show the difference with and without) but this beast is a whole different animal!

Re intake, you could do what @JR RS has done and drill holes in the plastic shroud that is actually blocking air to the air intake.

It's a strange design decision on Skoda's part, but an easy mod that might help with IAT?

 

2 hours ago, defiant said:

Re intake, you could do what @JR RS has done and drill holes in the plastic shroud that is actually blocking air to the air intake.

It's a strange design decision on Skoda's part, but an easy mod that might help with IAT?

 

 

I had seen that, and it's something I definitely want to do. I'm just not a fan of removing the whole bumper to do it. I did some research and it may be possible to do it without removing the bumper, but I need to look at it in more detail.

I've filled up from empty with Shell V-Power, I 'think' there is definitely a difference.

All I need now is an uprated turbo, downpipe, air intake, intercool and another map and I should be good for 400 - 450bhp. If only I could justify the cost.

Edited 6 November, 20205 yr by TheBinarySheep

26 minutes ago, TheBinarySheep said:

I've filled up from empty with Shell V-Power, I 'think' there is definitely a difference.

All I need now is an uprated turbo, downpipe, air intake, intercool and another map and I should be good for 400 - 450bhp. If only I could justify the cost.

Bigger turbo should bring you at least to 460bhp otherwise there's no point! Stock IS38 can hit 400+ with all supporting mods.

16 minutes ago, newbie69 said:

Bigger turbo should bring you at least to 460bhp otherwise there's no point! Stock IS38 can hit 400+ with all supporting mods.

What are the supporting mods for 400? intercooler, air intake and downpipe?

4 minutes ago, TheBinarySheep said:

What are the supporting mods for 400? intercooler, air intake and downpipe?

Pretty much. And a strong map to profit from them of-course     

Quick update. I’ve averaged 18MPG over the last 200 mile!! 

18mpg? 

Seems quite a high consumption rate. 

On a side note, REVO have their 20% off sale active at the minute. Think it runs to nearly Christmas, for anyone thats interested.

6 minutes ago, UndertheRadar said:

18mpg? 

Seems quite a high consumption rate. 

On a side note, REVO have their 20% off sale active at the minute. Think it runs to nearly Christmas, for anyone thats interested.

Heavy right foot at the minute whilst the remap is a novelty