Thought I'd start a project thread to chart what I do to it.

 

2021 280 L&K DNFE engine - i.e. EA888Gen4; something I paid little attention to initially to my cost. Bought from Carr's Exeter; it was the GM's company car so had done 4,900 miles. Drove down the old car to Part-ex and brought back the Superb. Immediately had the emergency button switch off nearing home which was the first of a few problems with MIB3 software. Eventually got it upgraded which sorted out a myriad of sporadic issues.

 

Given a bit of a clean and some paint protection - Infinity Wax Citrus Prewash, Carpro Lift, Reset, IronX, TarX, HydrO2 (easy mist on, jetwash off ceramic-based protection).

 

The classic Engine Cover recall at this stage so engine looked a bit unfinished but cleaned with Koch-Chemie Greenstar - my go-to APC which also doubles as my main wheel cleaner too (start with an alkali degreaser, move to an acid for the stubborn caked-on stuff).

 

Edited 21 January21 Jan by travs

Engine:

Racingline Stage 1 remap (self flashing tool) with TCU flash for the increased torque. Quoted as moving to 400bhp and 520NM (applicable to all engines with Continental turbo and end results irrespective of manufacturer's original state of tune). I haven't had it Dyno'd to prove, but I'm fine with those figures for now. What should help with the top end is the R600 induction kit and Forge turbo inlet pipe to speed up airflow - RL state that consistently gives 20bhp at the top-end so, I'm in the 400-420bhp ballpark.

 

 

Brakes:

Mtec drilled and grooved discs all round with ATE Ceramic pads. Standard sizes, just looks better and should stand up to any heavier braking should the need arise. Still bedding in and have noticed the DV-to-induction pipe has a broken clip so is being pushed off with high pressure/more open throttle. It makes the car sound like it has a dump valve at the mo (technically it is dumping to atmosphere so it effectively is). Not keen on that so no driving in anger until that's sorted as well as brakes having done a few more miles.

 

Dirty Engine Bay:

Edited 22 November, 202422 Nov by travs
SPG errors

As BlackFriday was still going on and Paypal credit availability, I thought I'd pick up some uprated coil packs. Stuck with Racingline as I'm impressed with their stuff so far. Was looking to replace the spark plugs a little earlier than the 4year benchmark, but to be honest, the impossibility in trying to find a parts provider that can actually tell the difference between CXJA/DNUA/DNFE is mind-boggling. The only place that seemed to do the Bosch plugs for the DNFE engine was Autodoc and they did...then didn't...have them in stock. So I decided to leave them as they were and research uprated ones in the meantime. 

I don't think this is going to make more power necessarily, more about making sure there are fewest limitations from the remap. Whether they actually make a difference I'm sure will be 80% psychological but, well its done now.

 

For now - it seems like the next items would be uprated intercooler and fast flow cat - both of which are starting to prove the law of diminishing returns by the looks of prices...

Edited 10 January10 Jan by travs
correction

New addition - winter tyres on Vega wheels. Bought easily and painlessly from the very helpful @aerofurb and swapped over; the car now looks confused between an L&K and Sportline from the outside now. I like them as a solid wheel design for Skoda, a teeny bit lighter than the Trinitys due to less material and a lot easier to clean! Tyres are Kumho Wintercraft which as my first foray into winters will be tested over the coming months as temps start to drop. 
 

The wheels are now also the cleanest thing on an otherwise filthy car.

Next little update on mine. 
 

Racingline dogbone mounts ordered and at the same time the R600 water pipe. Engine still isn’t cleaned properly but thought this was good indicator of the size of the filter; as well as the neatness of the replacement pipe.

 

Edited 26 January26 Jan by travs

12 minutes ago, travs said:

this was good indicator of the size of the filter;

Yes, that is a good indication of the size of the Hot AI.

37 minutes ago, Paws4Thot said:

Yes, that is a good indication of the size of the Hot AI.

