Remapped Fabia vRS review

HellFire · 22-01-2005, 18:24

Ok quite a few members have been requesting this so here goes:

To start off with most of us are aware that the vRS in it's standard form is no sloutch, it breezes to 60 quickly and climbs all the way to 90 without feeling stressed, it feels like an onslought between 2000-3000k rpm when standard as if all the boost comes at once, and just as quickly as it came is disappears. Once the magic 90 mph is reached the car starts to show it's poor drag co-effeciency and really struggles to 110+ above.

I started my car this morning with the intent to clean it, then take some video's (which to my annoyance are crap so I haven't posted them, however I will tomorrow), the first thing you notice is that the car doesnt sound any different on idle, nor when driving at a slow speed does the car give any indication that it is remapped which is excellent if your family/friends drive the car (or a Skoda technician), but any doubts that this car isnt capable are soon erased when you wheel spin it through the first 3 gears as the car struggles to get traction on full chat. The steering doesnt seem affected, cornering seems easier as you can blip the throttle better and the brakes seem up to the job (others may question that), however I believe if you are not going OTT (which you shouldnt be on normal roads) then the standard discs & pads are more than capable. One noticable improvement is the ASR which seems to not be as instrusive for some reason, whether this is because you are simply able to power through it's stopping power or if it gets reduced by Michael at Jabba im unsure.

General day to day driving / giving it some beans

Well, to be honest once you get used to it you'll want more

But as far as things go you will notice a much more responsive pedal and a greater spread of the torque/bhp, unlike the standard car you are really able to use the gears to make quick progress and makes overtaking a doddle. I would say 0-60 arrives in around 6.5 seconds, this is confirmed by 3 seperate clock watch timings today (with a passenger) and because it keeps up with much faster cars.

In gear acceleration / The competition

Probably 20% in the lower gears and 30-40% once you get above 70 mph, it really doesnt let up. As a comparison run, I have lined my car up against my brothers Clio 172, which has a green panel filter and ligther alloys to loose some unsprung weight and also Eibach 20mm lowering to get the power down easier. Before on a 0-100 run he would be 6-7 car lenghts to 100 mph as an approximation and would sail past me even from a rolling start. Now that the car is remapped (with Cupra Intake and a Green Panel Filter), I would say my car pulls 2 car lengths to a 100 mph, a significant difference. I have also fended off a Bugeye Impreza (04) WRX with 216 bhp (I think!) and a CTR and probably most significantly, a Cooper S

, which I managed to pull around 4 car lenghts on again to 90-100.

Economy

As a realistic average if you are nannying it you will get 56 mpg - as I managed on the way back from Peterborough, however if you do plan on giving it some beans (all the time) - expect 25-35 mpg as a realistic average. I tend to however around the 44-47 mark which encorporates a leasurely drive to work, with some briskoda driving home

Mechanics

So far so good! admittadly i've probably only covered 500 miles since I had it remapped but so far i've had no clutch slippage and the power seems well within the cars capabilities (I put a lot of this down to the Cupra Intake). I would definately recommend the Cupra Intake before you get the car remapped, Michael at Jabba was extremely happy with the results compared to the stock filter, some 7 bhp and 10 lb/ft of torque, it also does help the engine breath much easier and it feels less stressed.

The annoyances

Giving it full beans you will see (when I post the videos) that I strugle to get traction on poor surfaces in damp/dirty road conditions (cant imagine good conditions will improve traction more than 20% though) up until around 50 mph, and you will get torque steer unless you are progressive with the throttle ( I find this fun however

), also the MPG when you boot it really does drop into WRX territory, so be prepared to have thick pockets if you plan on canning it everywhere.

All in all it's a definate

and would recommend a remap on every Fabia vRS, purely because their is so much untapped power sitting in your car, trust me you wont believe it's possible to have the best of both worlds. But it is!

I would like to thank Michael at JabbaSport for doing an excellent job on my car, video's to follow tomorrow which should give people an idea of how much quicker it is, particuarly at high speed.

