Views expressed in this thread relate to the latest generation Octavia and in particular the 2.0T FSI engine.

Having spent a small fortune on modifications I am coming to the rapid conclusion that a lot of it is a load of ********.

For example, adding an aftermarket cold air intakes as far as I can make out does'nt make diddly difference to that of the standard intake system apart from making it more audible!. Fitting a catback exhaust system appears to only adds minor improvements to performance and a turbo back even less (I have even heard it mentioned by one of the tuning companies that it is'nt worth spending the extra money!!!).

What is and is not worth spending your money on seems to be a lottery and one that I am reluctant to participate in further. Until these so called performance tuning product manufacturers can come up with some conclusive proof that the product does what they claim it does then I ain't interested.

There should be a European standard for the automotive tuning industry, one which can provide a method of testing under strict guidelines so that the consumer can see what he is paying for....................... a shiny part that does nothing other than look good, or a true performance enhancement product.

This is why I look for proven results before buying, but then someone has to be the guinea pig I guess?

TDIclub has helped me lots with my engine modding. Especially with the exhaust thing you mentioned. I saved myself a small fortune and got the best exhaust I could for a diesel, thanks to recommendations on there.

Thing is, some mods do work but you won't get much benefit during winter months due to lower outside temps. A CAI won't do a great deal at the moment unless you are trashing the nutz off your car, I would imagine.

Benefit of a Forge FMIC at the moment compared to not having one are very limited right now.

The annoying thing is that not everything has a good effect, some things increase safety margins but not power, like uprated dump valves for example.

Must admit I can imagine being the guinea pig is frustrating AND expensive.

I thought there were some good parts for the Octy Mk2 already though, like the twintercooler?

Hi Makefish

The whole modding thing is about improving performance of the vehicle. The manufacturers are not daft and as a result, gains can often be hard to find. Consider the car as it arrives new to be a fairly long way up the diminishiong returns curve, especially if it is a performance orientated model.

Engine modifications fall into three distinct groups IMO. The first group are what I would call tweaks. Free flow air filters, free flow exhausts, fuelling and ignition timing modifications. As we are constrained by catalytic converters and O2 sensors, the scope here is limited and I would be surprised to see a 10% improvement in power from a combination of these mods. Drivabiltiy and mid range urge may improve if running richer mixtures. A lot of manufaturers claim big improvements for the products they sell and possibly sometimes may be accurate, but remeber a claim of +5% for an exhaust system and +5% for an induction system will often only add up to +5 or +6%

The second group are what I would term proper modifications. Remaps for turbo cars, big turbos, big injectors, cylinder head work with new camshafts / valve springs, replacement manifolds (inlet and exhaust), raising the torque peak to higher revs, big bore / long stroke conversions. Modifications like these can be effective to possibly double the original output or more. Can ruin the drivability and reliability unless implemented well.

The third group are what I would call ch@vvy mods. Big bore back boxes, cone filter induction kits. Make lots of noise and often reduce power. Cone filters often suck in hot air from the underbonnet area, big bore back boxes can reduce gas velocity, forming a plug of slow moving gas in the system that produces back pressure.

To make significant improvements, you need to be looking at the second family of modification. Here you will often find that a remapped car will work more effectively if you have a free flow inlet and exhaust to assist as the remap will suck significantly more air in and blow more gas out than the original design intended. If you have gone the route of cam reprofiling and moving the power up the reve range, you will need to replace inlet and exhaus manifolds to capitalise on the altered pulse timings.

The thing with modding is that unless you throw a lot of money wisely at it, you get a very poor return in BHP /

Steve - wtf??

MAte, cai/induction kits help the car breath higher up, where most air is needed. If you drive like an old man, or on a rr, they wont make any noticable change at all. Mine pulls like a train right to 7k now, and i mean like a train. I personally dont' feel like any money has been wasted in any area of modding my car, and I think you are just a bit downbeat about it all because of some meaningless numbers.

Me + evo7 (350 bhp), stalemate out on the road. You cant do that in a standard car mate.

Steve - wtf??

MAte, cai/induction kits help the car breath higher up, where most air is needed. If you drive like an old man, or on a rr, they wont make any noticable change at all. Mine pulls like a train right to 7k now, and i mean like a train. I personally dont' feel like any money has been wasted in any area of modding my car, and I think you are just a bit downbeat about it all because of some meaningless numbers.

Me + evo7 (350 bhp), stalemate out on the road. You cant do that in a standard car mate.

I agree with chippykins...

Depends what you want out of the car.. things like CAI, zorst, TFMIC are all part of a bigger-picture rather than making a difference on their own. I guess its all dependent on what your car is used for.. Shiftys primary use for his car is a toy.. and it gets its head pretty comprehensively kicked on a regular basis.. but there would be very little benifit if the car was used to hack up and down motorways.... its difficult to justify the cost for just the "occasional" blast on some back roads... which is why i sold my FMIC.. my car spends 99% of its life on motorways.. so all the performance mods are irrelivent and unused unless im out on a brisky drive...

don't wanty to start an argue ment here but dave i can see your car being nearly as quick as a 350bhp evo on the move at decent speed but a FWD could never put the power down like an AWD out of bends or round abouts but definitly on a motorway/bypass type road i can see it being possibly close

i removed the fuse from my haldex system the other night and went for a blast and if i booted it at 30 i was still getting wheel skip and a bit of spin at 60mph(6500rpm in 2nd) on a perfectly flat bit of dry road :eek:

i'm glad i had a play with my car running FWD as it shows me how much difference my 4x4 makes to getting power down at all times in all conditions, although i did try and provoke it the other day and ended up with all 4 wheels spinning in 2nd gear in the wet coming out of a corner

don't wanty to start an argue ment here but dave i can see your car being nearly as quick as a 350bhp evo on the move at decent speed but a FWD could never put the power down like an AWD out of bends or round abouts but definitly on a motorway/bypass type road i can see it being possibly close

i removed the fuse from my haldex system the other night and went for a blast and if i booted it at 30 i was still getting wheel skip and a bit of spin at 60mph(6500rpm in 2nd) on a perfectly flat bit of dry road :eek:

i'm glad i had a play with my car running FWD as it shows me how much difference my 4x4 makes to getting power down at all times in all conditions, although i did try and provoke it the other day and ended up with all 4 wheels spinning in 2nd gear in the wet coming out of a corner

This was in the dry. As quick, not nearly as.