Hot? How do you mean?

Because all turbo-charged engines give so much more power with pre-heated induction air 🤣

22 minutes ago, travs said:

Hot? How do you mean?

"Hot". Opposite of "Cold". Look at where the filter draws from rather than just how big it is.

5 minutes ago, Paws4Thot said:

"Hot". Opposite of "Cold". Look at where the filter draws from rather than just how big it is.

Oh, sorry, you mean Hot Air Induction? Have you seen the picture a few posts before with the lid on? I had the whole unit out to put on the replacement water pipe and took this latest photo before I put the lid back on - just as it gave a bit of context to the size/surface area compared to the original. 
As far as I know the R600 doesn’t have any issues with high intake temps but happy to be corrected.

1 hour ago, J.R. said:

Because all turbo-charged engines give so much more power with pre-heated induction air 🤣

Did you overlook the previous picture too?

Yes I did! - Is that a fully enclosed and sealed airbox with the foam filter inside and drawing from the original air ducting or as you describe it a lid?

 

Looking carefully again I can answer my own question, it is, - my apologies.

 

It wont be as free flowing or filter as well as the OE pleated paper filter but they are massively overspecified so as to remain within emissions limits after 200K kms in dusty areas, if you prefer the sound then I commend you on being able to hide it so well.

 

Why the blue silicone hose? Is it for bling? I have not read through the whole thing to see if you have changed the turbo-charger, intercooler etc.

No problem. So the entire unit is an enclosed airbox that replaces the existing airbox and the ducting at the front of the engine bay. The original ducting blocks the air coming through the right side (looking at the car from the front) of the grill which is clearly the best route for induction airflow. Instead the OE design feeds air from the left side of the grill, across the front of the car and into the airbox, so it is made to take two 90-degree turns before feeding into the original airbox, causing turbulence. The replacement uses both sides of the grill is far smoother and cooler as a result.

 

The R600 is a very popular unit CFD-designed and made by Racingline (formerly part of VWUK Motorsport) to replace the ducting at the front and incorporate a filter that is effectively double the size. I wouldn't want a 200k km paper filter having seen what they look like after a 1/10th of that. Fairly certain they don't flow sufficient for the remapped performance, and the twin filteration system I have (cotton filter with foam oversock) means I can easily clean or replace the oversock). The noise is minimal, a little more at WOT at low revs but aside from that its very subtle. Blue hose compliments the airflow along with turbo inlet pipe. It was on sale, I'm not fussed about colour with the bonnet down. Haven't needed to change the turbo or intercooler, the stock engine gives very noticeable gains, 

as all the hardware is already shared with sister vehicles such as the Golf Mk8 R, Passat R, Audi S3.

The intercooler would be the next thing, but the return on investment is far lower and it looks to be removing the front bumper to replace so its not a job I have the time or inclination to do on my own.

 

Edited 27 January27 Jan by travs

14 hours ago, travs said:

No problem. So the entire unit is an enclosed airbox that replaces the existing airbox and the ducting at the front of the engine bay. The original ducting blocks the air coming through the right side (looking at the car from the front) of the grill which is clearly the best route for induction airflow. Instead the OE design feeds air from the left side of the grill, across the front of the car and into the airbox, so it is made to take two 90-degree turns before feeding into the original airbox, causing turbulence. The replacement uses both sides of the grill is far smoother and cooler as a result.

 

 

too get the full benefit, u actually need to unblock the grille intake that feeds the air intake.  from factory, this is closed inside the grille.  

not the bit that is part of the air intake that sits behind the grille, on top.

 

see pics below.  all Superbs have this one-sided "blocked nose".  both factory and aftermarket air intake systems will benefit with additional airflow by unblocking this.

unfortunately it is a bumper off job so u can access the area and dremel/cut out the plastic bit.

 

from factory.  u can see the air intake holes/opening above it, that then does a 90 deg turn to the right into the air filter.....

 

 

 

top view - before & after......

