A new member needs help...

[The Visitor]

I would like honest opinions about Revo, specifically in relation to the VAG 1.8T engine.

Preferably I would like a thumb up or thumb down with a simple explanation as to why.

I don’t want to start any wars but I need feedback from members who have experienced the full SPS version ie not trial.

Sorry for the slightly ‘clinical’ first post but I’m having trouble finding unbiased opinions on the site I regularly visit.

[mobtob]

Not sure if anyone on here has had Revo on a 1.8T

Might be worth a search on here if you havent already;

http://www.uk-mkivs.net

[DGW]

Flanno and stathap have Revo'd 1.8Ts. I have a feeling that there are at least one or 2 more members too.

Welcome, The Visitor. Hopefully your query will generate some constructive feedback for you - and for the rest of us.

[Pythix]

I plan to have a Revo map when:

A) I have the money to spare.
B) 'Cos I is a scaredy cat, have insurance with a company that doesn't load my premium for having mods.....only two months to go!!!!!!

/GAVin

[MonkeyHanger]

A Couple of our members in Greece have Revo software too.

[QorbeQ]

My Leon-owning friend also went with Revo. Apparently the popularity of various 1.8T remappers varies between boards. Some (like the seat forums, apparently) favour Revo, others Jabba, others .. well .. others

He'd give them the thumbs up.

Suffice to say I think at this stage in the game they're all pretty good. Depends on how quick you want it done, how much dosh you have and how much you like the "personal touch" I guess.

Revo does have it's advantages in that you can probably ring a bloke to do it the following day ...

[stathap]

To try to tip the scales of the information I give rather than that I take from this establishment, here goes a wordy post..... bear with me...

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/showthread.php?t=10791

^^^ see the link ^^^


The whole tuning co. vs tuning co. debate has been done to death on other forums...

(add your own list here)

Even I look at them sometimes just for the craic ! Some people get really really animate in defending what is essentially a large purchase for them.

Lets face it ... REVO have become a monster and aren't going to go away. They still get top notch write ups in the like of Performance VW. Trust me, I read them monthly !

My honest opinion ?

As most of the big name tuning companies' solutions, it's a big improvement over standard (my experience with the butt dyno). 0-60 and third gear response are definately improved (see mr Jutel's first mega meet for results and that was with me driving like a fool.) Occasionally I switch it back to standard for about two seconds and then have a large word with myself 'cause it just feels flat by comparison !

One of the things I will add is that because it's a generic map and I currently have no way of changing it (SPS3 on EBAY anyone ?), it is a lottery when I add bolt on mods.

For example, the CAI made little difference. However, when I stuck on CLAREYS Neuspeed TIP, it felt like a different car.... REALLY... the change was remarkable ! Was this because of the way my MAP was written ? Does anyone know a rocket scientist ?

I plan to fit a 100 CEL CAT and custom pipe soon. I may also try to get a 4 Bar FPR reflash and 98 RON settings. Then I will get it Roaded again at somewhere like Stealth Racing (impartial ish maybe ? !.. no ?). Depending on the results I may get it mapped / chipped / tuned by someone other than REVO.... who knows...

There is a "grass is greener" effect to weigh up as well !

Its all part of the wonderful world of VAG 1.8t tuning
A nice place to be

[SkodiRS]

Nice one Pete.

Choosing a tuner is a sticky issue and once you've choosen one and are happy with their work, you'll defend them to the end.

I was interested in the REVO SPS3 when I started looking into getting my RS remapped. It had the ability to change programs, a security lock out, functions to personally tailor the map etc etc.

However this came out to around £1k.....a lot of money for about 10 minutes work (may be different for the SPS3 but I guess this is the standard time for the normal SPS1).

Then read about Jabba....£425 (at the time) for full custom remap....2-3hours on rolling road.

Being a Skoda owner value for money comes quite high up my list of criteria so I went for Jabba.

At the end of the day, you pays your money and hopefully you're pleased with the results.

Why not try ask for a test run in a REVOed car to see what it's like. I'm sure those that have been REVOed wouldn't mind.

[The Visitor]

<bump>

[stathap]

Originally Posted by The Visitor

<bump>

[CupraR-Rog]

Originally Posted by stathap

PMSL!!

[EddyH]

I'll be getting Revo when I get my Skoda, I've had both Amd and Jabba on my Golf and wasn't totally happy with them. I've been in a few Revo'd cars and been very impressed compared to cars with other sofware including Jabba, AMD and APR.

[MonkeyHanger]

Originally Posted by EddyH

I'll be getting Revo when I get my Skoda, I've had both Amd and Jabba on my Golf and wasn't totally happy with them. I've been in a few Revo'd cars and been very impressed compared to cars with other sofware including Jabba, AMD and APR.

Think you'll find you're in a minority of about...errr....1 with your disappointment with "other" tuners, particularly on this site.

[EddyH]

Yeah alot of folk's seem happy with Jabba, just my personal experience and one of the reasons I'm going with Revo.

[tfboy]

Originally Posted by EddyH

Yeah alot of folk's seem happy with Jabba, just my personal experience and one of the reasons I'm going with Revo.

Just curious - would you mind exlaining a little? Not after rotten meat or anything but would be interesting to hear a "down" story (just as we've heard ones about Revo)

[EddyH]

These are from my personal experience so no flames please.