DRJ · 22-01-2005, 18:51

So what's the insurance premium loading for the various modifications?:

Front Upper Strut Brace
Cupra PD 160 Intake
Green Panel Filter
JabbSport Remap 195 bhp & 323lb/ft of torque

... perhaps as a % because our base premiums will all vary.

HellFire · 22-01-2005, 19:49

Cupra Intake & Green panel filter & remap IMO you could get away with all though I would always recommend telling the insurers and the strut brace, nothing extra with Admiral, the guy said ok and charged me a £12.50 admin fee to update my policy.

WW_VRS · 22-01-2005, 20:17

It is so very tempting to get it tweaked hehe

I'm with Zurich (have been for ages now, and they were excellent when I had a little mishap several years ago. Sux when your braking distance is worse than a new car in front of you doing emergency stops... Happens I suppose).

As long as you insure fully comprehensive and are over 25 you may have a good chance of not screaming up. Will have to ask my insurance broker, I forgot

HellFire · 22-01-2005, 20:21

It's a review of the remap not a conversation about insurance increases, although I do take it into account, if we can get back on topic...

DRJ · 22-01-2005, 20:22

I'd like some more power - I thought it was fine when running in but having gone over the initial limits I found little more there. Problem is I'm currently suffering a 60-70% loading on insurance owing to a fault claim and 2 speeding fines - that's one of the reasons for downgrading to a Fabia vRS in the first place! I'll report back when I've found out.

HellFire · 22-01-2005, 20:35

A strut brace stiffens up the front to now end, best £40 quid, the Cupra Intake and Green panel filter probably give 2-3 bhp increases when the car is stock and 15 bhp /15 lb/ft of torque once the car is remapped ( every little helps

). The remap just combines to give a much more responsive car.

DRJ · 22-01-2005, 21:00

Quote:

you will notice a much more responsive pedal and a greater spread of the torque/bhp, unlike the standard car you are really able to use the gears to make quick progress and makes overtaking a doddle

Any chance either Hellfire or others have "before and after" rolling road figures to demonstrate the power increase and torque spread? It's the broadening of the torque band rather than absolute power I'd be interested in, to avoid having to change gear quite so much...

clv101 · 22-01-2005, 21:03

Great review... hard to be objective and impartial when it's your own car and own money gone into it though. I'm thinking of getting mine done but still no sure. On the plus side remapping improved the performance. But on the negative side there's up loss of the remaining two years warranty, cost of getting it done, cost of insurance, cost of ware and tear etc... Just not sure if it's worth the cost and potential problems.

darkseid · 22-01-2005, 21:48

Enjoyed the review, looking forward to the vids

On the subject of getting it done, I dont pick my vRS up till wednesday and already put my name down for the jabba group buy (10% discount is not to be sniffed at) cant wait to stick 5K on the clock then get jabba`d. I think after running the engine in I will stick the intake and filter on to get some mile under the belt so I can really appreciate the difference the remap will make certainly sounds like yuo have.

**VRStu** · 22-01-2005, 22:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by clv101

Great review... hard to be objective and impartial when it's your own car and own money gone into it though. I'm thinking of getting mine done but still no sure. On the plus side remapping improved the performance. But on the negative side there's up loss of the remaining two years warranty, cost of getting it done, cost of insurance, cost of ware and tear etc... Just not sure if it's worth the cost and potential problems.

Sorry to get off topic again but to answer your question regarding the warranty.

I contacted Jabba and asked the following -

1. Is the Map visible to Skoda techs during normal routine servicing?

2. When would you recommend having the job done (Currently has 1500 miles, but is a company car so that will creep up quickly. Also is still under warranty)

3. If the worst happened and I needed to make a warranty claim, is it feasible to send you the ECU and could you flash it to normal without the car present??

I got the following response –

Thanks for the enquiry.

The remap is undetectable with the standard diagnostic tools that the dealerships use. I normally recommend that the car has done 2k before the remap is carried out. This is just to loosen the engine, as they do tend to be a little low on power when straight from the factory.

If the worst was to happen we can flash the standard map back if you send the ecu to us.

I then asked –

Who might have the equipment to clarify that it has been mapped?

and got this reply –

Its only really us and some other tuners, and bosch themselves.

