Evening all,

 

Long story but find myself back in an Octavia after 3 years in a Superb 190 4x4. 
It’s an SE 2.0 TDI manual with 16” wheels and looks a bit plain. However I was thinking about a couple of modest adjustments that wouldn’t alter the appearance but might add to the performance and ‘driveability’. 
i don’t know what I’m doing so I’m looking for advice from people wiser than me (you people). 
I’ve seen that an entry level RaceChip can add 26bhp and about 60nM for about £150. It might improve the mpg slightly perhaps but unlikely to pay for itself I know. Any ideas on this?

Also I was planning on keeping the 16” wheels although possibly lowering the suspension a bit. Is this really worth it with a torsion bar suspension or not? 
I’m likely to have a very modest budget over the next couple of years so anything that I’d get a benefit from would be my priority. Thanks for reading this far. I’d be grateful for any ideas. 

@BlackEdDSG - Well, you could repaint it with genuine Lockheed "ironball" paint like on the SR-71...  

I lowered my 2.0tdi on a beam backend. Was a good improvement if you can cope with the added stiffness. I also had upgraded shocks which added to the stiffness but increased the control massively. Not a cheap route though. Springs only is much better solution for those on a budget. Could be worth waiting till you need to change a shock or 2.

 

Remap on the 2.0tdi is much much better than a chip. Search the forum for details.

I’m wondering if a remap would be tricky re warranty. My limited understanding was that a chip / box could be easily taken off if required. Curious to know the difference between a remap and a chip for this kind of modification (2.0 TDI 150bhp on standard brakes and 16” alloys)

A remap offers a much nicer drive that is well within the realms of stock wheels/tyres/brakes. It's the improvement in drivability that makes it better. Peak figures are not the game. A chip will manipulate the signals to get more power but the increase across the rev range will be not that much more than stock and could even make it worse to drive.

 

As for warranty. This has been discussed so much that I'll just say one thing. A dealer will still be able to tell if a box has been on the car.

I’m still getting used to the drive partly because it’s a manual and the 190 4x4 auto superb was wonderful. I have to say though that it is really pretty good. I had a black edition DSG (hence my name) as my first ŠKODA and although it looked a little (too) flash the engine and set up is exactly the same. 
I’m enjoying the mpg difference too, around 59-60 so far compared to 47 in the superb. 

2 hours ago, BlackEdDSG said:

I’m wondering if a remap would be tricky re warranty. My limited understanding was that a chip / box could be easily taken off if required. Curious to know the difference between a remap and a chip for this kind of modification (2.0 TDI 150bhp on standard brakes and 16” alloys)

I believe that a chip/box that has been removed can still be detected in the event of a warranty claim. The ECU sets a flag when any parameters are operating outside of "normal" values and that can be detected on a dealer scan should the need ever arise.  So maybe don't worry about the warranty and just go for the one you want.

Edited 14 November, 20214 yr by NikTheGeek

I would not modify or alter the car whilst in the warranty period.

And don't forget to tell your insurer about any mod - whether lowering, chipping, whatever.  You'll be driving without insurance otherwise.  Then your modest budget will be irrelevant.

Obviously each to their own for modifying their own cars to suit their needs. 

 

Would I be far off expecting the suggested mods being, 

 

Remap :  £400 -500. 

Suspension: £600 -1000 fitted for springs and shocks. 

 

"budget" is a bendy term. 😄

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, paulski said:

 

Remap :  £400 -500. 

Suspension: £600 -1000 fitted for springs and shocks. 

 

"budget" is a bendy term. 😄

 

 

Sounds about right. If a "more budget" setup is required I'd go for the following:

Springs (if current shocks are ok)

Dog bone insert (really tightened up the front end for me)

Pedal box (improved response)

 

None of that should affect insurance much if at all and should come in no more than 400 notes total.

A friend of mine took his Ford and asked if they would tweak it to make it run at its optimum without affecting his insurance.

They updated his engine map to the latest software for that model from Ford,

job done. Smoother, more flexible, slightly better fuel consumption.

I had a similar experience with my diesel fFocus, the engine had stopped dead with no warning

on two ocassions, leaving me and the wife in extremely dangerous situations. I gave the car back to the dealer

and told them to keep it until they got it sorted. To give them their due they kept it for a week and tried allsorts

including the latest updated engine map. It turned out to be a fuel tank vaccuum caused by the fuel cap.

The car was duly returned and absolutely flew and at no cash cost to me.

55 minutes ago, MarkyG82 said:

 

Sounds about right. If a "more budget" setup is required I'd go for the following:

Springs (if current shocks are ok)

Dog bone insert (really tightened up the front end for me)

Pedal box (improved response)

 

None of that should affect insurance much if at all and should come in no more than 400 notes total.

I used to do this with Saabs before I switched to ŠKODA. It turns into mission creep as one single mod doesn’t really work without a couple more. Power and torque with mpg sound appealing but then brakes and suspension and maybe wheels and all of a sudden I’m thousands in! 
I’m really appreciating the collective wisdom thank you. 
I am curious about the dog bone insert. I would like to know more please and feel free to patronise me because I’m no expert as will already be obvious  

The appeal of the ‘cheap’ mod was when I saw a racechip for £135 I think. Extra power and torque on the standard 16” wheels sounded appealing. There’s more to consider as you’ve kindly indicated

A quick Google should give loads of good info. The dog bone is also known as pendulum mount. It's the bar that connects the bottom of the gearbox to the car. The stock mount is sloppy to make it more comfy. The insert stiffens up the connection making gear changes more direct and also helps throttle response. I also found it tightened up the front end geometry and held a better line through bumpy corners. If you can change a wheel you can fit a dogbone insert.

Add a pedal box and you have a much more responsive car. I would sooner fit a pedal box over a tuning box. You can tweak the pedal to how you want it and it cuts out the input lag that mqb cars have. You cant fully fix that with a map let alone a tuning box.

42 minutes ago, MarkyG82 said:

Add a pedal box and you have a much more responsive car. I would sooner fit a pedal box over a tuning box. You can tweak the pedal to how you want it and it cuts out the input lag that mqb cars have. You cant fully fix that with a map let alone a tuning box.

 

I thought the pedal box didn't do anything that couldn't be achieved for free with a coding change - ie the linear acceleration mod?

Just now, NikTheGeek said:

 

I thought the pedal box didn't do anything that couldn't be achieved for free with a coding change - ie the linear acceleration mod?

Not from my experience. Tried 2 different coding mods on my Octavia and neither came near to how the box felt. Improved response. Tunable to how you want it to ramp up (slow and linear to holy crap!). Yes you can achieve the same input by changing how you press the pedal but it's about the feel of it.

You cut a steak with a dinner knife but you can also use a steak knife. They both do the job but the performance and pleasure in use is much different.