Yours is the old platform too. Alot has been changed since TRAX

whats changed if you don't mind me asking, intersted like

is it power type stuff or handling type stuff?

I think you are just a bit downbeat about it all because of some meaningless numbers.

Yeah I think you could be right mate, but it does make you wonder about the figures that some of these cars have been producing on recent rolling roads i.e. no where near the manufacturers claims!!!!.

I know that my car feels quicker and better to drive but I just wish that the manufacturers and suppliers of performance mods did'nt over hype them so much, it can only lead to disappointment.

Anyway, I'll probably have forgotten all about this thread come the new year! :P

Please don't let me catch the modding bug again...

...for now anyway

Hi Makefish...

Just wondering whether you have a remap? The mod's you've listed (CAI and T-B Exhaust won't do a lot unless it's remapped IMHO). If you have got a remap as well, then maybe you need it tweeked to accomodate the other mods.

IMHO if you've got a turbo car, a remap will usually give you THE biggest single increase in power (unless we're talking Big Turbos etc)... Exhausts and air filters aren't worth getting unless you're after better power/drivablilty after a remap.

Kind of like tuning a N/A car... You can throw thousands at it for negligable bhp gains.

As for aftermarket kit approval, look for the TuV appoval on kit to have at least some piece of mind that it's approved for use in Germany.

I know some of the ECU tuning companies referenced might not be relevant over here, but maybe check out the Vortex for info on 2.0T FSI Tuning. Lots of people making big power out of these engines in the states.

Oh, and VAG make pretty good air boxes nowadays... Nothing a panel filter won't fix anyway. I reckon CAI's are good for bling, noise and hydrolock unless you're running stupid power

Just wondering whether you have a remap?

If he has, I doubt he would post about it.

Just my 2p's worth.

My new car will have a s/s exhaust, improved air intake a rear arb, front strut brace and eventually a re-map.

for an outlay of approx

Shifty has too much spare cash, he should buy a house.

Makefish has too much spare cash, he should drink more, or buy 2 Suzuki swifts.

I just spend all my spare money before the wife does:D

Wish i had spare cash to spend on mods [goes off to sob]

Makefish has too much spare cash, he should drink more, or buy 2 Suzuki swifts.

I just spend all my spare money before the wife does:D

First statement :eek: I wish, I wish!!

Second statement, I'm no different to you then

Law of Diminishing Returns, too - regarding Modding Costs

Went through similar faze years ago with HiFi (when I was in my early 30's). Spare dosh, perhaps believed too many reviewers.

Soon enough the 1st sprog arrived unexpectedly ( a minor mishap, wife had tummy upset whilst taking the Pill), the spare dosh evaporated and soon I was suitably dissuaded from spending 'silly'.

The Good News :-

The sprog is now 22, we have another at 18 - and have just treated ourselves to a 15k 04 Fabia vRS, feel like a kid again !

Just my 2p's worth.

My new car will have a s/s exhaust, improved air intake a rear arb, front strut brace and eventually a re-map.

for an outlay of approx £1200 I will have a car that I will keep longer than I normally keep a car and save me approx £2k in depreciation.

After 12 months it will have Eibachs and bigger brakes.

So another £800 will save me another £2k

Then I will have a car I can happily live with for another year.

After 3 years I can chop it in with mods and change for something else, and although I will have spent £2k I will have saved myself £6k in depreciation, and had more fun, and have driven a 'better 'car.

It makes sense to me:confused:

Shifty has too much spare cash, he should buy a house.

Makefish has too much spare cash, he should drink more, or buy 2 Suzuki swifts.

I just spend all my spare money before the wife does:D

I am sat here trying to figure out how mods will fend off depreciation? When buying, most people who know what they are doing will offer less for a modded car. Unless it has a serious re engineering that is worth significant amounts over and above the value of the car. I sold a car just for its engine once!

Chris

whats changed if you don't mind me asking, intersted like

is it power type stuff or handling type stuff?

Both...

however tiz also mis-represented by numbers... tiz fookin quick.. and i was there with the evo "incedent" - cue one upset evo driver

maybe the upset evo driver is also disillusioned by RR figures :P

I am sat here trying to figure out how mods will fend off depreciation? When buying, most people who know what they are doing will offer less for a modded car. Unless it has a serious re engineering that is worth significant amounts over and above the value of the car. I sold a car just for its engine once!

Chris

It's because I easily get bored with cars and tend to trade them in far too quickly hence losing loads in depreciation.

Spending a bit of money 'enhancing' the car, will make it seem like a different car every time, thus ( in theory) lessening my boredom of it, and making it ( in theory) last a bit longer.

Makes sense to me.

Although it has been said I am an idiot:D

When I read this kind of stuff I wonder if we should add up all the money involved and buy a different car in the first place i.e. one that already has the factory built-in performance that is warranted and well researched - something like an M3 maybe? Even if it means buying second-hand rather than new.

I'd still get bored with it though.

Both...

care to elaborate? shifty?

care to elaborate? shifty?

Nope