So that sounds pretty good to me.

WW_VRS · 22-01-2005, 23:09

Good review indeed thanks, will definitely check out those vids

walkie · 23-01-2005, 08:47

Hellfire... Great review, an interesting read

Look foward to the videos 2moro

***Neo_VR*** · 23-01-2005, 09:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRJ

Any chance either Hellfire or others have "before and after" rolling road figures to demonstrate the power increase and torque spread? It's the broadening of the torque band rather than absolute power I'd be interested in, to avoid having to change gear quite so much...

EDIT: ive (hopefully) attached a pdf with the jbs graph for FlyTDI's ibiza tdi 130, which is standard, his car ran alongside mine when we both did the dubsport day when mine was still stock... and they had identicle figures.

and heres one of my car with revo (the most powerful TDi130 theve ever tested)

HellFire · 23-01-2005, 13:52

Done with a digital camera so sorry it's a bit scew-wiff.

1st Picture is of the car at full chat in 6th gear, showing the max power the car generated.

2nd Picture "I believe" is the car running through the gears, detuned because of clutch slippage - this is what the car runs with day-to-day.

Vids after sunday lunch

walkie · 23-01-2005, 15:06

Mr Hellfire... Surely uve had Sunday lunch by now... Sorry I am impatatient

HellFire · 23-01-2005, 15:10

Quote:

Mr Hellfire... Surely uve had Sunday lunch by now... Sorry I am impatatient

As promised two .mov video's, each 15 seconds long from my digital camera (no sound), I have bought a Camcorder from Ebay, so i'll do some extensive reviews/vids next time, but for now you get the jist...

1st clip is a 0-90 where I backed off a bit as I didnt want to go too fast on my private track. I also took it easy in first gear, hence the slow start...

2nd clip is the in gear acceleration (starting from 3rd gear) 30-??, it was only supposed to be until 70 mph but I got carried away

Video 1
Video 2

Both clips are in the region of 4mb.

mcbunny · 23-01-2005, 15:55

very nice there

Tigger_1979 · 24-01-2005, 10:27

what plays .mov files???