 

front view - before & after....

Edited 28 January28 Jan by JR RS

Ah ok - I thought the replacement ducting overcame this but ok it’s on the list. It is a bonkers setup from our POV but I guess it made sense to VAG. 
 

I was looking at a replacement intercooler at some point, and then I can remap to RL’s Stage 1+. But the job looks to be bumper off to remove the rad pack and replace the intercooler. That was looking at a Mk8 Golf R vid. Is that what was needed on yours @JR RS

Edited 29 January29 Jan by travs

@travs - the aftermarket air intake duct doesn't take care of the blocked grille intake.  this is only specific to the Superb. 

the mk7 Golf does not have this issue as it has a different design altogether behind the grille. 

the Superb has a chamber behind the grille, that feeds the air intake ducts.  

i'm not sure if the mk3 Octavia has a similar design behind the grille or not.

 

 

for the intercooler - front crash bar off, radiator off, condenser off, then u can change the intercooler and do the associated piping.

i got the IE FDS intercooler.

 

 

Interesting - has the best relative volume increase over standard but that's for EA888.3. They don't have anything for EA888.4 engine. Common options I can see are Forge, Racingline, Airtec and Wagner; all seem a much of a muchness in the grand scheme of things. I'd probably go with RL seeing as that's what I've gone with so far and been impressed.

 

Lots of material to remove - seems like that will also need the radar to be setup again afterwards too; think that'll have to be the mechanics job later in the year when I get the car serviced.

On 31/01/2025 at 08:53, travs said:

Lots of material to remove - seems like that will also need the radar to be setup again afterwards too; think that'll have to be the mechanics job later in the year when I get the car serviced.

 

There is no need to recalibrate or setup the ACC radar if it's done carefully and properly.

https://storage.googleapis.com/racingline-server-resources-public/8R and friends/Racingline Software Release 2022-12A EA888 Gen4 Continental Turbo.pdf

 

Interesting doc. Leaving this here

On 03/12/2024 at 02:18, travs said:

CXJA/DNUA/DNFE

 

I've come across this - DNFE at least. So are these the engine codes for the newer Gen 4 engines? Mine's older so was pretty sure only a Gen 3. I've now had a read through the docs that came with the car and confirmed she's a CJXA. So definitely a Gen 3. Would love a Gen 4 obviously but I'll just have to make do eh 🙂

17 minutes ago, spen686 said:

 

I've come across this - DNFE at least. So are these the engine codes for the newer Gen 4 engines? Mine's older so was pretty sure only a Gen 3. I've now had a read through the docs that came with the car and confirmed she's a CJXA. So definitely a Gen 3. Would love a Gen 4 obviously but I'll just have to make do eh 🙂

Tbh I thought it was a pain having the Gen4 (lack of parts, crappy recall on engine cover), until I researched and realised the hardware is exactly the same as the others (so I search fmostly for Golf Mk8 R for engine parts) and the map gives insane gains.

 

You sure about yours? The way I saw it, CJXA is the original 280, whereas 272 is DNUA when the GPF was brought in and it dropped to 272. I may be reading it wrong though

 

The original post I meant to put 278, basically it's an original 280.. brain fade.. can't edit it.

Open ur car door and look at the build plate - it tells u the engine code of ur car.

 

In my case, it's CHHB.

 

Sounds like it would be CJXA then but good to check the build plate.

 

Does mean a remap would yield better results.

59 minutes ago, travs said:

CJXA

You know your EA888s 👌

Engine No: CJXA134060

 

Turbos are my current research focus.. Trying to work out if I the IS38 really is a weak link and what's the cheapest/best route to getting it refurbed with improved reliability.. improvements over OE a bonus but not something I really want to spend a fortune on. I've found a localish Turbo specialist so I'm going to call them up and see what they suggest. Only downside seems to be you need to take the turbo off and send it to them for refurb so that's would be a bit of time without the car. Hmm