AMD - My Golf is fitted with a K04 turbo, I bought this used from someone upgrading to IHI. I also got their AMD mapped chipped, Jabba advised this would work fine and that 'custom' remaps aren't that custom. I went from standard to K04, dp&cat, cat back and remap. Of course the car felt faster but after sometime I felt it wasn't quite right and also fuel consumption was worse than expected. I decided to get the checked on an independant RR. This revealed peak power of 180bhp, running very rich, inconsistent boost and power/torque graphs all over the place. The RR operator suggested the remap was at fault, however I decided to book in for a full check-up for boost leaks etc.. Nothing was found though and it did indeed turn out to be the remap. I also someone who required a new ECU thanks to AMD and another who has spent many thousands with AMD and now has several complete shutdowns, frequent limp mode and has to carry VAGcom at all times.

Jabba - I went to Jabba after the problems with with the AMD software. I booked in for a 4bar fpr fitting and a 'custom' remap. I handed the keys other and then wasn't spoke to until the work was complete. I was advised they had a problem with the 4bar fpr so didn't fit it, also they said the rev limit wasn't raised because it wasn't necessary. I was also given a graph showing 254bhp and 254ftlb. I paid and went on my way. Over the following weeks I noticed severe surging at WOT between 2krpm and 3krpm, I also discovered the rev limit (reduced in comparison to AmD) meant an extra gear change was needed for the 1/4 mile. I contacted Jabba by fax (the same as prior to the remap) and got no response. I have since solved the surging by tweaking the control of the wastegate which Jabba advised wouldn't be necessary with their remap. I later discovered Jabba buy in software from dimsport that they can tweak certain parameters but not fully customisable, they didn't have all the necessary software for my ECU hence being unable to raise the rev limit.

I appreciate my setup is more custom than most, but that's why I went for a custom map. However I have no doubts that Jabba works well on fairly standard setups like most generic maps.

The only company in the UK I know of that actually write their own software so know how it works is Revo. Whilst the bulk of their software is sold as a generic map (which is sufficient in most cases) they can write custom software, however this takes several days and isn't offered to the general public at the moment as there isn't the demand.

One final thing that has been suggested to me regarding chip replacement remaps is that the immobiliser no longer functions.

This is all just IMHO and I've only posted it because I was asked, so please go easy on me. I'm happy to answer any questions though.

[james 2]

Hi

I have run Revo software since the day I bought my Octavia vRS.

I personally know of at least 12 REVO'd Octavia 1.8T's in a 40 mile radius from me.

REVO offer a 3 and 4 Bar program, with an SPS Controller this gives the user the ability to tweek timing AND boost according to the mods that they may make in the future.

We have never had any complaints or any returns under the REVO 30-day Money-Back guarantee on any Octavia 1.8T that we have remapped.

Another good point is that a small selection of rolling-road equipped advanced revo dealers (such as ourselves) will shortly be able to offer full custom REVO remaps based on the codes we already have. There will be NO perameters that we will not be able to adjust.

REVO IS THE FUTURE!

Cheers

James JBS

JBS Auto Designs - Advanced REVO Dealer

[Neo_VR]

Sounds interesting

Will a custom Revo remap cost more than a normal one? and will there be a SPS3 type dongle for the PD130 (fabia) anytime soon?

[CupraR-Rog]

Originally Posted by james 2

Another good point is that a small selection of rolling-road equipped advanced revo dealers (such as ourselves) will shortly be able to offer full custom REVO remaps based on the codes we already have. There will be NO perameters that we will not be able to adjust.

At a cost though, I bet?

[james 2]

There are lots of new things in the pipeline.

We'll tell you as soon as we know more (that's as much as we're allowed to say at the moment).

[geordiesteve]

Originally Posted by james 2

There are lots of new things in the pipeline.

will any of the tuners be including warranties with their future products?

i personally would take up a re-map as soon as my car was run in but am put off by thoughts about warranty issues (see many other threads from other posters)and am therefore in two minds.

if re-maps are safe, then what's the problem?

what about honouring the remainder of any manufacturers warranty for engine catastrophes attributable to re-maps?


you may say that there is no need as no-one has ever had a problem with their engine which is attributable to a re-map. in which case then surely a warranty would cost you nothing long term , but would persuade a lot more people to take advantage of your services - good business sense??

i see the lack of a warranty as an admission of 'well we're not really sure what may happen'

legally , doesn't a remap come under the normal sale of goods act? i.e. that it should be suitable for the purpose intended (not to knack yer engine)?

i don't think i'm alone in having these thoughts - theres a huge market out there (not just in the skoda community obviously) and if all we had to be bothered about was more insurance cover then it would be less of a bother than it is now.

lets all form an orderly queue behind the first company to set this scheme up

[EddyH]

I wouldn't expect any tuner to offer such a warranty, how can they be sure customers aren't thrashing cars from cold, not letting them cool down after a run, running with low oil or even messing with the wastegate to acheive unsafe levels of boost. The most I expect from tuners is to see their cars being used everyday in a higher state of tune than that offered to customers and still having no problems. Revo seem to do this on the largest scale with many cars around the country being pushed much harder than most customers cars ever will.

[james 2]

If anyone would like to see what REVO can do, I'll be at Santa Pod tomorrow for the GTi Festival.

If anyone wants to chat, or would like a Free REVO Trial tomorrow, come and say hi... I'll either be wearing a JBS Jumper, or Skoda vRS Green Jacket.

I'll be running the Octavia up the strip tomorrow.

(I won't be running the Fabia as its Clutch has failed, the Injectors have failed and my Heart failed when I saw my Credit Card bill lmao) Just Kidding!

[tfboy]

James, any plans to do the trial software for the pd130 lump? I had won the remap at the brunters day and the only reason I didn't go for it was a) the lack of fabia vrs revoed cars and b) there wasn't a trial version available.

[mobtob]

Originally Posted by james 2

(I won't be running the Fabia as its Clutch has failed, the Injectors have failed and my Heart failed when I saw my Credit Card bill lmao) Just Kidding!