.....I have a couple of queries that I would appreciate some kind soul who has a few spare moments, answering (I did do a quick forum search, but drew a blank) for my 52 Octavia VRS estate:

Firstly, the struts on the tailgate are passed their best, as my poor noggin will testifty! Are there any uprated struts available as I open the tailgate a lot with the dog? (That is, to let the dog in and out of the car - not teaching him to open the tailgate which, admittedly, would be rather a good trick :P) If so, does anybody know the correct i2i and stroke length to save me taking one off to measure?

Performance: I took on a friend's 1999 BMW 323i, and I did feel let down by the fact that both acceleration and mid range was pretty equal with the two cars (which would make sense given similar bhp and torque figures)- agreed the VRS did have a very very slight edge, but I did think that it would be more. The flip side of course is that I have great MPG, whereas he does not!

My query here is thus: Is the remap worth the money vs increase in performance? My timing belt is due, so obviously that along with the water pump, etc is my next outgoing. Is it worthwhile putting the credit card under pressure, and having this done at a performance centre, along with a remap? At which time, one may as well have the dump valve and air intake seen to at the same time. Which, of course, pushes up the cost......

Is there a heavy duty timing belt available? Would it even be worthwhile if there was?

All that I would be doing to the car during my term of ownership regarding performance mods are the above, along with an exhaust/strut brace at some stage, so it's not as if I'll be wanting 300bhp in the future!!

Which leads me a third point - are the estate and hatch exhausts the same? I know that they are different for some cars, so want to make sure just in case one appears for sale.

I think that those are my two main queries at present.

Thanks for reading, and in advance to those who answer

Sorry can't answer your estate specific questions,but regarding remap, i got a forge ipro remap at roseisle in white craig.205hp 300Nm torque and yes the increase in performance is worth it.Would'nt bother going down the air intake route,just get a decent panel filter. Enjoy your new skoda,there is a few in east lothian now,might see you around

Yes and you neednt uprate the dump valve straight away although it is recommended - Ive ran my engine completely standard bar running better oil and fuel since the remap and its been fine. The remap brings the car alive and it certainly worth the cost (I paid £195) and when cruising your MPG will actually increase for the better.

Agreed on the remap.

As far as I am aware the saloon and estate exhausts are identical. The estate is 6mm longer in total according to the brochure.

Get the map and say goodbye to your non indicating BMW friend;)

Just stumbled across this:

Skoda Octavia Estate Tailgate Strut -BRAND NEW !!! on eBay, also, Skoda, Car Parts, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 28-Jan-08 16:02:26 GMT)

I'll second the iPro remap at Roseisle. I had my 2003 vRS estate done and it made a huge difference. Great bunch of guys there

Thanks to all for the replies.

Scotlad and Kenny, what's the difference between what Roseisle offer and say Star or Jabba? Is this the difference between generic and custom mapping?

Thanks for the link to the struts Rob. I shall be purchasing these pronto as the struts have now given up the ghost totally!

Steve

Roseisle use the generic Forge iPro map. Its been checked on Roseisle's rotatest rolling road and does exactly as it says on the tin. Jabba etc dyno readings seem a bit optimistic to me and i can reprt NO hesitation problems whatsoever, as experienced by others following a remap. Just buckets more torque!!!:eek::thumbup:

Roseisle use the generic Forge iPro map. Its been checked on Roseisle's rotatest rolling road and does exactly as it says on the tin. Jabba etc dyno readings seem a bit optimistic to me and i can reprt NO hesitation problems whatsoever, as experienced by others following a remap. Just buckets more torque!!!:eek::thumbup:

The hesitation quoted by others after a remap has been making me think long and hard about having it done.

I have heard lots of people speaking about Jabba's rolling road the same way you have. I suppose rolling roads can be set up to give out any reading desired.

Roseisle certainly seems a cheaper option, and nearer to me than Star.....and obviously Jabba!

And, mebbe by having a specific "model name", the insurance company might understand better what I'm on about

A generic remap should take out any known emissions or drive-by noise flat spots, and give you a sound increase in power.

A custom map will take things a little further, and allow for any other parts, like freeflow exhausts, that have been fitted.

As to the question about rollers, every set in the country differs slightly anyway, so Jabba probably aren't trying to flatter themselves; they just have an optomistic set of rollers.