Jon TDI · 24-01-2005, 10:42

Quick Time

22-01-2005, 18:24	#1
HellFire Briskodian Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire Posts: 3,174 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts	Remapped Fabia vRS review & Videos/Pictures Ok quite a few members have been requesting this so here goes: To start off with most of us are aware that the vRS in it's standard form is no sloutch, it breezes to 60 quickly and climbs all the way to 90 without feeling stressed, it feels like an onslought between 2000-3000k rpm when standard as if all the boost comes at once, and just as quickly as it came is disappears. Once the magic 90 mph is reached the car starts to show it's poor drag co-effeciency and really struggles to 110+ above. I started my car this morning with the intent to clean it, then take some video's (which to my annoyance are crap so I haven't posted them, however I will tomorrow), the first thing you notice is that the car doesnt sound any different on idle, nor when driving at a slow speed does the car give any indication that it is remapped which is excellent if your family/friends drive the car (or a Skoda technician), but any doubts that this car isnt capable are soon erased when you wheel spin it through the first 3 gears as the car struggles to get traction on full chat. The steering doesnt seem affected, cornering seems easier as you can blip the throttle better and the brakes seem up to the job (others may question that), however I believe if you are not going OTT (which you shouldnt be on normal roads) then the standard discs & pads are more than capable. One noticable improvement is the ASR which seems to not be as instrusive for some reason, whether this is because you are simply able to power through it's stopping power or if it gets reduced by Michael at Jabba im unsure. General day to day driving / giving it some beans Well, to be honest once you get used to it you'll want more But as far as things go you will notice a much more responsive pedal and a greater spread of the torque/bhp, unlike the standard car you are really able to use the gears to make quick progress and makes overtaking a doddle. I would say 0-60 arrives in around 6.5 seconds, this is confirmed by 3 seperate clock watch timings today (with a passenger) and because it keeps up with much faster cars. In gear acceleration / The competition Probably 20% in the lower gears and 30-40% once you get above 70 mph, it really doesnt let up. As a comparison run, I have lined my car up against my brothers Clio 172, which has a green panel filter and ligther alloys to loose some unsprung weight and also Eibach 20mm lowering to get the power down easier. Before on a 0-100 run he would be 6-7 car lenghts to 100 mph as an approximation and would sail past me even from a rolling start. Now that the car is remapped (with Cupra Intake and a Green Panel Filter), I would say my car pulls 2 car lengths to a 100 mph, a significant difference. I have also fended off a Bugeye Impreza (04) WRX with 216 bhp (I think!) and a CTR and probably most significantly, a Cooper S , which I managed to pull around 4 car lenghts on again to 90-100. Economy As a realistic average if you are nannying it you will get 56 mpg - as I managed on the way back from Peterborough, however if you do plan on giving it some beans (all the time) - expect 25-35 mpg as a realistic average. I tend to however around the 44-47 mark which encorporates a leasurely drive to work, with some briskoda driving home Mechanics So far so good! admittadly i've probably only covered 500 miles since I had it remapped but so far i've had no clutch slippage and the power seems well within the cars capabilities (I put a lot of this down to the Cupra Intake). I would definately recommend the Cupra Intake before you get the car remapped, Michael at Jabba was extremely happy with the results compared to the stock filter, some 7 bhp and 10 lb/ft of torque, it also does help the engine breath much easier and it feels less stressed. The annoyances Giving it full beans you will see (when I post the videos) that I strugle to get traction on poor surfaces in damp/dirty road conditions (cant imagine good conditions will improve traction more than 20% though) up until around 50 mph, and you will get torque steer unless you are progressive with the throttle ( I find this fun however ), also the MPG when you boot it really does drop into WRX territory, so be prepared to have thick pockets if you plan on canning it everywhere. All in all it's a definate and would recommend a remap on every Fabia vRS, purely because their is so much untapped power sitting in your car, trust me you wont believe it's possible to have the best of both worlds. But it is! I would like to thank Michael at JabbaSport for doing an excellent job on my car, video's to follow tomorrow which should give people an idea of how much quicker it is, particuarly at high speed. __________________ Metro Blue '06' 5 Door Astra 1.8 SRi Last edited by HellFire; 23-01-2005 at 15:18.

22-01-2005, 19:49	#3
HellFire Briskodian Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire Posts: 3,174 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts	Cupra Intake & Green panel filter & remap IMO you could get away with all though I would always recommend telling the insurers and the strut brace, nothing extra with Admiral, the guy said ok and charged me a £12.50 admin fee to update my policy. __________________ Metro Blue '06' 5 Door Astra 1.8 SRi

22-01-2005, 20:17	#4
WW_VRS Escorted Estate Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Oxfordshire/Berkshire Posts: 9,742 Thanks: 44 Thanked 70 Times in 61 Posts	It is so very tempting to get it tweaked hehe I'm with Zurich (have been for ages now, and they were excellent when I had a little mishap several years ago. Sux when your braking distance is worse than a new car in front of you doing emergency stops... Happens I suppose). As long as you insure fully comprehensive and are over 25 you may have a good chance of not screaming up. Will have to ask my insurance broker, I forgot __________________ WW --->> Project Journal (pic links in first post there) Lummox'/Ross thread on Unit18 Automotive progress on my car: here

22-01-2005, 20:21	#5
HellFire Briskodian Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire Posts: 3,174 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts	It's a review of the remap not a conversation about insurance increases, although I do take it into account, if we can get back on topic... __________________ Metro Blue '06' 5 Door Astra 1.8 SRi

22-01-2005, 20:35	#7
HellFire Briskodian Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire Posts: 3,174 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts	A strut brace stiffens up the front to now end, best £40 quid, the Cupra Intake and Green panel filter probably give 2-3 bhp increases when the car is stock and 15 bhp /15 lb/ft of torque once the car is remapped ( every little helps ). The remap just combines to give a much more responsive car. __________________ Metro Blue '06' 5 Door Astra 1.8 SRi

22-01-2005, 18:51	#2
DRJ Briskodian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Gloucester Posts: 805 Thanks: 11 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	So what's the insurance premium loading for the various modifications?: Front Upper Strut Brace Cupra PD 160 Intake Green Panel Filter JabbSport Remap 195 bhp & 323lb/ft of torque ... perhaps as a % because our base premiums will all vary.

22-01-2005, 20:22	#6
DRJ Briskodian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Gloucester Posts: 805 Thanks: 11 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I'd like some more power - I thought it was fine when running in but having gone over the initial limits I found little more there. Problem is I'm currently suffering a 60-70% loading on insurance owing to a fault claim and 2 speeding fines - that's one of the reasons for downgrading to a Fabia vRS in the first place! I'll report back when I've found out.

22-01-2005, 21:03	#9
clv101 Briskodian Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Bristol Posts: 268 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Great review... hard to be objective and impartial when it's your own car and own money gone into it though. I'm thinking of getting mine done but still no sure. On the plus side remapping improved the performance. But on the negative side there's up loss of the remaining two years warranty, cost of getting it done, cost of insurance, cost of ware and tear etc... Just not sure if it's worth the cost and potential problems.

22-01-2005, 21:48	#10
darkseid Briskodian Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: NE ENGLAND Posts: 129 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Enjoyed the review, looking forward to the vids On the subject of getting it done, I dont pick my vRS up till wednesday and already put my name down for the jabba group buy (10% discount is not to be sniffed at) cant wait to stick 5K on the clock then get jabba`d. I think after running the engine in I will stick the intake and filter on to get some mile under the belt so I can really appreciate the difference the remap will make certainly sounds like yuo have.

22-01-2005, 23:09	#12
WW_VRS Escorted Estate Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Oxfordshire/Berkshire Posts: 9,742 Thanks: 44 Thanked 70 Times in 61 Posts	Good review indeed thanks, will definitely check out those vids __________________ WW --->> Project Journal (pic links in first post there) Lummox'/Ross thread on Unit18 Automotive progress on my car: here

23-01-2005, 08:47	#13
walkie ............... Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Monday: MK Tuesday: MK Wednesday: MK Thursday: MK Friday: MK/Home Saturday: Home Sunday: In bed ;o) Posts: 6,606 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Hellfire... Great review, an interesting read Look foward to the videos 2moro __________________ Having a little break, concentrate on the more important things in life, swmbo and my training. See you soon folks, take care - James

23-01-2005, 13:52	#15
HellFire Briskodian Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire Posts: 3,174 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts	Done with a digital camera so sorry it's a bit scew-wiff. 1st Picture is of the car at full chat in 6th gear, showing the max power the car generated. 2nd Picture "I believe" is the car running through the gears, detuned because of clutch slippage - this is what the car runs with day-to-day. Vids after sunday lunch __________________ Metro Blue '06' 5 Door Astra 1.8 SRi

23-01-2005, 15:06	#16
walkie ............... Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Monday: MK Tuesday: MK Wednesday: MK Thursday: MK Friday: MK/Home Saturday: Home Sunday: In bed ;o) Posts: 6,606 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Mr Hellfire... Surely uve had Sunday lunch by now... Sorry I am impatatient __________________ Having a little break, concentrate on the more important things in life, swmbo and my training. See you soon folks, take care - James

23-01-2005, 15:55	#18
mcbunny Briskodian Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: York Posts: 2,601 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	very nice there __________________ First step to recovery is admitting you have a problem Hi, my name is Mike and I own a Skoda and to top it all off it’s a diesel.

24-01-2005, 10:27	#19
Tigger_1979 Briskodian Join Date: May 2004 Location: Yate, Bristol, South West Posts: 1,809 Thanks: 2 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	what plays .mov files???

24-01-2005, 10:42	#20
Jon TDI Briskodian Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: North East England Posts: 3,203 Thanks: 34 Thanked 29 Times in 28 Posts	Quick Time __________________ Black Magic SEAT Leon 2.0 TDI Sport - Green panel thingy, Upsolute jiggery pokery, Koni FSD/Eibach Pro Kit bouncy stuff, 18" Audi A8 Parabol rims, '08 Cupra black/honeycombe grille. Also driving around in a Mini ONE that thinks it's a Cooper!

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